Page 60 of Forbidden Surrogate

Doesn’t really matter what the hell their accents might be, because their conversation contents sound like my ass is in more serious danger.

“Do you have her upstairs?” Pittsburgh says.

“We need half the money first,” one of the Buffalo guys says.

“Here’s the duffel bag. Have your clone count it.”

Clone?Are they twins?I don’t think the first pair of kidnappers were twins and if they were, I wouldn’t have called them clones. I didn’t see the faces of these kidnappers, which either means they learned from their previous experiences, or maybe these particular men are better trained at this type of work.

The second Buffalo guy (I assume) speaks up and says, “Holy shit. It’s Nicky.”

“What the hell is Nicky doing here?”

“Who the fuck is Nicky?” the Pittsburgh guy says. I have a similar question, but I search my memories from my nights out with Luigi and I am almost 100% certain that Nicky is his youngest sister, Nicoletta. She’s twenty-three, goes by Nicky for short, and she doesn’t interact much with Luigi outside of the occasional night out.

There might be another Nicky, but if this is the Nicky they’re referring to, could it be possible that Luigi’s cousins or his brothers are the ones who kidnapped me? Maybe the twins that just came back from Sicily? I don’t think I’ve ever been in the same room as them before, although I heard a lot about their pending return.

Great. I have a theory about my kidnappers and suspicions of their plans to sell me, but I don’t see how the hell this information helps me.

“Nicky, what the fuck are you doing here?” I can’t tell which of the Buffalo guys says this.

“You fucking idiots have Luigi’s girl here and if you don’t sort your shit out, he’ll be down here in the next half hour.”

“How did you know where we were?” The Buffalo guy asks. “Who else knows we’re down here?”

“Are you fucking stupid? Luigi knows. I was at the club when he called Peter and I knew once I heard what was going on only one pair of twins could be so fucking stupid as to kidnap Luigi’s pregnant girlfriend.”

“This isn’t women’s business, Nicky.”

“Who the fuck is that guy?” Nicky asks. I’m beginning to like her and to see the similarities between her and Angela.Where the hell IS Angela right now?I entertained the notion for a split second that this might have been a part of her plan, but there’s no evidence at all of Angela’s involvement in this, which feels good despite the sketchy details of her sudden departure.

“He’s the buyer,” one of the Buffalo guys says. “And we’re going to solve a big fucking problem for our family.”

“You are so fucking stupid. I’m getting out of here.”

“Where do you think you’re going?” the Pittsburgh guy chimes in. Judging by what I’ve seen from the mobsters around here, he probably doesn’t appreciate Nicky’s tone. I want to start pounding on the floor and begging for Nicky to come let me out but if I’m to believe her message, Luigi is on the way.

“Riccardi’s funeral parlor so I can plan for what’s gonna happen to you when Luigi kicks your ass.”

“You’re out of your fucking mind, Nicky.”

“Let her go and beg Luigi for forgiveness. Of course dad was pissed off about her race, but you can’t kill someone in our own family. It doesn’t matter their skin color.”

Their talking moves into the other room and I hate that I feel robbed, especially because none of their conversation has givenme much information about what I can expect once Luigi gets me out of this room alive.

They won’t kill me and Luigi’s on his way. I just have to pray this “sale” doesn’t go through…

Chapter Thirty-Three

Luigi

I’m in the passenger side of Peter’s car so it’s not immediately apparent we’re pulling up on Renzo and Gino’s apartment at the Outer harbor. But according to Peter, Nicky might have dipped to spread the word.

“She was at the club when you called and I swear she knows something. Renzo and Gino have Delphine, I’m 100% sure.”

“Great. Why thefuckdo they have her and how many places should I shoot them before the end of the night?”

“It’s three a.m. The night is mostly over as it is,” Peter says with infuriating practicality. “They have a strange sense of honor. They just got back from Sicily. They have an old-fashioned culture.”

---