“Because your father’s got half the East Coast after me, the fuckin’ moron. If it wasn’t for the fact that I have to hide inside, I’d be laughing my ass off knowing I’m right under his nose still on Staten Island. You’re my leverage to get out of here with my heart still beating. That reminds me … the phone, I need the phone,” he muttered, patting his pockets. “I’m gonna call Enzo, and I know him—he’ll demand to talk to you. That’s why I had to wait for you to wake up. You tell him you’re fine, but you better not say one damn thing more. I need you alive for now, but that doesn’t mean I need you in one piece—got it?” He glared at me with gray, soulless eyes, then pulled open a thick, sealed door and vanished.

My dad—I was going to get to talk to my dad. Relief and hope made my eyes sting with tears, and my lungs shuddered with the start of sobs, but I quickly pulled myself together. I had to find a way to tell my dad where I was, but how? What could I say to tip him off that I was still on Staten Island without Sal understanding?

Still on Staten Island.

My necklace.

I reached up and lifted the pendant, but before I could work on the clasp, the door began to open. I yanked as hard as I could, ripping the chain from my neck and tucking it in one of my jean pockets.

Sal entered my frozen cell, eyes glued to a disposable phone.

“Uncle Sal, it’s so cold in here. Please, can I have a blanket or something?” This time, I was more than happy to infuse my voice with weakness. I had a plan, and I wanted Sal to see me as totally helpless so he wouldn’t get suspicious.

“It’s hardly on refrigerate, so you’ll be fine. If your father does what he’s supposed to, you’ll be out of here soon enough.” He never looked at me, muttering his response as he fiddled with the phone and some other device he was holding.

Looking up, I realized there were evenly spaced rows of sliders along the ceiling as if used to hang stuff throughout the room. Was I in a walk-in freezer? Why had the asshole put me in a freezer? Was giving me a concussion and tying me up not enough? I had been the goddamn flower girl at his wedding, and now he couldn’t have cared less if I was bleeding out before him.