Swimming with Sharks (73 page)

“The cops are searching the entire city,” Luca said to his boss. “They’re arresting anyone they don’t like. I bet that every single prison cell within a radius of a hundred miles will be triple-booked by the end of the night.”

“Hmm,” Sergio said, glancing at his watch, “maybe we should get it over with now.”

He wasn’t particularly alarmed by the intense police response, because Jerome Harding had reassured him during brunch just a few hours ago that the investigation had nothing to do with him, that it was solely about solving the St. John murder. Harding promised to call him immediately if
he found out something different. Sergio knew that he could rely on Harding. And the cops could search as much as they liked, because in three hours Alex would be dead.

“How’s Maurizio doing?” Sergio inquired as they drove toward Chelsea.

“I had him taken to Sutton,” Luca answered. “That crazed woman nearly smashed in his skull.”

Sergio nodded grimly. Despite his anger at Alex, he felt a hint of admiration. This woman was truly courageous, an almost equal opponent. But after spending seven hours tied up and gagged in the cold storage room of an old meat factory, she’d get the picture that he always won, and that she had no chance against him.

While they were stuck in traffic, Sergio toyed with the idea of leaking a story to the press that the honorable mayor had banged a wanted murderer last night. As great as that sounded, he needed to wait until Alex’s body was floating in the East River. Then he could focus on finishing off the mayor.

Sergio grinned bitterly. No one had drawn a line from MPM and LMI to him. And once Alex was gone, there’d be no one left who could. The storm would die down, and he would remain quiet until then. The preparations for his charity ball in a few days were in full swing. Not one person had sent regrets, which was a good sign. If the cops had already grilled any of his friends, there would have been mass cancellations long ago. New Yorkers were the quickest to notice when someone should be shunned in high society.

“A tempest in a teapot,” Sergio muttered and shrugged his shoulders. It wasn’t anything more than that.

Alex felt like the fall had broken every single bone in her body. Unable to move, she lay flat on her back, gasping for air. Tears of anger soaked
her face as she heard hurried steps. She was surrounded by a half dozen angry-looking men who pulled her up roughly and dragged her back into the building. Despite her pain and fear, she kicked at them, bit the hand of one, and wriggled like a fish. Her attempt to escape made Sergio’s men even angrier. Her situation had worsened significantly.

Alex fought against the terror and weakness with all her might. Things couldn’t get worse. She was determined not to collapse in front of Sergio, begging for mercy. When she heard his voice, she closed her eyes.

“The bitch ran away from us,” one man said. “We had to use a bit more force with her. I’m sorry, boss.”

“Put her on her feet,” Sergio said coldly. “I want to look her in the eyes. And then leave us alone.”

They roughly pulled Alex up. She stumbled and leaned against the wall, suppressing a groan.

“Look at me,” Sergio ordered, and Alex slowly raised her beaten face. She realized in surprise that her fear of dying had vanished, giving way to a strange serenity. She wasn’t afraid anymore. Instead, she felt nothing at all.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions that you had better answer. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

Alex nodded.

“Nelson warned me about you from the very start.” He stood directly in front of her, observing her with a cruel smile, his hands deep in his coat pockets. “He saw through you right away—what a devious bitch you are.”

“You made the biggest mistake of your life listening to him.” Alex’s voice was hoarse. “He was afraid that I could have more influence over you than he ever had. I would have done anything for you if you hadn’t lied to me from the start.”

The smile vanished from Sergio’s face.

“He betrayed you,” Alex said. “He blew his brains out instead of continuing to work for you.”

“Shut up!” Sergio snarled at her.

“They’ll all turn their backs on you,” Alex continued, “but I would have stayed by your side—”

“I told you to shut up!” he roared.

“You know it yourself.” Alex didn’t blink. “You know you trusted the wrong people. Even your wife ran away from you. Did you know that she came to me on the day that she left you?”

Sergio’s face turned red. Her words hit a nerve. He struggled to keep his cool.

“Where did you get the bank statement that I found in your apartment?” he asked in a gravelly voice. Alex stared into his eyes and remained silent.

“Don’t think that you can deceive me,” he hissed. “I know you’re trembling with fear.”

“I’m not afraid anymore,” Alex replied. “You’ve already decided to kill me. It makes no difference whether or not I talk.”

“What grandiose words,” Sergio mocked her, “but I will show you how small you are—how pathetically small!”

Alex detected a spark of insanity in his blue eyes. Sergio walked to the door and called his men. She waited as they took their places all around her.

“Comu si dici in sicilianu?”
she said. “
Omertà.
Isn’t that right? I won’t say a word.”

Sergio pressed his lips together.

“I thought you didn’t understand Italian,” he said, and Alex shrugged her shoulders. Sergio took off his coat and handed it to Luca.

“I won’t say another word,” she said. Sergio’s fist flew at her face that same moment. She felt her lip burst again and her nose break. He brutally grabbed her by the hair, pulled her head back, and leaned over her. His face was so close to hers that she could see every single pore. Saliva pooled at the corners of his mouth.

“You’ll beg me to kill you,” he hissed. “Count on it! You damned little whore!”

Alex felt warm blood running across her chin, but she didn’t bat an eye.

“Speak!” Sergio let her go. “I don’t have all day.”

Alex closed her eyes. Her head was about to explode.

“Where is the money that you stole from me?”

Alex shrugged her shoulders again, although every movement hurt like hell.

“Tell me where it is!”

“No.”

Sergio stared at her in a raging fury.

“Okay,” he said, taking a deep breath, “okay. I can handle losing fifty million dollars. I won’t go bankrupt. You can’t blackmail me with that. But what about the bank statement? What about the e-mails from St. John’s computer? Who knows about them? Did you run to Kostidis?”

The thought that she’d spent the night with the hated mayor made him insane.

“What did you say to him when he fucked you?”

Alex grinned, although it hurt. Sergio had lost. His jealousy and vanity consumed him.

“I told him,” she said, looking Sergio square in the eye, “that he fucked me better than you.”

Sergio lost it. He beat her with both fists until Luca and another man grabbed his arms. Sergio breathed heavily. Alex lay crumpled on the floor, but not a single sob crossed her lips. Whatever Sergio had thought about the weakness of women, Alex proved him wrong. And he hated her even more for it.

“Go on,” he said and massaged his sore knuckles, “give her the special treatment!”

They grabbed her, tore her clothes off, and tied her up on a metal table dressed in just her underwear. The blows with the leather strap split the skin on her thighs and chest. Her agony took her breath away, but she suppressed any cry of pain. She became dizzy and almost blacked out, but they brutally kept her from losing consciousness.

“Talk!” Sergio hissed, clenching his hands in his pockets. He had been quite certain that it wouldn’t take long to get her talking, but now it turned out to be a problem. He particularly feared losing face in front of his men.

“What will you do if I die before that?” Alex mumbled through her swollen lips. Any sign of arrogance had vanished from Sergio’s face. In the bright fluorescent light, she noticed the bags under his eyes and the increasingly sagging skin on his neck. She realized that even Sergio Vitali had to capitulate to her stubbornness. The pain in her body was like a dull droning. Alex could no longer distinguish which body part hurt the most, but her triumph over Sergio in his rage and helplessness eased the pain.

“I’ll have all of my men rape you!” Sergio threatened. “Until you open your fucking mouth! Is that what you want?”

Alex was silent. She closed her eyes; she didn’t fight back when they loosened the tape around her ankles and the first man attacked her—a fat, slimy guy who stank like sweat and garlic. The edge of the metal table rammed painfully into her back with every thrust. Without a word, Alex endured the pain and humiliation. She stopped counting after the third man. She just heard Sergio’s angry voice from a far distance. Nothing mattered anymore. She was just a numb shell. The minutes stretched into hours, and Alex felt like she was looking at herself from above. She saw her injured body, her face swollen and disfigured by the beating. Her thoughts wandered to Nick. Not even this brutality could defile her memory of the most beautiful night of her life.

“And?” Alex heard Sergio’s mocking voice. “Do you like it? Or do you finally want to talk to me?”

If it would have helped her at all, she would have told Sergio everything. Yes, she would have begged him, beseeched him, done everything just to live. But he would kill her anyway. She needed to remain strong. She knew her pride would drive him crazy.

Speechless with anger at her persistent silence, Sergio watched as one man after the other lustfully pounced on Alex. The sight of these men panting like animals, taking possession of the body of this woman he’d once truly loved, filled him with disgust. There were even worse methods for forcing a person to talk, but something deep inside made it impossible for Sergio to have them sever Alex’s limbs or mutilate her.

“She stopped breathing,” one of the men said. He leaned over Alex and felt for her carotid artery. Sergio jumped up from his chair. He stared at Alex’s lifeless body. The humiliation he’d suffered in front of his men drilled into him like a barbed hook. Nevertheless, he felt respect for this woman who dared to defy him. She wasn’t afraid of him. He ran both hands through his short hair. Alex had been right. Nelson had given him bad advice. What a great companion she would have been to him! She would have remained loyal if he had only allowed her to stand by his side.

Sergio’s anger suddenly subsided and made way for a leaden fatigue. Beautiful, passionate, brave Alex! He would never meet a woman like her again. She dealt him a major defeat with her death. But above all, his feeling of invincibility had died with her. Alex had beaten him. In every sense.

“What should we do with her?” Luca asked. Sergio winced. Impatiently, he chased away these sentimental feelings. This little whore deserved to die. She had lied to him, betrayed him, stolen from him.
Basta.
Life goes on. He needed to clear his head.

“Throw her in the river,” he said coldly. Then he turned on his heel and walked out.