The church looks like it hasn’t been closed for very long; I can still smell incense from Sunday morning church services. It must have soaked into the walls. There are pews scattered throughout the huge, vaulted-ceilinged room, but some have been ripped up from the floorboards and moved around so there’s more of a wide-open space. There’s a large statue of the Virgin Mary staring down at me right next to the door. Even though my mother is the religious one in the family, I still say a quick prayer to her that I make it out of this alive. Hopefully she’s forgiving of the fact that I am not a regular churchgoer. Or a virgin.
I swallow nervously when I see Vinnie DeMarco lounging in a pew across the room, his big, beefy arms resting on the back. I only got a quick glimpse of him the night Matt and I saw him with Melanie at Blake’s Seafood Restaurant, but I’ve seen plenty of pictures. He reminds me of Tony Soprano: receding hairline and a belly that sticks out of his three-piece suit, proving that he has a weakness for pasta and a dislike of anything involving exercise. The butterflies in my stomach calm down when I think about all of the episodes when Tony doted on his kids and kindly gave money to the hookers he screwed. But then I start thinking about the hookers he killed and the butterflies are back in full force, trying to claw their way out of my stomach.
“Come closer. I won’t bite,” Vinnie tells me with a smirk.
Taking a deep breath, I make my way to him, my heels clicking on the hardwood floor, the sound echoing around the room. When I get right up in front of Vinnie, he removes his arms from the back of the pew and folds them in his lap.
“I must say, you are more stunning in person than you are in magazines, Paige McCarty.”
The sound of my name on his lips gives me chills. He practically purrs and it makes me want to vomit.
“Take off your shirt.”
His sudden command catches me off guard and my eyes go wide. “Excuse me?”
Vinnie gets up from the pew; his large body makes the wood creak loudly.
“Forgive me if that seemed a little forward. Sometimes I forget my manners. Would you please remove your shirt?”
I’ve quickly gone from nervous and scared to pissed off. Who the hell does he think he is?
“I’m not having sex with you.”
Vinnie throws back his head and laughs at my statement. “As appealing as that sounds, this isn’t about sex. I need to make sure you aren’t wearing a wire.”
Suddenly, my not-so-bright idea in the car ride over of removing the wire doesn’t seem so stupid anymore. Even though Ted assured me that Vinnie probably wouldn’t check me for a wire, I didn’t want to take that chance. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I whispered a quick “I’m sorry” into the mic before ripping it out of my bra and tossing it onto the front seat.
“Giovanni, I think our guest needs a little encouragement.”
Giovanni is next to me in an instant with the barrel of his gun pressing into the side of my head.
“Yep, I think that should do it,” I mutter. My hands nervously reach up and begin undoing the first few buttons of my shirt.
Vinnie steps closer and raises his eyebrows. “May I?”
When I don’t immediately reply, Giovanni pushes the gun harder against my temple.
Trying not to wince, I smile. “Oh, by all means.”
Vinnie grabs onto the seam of my shirt and with a flick of his wrists, rips it the rest of the way open, buttons scattering across the floor as he stares lecherously at me.
I’m sure he can feel my heart beating out of my chest as he runs his sweaty palms over my skin and his fingers trace the edge of my bra.
“She’s clean,” Vinnie says to Giovanni.
He finally lowers the gun from my head and I can breathe again.
“What the hell are you doing?! Stop touching her!”
Melanie’s screech from behind me makes me jerk in surprise. Even though I can’t stand her, I’m relieved at her timing.
Vinnie sighs and drops his hands from me. “Kitten, I thought I told you to stay in the back with our friend.”
Melanie stalks over to us, shooting an angry glare in my direction. I really hope this is her being a good actress, and she hasn’t changed her mind about helping us. If Vinnie wasn’t still standing so close to me, I’d whisper, “Don’t drop the soap,” just to remind her.
“I got bored back there, baby. And that guy won’t stop crying. It’s annoying.”
That must be Andy she’s talking about. At least I know he’s still alive.
Melanie sidles up to Vinnie and wraps her arms around his abundant waist.
“I still have a little more business to attend to out here. Go in the back and make sure our friend is comfortable,” Vinnie tells her, never taking his eyes off of me.
Melanie looks back and forth between us, and I can see her anger start to escalate.
“You just want me out of the way so you can make your move on her. You think she’s prettier than me, don’t you?” Melanie complains.
She moves away from Vinnie and crosses her arms in front of her in a huff. Vinnie sighs and finally turns away from me. I take that opportunity to pull my shirt back together to cover myself as best I can now that the buttons are all gone.
“Kitten, you’re being silly. Go in the back like a good girl and I’ll take you shopping later.”
Melanie’s eyes light up at the mention of shopping and now I’m convinced she’s forgotten all about our agreement. She’s going to screw me for a new Coach purse.
“I don’t want to leave you alone with her. I don’t trust her. She’s going to be all over you as soon as I leave.”
Ugh, as if.