“Very fucking funny,” Luca said, sounding almost angry.
He found the gun I had stashed in my waistband and the knife I had strapped to the side of my lower leg.
He opened the window and threw them out, smiling a little.
“Disable the bomb,” I said to Luca.
He laughed, taking out a small device and running it over my body. I didn’t have to know what it was to know he had just disabled the tracking chip I wore inside one shoe.
I had expected that.
I joined in and laughed with him.
Luca’s laughter trailed off as he looked at me like I was crazy.
“What the fuck are you laughing about? I got you. And you think I’m going to let the other two leave?”
“Check under my shirt.”
He eyed me with suspicion but did as I asked, pulling my dress shirt apart and ripping the buttons. He cursed, and Leo swerved on the road.
“You think I can’t disable this bomb? It’s child’s play to me.”
I nodded. “Perhaps so. You really think it’s the only one I’m wearing? In about one minute, if that bomb on Catalina isn’t disabled, my bombs will go off, killing everyone in this car.”
“You’ll die, too,” he said in outrage.
I smiled. “I have long ago made friends with death. I’m okay.”
“Fuck. You bastard!”
I hardened my gaze. “Disable the fucking bomb, call Mikhail so I can confirm that it’s off, and I’ll tell you where I hid the other bombs. Or you can waste time searching my body for it.”
He paused, taking me in, as if trying to decide if I was serious.
I fucking was.
But whether Maxim would press the button to disable the bomb was a different story. I didn’t give the remote to Mikhail or Nikolay, not wanting them to have to live with the decision of killing me, should it come to that.
And knowing Luca, he might just throw me out of the car and save his ass. I grabbed my thumb from behind with my hand, twisting it until I felt the thumb joint dislocate from the socket. I gritted my teeth, trying to keep from making any sound, and maneuvered my hand out of the cuff. I still had the cuff on the other hand, but at least I was free from it. I couldn’t do much with a broken thumb, but it would be enough.
“What the—”
He didn’t get the chance to finish. I grabbed him and pulled him toward my body, holding on tight. Leo swerved the car once more, probably trying to throw me off.
“Disable the bomb, or we’ll all die in this car.”
“Fuck, get away from me, you fucking psycho.”
I laughed. “Tick-tock, tick-tock, Luca. Time’s about to run about, and I’ll see you in hell.”
“Fuck! Okay. Call your dogs off.”
He pressed a button on the control he had in his hand, then pulled out his phone.
Mikhail picked up on the first ring.
“We got the vest off her. The bomb’s been disabled. And Nikolay found the other bomb he planted in her arm. It’s out, too.”