Page 70 of Heartless Union

Rocco

Ikeep glancing at Lara as I drive. She hasn’t looked at me once since she got in the car. Gabriella is in the back, crying silently.

I’m worried for Lara. Her face is frozen. She’s numb. She already thinks her dad will die, and there’s nothing I can say to change her mind because … I don’t think he’ll make it either.

I saw how weak he was when I arrived at his house to get Lara. Since we met a month ago, he already looks worse. This gunshot is only going to make things worse.

But I can’t fully be there for Lara because I’m also worried about Massimo. Hopefully, Johnson saves him. He’s young and strong, so he stands a much better chance of survival. But how will Lara look at me knowing my brother was saved but not her father?

On the drive, I notice a car following us. Carlo’s men, surely. I knew the motel wasn’t a safe place. But now, I have nowhere to go. Nowhere that’s safe for Lara and Gabriella.

I have to hope Johnson wasn’t followed. He has to get Massimo and Nico safely to his clinic. Emilio is with him, which comforts me. I just hope I don’t lose both my brothers in the same day.

I take the corner fast, trying to get the car off my tail.

Gabriella sniffles. “What’s going on?”

“There’s a car following us. I need to get away from it.”

“Where are we going to go?” she asks.

“I’m not sure. Another motel that takes cash. Gabriella, find a motel for us.” I meet her gaze in the rearview mirror. “Please.”

She nods and takes her burner phone out. “This phone doesn’t have Wi-Fi.”

I sigh. “Dammit.” I forgot. Emilio kept his phone, but I made Gabriella get rid of hers after she was kidnapped by Dante and Carlo—who knows what they did to her phone? “Ok. Just keep your eyes peeled for any place we can stop.” I look over at Lara. “Can you do the same?”

Lara, with her eyes glued to the window, nods. I release another sigh. At least her nod is something. It means she’s not completely gone.

I take another few turns and run a red light to get away from the car following us, but I know if we stop for the night, Carlo might be able to find us again. I need a new car.

A mall appears up ahead, and I pull into the parking garage. “We need a new car,” I explain to the women.

“We’re going to steal something?” Gabriella asks.

“It’s the only way.”

Gabriella gets out of the car, but Lara still doesn’t move. I reach over and take her head. She jumps slightly.

And finally looks at me.

“We need to leave,” I say as gently as possible.

Nodding slowly, she opens her door, getting out of the car.

I find a nondescript white car and break into it. Turning it on without the keys is super easy. It’s one of the first things my father taught me when I was younger. You never know when you’re going to need to change cars. That was one good thing my father gave me.

Probably the only good thing.

I change the license plates with another car just to make it harder for anyone to track it.

Then we leave the garage and go to the first motel we find. It’s not a bad place, but it’s not the epitome of luxury either. I get two rooms for all of us.

“I want to be alone,” Lara says, heading into one of the rooms.

“I guess it’s just me and you,” Gabriella says to me. “Poor Lara. She already thinks her dad is dead.”

“Johnson or Emilio will call me with any updates. I just have to hope everything will be all right.”

---