Page 26 of We're Not Strangers Anymore

“How did you..?” She pulls back slightly, just enough to look up at me.

“The guard– Maverick. He came up here when the shooting started and said I needed to get to the basement but there was no time. I told him to zip it up and stack the other suitcases on top hoping they wouldn’t think to look in there.” She says between sobs. I pull away from her and hold her shoulders, making eye contact.

“Row, you are the smartest woman I have ever fucking met. Did they come in here? Did they look for you?” I ask, my mind racing with images of what could have happened.

“Yes.” She chokes out, “Good thing I didn’t hide in the attic above the closet because they looked there too. I tried not to make a sound, I–I was so scared.” She starts crying again.

“I’m so sorry I left you, Rowan. I promise I will never leave your side again but we have to get going right now because they’ll be looking for us and we have no security right now.” I help her to her feet and throw her packed duffle over my shoulder. She follows behind me as we exit the bedroom with my gun drawn.

“You still got your pistol?” I ask her quietly.

“Yeah, it's strapped to my leg.” She responds.That’s my girl.

“Pull it out just in case, keep your arm slightly bent while you’re aiming.” I demand.

We make it to the car and start driving down the empty back road when I get a call from my mom.

“Is everything okay?” I immediately ask her.

“No. we’re in a parking garage downtown. I had Griz scope out the hangar and Conejo’s crew is staked out in front of it, so we can't take the jet.” She snaps. Of course they are. I already expected they would cover all bases.

“It’s okay, I have a backup plan. Listen Ma, they got Luciano.” I inform her. “I’m going to send you my coordinates to your backup phone in case anything is tapped. Meet me over there right away, we can’t let anyone else gethurt.” I tell her. I hang up hearing her scream through the phone and I drive straight toward the car lot where I keep spares for getaway driving. I hate that I had to tell her so abruptly but her and Laila need to know how serious this is right now.

“They killed your brother?” Rowan asks, her eyes filled with concern.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now. I’ll explain the plan once all of us are together. It’ll be easier. Don’t worry, okay?” I say gently, reaching over and slipping my hand to her exposed thigh. She nods leaning back on the headrest of her seat.

Grayson

We pull into the car lot and I step out, motioning Rowan to follow. I send my coordinates to my mom and lead Rowan to the cargo van we’re taking.

“This is completely bulletproof. Windows, doors and tires. Sit in here while I grab the bags from the car.” I tell Rowan.

“What about Deirdra?” She asks.

“What about her?” I snap. This wasn’t a time to answer questions about my staff.

“Is she safe? Are they going to go after her?” She snaps back.

“Deirdra is fine. She’s a designer, they’re not worried about my staff unless they’re part of the inner circle, like security or transport.” I say nonchalantly.

“I need to call her. She’s my friend and I want to make sure she’s okay.” Rowan tips her chin up stubbornly.

“We’re not calling anyone right now Rowan! I already tossed my phone in the sewer drain when we got here.” I shout. I see her tense but I don’t have time to coddle her like a child if I want to get her to our destination safely. She needs to understand that, especially after I almost lost her too.

My mom and Laila pull in, startling me as I pack the last of the money into the cargo van. They both exit at the same time and rush over to us.

“Get in the back. Now.” I order them. We all pile into the van and I drift out of the car lot and onto the road, kicking up the speed. “You both have your main phones tossed?” I ask. My mom and Laila nod quickly, their faces swollen and red from crying. “Alright, here's the plan. We have another Hangar in Homestead, just south of Miami. If they suspect that we’re fleeing out of state they’ll likely think we’re heading to the west coast where dad owns property. The hangar isn’t registered so they have no way of finding it. On the off chance they find out we’re headed south they’ll be expecting us to take I-57 because it’s quicker, but we’re going to take US-35 cutting through toward West Virginia. It’s only a couple of hours out of the way.”

“So we’re just going to let them get away with killing dad and Luciano?” Laila shouts.

“I know you think you know more about my business than I do Laila, but it’s going to take time to plan a counter attack with almost all of our men being killed off.” I snap, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white.

“Well, do you have a plan?” Laila asks. Of course I wouldn’t let anyone–even the cartel– kill my family and take my business overnight without retaliation. But if I want to be smart about this, I have to go into hiding for a while and build my empire back up just like Conejo did. They are going to get what’s coming– but in due time.

“Yes, Laila. I have a plan but I still have to iron out the details. Right now our priority is getting out of here safely.” I advise her. “We’ll drive until we get to Virginia. One of my military buddies has an estate in the mountains where we’ll be staying for two weeks. It’s remote so they won’t find us there.”

“You were in the military?” Rowan looks surprised.

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