Page 18 of Escape You

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t let it go, especially now that I would have a piece of him with me forever. Vic was right. I’d already made my choice, but I’d been too scared to admit it. Leave it to me to realize what I wanted the minute it became the last thing I could have. My beautiful stranger and I could never have a baby together.

“You expect me to believe you? You lied to me before. I’m not in a mood to believe more of your lies.”

“Enough, Chase. Grab her,” Rossi said through gritted teeth to his bodyguards.

When they moved toward me, Chase stopped them. “No. Let me talk to her.”

Chase?

I lowered my gun because at this point, I just looked ridiculous. If I hadn’t been riddled with bullets yet, it wasn’t because I had a gun to a big boss’s head. I was alive because Jac Rossi wanted me alive. As to why he thought I was worth more alive, I had no clue.

Chaseambled closer to me. I stepped back, but he gripped my arm. His gaze lingered on mine as he thumbed my inner elbow. He opened his mouth, but the words got lost in a puff of warm air that brushed my cheek. The shock of adrenaline finally jolted me out of my stunned state. “Who the fuck are you? And why are you here?”

He swallowed and let me go. After a few beats, he stood taller, eyes a dark blue. “The name is Chase Rossi.”

6

Would You Marry Me?

Tyler

“And for the record, I would’ve told you my name that night.” I had not expected my voice to crack at the mention of our time together. I should be angry at her for lying to me, but I wasn’t.

Jac Rossi wasn’t someone to cross. Mia kept tottering the line with him. FBI or not, I didn’t give a shit about this plan, not if it put Mia in danger.

“You don’t get to pin this on me. You knew who I was?” She glanced around her, finally realizing we were having a moment in front of her men and my fake grandfather.

“Get in the damn car, Mia.”

“My crew walks first.” She turned around to face the empty entrance to the warehouse. They were in there somewhere. “That includes you too, Vic.”

“You’re welcome to bring some of your men with you.”

“How exactly would that help me? You brought a legion with you, and there’s only ten of them. They don’t need to be tortured on my behalf.” She met my gaze, and somewhere in her eyes there was a plead for her crew.

“Forty-eight is hardly a legion.”

“Let them go.”

I nodded to Jac’s men, and they stood down. Relief washed over me as all those guns pointed away from Mia. I gestured behind me. “Car.”

With one last glance behind her, she strode past Jac and climbed in the SUV when I opened the door for her. By now, Jac had probably gotten the sense that Mia and I had history because he chose to ride separate. As soon as I got in, I nodded to the driver, and the glass divider went up.

The same rush of adrenaline from the night we met bubbled in my chest. Out of nowhere, our paths had crossed again. When Jac had asked me to join him and his crew on a run, I’d figured he wanted to make an example out of someone and instill true fear in me. The old man had taken me in, or his supposed grandson, out of love for his late son, but that didn’t mean he trusted me. A test was coming. I was just glad the test tonight didn’t include Mia’s life.

I ran a hand through my hair and glanced over to her. Her green gaze intensified as she sat there, fuming for something I didn’t do. We were in this mess because she chose not to tell me who she really was. Would I have walked away that night if she’d been more forthcoming? If she’d told me she was the new Rogue River boss. My chest tightened at the idea of not having this kind of history with her.

“You don’t have to be afraid. I won’t let him hurt you.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “Jac will do whatever the hell pleases him. Who’s he to you anyway?”

The word lodged in my throat. Undercover work wasn’t exactly my strong suit. I got thrown into it because of my looks. I’d accepted because this case put me closer to Mia, who for whatever reason wasn’t in a hurry to tell me she was pregnant. “He’s my grandfather.”

She glanced at her phone. For several beats it was as if she hadn’t heard my answer. “I’m sorry to hear about your dad.”

“Thanks.” What else could I say? I’d never met the guy.

She turned her attention back to her phone. No doubt her guys had gone home and dug up all the information they could on Jac and Chase. I sat back and let her catch up. Chase’s dad had died of cancer a year ago. But before that he’d left Jac’s faction to live his life with the woman he loved. That same woman came looking for Jac to ask for money when her husband died. Jac obliged, but in return he wanted his grandson back. Chase died too, but that small detail had been buried by the FBI.

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