Page 31 of Escape You

“I really wish you could trust me.” His steel blue eyes were comforting. But I couldn’t let that make me forget who he was. He was a Rossi. He was the enemy tonight.

“I have no reason to trust you.”

He gritted his teeth. “I’m your husband. That’s hardly nothing. I think you do trust me, but you’re afraid. You’re afraid to fall for me.”

“You’re not my husband yet. So get your hands off me.” I pushed away from him. My head screamed to run upstairs, while my body screamed to stay in his arms. I did neither. Instead, I strode toward the entrance to talk to Vic.

Chase did the decent thing and let me go. The wedding was this Saturday. Everything I worked so hard for would begin to crumble the minute Rossi got what he wanted. No, that wasn’t happening. Over my dead body. I stomped over to Vic. We needed to come up with a plan quick.

“You scared the crap out of me. I had no time to warn you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I got it done.”

He nodded. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah.” I gave him back his phone. “We need a plan.”

“Agreed. I’ll see what the boys can come up with.”

Thanks to my little stunt, we now had direct access to Rossi’s computer. All we had to do was go through the data and find a weak spot. My hope was that we would find evidence he crossed someone. The enemy of my enemy could be our friend. If we could offer them help, maybe they would return the favor, though it all came back to the same minor detail, who the hell would be stupid enough to go against the New York faction and possibly the Big 5?

“Thankful as I am that the guys had a good payday, I still don’t get why the cartel was willing to do business with us after the stunt Mickey pulled on them. After we killed one of their men,” I said.

“You think Rossi had a hand in it. But why would the cartel owe Rossi a favor?”

“Right.”

“We’ll start there.” He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pants and glanced down at his shoes for a beat before he met my gaze. “Mia, you’ll have to consider that—”

“That if we don’t find anything to pin on Rossi, I’ll have to marry Chase?”

“Exactly. What then if that happens?”

“It won’t.”

10

A Chasm of Lies

Tyler

My legs burned from the effort, but I kept at the eight-minute pace I had started with. Running always set my mind right, though this morning my thoughts kept shifting back to last night’s shitshow of an engagement party. Steam swirled out of a manhole by the sidewalk and rushed across my body. The weather forecast promised another hot and humid day, but for now the air was crisp and cool. The city at breaking dawn brought me a sense of peace in this chaotic mess my life had become.

The wedding was a day away, and the FBI didn’t give a fuck. I had to admit that the idea of marrying Mia and having a baby with her appealed to me for reasons I hadn’t figured out yet. But being forced into a fake marriage with a woman I got pregnant after one out-of-this-world night wasn’t exactly how I’d pictured I would find love. After last night’s close call with Mia, I was sure she didn’t want to tether herself to me either. Or more specifically, tie her life to the devil’s spawn, as she’d called Chase Rossi.

If the FBI had the sense to listen to me and offer some field support, I would have succeeded at getting Rossi’s files from his computer. Judging by his reaction after he found Mia and me in his office, I was willing to bet he had incriminating information stored in his drive. Why was the agency being so dense about this? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they wanted me to marry into the family, which Mavell had assured me wasn’t the case. My ass. The FBI would do anything, including leaving a pregnant woman out dry, to get what they wanted.

They didn’t just want Rossi. They wanted a bigger whale. What they didn’t realize was how dangerous Rossi was and how far he was willing to go to have his family name added to the Big 5. Last night I witnessed how far his greed would go. He bent over backward to please the family members who’d shown up. I had to figure out a way to expose Rossi and get Mia out of there.

I turned the corner and ducked under the scaffolding lining the sidewalk. When I slowed my gait, a guy bumped me against the wall. Shit, I’d been so worried about Mia I’d lost track of where I was. A hoodie and joggers weren’t exactly a foolproof disguise. I spun to face the asshole, only to find two men staring me down. When the first one advanced on me, I punched him in the gut. The second man rushed me and slammed me against the brick wall before he shoved me into a dark room, a restaurant that had been shut down for renovations.

Plastic covers lined the walls and the old floors. Dust and wood shavings covered the bar counter and scattered tables. If these guys wanted to get rid of me, this would be a good place to do it. It wouldn’t take much of an effort to wrap me up and toss me in the dumpster, which was conveniently sitting just off the sidewalk.

“Don’t make a scene, Agent Cole.” Mavell’s voice boomed from the back room.

My heart rate slowed to a normal beat. “Jesus Christ, are you trying to give me a heart attack? Jac’s guys are right behind me.”

“They’re not. We made sure.” Mavell gestured for me to move away from the grimy windows. “We don’t have much time, and this can’t wait.”

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