Page 33 of Escape You

“Your girlfriend. Our team came back empty last night. They set up shop at the Texas drop-off a week ago. We had specific details on how and when the exchange would take place. We were there ahead of time and ready. The delivery for the cartel never showed up. Now we hear the cartel is already moving the shipment to their guys. How the hell did that happen?”

“How the hell should I know? I recused myself from that case, remember?”

“Fuck off, Tyler. Mia, Rossi, this is all the same fucking case. And you know that.” He pointed a finger at me.

So he lost the lead he had on Mia. How’d that happen? I couldn’t let her go down for any of this. Even if she was guilty, I didn’t give a shit.

“Sounds like your informant got cold feet and decided not to rat out his new boss after all.”

“He’s nowhere to be found.” Mavell ran a hand through his hair, which seemed to have gotten grayer in the last few weeks.

When I first met Mia, she’d known her crew didn’t want to see her succeed. That bit had been about the only thing she’d been willing to share with me. The pain in her words had disarmed me that night. She’d been pissed but also hurt by the same people she considered family. It seemed she’d found a way to bring them all into the fold. If the cartel deal went through, if we lost our informant, that could only mean one thing. Mia’s crew was loyal to her now. This was why she was willing to risk it all to get dirt on Jac. He was the only thing standing in the way of what she wanted: her crew.

But what about us? What was I to her? Almost a week had gone by and she still hadn’t told me about the baby. She’d agreed to Jac’s wedding proposal and even his request for a successor, but it was obvious she had no intention of going through with any of it. I had to consider that she might not be willing to go through with the pregnancy either.

“Why is Mia still on the chopping block? Isn’t Jac Rossi the one the FBI wants?”

“Because she’s a criminal, Tyler. Have you forgotten that?” He shook his head, studying my face. “I told Clifton Mia might be a problem for you, but he wouldn’t listen. You were a rare opportunity for him, one he’s been waiting on a long time.”

“He seems to forget I’m the one putting it all on the line here. If Jac finds out who I am, that Mia is pregnant with my child, he would kill us both. Clifton makes it sound like he’s doing us a favor.”

“He doesn’t want Rossi. He’s going after the Big 5. An old beef of his. If that means giving Rossi what he wants, he’ll do it. Mia is a piece of that puzzle. Whether you like it or not.”

“I could ask why the hell you didn’t think to share that with me before, but I already know the answer.”

“You would’ve said no.”

“Rossi struck a deal with the Venezuela cartel to smuggle people into the country to use as they see fit. Do you understand that? Now you’re telling me Clifton will let Rossi jump start this new venture on the off chance it might get the Big 5 to show their faces?”

Mavell braced both hands on his waist. That was a fucking yes. Mia had been caught in the middle of a vendetta between some old FBI agent and the Big 5. She had only accepted Rossi’s proposition to buy herself some time while she figured out how to save her crew. She had hoped to find something to bury him before she had to marry me or have my baby, which she already had on the way. But that was beside the point. The FBI would never let Mia take down Rossi because they needed him to get to a bigger whale.

“I see it now. This was never meant to be a six-month assignment where I just watch and report like I’ve been doing. Clifton wants me to become Rossi’s right hand and eventually take over. That’s the only way to get to the big 5, if Rossi and I are one of them. You lied to get me to agree to this. You made me believe I had a shot at going after Rossi.”

“Does it matter if you’re the one that gets to marry Mia? Imagine if they’d given the job to someone else? Because they had someone else, Tyler.”

The adrenaline pumped hard at the thought of another agent taking my place. Even if Mia was already pregnant, she’d still need to sleep with her new husband—if anything, just to keep up the charade of producing a successor for Jac. The images of her with another man made me taste bile in the back of my throat. Husband or not, I didn’t want anyone touching her. Clifton agreed to let me in on this case because he knew that with Mia in the mix, I’d be easy to control.

“You’re just going to let Rossi marry her off.”

“Yes. You have to admit Rossi’s plan is a solid one. Once you’re married, he’ll have the ability to steamroll through Jersey and collect all the crews. Clifton was on board since the beginning.”

“And if he throws you a bone in the process, all the better. Am I right? You get all the crews wrapped up with one pretty little bow. The only problem with that plan is that there’s a pregnant woman in the middle of it. You can’t use her to get a few notches on your belt.” Would I be this righteous if Mia and I didn’t have this connection? I’d like to think so. Mavell and Clifton were abusing their power to get what they wanted.

“We’re the good guys here. It’s not ideal. I get that. Don’t lose focus, Tyler. They’re all criminals. I don’t care how it happens, as long as they all get what’s coming to them.” He stopped to inhale. “After the ceremony, you’ll be in her room. It’ll be easy to get the information he wants.”

His words flashed bright red in my mind. After the ceremony tomorrow, I’d be in her room. I’d hoped the wedding wouldn’t happen because keeping my hands off her would be impossible. My need to be with her grew stronger every day. It haunted me every waking moment. I wanted her in the worst way, but not like this, not if she was doing it to protect her family. Not if we had a chasm of lies between us.

What kind of an asshole did Mavell think I was? I couldn’t sleep with Mia again, then betray her by stealing the only chance she had to make sure Rossi didn’t take over her crew.

Mavell’s features softened, and he placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m on your side, Tyler. I get that it’s tough to see the mother of your child go to jail. Maybe there’s still something you can do for her?”

“Your change in tune is giving me whiplash.”

“If Mia is willing to become an informant for the ATF, we could protect her.”

And there it was. From the beginning, he saw what kind of deep shit Mia would be in once Rossi made a move on her crew. He figured with me in the picture, he would be able to control her and get her to work for us. Mia would be able to serve all the Jersey bosses on a silver platter for him. If he knew Mia, he would have known that would never happen. My heart ached for her to see how the odds were stacked against her.

“Think about it. Make her see that helping us is in her best interest.”

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