Page 60 of Escape You

“I’ll see what I can do.” Mia glanced in Vic’s direction, and he followed her out.

“See ya, man.” Manny waved.

“Yeah, see ya.” I strode down the hallway with Mia and Vic way ahead of me. They were deep in conversation, plotting really.

A small part, no, a big part of me wished she would come to me the way she did with Vic. She trusted him unconditionally. With me, every time I spoke, she watched me closely to see if I was telling the truth. Mia grew up hating the authorities, the suits as she called them, me. Would she ever get over the fact that I was ATF?

“I’m riding back with Vic.” She stopped in front of the passenger door of her black Escalade. “We’ll be right behind you.”

Her words kicked me square in the gut. She felt so distant, as if she’d already forgotten we’d spent all night and the better part of this morning making love. I wanted to kiss her and hold her, but instead I forced myself to nod in agreement. At the penthouse, we would be back in our room, in our own world.

I sauntered to the end of the parking lot where I’d left my bike. Vic waited with the engine running while I got my gear on and stuffed Mia’s jacket away. I hopped on and headed toward the New Jersey Turnpike. A quick glance at my mirrors told me Vic was way behind me, following at a safe distance.

The roads were deserted under a starless sky. With the cool breeze on my face, I rode fast to get back to the confines of the penthouse and Mia’s bed. I needed her back in my arms. Maybe this wasn’t the time to be thinking about her, but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t like being away from her. I didn’t like that she wouldn’t talk to me. Something was bothering her back at the hospital. Whatever it was, I had a nagging feeling that it had nothing to do with Rossi and everything to do with us and our future together.

I got that our worlds were light years apart, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t at least try. By the way she stayed away from me since we met up with her guys, I could tell she was having second thoughts about getting involved with me again. As soon as we were alone tonight, we’d have to have that talk. I wanted her to say it aloud. To promise she would stay with me, no matter what. Saying she was in love with me wasn’t enough.

Checking my mirrors again, I spotted the headlights of the Escalade. They kept getting farther and farther away. I switched down a gear and took a deep breath before I merged onto the turnpike. The still of the night suddenly didn’t feel right. I shot a glance over my shoulder to find nothing but a dark, empty road.

When I returned my attention straight ahead, a black sedan pulled in front of me from out of nowhere. I switched lanes to pass it, but it cut me off. Shit. The rumble of an engine came up from behind me, permeating the air with gas fumes. They were here for me. Were they here to escort me back to Rossi, or was this something else? Something like a hit on a traitor.

I forced even breaths. Rossi had no way of knowing I’d spent most of the afternoon conspiring against him. Maybe this was yet another display on his part to show me that family or not, he was still in control of my life.

Keeping up with their pace, I stayed the course on the turnpike. This was overkill, to send an escort to get me back, but I had to get over it. It was as Mia had said. It would all be over soon. After a couple of miles, I was sure Vic had bailed on me. As soon as the sign for the next exit appeared, the two cars flanked me, their tires only inches from my boots.

They ushered me off the freeway and through several turns that led to the back of an abandoned convenience store. My heart pounded hard. I was in the middle of nowhere, with no weapon, no backup and no bars on my phone. I glared at my mobile before I dropped it back inside the pocket of my jacket.

When they stopped, I stopped and quickly killed the engine. “I want no trouble.” I removed my helmet and stepped off the bike with my hands up in surrender. If the two cars only had two guys apiece, I might be able to fight them off and get away. That was farfetched, but it never hurt to have an escape plan.

“Shut up, you goddamn suit.” Alex, one of Rossi’s cronies, climbed out of the second car. They knew.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. I told Jac you were too clean, too perfect to be for real. What were the odds that his long-lost grandson who never wanted anything to do with Jac would all of a sudden want to come home and be family? The old man was so desperate for a son he talked himself into believing you were the real deal.”

Rossi knew I wasn’t Chase Rossi. Who told him? My head swirled with the faces of all the people who knew. Rebecca? No, she had way too much to lose in this. Her own life was at stake. Clifton? Clifton wanted me to be part of Rossi’s inner circle, same as Mavell. As much as I tried to keep Clifton’s eyes in focus, Mia’s face kept replacing him. No, she didn’t do this. She wouldn’t. But if that were true, why was she not here? “We’ll be right behind you,” she’d said.

Did Vic get Mia to change her mind about working together? But why now? He could have turned me in days ago after he recognized me. Please, Mia. Not you.

“That’s a lot of words to say you don’t like that I have Jac’s trust. I don’t give a shit what you think you know about me.” I stepped toward my bike. The clicks of cocking guns echoed around me.

When I turned, five guys had their weapons aimed at me. The door to the first car opened, and Jac came out. “Enough, Alex. We don’t have time for any of this.”

“Let’s shoot him in the gut and let him die like the animal he is.” Alex lowered his gun so he had my belly as the target and not my head.

“Yes. But first he has to tell me why he lied.”

“I didn’t lie.” Technically, the FBI lied. Chase’s mom called him and asked Rossi to meet me. I showed up to the restaurant. Rossi did the rest. Alex wasn’t wrong. The old man was desperate to reconnect with family.

In the dead of night, we were no more than gray shadows. But I could still make out the wince in Rossi’s face when he pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt betrayed. “You could’ve become king. I had plans for our family to take it all. Everyone would answer to us.”

“We can still have that.”

“Enough with the lies, Special Agent Cole.” Rossi gritted his teeth when he spoke my name. His feet stalked heavy toward Alex. To his credit, he didn’t want to do what he was about to do.

I’d studied all of Jac Rossi’s files before I met him at the restaurant for the first time. He was a sociopath, with little to no regard for human life. From day one, I knew that if he ever found out that I wasn’t his grandson, he would end me on the spot. I assumed that when that day came, I’d be surrounded by a SWAT team, not in some abandoned building alone with Rossi and his gunmen.

Mia’s green gaze glared at me in my mind’s eye. Not a full day had gone by since I told her the truth. What would she have to gain by telling Rossi the truth? The answer came to me immediately. Or maybe the idea that she could turn me in had always been there. If Rossi knew I wasn’t his grandson, he’d have no reason to go after Mia’s baby, someone who wasn’t related to him by blood. Rossi wanted his own family to take over his empire. It was why he’d believed our lies. The FBI gave him exactly what he wanted, a successor.

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