Page 64 of Escape You

“Jesus, finally some good news. Let’s go to my office.”

“We can’t go there.” Vic and Manny said in unison.

“Rossi is without a doubt looking for you. That’s the first place he’ll check.”

If I were Rossi, I would definitely assume Tyler and I were in on the charade to infiltrate his faction. Rossi had to think I was involved. Why else would he tell Tyler I had begged Rossi not to kill Tyler? To wedge a divide between us. Tyler believed it so easily. For an agent like him, the natural assumption was that the criminal was also a rat. He couldn’t trust me. He never did.

I glanced at Tyler’s door. All this would be so much easier if he were on my side. If I knew he wasn’t hating me right now. But I couldn’t worry about him. Not when Rossi was out there searching for me. No doubt he’d left Tyler alive because he was a government official, whereas the ATF and FBI had to pretend they cared about Tyler’s life, they didn’t have to move a finger on my behalf. Which meant if Rossi was mad as hell and in a murderous mood, I was his best choice. I had to go underground. At least until we had a solid plan to stop him.

Manny walked around me and cocked his head to look at me in the eyes. “What Vic said, but also, we can’t go to your office because that’s where their next shipment is being delivered. They’re using the gym’s warehouse to house sixty people there for a few days before they get re-distributed. We have the times and the routes, everything.”

“I could kiss you right now.” I slapped Manny’s shoulder.

“Just doing my job.” His ears turned bright red. I kept thinking the Rizzo brothers were just kids, but truth was, they were much older than I was when Uncle Mickey sent me on my first run. They deserved to be full members of my crew.

“Why don’t we take this conversation to Pam’s office.” Vic pointed his chin toward the elevator bay.

Two men strode down the hallway toward us. One had Tyler’s similar build and loose-hip walk. The shape of his lips reminded me of Tyler too. My cheeks burned when I thought of the last time Tyler had his mouth all over me. Like a movie trailer, I saw him clearly in my head as he sucked on the soft spot behind my ear and then the needy peaks of my breasts, branding me with every kiss.Stop that.

The second man smiled at me when they reached the end of the corridor. Did they know who I was? Because I knew what they were. For fuck’s sake, I could smell their government bullshit a mile away. How did I not recognize Tyler for what he was the first time I met him?

When I didn’t make an effort to speak or move, Vic stepped in. “I called Dom. He’s in there. He should be good to go home tonight. Make sure that happens.”

Both men’s faces went from smiley to somber. My presence here didn’t mean Tyler was out of the woods. Did they not understand that my being here was what put Tyler in danger? Probably not. Otherwise, they would’ve tried to arrest me or some other official crap. All suits were the same.

“Make sure he doesn’t return to Jersey.” I met both their gazes, then walked off.

“Hey, thanks for the call,” one of them said to the back of my head.

I didn’t want them to see me crying. I took the stairs up to the sixth floor where Pam’s office was. When she saw me outside her door, she shot up from her chair and came to meet me. “Mia, I promise you, he’s fine.”

“I know. I’m just tired,” I said, as if that explained my wet cheeks. “Can we use your office for a little bit? Seems I’ve run out of places to hide.”

“Of course. Stay here as long as you need to. Can I get you a coffee?”

As soon as I nodded, Vic strolled into the room with two cups in hand. “It’s nasty, but it’ll work just the same.”

“I’ll leave you guys to it.” Pam offered me a kind smile before she left, closing the door behind her.

“Thank you. Let’s get to work.” I sipped on the hot liquid and let the warmth soothe my tired body. This morning I woke up feeling in love and incredibly happy. Sixteen hours later, I was the complete opposite of that, without Tyler or a place to go. “We stick to the original plan of cutting Rossi off before he has time to complete the….” I took a deep breath. It was easier to think of this operation as an arms deal and not actual people. “Processing at the warehouse. We’ll need transportation. Maybe a bus or a couple of shuttles.”

“I can handle transportation.” Vic stepped forward. “Mia, we did lose the element of surprise after what happened tonight. We know the ins and outs of the warehouse, but make no mistake, Rossi will have that place guarded to the hilt.”

“I know.”

“We can get around the lock system, obviously.” Tom leaned on the wall, crossing his arms. “But a bunch of assholes armed to the teeth—that’s going to require some maneuvering.”

“We’ll be outnumbered and outgunned. Looks like the ATF got the war they predicted.”

“Not much of a prediction if they knew what Rossi was cooking.” Vic flipped through the pages of his notebook. “What’s the plan, Boss?”

I sat in Pam’s chair, feeling drained. My eyes itched from crying and the lack of sleep, but I didn’t dare close them because every time I did, all I saw was Tyler’s beautiful face. I no longer saw love in his eyes, but hate. I had to learn to forget about him. My baby and I would find a way to get through this insane situation with Rossi.

“We won’t fight Rossi on his terms. We don’t want a shooting fuckfest in our own backyard. That would be us doing the opposite of what we promised our town, our people. Tom, tell me you have a digital copy of the warehouse blueprints.”

“I don’t, but I can download it. One sec.” He placed his laptop on the desk and did his usual fast typing.

“Thanks. Also, our server security is tight, right? Rossi has no access to our information? I mean, we got to him so easily?”

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