Page 60 of Love Without Control

“And I wanted to gas the car up before we took it back, so we stopped at that little convenience store.”

“And?” I prompted.

“And the clerk in there might have recognized you.”

My hand went to my throat as the revelation dropped like a bombshell. “No.”

“You weren’t wearing your contacts because we didn’t think we’d be getting out of the car…”

“But I had to pee,” I finished, remembering that I’d gone inside to use the restroom.

“Yes. The lady thought you looked familiar but she didn’t realize who you looked like until the next day when she saw your picture on TV. She wasn’t certain though, just told the local police that you looked similar to the woman on the news. They called the Feds who came down to investigate. My father has people on the inside at the FBI, and this information finally made its way to him on Monday.”

“But if he knows I didn’t blow up in the helicopter, he’ll know you didn’t either,” I said, my voice rising in panic. “And then he’ll come looking for us.”

Dane patted my hand and then left his on top of mine. “Don’t freak out. He doesn’t know anything for sure.”

“So… what does this mean? What do we do now?” I asked, a sense of self-preservation kicking in.

“Robert is going to do some research and see what he can find out. I called him as soon as I got off the phone with Fiero.”

“Do you think we have to leave here?” The thought of that overwhelmed me with sadness. The town of Marathon wasn’t my home, but it was the closest thing I had over the past couple months.

“I don’t think so. You were spotted over seven hours away from here, so I’m sure they’ll be focused in the Jacksonville area.”

Dane removed his hand from mine and clasped it with his free one, dropping his head and averting his gaze to the floor. He was silent, knuckles turning white and then pink as he clenched and unclenched them. Something was definitely bothering him… something he wasn’t telling me.

An idea struck me like a bolt of lightning, searing my nerve endings. “That store is only a couple miles from Jamie and Robert’s house. Are they—”

“They’re fine. My father knows nothing about Jamie,” Dane broke in, “and Robert looks way different than he did eight years ago. He’s going to lay low for a bit, just to be safe, though I don’t think Luca would recognize him even if he met him face to face.”

I breathed out a long sigh. “That makes me feel a little better. I would never forgive myself if something happened to them because of me. They’ve been so good to us.” I stared at the side of Dane’s face. He still wouldn’t meet my eye. “What are you hiding from me?”

Small lines formed at the corner of his eye as he scowled at the floor between his feet. “I don’t want you to overreact, Eden.” He paused for a long moment, and my chest tightened, waiting for his next words. “First of all, your family is fine.”

“Why wouldn’t they be fine?” I asked, trying to control the shaking of my hands.

Dane huffed out a long exhale before flopping back onto the couch. “There was a small fire at your parents’ house. They. Are. Fine,” he reiterated, finally looking at me with trepidation.

“A fire?” My voice seemed to be reaching dog-whistle levels.

“Asmallfire.” His lips thinned. “The day after Luca heard from his contact at the FBI.”

“Oh my fucking god. He’s going after my family?”

He swiveled sideways on the couch, facing me full on and grasping both my hands. “Eden, if he was going after them, it would already be too late.” My throat clogged with a painful lump. “Fiero seems to think it was a message… or a trap… for us.”

“I don’t understand,” I wailed, my chin trembling.

“My brother is relaying what information he can to me, but he doesn’t know everything. He’s simply speculating about the cause of the fire. Because of the coincidental timing.”

“I need to call my dad,” I said in a rush, reaching into my pocket for my phone. “I need to know he and my mother are okay.”

Before I could touch the screen, the phone was snatched from my hand. “No, Eden.” He wedged the device beneath his leg, and my fingers itched to push him over and grab it. “I know what you’re thinking, and don’t even try it,” Dane warned.

“Give. Me. My. Phone,” I bit out.

“No,” he snapped. “This is what I meant when I said it could be a trap. If Luca did have one of his men set that fire, it means he has your family under surveillance to make sure you’re not in contact with them. He probably even tapped their phones, and as soon as you call, he’ll know for sure.”

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