Page 49 of Hidden Rocco
His gaze was clear. “You’re safe here.”
Maybe for now, but the intruder wasn’t her ex’s family. He might be a hired hand, but she wasn’t sure. She shrugged, headed to the refrigerator to grab some bottles and said, “I’m not safe. Not without… my bodyguard.”
The officer opened his pad and read notes as she packed four bottles in a bag with ice. “I read in the files that the FBI believes foreigners might be looking for you.”
At least he understood something about her situation. She zipped up the bottle container and said, “My ex’s family wants me dead which is why I need Rocco.”
She didn’t blink as she held his stare until he said, “You can meet us at the station and wait until it’s all sorted out if it makes you feel better.”
If steam came out of her ears like those cartoon characters she wouldn't be surprised. She'd never had patience when it came to men who didn’t recognize her authority so she lifted her eyebrow and said in her commanding tone, “I’ll follow the last police car out of here, my lawyers will meet us there, and you will give me a moment with my guard, before you cart him off like some… ruffian.”
She’d almost said criminal but changed her mind. No need for the police to get the wrong idea and besides her vocabulary was a weapon she could yield in ensuring her orders were followed.
She grabbed diapers, fixed her bag, and walked outside.
The police officers had the two men in separate cars. One icy glance at the officers had them stepping away from the vehicle that contained Rocco.
The back window was open and she juggled Jacob as she stood next to the car. “Rocco.”
His hands were cuffed behind his back. He looked up at her and she noticed his left eye would be black and his bottom lip was puffed out. “Mica, this man won’t get to you ever again.”
But he didn’t know he was free. She’d bring him back and explain. For now she glared at the officers who were all heading to their cars as she said, “I’m following you to the station.”
He softened as he peeked at Jacob and then back at her as he shook his head. “Don’t. They’ll send me back to prison now, but at least this time it’s for a good cause.”
Absolutely not. This wasn’t how she directed her life. She wished she’d told him earlier what she'd done. “You’re not going to prison for me.”
He turned and whispered as if afraid they might be overheard by a recording device, “You don’t understand. I escaped. This is the end of the line for me.”
She leaned in and her body tingled to hold him as she said, “I’ll see you at the station. You’re free. Don’t admit anything to anyone.”
Without another word she backed up and headed to her car.
A minute later, she patiently placed her son in his car seat, checked the straps, and jumped into the front seat. Mica emerged from her underground parking lot, and watched the police car with Rocco leave.
This was stupid.
Her Jaguar purred and she headed down the mountain, keeping a small distance from the police car while she called her lawyer. Once she was patched through she didn’t wait for introductions. She was back to being the CEO as she said, “Cardona, Rocco’s been arrested for protecting me.”
“You’re in danger, Miss Murphy?” Cardona asked.
She put her blinker on once she made the fork in the road that led to the small town, but her shoulders softened.
“I’m following the police car he’s in.” She’d cry or drink later, probably the second part, as she never cried. Her medications after birth to get rid of the poison had destroyed her ability to breast feed, which had hurt her, but hadn’t caused tears. In a calmer tone she said, “I’ll need legal ensuring I get him out of the Summit County police station right away.”
Cardona said, “I’ll have someone there to represent your interests and meet you. Turn on your GPS so I know where you are.”
Perfect. She stopped at a red light and changed her phone setting. “Good. I don’t want to wait too long. Jacob’s already fussy.”
“I’ll be as fast as I can, as always,” Cardona said.
Now if Ali’s family was also tracing her tracking app, a police station wasn’t a bad place to be until she could get out of town.
She stopped her car and gassed up. Once Rocco was out and in the car with her, it was time to move on. She’d turn that tracking app off and ensure no one found her unless she wanted to be found.
With Rocco at her side. He’d make this all endurable just from being in the empty passenger seat.
Chapter 14
