Page 18 of Off the Grid
The heartfelt words helped ease McKenzie’s panic. She’d always felt the same way. To the outside world, she was the daughter of a criminal, the girl who fell from grace, the ice queen, the poor little rich girl, the Upper East Side bitch. Addy and Jo had always seen through that. With the two of them, she was just McKenzie, just herself—a take-no-prisoners pastry chef. They were her escape. They’d always had her back, no questions asked. Didn’t she owe them both the same loyalty, at least until she had all the facts? Okay, so the circumstances were alittlemore extreme in this case, but what other choice did she have? If what Jo said was true, and the mob was involved, she needed all the help she could get.
McKenzie took a deep breath and counted to ten, finding her calm. “I don’t really understand what’s going on, Jo, but for right now, I have no choice but to trust you. Agent Alvarez said something about the mafia to me earlier, but I didn’t believe him. Are dangerous men really after me?”
“They might be.”
McKenzie sucked in a sharp breath.
“Listen,” Jo hastily added, sympathy drowning out every other emotion in her voice. “I know this must be terrifying to you, but I promise, it will be okay. Addy is with my partner, Thad, and I trust him to keep her safe. The Russians are following them, so I highly doubt they’ll have any reason to approach you. Leo is in New York out of extreme caution and as a favor to me. In a few days, all of this will be over and you won’t have anything to worry about anymore. Okay?”
“Okay.” McKenzie nodded. Her pulse was already calming.Focus on the task ahead. Make a plan. You’re better with a plan.“What do I need to do?”
“Go find Leo,” Jo said slowly, enunciating each word clearly to break through any lingering panic. “Nate—my new boyfriend, the Fed, you remember him, right? Anyway, he’s paying for a hotel room for you. Leo will take you there. It’s secure, and no one will be able to find you. Just lie low for the rest of the night, and I’ll call you first thing tomorrow to explain everything. Okay?”
“Okay.”
She could do this.
Find Agent Alvarez. Follow him to a hotel. Try to get a good night’s sleep. And talk to Jo in the morning for a new set of instructions.
A simple, easy plan.
She could do this.
“I’m sorry, McKenzie,” Jo whispered, a slight tremble in her voice. “I really am. I never meant to involve you or Addy in any of this.”
McKenzie squeezed her eyes shut, not quite ready to forgive, not quite sure if this was still her Jo or a complete stranger. But she wasn’t ready to throw the towel in on their friendship just yet, not when a true friend was so rare. So all she said was, “I know.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow. Go find Leo.”
“Okay, will do. Bye.”
“Bye.”
McKenzie dropped her head against the wall at her back and kept her eyes closed for a second. This was crazy. This was insane. It couldn’t be happening—but it was. She’d learned long ago that the only thing to do when the world flipped upside down was hunker down and ride out the storm. Denial was for the weak, and she’d already traveled down that road today. It was time to face her problems head-on. The first step was to swallow her pride, find the Fed, and let him do what he’d come to this city to do—save her life.
At least, that was the plan.
But even the best-laid ones tended to go awry.
Tires screeched on asphalt. McKenzie tore open her eyes as a black van hopped the curb and two thick men with guns jumped out. Her instincts kicked in. She pushed off the wall and ran, pumping her arms and her feet, putting those morning jogs to good use. But they were too fast. Or she was too slow. A tree trunk of an arm snaked around her waist and pulled her back into an iron chest, stealing the breath from her lungs. Duct tape covered her lips, muffling her scream. A bag dropped over her head. Twine scratched her skin as it was wrapped around her wrists, clenching them painfully tight behind her back. She struggled, but in thirty seconds it was over. Hands grabbed her biceps and her calves and tossed her into the van. She rolled once, twice, before slamming into something hard.
With two thunks, the doors closed.
The van lurched into motion.
And she was gone.
- 7 -
Leo
Leo turned the bend just in time to see a blonde head disappear into the shadowy depths of an unmarked van. As the doors slammed shut, he reached for his gun and charged.
“Stop right there! This is the police!”
The van took off like a rocket blasting into orbit. Leo emptied his clip, aiming for the tires, keeping the bullets low. They pinged uselessly off the road as the van barreled down the street, but he couldn’t risk aiming any higher. If he hit the engine, the car might explode. If he hit the siding, the bullet might pierce the metal and hit McKenzie. He stuffed the gun back into its holster and took off at an all-out sprint. The one good thing about midtown New York was that it made for a bitch of a getaway. The light ahead was red, and the streets were too busy to blow through it. The van slowed…and the head of a semiautomatic rifle poked through the open window.
Leo dove to the side.
