Drive

by Gioertz, Karina

  Jordan lifted her head, “Did you confront them too?”

  “Didn’t have to. I recognized one of them, Victor Tanzola, from when I was on Gabriel’s crew. At first I figured they were there for the same reason Hathaway had shown up, to take me out, but then I overheard them talking and realized they weren’t looking for me, they were looking for Hathaway.”

  “So what did you do?”

  “I got out of there. They never even saw me. After that, I decided to lay low. If men who were previously enemies were suddenly working together, there was no telling to what lengths they would go to hunt me down. And don’t tell Fish I said this, but he’s not exactly the only hacker in town. I mean, he’s brilliant and definitely one of the best, but knowing the things he’s able to do to track someone down, I didn’t want to risk someone tracking me the same way. So, I did everything I could not to leave my mark in cyber space.”

  Jordan looked hurt.

  “I just wish you could have gotten some kind of message to us. I was going out of my mind wondering if you were alive or dead.”

  “I’m sorry…but all I could think about was how relieved I was not to have to worry the same thing about you and I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize that in any way. Besides, even though I couldn’t make contact with you, Fish was still getting messages to me. And thank God he did, because if he hadn’t, I never would have known how to find you.” Sawyer paused, still staring at Jordan and lost in thoughts about what could have been. He didn’t know if he was furious with himself for having shown up so late, or grateful for having gotten there before things got any worse.

  Jordan could see by the tormented look in his eyes, that Sawyer was busy torturing himself over her encounter with Gabriel. She reached up and smoothed some windblown strands of his blond hair back into place. Instantly, his eyes focused and she knew he was back.

  “So, Fish sent you a message after Mortison showed up? I wasn’t even sure he knew I had disappeared.”

  Sawyer took her hand and held it in his. Staring down at it he said, “Oh, he knew. Not until it was too late of course, but he saw the lights as the car took off. Shortly after, he said your uncle was roaming the grounds with his shotgun handy while Fish was searching for you over at the abandoned farm along with his new buddy, the cat.” Sawyer broke into half a smile as he referenced Jet, but turned stern again right after. “Maybe next time you could let someone know before wandering off into the dead of night all alone.”

  Jordan lowered her gaze and said, “Maybe.” She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, letting all of the new information sink in. As she was busy digesting everything, it occurred to her that he wasn’t the only one who had made some new discoveries. Gabriel Mancini had made a full-blown confession moments before Sawyer showed up and she still hadn’t had a chance to tell him about it. He had probably managed to piece most of it together by now on his own, but he still deserved to hear what Mancini had told her. Especially considering how personal this attack on Sawyer had turned out to be.

  “The Mancinis and Espositos aren’t working together,” she blurted out.

  “What?”

  “You said you thought that men who used to be enemies were now working together. They weren’t. Gabriel just wanted it to look that way. He’s been behind all of this from the very beginning. He’s the one who set you up to take the fall for killing the Esposito kid and then he hired the Esposito hit-man to make it look like they were coming after you. This whole thing was set into motion to create a war between the two families. It was just a distraction to keep them from noticing that Gabe was taking over.”

  Sawyer pulled himself away from Jordan just far enough so he could see her face.

  “How do you know all of this? Did Mortison tell you that?”

  “No, that piece of shit told me plenty, but none of it was useful.” Jordan frowned thinking about all the things he had told her about Sawyer to try and turn her against him. A wave of shame hit her like a nauseous sensation in the pit of her stomach, knowing it had worked. “Mancini told me everything. Said it wouldn’t hurt for me to know the truth since I wouldn’t be alive long enough to tell anyone else. Said the whole thing started because he found out his father was going to hand the organization over to you. And just in case you hadn’t already figured it out, Mortison’s the one who sold you out in the first place and told Gabe you were a cop. He’s also the one who leaked all that shit about me to the media. A real gem that one…”

  Jordan could tell by the way Sawyer’s lips were pressed into a thin line and his jaw was grinding back and forth that he was fuming with fury, but trying not to show it for her sake.

  “Jordan…”

  She sat up and turned to face him completely. Without answering, she simply cupped his face in both of her hands and kissed him tenderly. Sawyer’s anger turned to pain and he was certain he would drown in his own hurt and shame. A single tear escaped him and trickled down his cheek where it got caught in his scruff. Jordan felt the warm damp hairs in her hand and opened her eyes.

  “Stop it. Stop blaming yourself for what happened,” she whispered. “I’m a big girl. I make my own decisions and if you keep taking responsibility for them it’s really going to piss me off.”

  This time, Sawyer wouldn’t let himself be taken off track by her.

  “Jordan,” he began again. He wasn’t sure if this was the time to do it or not, but then there might not be another chance and he needed her to know.

  “Remember when you asked me who I had lost?”

  Jordan nodded.

  “It was my sister. She was several years younger and from the time she was fourteen, my parents battled with her over her drug addiction. By the time she was eighteen, she had already been through three different rehab centers. After that, she took off on her own and there was nothing more my parents could do. I didn’t see her for a long time after that. I was already a cop at the time, and for many months after she took off, my parents hounded me daily hoping I had seen or heard of her while I was out on street patrol, but it wasn’t until I had moved on to working undercover that she popped back up on my radar.” Sawyer paused and Jordan could see how hard it was for him to talk about this.

  “I was supposed to bust this prostitution ring that was busy recruiting underage girls by hooking them on meth and then forcing them to pay their tabs by selling themselves to every pervert that came calling. I hated the assignment for who I had to become and the people I had to deal with, but I knew someone had to do it to put a stop to what was happening. I was getting close when she showed up. She was one of the girls working for them. Of course she recognized me immediately and she was high as a kite, so she sold me out in an instant, thinking it would score her some more crystal, only things didn’t work out that way. She was expendable to them and they were pissed at me, so they used her to send me a message.” Sawyer was struggling to get the words out, but Jordan didn’t need him to finish. She knew him well enough to understand why he needed her to know. He felt responsible, the same way he had when Jordan had been attacked. Except that neither one had been his fault.

  “Sawyer…you can’t be everybody’s hero, but that doesn’t mean that you’re responsible for those that you can’t save.” She reached up and gently stroked the side of his face with her hand. “You saved me and God knows, I didn’t make it easy.”

  Sawyer still couldn’t look her in the eye, but he nodded and forced a small smile.

  “That’s right, fake it ‘til you make it,” Jordan said in her usual dry tone, this time succeeding in making Sawyer laugh in spite of himself.

  “You’re too much, you know that?” he teased her as he pulled her back into the safety of his arms.

  “You’re telling me. Most days I can barely handle myself.”

  For a while they both just sat there, mesmerized by the flames, neither of them saying a word. Jordan was about to break the silence again when a light went on inside, unveiling the silhouettes o
f three men, none of which belonged to Fish. A second later one of the men screamed and the sound of Jet’s roar reached them like a hacksaw cutting through wood.

  “Fish!” Jordan and Sawyer jumped to their feet simultaneously.

  When Sawyer noticed that Jordan was right on his heels, he spun around and stopped her.

  “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” he hissed.

  “To help Fish, where else?!” said Jordan, trying to push past him.

  “No! You’re going to find a place to hide and stay the fuck out of sight until I come back for you or…”

  “Or what?”

  “Just stay out of sight,” he repeated and took off.

  There was a brief moment where Jordan considered ignoring Sawyer’s orders all together, but in the end she had to agree that there was nothing to gain from all of them getting caught. She searched the dark surroundings for a suitable place to hide and quickly settled on the one place she felt would be safe.

  Jordan could see straight into the main living room from where she was crouched behind the built in barbeque out on the terrace. Sawyer had left the sliding door cracked open upon entering so she could hear everything that was being said.

  “It was you, you filthy rat! First you break a truce that took years to establish by attacking the Espositos and then you kill my only son!” Gino Mancini shouted. His gun was drawn and pointed at Sawyer while the other two men had a hold of Fish. From behind one of the bedroom doors, Jet’s furious snarling could be heard as she repeatedly scraped her claws along the door in and attempt to free herself.

  Sawyer hadn’t tried to defend himself, but rather had chosen to approach the old man in surrender with his hands in the air and his gun tucked away safely out of sight.

  “Gabriel left me no choice. He kidnapped a friend of mine and then brutalized her repeatedly while she was tied to a chair. There are rules Gino. Sacred rules that should never be broken and when they are…”

  Gino studied Sawyer, screwing up his eyes and displaying his skepticism. He had suspected a long time ago that Gabriel had a violent streak in him that measured far beyond anything even he had ever witnessed, but even his father hadn’t expected Gabriel and his boys to abandon every shred of humanity they might have still possessed in order to tie up a woman and repeatedly punch her in the face, especially when she had no way to fight back and defend herself.

  “You’re lying,” he said.

  Sawyer shook his head. “You know I’m not, Gino.” In the time Sawyer had spent with the old man, he had gotten to know him well enough to know that there were certain things he never tolerated within his organization. It didn’t matter where they landed on the food chain in the Mancini family, if word got to the boss that they had laid a hand on their woman or, God forbid - a child – they could expect there to be heavy consequences. Best case scenario, they were gonna get a beatin’ themselves. Worst case…well, there was a reason mobster’s had so many idioms for murder. Gino had killed more men in cold blood than any other target Sawyer had ever worked, but he had never laid a finger on a woman or child. People had speculated that it was due to the fact that he himself had been raised by a drunk who had made a hobby of beating up his wife and children, but no one knew for sure. The only thing that mattered were the rules, and when it came to Gino, rule number one was you don’t mess with the innocent. Gino was many things, but he was not a bully. In a strange and inexplicable way, he was one of the most honorable men Sawyer had ever met. It was the very thing that had begun to cause a conflict within him as time drew nearer to take Gino down.

  His old boss’s face went blank as the color slowly began to drain from his skin. He lowered his weapon and took a seat on the nearest sofa.

  “Your friend…she’s alive?” he finally asked.

  Sawyer nodded, but didn’t elaborate.

  “Why? Why did you start this war?” Gino continued, his tired eyes showing the despair of an old man grasping for understanding.

  “I didn’t. Gabriel found out that you were passing him by and grooming me to take over…guess he didn’t like the idea much.”

  It was all the explanation Gino needed. He nodded at the two men restraining Fish and they released him. The old man was about to get up when Sawyer opened his mouth again, “There’s more.” He knew the next sentence out of his mouth would probably get him killed, but he owed it to Gino to tell him the truth. “I’m not who you think I am – ”

  “You’re a cop.”

  Stunned, Sawyer stood there temporarily speechless. So, Gino Mancini continued, “Yes, I’ve known for some time now. I don’t know, maybe I should have killed you right then and there the moment I found out. Thing is, knowing what you were didn’t change who you were to me. And maybe I thought that feeling was mutual.”

  “It is,” said Sawyer.

  “Good,” said Gino. “Then I still have one son.” He stood up from his seat and began to move toward the door. “I need to go and call a meeting with Joey Esposito. This battle has already cost us enough.”

  Sawyer fell into step behind him. “Let me go with you, let me explain.”

  “No. You’ve done enough…and you have your own battles left to fight. Battles I can’t help you with.” Sawyer knew he was referring to Mortison.

  “I truly am sorry,” said Sawyer as he watched the old man go.

  Gino sighed. “So am I.”

  Chapter 18: Parting Ways

  The door had barely closed behind Gino and his men when Jordan came flying in from the balcony.

  “I told you to wait until I came back to get you!” Sawyer scolded.

  “No, you said to wait for you – or…which really left things open for interpretation,” said Jordan.

  “Yeah well, it would have been nice if I had had time to hide,” Fish chimed in after letting Jet out of the room she had been locked in. “Wasn’t exactly pleasant waking up to the sound of screaming, I can tell you that much.”

  “Oh,” said Jordan. “I assumed the screaming was you.”

  Fish shot her a dirty look. “No, that was the stupid git who walked in on me having a good sleep and found Jet lying on the foot of the bed.”

  Jordan grinned. “Kinda wish I could have seen that.”

  “Can we focus on something a little bit more pertinent than people’s completely acceptable fear of wild animals that could kill you, like maybe the part where we’re all still alive!” Sawyer broke in, frustrated with how nonchalant the other two were being given their current circumstances.

  “Sorry, you’re right. We are incredibly lucky. I mean, your little sit down with Gino could have gone so much differently…” Jordan’s words trailed off as she thought back on the conversation that had just taken place between Sawyer and his old boss.

  “And we’re not out of the woods yet. Even if the Esposito’s lose interest in us, Mortison will make sure that the cops don’t. By now, I’m sure he’s got warrants out for Fish and I and he won’t stop until he eliminates each and every one of us. It’s the only way he’ll get away with what he’s done.”

  “I don’t understand why no one else knows you’re a cop, mate. I mean, if the mobsters know, shouldn’t your peers?”

  Sawyer dropped down into the sofa, tired from not having slept in days and growing increasingly more exhausted as he thought about everything that still lay ahead of them.

  “There are plenty of people who knew I was a cop. But, I’ve been undercover for two years. During that entire time, Gary was my only contact to the police force. That means that he has had ample time and opportunity to damage my reputation and I never would have known about it. My guess is he told them I went rogue, switched teams. For all I know, my badge doesn’t mean squat anymore. It certainly won’t keep any of us out of jail.” Sawyer gave a sideways glance in Jordan’s direction. Now was as good a time as any to make the break. “Which is why you need to leave.”

  Jordan was sure she had misunderstood. “What?”

  “You n
eed to leave Jordan. I mean it. You’ve got a clean slate. The world already thinks Jordan Hall is dead and I’ll see to it that Mortison believes it to.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “Why not? This was our arrangement all along wasn’t it? You would get me to where I need to go and when you had the chance to break free, you’d take it. Well, here’s your chance.”

  Jordan was near tears. “What if I don’t want to break free? What if I want to stay?”

  Sawyer shook his head. “You can’t.”

  “Why not? Because it’s too dangerous? Screw that! I can ha – ”

  “Because I don’t want you to!” Sawyer was staring her square in the eyes. His expression had turned the same stone cold she had seen before. Whatever warmth or care Jordan had seen in his face before was now completely gone.

  Tears were falling freely down her face, but she didn’t care.

  “Go to hell,” she whispered. She wasted no time in gathering her things and storming from the penthouse without so much as looking back to say goodbye.

  ***

  “Bit harsh, don’t you think?” Fish said, trying to break the awkward silence left behind now that it was only him and Sawyer.

  “Had to be done.”

  Fish stood by quietly and watched as Sawyer dragged himself from the sofa and into another room. A moment later he heard the door slam and knew he had seen the last of him, at least until morning.

  ***

  Jordan went as far as the lobby before she stopped. Sawyer’s words had crushed her, but she knew why he had said them. Regardless of his motivations, she wasn’t about to stay where she wasn’t wanted. But she wasn’t about to leave either. Whether Sawyer wanted to admit it or not, Jordan could help him.

  She had seen from Gabriel’s balcony that the building across the street was undergoing some major renovations and seemed to be empty while under construction. It would be as good a place as any to spend the night.