by Nicole Fox
“Lucio?” I say softly. “What’s wrong?”
His eyes go dark. “I think we’re being followed.”
My body goes cold as I glance at my side mirror. I can see headlights a few yards behind us. But there’s nothing suspicious-looking about the vehicle.
“Maybe they’re just driving behind us?” I say, wondering if Lucio is right to be so paranoid.
Lucio doesn’t answer.
He grabs his cell phone and dials in a number.
“Adriano,” he says, a moment later. “We’re coming up on Broadway and 91st. Five minutes, ten at the most. Send backup. Two teams. We’re being followed.”
He puts the phone down and we pick up speed again. The car is vibrating fast now.
“Lucio?”
I realize the car behind us has picked up speed, too.
Fuck.
We hit a pothole and I’m almost jostled out of my seat. For the first time, Evie looks up, aware of that something is going on.
“Whoa…”
“It’s okay, kiddo,” I say, plastering a fake smile onto my face. “We’re fine. Just a steep bend.”
“Why are you driving super-fast, Papa?” Evie asks.
Lucio’s concentrating so hard on the vehicle tailing us that he doesn’t answer. Evie’s expression twists into fear.
I reach behind to pat her knee.
“Don’t worry, princess,” I say as reassuringly as I can. “We’re going to be home soon.”
On the heels of my words, I notice more headlights flood the streets. Two more vehicles appear behind the one tailing us.
“Hang on,” Lucio orders.
I hear the roar of his engine, as he stomps the accelerator. Hard.
Evie screams at the sudden thrust of speed. I feel as though my body being’s catapulted from one side to the other. I try to keep a firm grip on Evie’s knee, but I can’t sustain the position at the rate we’re going.
The cars are closing in on us. They’re going on the offensive. They’re trying to trap as between them.
Two of the three chasing cars appear on either side of the car, eager to choke us to a stop.
“Fuck,” Lucio mutters, under his breath.
“Charlotte!” Evie cries, from the back seat.
“Evie,” I order, turning to her, “close your eyes and hug Paulie. Now.”
She listens to me immediately, her face disappearing into her stuffed platypus.
A second later, everything explodes.
One of the cars rams into my side of the vehicle.
Evie screams.
Only the seatbelt keeps me from flying through the windshield. My arm is aching and for a second, I worry I’ve dislocated it.
“Oh, God… Evie…!”
I glance back at her. Her little head is slumped forward and she’s no longer clutching Paulie.
“Evie! Evie!” I scream.
Lucio shakes his head, disoriented, and I can tell the impact hit him the hardest. We’ve hit the nose of the car against a massive tree.
“Lucio,” I say, my hand going to his arm. “Lucio? Are you—”
I hear the sound of slamming doors and suddenly, we’re surrounded. There are probably a dozen men that I can count, all dressed in black, all armed.
My first thought is: Is this how we’re going to die?
My second thought is: Please, not Evie.
My third thought: This is all my fault.
And then I see headlights again.
The men surrounding us scatter as four massive SUVs round the corner.
Lucio seizes the opportunity to move.
He grabs two guns from under his seat and kicks open the driver’s side door. The night fills with the sound of gunshots.
But I’m not worried about anything other than Evie.
I undo my seatbelt and try to scramble over to her.
That’s when I see a man sneaking up around the car.
He’s definitely not here to help.
I look around, but Lucio’s merged with his men and they’re fighting what looks like a small army.
Which means I’m on my own.
I look around fast. Lucio has got to have more than two guns in his vehicles. Hoping to God I’m right, I snap open the glove compartment.
Hallelujah!
There’s a shiny black Glock.
The only time I’ve ever used a gun was at the safety range where Xander took me once on a ‘date.’
I hated him that day.
Now, I’m thankful.
I grab the Glock and turn it on the man just as he pries open Evie’s door.
“Don’t fucking move,” I snarl.
His eyes zone in on me. “I just want the girl,” he says. “You could still be useful where you are.”
My heart falters.
They know.
They all fucking know about me.
But more importantly, they know about Evie.
Which means Xander broke his promise and told them.
“Oh, I’ll be plenty useful,” I tell him.
Then I pull the trigger.
For just that tiny span of time, I’m glad Evie’s unconscious. Seeing a man get shot in the face is not something I want to add to her list of traumatic experiences.
The bastard collapses to the ground, limp and lifeless.
I jump into the back seat with Evie, and unbuckle her fast.
“Evie,” I say, patting her face. “Evie… are you okay?”
She’s breathing, and her eyelashes flutter just a little, but she doesn’t come to.
It must be the shock. I’m hoping that’s all it is.
I climb over her, nearly stepping on the dead body on the ground, as I get out of the ruined car.
I ignore him, as well as the chaos raging around us.
Evie comes first.
I try to lift her out of the vehicle. Her dead weight is a little more than I’m used to, but I want to get her as far away from this scene as possible.
If Lucio’s men don’t win, the Polish will take her for sure.
And I can’t let that happen.
Especially because it’s my fault they’re after her in the first place.
I manage to lift her onto my hips. Her head rolls against my shoulder and I support her back with one hand. I’m stumbling away from the crash, when I hear the cock of a gun.
“Stop.”
I glance towards the thin smattering of trees, where the voice has come from.
I see the gun first, pointed straight at us.
Then I see the desperate face behind it.
I don’t recognize him, but it’s pretty damn clear that he recognizes me.
“Hand the kid over,” he orders.
I shake my head. “No.”
He steps forward just as another smattering of gunshots fill the air. It drowns out my answer, but I can tell he’s heard me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he sneers. “We’re on the same damn side!”
Oh God…
My heart sinks as the guilt and the shame of my decisions catch up with me.
They’re here for Evie—because I’ve indirectly used her as bait.
Because I trusted a man I never should have trusted.
Xander will pay for this.
“You better run,” I tell him, “before Lucio finds us.”
He shakes his head. “Not without the girl.”
I’m trapped. If raise the gun in my hand, he’ll shoot me by the time I get it aimed.
And since Evie’s affectively draped across my chest, his bullet will hit her first.
I can’t let that happen.
“Fine,” I reply carefully. “I’ll put her down.”
“Just hand her to me.”
“I’m not coming anywhere near you,” I snap.
“Fucking hurry then.”
I place Evie on the softest patch of earth I can find. She stirs a little and I pray she doesn’t come to yet.
As I straighten up, I
’m keenly aware of the gun hidden behind my back.
I can’t afford to hesitate.
I can’t afford to make a mistake.
“Now get out of my fucking way,” he snarls at me.
He clearly doesn’t see me as a threat.
He thinks I’m weak. Helpless. Terrified.
So many men have made that assumption in the past. This one’s going to pay for it.
His eyes are bright with victory. He thinks he’s won. He thinks he’s safe. He thinks he’s got his ticket to safety secured.
I don’t even think he notices that the fighting has stopped. Silence has slipped back over the night.
He moves forward, lowering his gun in the process.
And that’s when I strike.
I swing the gun up and forward, cocking it as I take aim.
His eyes go wide when he realizes I’m armed.
“Wait—”
The sound of the gunshot is deafening in the newfound silence. I stumble back a foot from the recoil. A gasp rips from my lips as he falls to the dirt only a few feet from where I set Evie down.
“Charlotte! Evie!”
I hear running footsteps and a second later, Lucio appears from around the car wreckage.
He takes in the bodies of the two men I killed to protect us.
Then his eyes move to the gun in my hand.
Finally, they land on his daughter.
“It’s okay,” I whisper, a tear slipping from my eye. “She’s safe now.”
43
Lucio
A Few Hours Later—Mount Sinai Hospital—New York
I stand at the door to the private hospital room I’ve secured for Evie.
According to the doctors, she’s got a mild concussion, but otherwise, she’s fine.
Charlotte has been sitting with her for almost an hour now, holding her hand as though she’s scared to let go.
And I haven’t been able to wrench my eyes away from the two of them for the last fifteen minutes.
I move forward and sit down on the remaining free chair. It squeaks as my weight sinks down into it and Charlotte yelps softly at the intrusion.
“Sorry. Didn’t see you there,” she apologizes.
“You need to get some sleep.”
“No, I don’t,” she says stubbornly. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
“Well, I am,” she snaps.
“Evie’s fine,” I tell her. “The doctors have cleared her to go home. They’re preparing the discharge papers right now.”
I notice that Charlotte just squeezes Evie’s hand tightly. She looks like she’s only a moment away from tears.
“Are you okay?” I ask gently.
She chews the inside of her cheek. “I don’t know.”
“Tonight was…” I hunt around for the right words. “I know it can’t have been easy for you to go through that.”
“I don’t care about myself,” she answers at once, her voice shaking a little towards the end. “I care about Evie.”
I watch as a single tear slips down her face. She wipes it away hurriedly, as though she’s ashamed of it.
“What happened?” she asks abruptly. “After we crashed, everything is a blur.”
“I got out and started shooting,” I tell her. “My men came just in time. We made short work of them.”
“Any prisoners?” she asks, keeping her eyes fixed on Evie.
“No,” I tell her. “Either way, I wasn’t going to bring a prisoner home. Not after… what happened last time.”
She nods slowly. I’m not even sure she’s listening anymore.
Something is definitely going on with her.
Something about the Polish assault had flipped a switch. She seems—not cold, exactly. But certainly reserved. Distant. Contemplative.
“It’s not easy, you know,” I try. “Killing a man. Even if he deserves it.”
I’m venturing forth without any real clues, hoping to bring her traumas to light.
She glances at me. “I killed two men tonight,” she points out in the tiniest voice.
“I know. How did it feel?” I ask.
Her eyebrows knit together as she thinks about her answer.
“It didn’t feel like anything,” she says after a long silence. She shakes her head. “It was just that so much was happening at the same time. I was concentrating only on getting Evie out of there safely. When it came down to protecting her, I didn’t hesitate. I knew that the only way to save her was to pull the trigger.”
“You were right,” I tell her as gently as I can. “You did save her, Charlotte.”
She closes her eyes and bends her head low. I can sense the sob that’s hidden in her chest. She’s trying to suppress it, but I can feel it.
“I didn’t do enough,” she whispers. “I haven’t done enough.”
I frown. “What are you talking about?”
She shakes her head again and lets go of Evie’s hand. “Why isn’t she waking up?”
“Dr. Evans told me that her body shut down to protect her mind,” I explain. “Once the shock wears off, she’ll wake up. Don’t worry.”
“I need to see her smile,” Charlotte says desperately.
“And you will,” I assure her. “You just need to give her time.”
“Time,” Charlotte repeats numbly. “Time…”
She seems so out of it. I don’t know how to reach her. How to calm her. How to bring her back to me.
There’s a soft knock on the door, and a second later, it opens.
I see a smattering of long, tangled blonde hair. Dark brown eyes. Somber expression.
I recognize that face.
She looks like she’s lost a lot of weight since I last saw her. She looks pale, too.
Like she hasn’t seen the sun in weeks.
I hear Charlotte’s shocked gasp. “Vanessa!”
For the first time in hours, Charlotte abandons her position next to Evie and sprints over to her friend.
The two of them embrace desperately, locking their arms around one another.
When they finally pull away, Charlotte grabs Vanessa’s face and stares at her for a moment.
“How are you, babe?”
The usual spark in Vanessa’s eyes is virtually nonexistent. She looks like she’s seeing ghosts.
She nods slowly, making an attempt at a smile that never truly reaches her eyes.
“Fine. I’m fine,” she mumbles. “How are you?”
Charlotte glances behind her at Evie. Then her eyes fall to me, and she looks… nervous?
Something isn’t right.
“I’m… coping,” she replies evasively.
“Vanessa,” I interrupt. “How did you know where to find Charlotte?”
“Coincidence,” she blurts immediately. “I’ve been… a little under the weather lately. I’ve been in and out of hospital, which is why I haven’t been able to visit sooner. I was here for a doctor’s appointment when I saw one of your men roaming around. I recognized him from the compound the last time I visited. I followed him up here and, tada, here I am.”
I don’t question the story—not yet—but that’s exactly what it feels like to me. A story.
Practiced. Polished. Rehearsed.
Fake as fuck, in other words.
Charlotte glances at me. “You’ll stay with Evie?” she asks. “I just want to catch up with Vanessa a little.”
“Of course,” I reply. “But don’t go far.”
Charlotte takes her friend’s hand and they walk out of the hospital room. I glance at Evie as I get to my feet and move instinctively towards the door.
It strikes me as odd that Vanessa would be in this hospital at the exact same time we happened to be here.
I don’t believe in coincidences.
In my line of work, they get you killed.
I push the door ajar, and spot Vanessa and Charlotte walking down the hall and turning the corner.
I slip out of the hospi
tal room just as Giovanni walks up to me.
“Boss, she just went—”
“I know,” I cut him off. “I okayed it. It’s fine. Stay with Evie. I’ll be right back.”
I stalk down the corridor and stop just before the corner bends. I can hear their voices, but it’s a strain for my ears to pick up exactly what they’re saying.
“… not okay…”
“… I’m sorry…”
What is Charlotte sorry about?
It certainly doesn’t sound like they’re talking about whatever illness Vanessa is claiming to have picked up.
“I have to leave… I have to get out of here… I just came to tell you…”
“Please, Vanessa, no. We can fix this. I can help you.”
“How? You’re in the same position I am, Char.”
“We have to stick together. You’re the one who always told me we’re family. Family sticks together.”
There’s a snort of laughter. But it’s cold, humorless.
“You’ve got a new family now.”
“That’s not true.”
“No?... always together…”
Vanessa’s voice dips so low that I can’t make out her words.
“I’m not you. I won’t be okay.”
“Please, Vanessa.”
“I love you, Charlotte. But at the end of the day we’ve got to look out for ourselves. And frankly, I’m fucking scared.”
There’s silence after that.
I turn and walk back to the Evie’s room. I stay outside the door until Charlotte turns the corner again.
She’s alone.
“Where’s Vanessa?” I ask.
“She, uh, had to leave,” Charlotte says without meeting my eye.
“Are you okay?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“That looked like… an intense reunion,” I make up on the fly. “Is everything alright?”
Charlotte nods and pushes past me into Evie’s hospital room. I follow her inside, dismissing Giovanni in the process. He slips out of the room wordlessly, leaving the three of us alone again.
“She’s been sick,” Charlotte tells me as she settles back into her seat at Evie’s side. “And she’s felt kind of… alone lately. I haven’t exactly been there for her.”
“Is that what she told you?”
“She didn’t have to,” Charlotte replies, the guilt evident in her tone.
I move a little closer. “You’re too hard on yourself.”
