Escape: A Mob Stepbrother Romance

by Snow, Lucy

  I felt my cheeks redden. I don’t know how he did it, but my father always managed to make me feel like a child around him. I wasn’t sure yet if that was a skill or a curse.

  I was in no mood for games. And even if I was, my father didn’t like capes. “I know you better than this, father. You didn’t just invite me all the way down here to ask about the businesses. Why don’t you get to the point, so I can answer your questions, and then I can get back to work?”

  My father took a long sip from his drink, drawing out the point that he was in charge of the conversation, not me. We would go at his pace. Thankfully, after finishing with his sip, he decided to humor me for once. “Have you been in touch with your stepsister recently?” He looked at me as he finished speaking, his eyes boring into me like he was trying to read my memories directly from my brain.

  So that was it. My father did know that Kara was involved in something that. I had no idea how that was possible, but long ago I had given up figuring out just how my father got his information about things going on in the city, and just started hoping that if I ever took over, that he would will that information network to me as well.

  I had to assume he knew everything, right down to where I was staying with her at the cottage, everything up to things I hadn’t told anybody else. I was mildly irritated, that he must have someone following me, or at least keeping track of me, but I didn’t think now is the right time to bring up.

  “No, father, I haven’t heard from Kara in a long time. Why, has she done something?” I returned the favor with my eyes, daring him to call me out on my words.

  “No,” he quickly followed up, “just checking. I heard offhand that she might have gotten mixed up with something, and I just wanted to see if she had come to you for anything.”

  “We both know that’s unlikely. Kara and I have never gotten along.” At least that part was certainly true. Kara and I had barely managed to live in the same house together for the short time our parents were married.

  My father threw up his hands. “Yes, I never understood that. But then again, I barely understood her mother.” He smiled, ruefully.

  I couldn’t resist the opportunity. “There wasn’t much to Understand, father. Kara’s mother loved you, but she couldn’t stand what you did for a living. Eventually, she got tired of coming home to a house with armed guards in front of it.”

  My father stayed silent. It was familiar to us, something we were used to. One of us would say something out of turn, something that cut into the other deep, right where they didn’t need it, and the other would say nothing in return. Nothing would change; no lesson was learned.

  He leaned forward, Resting his elbows on his desk. “I’m watching you, Ronan.”

  Clearly, he was watching me. If he knew, which I had to assume he did, but I was lying about Kara, he must’ve had somebody watching me, detailing my every movement and interaction. Is that what he meant?

  “Watching me?”

  Apparently satisfied at my response, my father sat back. “Yes, watching you. I want to see how you handle tough situations, son. I’m not can be around forever, and I need to make sure this family is in good hands.” He pointed a bony finger at me. “Whether or not those hands are yours. That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

  “And what have you figured out so far?”

  “That, Ronan, remains to be seen. Like this thing with the Russians tomorrow. That is very important to the future of our family. I am trusting you with these negotiations, but if I think for a moment that you can’t handle the task, aren’t up to the pressure, I will go in there and do them myself if I have to. This isn’t about ego, this isn’t about pride, this is about the future of family. All that I have spent my life building. I have to know that I am leaving it in the right hands.”

  I stood up buttoning my jacket together. “Thank you for the vote of confidence, father. Will that be all?”

  My father stood up to, formally, and reached his hand out over his desk. That was new. I reached out and we shook hands, the first time we’ve done that in a very very long time. “Yes, Ronan, that is all.”

  I turned and walked out of the room. I got in about half way when my father stopped me.”Wait.” I stopped dead in my tracks And turned around. “It was…good to see you, son.”

  “Yes, father. Good to see you too,” I whispered. He gave a halfhearted wave, and I turned back around and left the room, heading right back to Pulse, and the real world.

  Chapter 12 - Kara

  I paced around the main room of the cottage, not quite sure what to do with myself. I could start on making dinner, but at the same time I didn’t know if Ronan was coming home for dinner at all.

  The closest thing I could find entertainment around here was an old bookshelf in the bedroom for the old lady who owned the house had kept her summer reading. It was all old romance novels.

  Not exactly something Ronan would be caught dead reading. I giggled at the very idea of him curling up by the fire in an easy chair and reading about dukes and duchesses playing at court games of romance and love. Or maybe that was just his thing, and I really didn’t understand my stepbrother as well as I thought I did?

  They were mostly historical romances, but there were definitely some Southern Gothic’s as well to. Nothing paranormal or anything like that, just a bunch of contemporaries and historical’s mostly. I read through all the back covers before deciding which one to start with, and got a few pages in before the phone rang.

  It was Ronan. “How are things over there?” He asked.

  I didn’t want to tell him about my attempt at escaping today, or at least thinking about it. “Good! I did a little shopping. You coming home for dinner?”

  Ronan paused, as if the question took him by surprise. Now that I thought about it, it was strange question. Ronan wasn’t exactly the type to have a girlfriend, nor was he the type to have someone asking if he was coming home anytime soon. It must’ve been weird to hear it. “…I’d like to, but somethings come up, I don’t think I can tonight. I have to be somewhere early, and tonight is a busy night at the club.”

  I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice, but I’m pretty sure that I was not successful. “Oh, okay, I understand. Yeah, it’s Saturday night, I should’ve realized that was a busy night for you.”

  “Yeah, biggest night of the week, and we have a guest DJ tonight,” came Ronan’s voice over the phone. “I won’t be there at all tonight but I will definitely try and make it over tomorrow. Sound good?”

  “Yeah,” I whispered, obviously crestfallen, then picked myself up. “Yeah, tomorrow sounds good. I’ll cook us dinner. You know, just a way to say thank you, you know for all you’ve done for me so far.”

  “I haven’t had home cooking in a long time so I’m arty looking forward to it. I gotta go, I’m in the car, and I just got to where I’m going. You have a good night, okay?”

  “Yeah. You too. Bye,” and I hung up the phone, before looking around the room.

  Well, now I had the evening to myself. I could get through a few of those romance novels, since at least some of them look pretty good. It would be interesting to see what romance novels from the 50s and 60s were like, compared to the ones that I picked up these days at the grocery store.

  I sat back down with my book and started to read, getting a few more pages in, before I suddenly put it down on the table.

  I couldn’t stay here like this. I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to be burdening roan with staying here in his place, and crapping on his lifestyle. I didn’t want to feel as helpless as I felt, sitting on a couch on a Saturday night, reading a romance novel, and trying to be as unobtrusive as possible.

  I wanted to be able to stretch and live my life, and I knew I couldn’t do that in this city, not right now, not with what I had seen, and not with who I thought might be after me.

  I needed to get out of here. I felt like the room was getting smaller by the moment. This cottage was becoming a c
age, a place where I could stay to be safe, but the walls were less like walls and more like bars every minute.

  Ronan had done so much for me, but that wasn’t enough. I needed to get out of here on my own. I stood up and went to the closet, finding a duffel bag, and packing all the stuff that I had bought, the clothing mostly, and some toiletries in there as quickly as I could.

  I took some of the stacks at the grocery store, leaving most of the new ingredients for the dinner that I plan on making him the next night. I felt bad about leaving after I told Ronan that I was making dinner, but I had a hunch she would appreciate not having me around, and being able to get back to his old lifestyle, just a little bit more than some dinky dinner made by his stepsister.

  I’m sure he could find someone on the staff at Pulse to make him a nice meal.

  About 20 minutes later, I was all packed up, with everything I could think to take with me. Once I figured out where I was going, and I got back on my feet, I would find a way to pay Ronan back for all the things I had taken, and the things I bought with his credit card, but for now, I needed these things a little more than he did. Plus, it didn’t exactly look like he was hurting for money, not with a penthouse apartment like the one I had seen last night, even briefly.

  I took the bag, washed my face, and got dressed, and was about to open the door, and step out into the night, when I turned and looked back at the cottage. It was funny how this place at grown on me even though it only lived there, if you could call it living there, for less than 24 hours.

  I didn’t know if Ronan had a habit of bringing girls here, but I didn’t think he did, and it felt like in just a short amount of time that we had created a small home for ourselves here. All of a sudden I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to live here, in this small little cottage, and not be afraid of what was outside. Not be afraid to leave, and have this be the perfect little house for two, or maybe more.

  I imagined coming home from work and starting on dinner fresh ingredients from a previous days trip to the grocery store waiting for me. I imagined Ronan coming home just as dinner was ready, from a long day at the office, ready to share a bottle of wine over a nice home-cooked meal and catch up, before we slid into bed together, and he made love to me just before bed.

  It didn’t sound like much, and it certainly didn’t sound like anything that was even remotely possible, but as I grasped at fragments of this impossible life, I could see how perfect it was, and it brought tears to my eyes.

  But it wasn’t meant to be. Not just because I was on the run, not just because they were mobsters who are trying to find me and keep me quiet, but because Ronan’s lifestyle was completely incompatible it as well. As much as I would like him to be, Ronan was not a man to go to the office and come home at night. His office was the nightclub, the back alley, and his work mostly took place at night, in places where the light to shine, and blood ran freely.

  For me to want some kind of normal life with a man like Ronan, even if you weren’t my stepbrother, was just wishful thinking, nothing more.

  Knowing that was the only thing that made it possible for me to open that door. If I had thought for even one moment that were possible for Roman and I build a life together, I never could’ve done it. I would’ve made myself some dinner, and sat down on the couch and read that novel. And when I’d finished it, I would start another. And I would find a way to relax, and bide my time until Ronan came.

  But that wasn’t happen. I was packed and ready to go.

  It was cold outside. The winds hit me as soon as I opened the door and stepped out. I close the door behind me, locking, and hiding the key under the mat. When I was on the bus and heading out of the city, I would call Ronan and tell him what he was.

  I gripped my bag closer to me as I walked down the driveway past the big house, and took a left down the street. This would probably be the last time that I came through this way, and it felt like more like home and I expected it to.

  The streets were mostly empty. I walked down on, seeing the closed storefronts on either side, wondering why there weren’t so many people around. Maybe it was the weather, or maybe most the people in this area were still at home, getting ready for fancy nights out. If this were any other weekend for me, I might be at home right now, figuring out what to wear before going out with some friends. Maybe to a club like Pulse, though that was a little fancy for me.

  I still looked around me and wondered if people were looking at me, wondering if one of them was my blonde villain from yesterday and the day before. I kept a watchful eye out, looking over my shoulder every so often, making sure I wasn’t all.

  There were so few people around if I was being followed it would be easy to recognize. Or maybe that’s what someone would want me to think.

  I’ve never taken a long-distance bus before, and I figured that it was the best way to get out of the city for as little money as possible, and with the lowest likelihood of anyone watching me. When you see someone trying to escape somewhere on TV, the cops and the bad guys always used to check the airports and the train stations, but no one ever seem to check the bus stations. That alone made it sound like the right place for me tonight.

  I knew vaguely where the bus station was, and once I got into that neighborhood, I could find my way pretty easily. Typically, from what I hear, bus stations are not in the nicest part of town, but we had recently renovated and almost rebuilt our entire bus station, and now it was practically a nice place to hang out, though no one actually did that. It was also in a relatively up-and-coming part of town, where a lot of people, people with money who are starting to flock to the city with the new high-tech sector, were moving to.

  The days of the bus station being shrouded in darkness were gone. As I got closer to it, more and more people showed up on the street, till I was almost walking with a crowd. I wasn’t sure where everyone was going, but restaurants are starting to open up for their dinner service, and I’m sure some of these people were heading out to bars before heading to clubs.

  I tried not to look around, not to look conspicuous at all, but from time to time I would catch the glances of people coming in my direction. They were all happy and eager, glad to be with friends and glad to be out and about Saturday night. I wish I could share their optimism.

  The only thing I was looking forward to now, was getting out of this city. I hoped that someday I could come back, but I knew that it would be a while is ever.

  All the sudden I caught the eye of the blond man walking toward me and I stopped dead in my tracks. Someone walking behind me stepped out of the way just before colliding into my back, looking over his shoulder as he passed by, telling me to watch my step.

  I turned back to look at the blond man he was gone. I didn’t know if it was the man from yesterday, the man who had killed Greg, but I couldn’t say for certain that it wasn’t him. Fear nodded in my stomach, and I didn’t know what to do.

  The bus station that seems so close just a few seconds ago, suddenly seemed so far away. Just like the walls at the cottage had closed in around me, I saw now like the people around me were suddenly closing in, all of them looking at me, all of them blonde, and all of them trying to find me and tell Greg’s killer where I was.

  I needed to get out of here. The only place it stuck out in my mind was safe was the cottage.

  I ducked into the doorway of a closed business, and stood there, breathing heavily and holding on to the window, trying to catch my breath. My phone rang, startling me with its vibration. I reached in my pocket and pulled out.

  It was Ronan. “Are you home right now?” There he was using that term, home, again. I’d started it now and he had picked it up. It sounded strange coming from his voice, even to the phone, but I did like it.

  “No,” I whispered into the phone, looking around just in case. “I just stepped out. Everything all right?”

  “I was just about to ask you the same question. You sound tense. Where are you?”

&
nbsp; “I’m on my way home, I’m okay. Why did you call?” I didn’t mean to sound rude, but this was a little out of the ordinary, especially given that I was in the middle of a near panic attack out in the street.

  “I just wanted to check in on you.” He paused. “I felt bad for not coming home tonight.” It sounded like that was something he’d had trouble saying. Probably wasn’t used to saying stuff like that.

  “That’s okay,” I reassured him. “I sure known you were to be busy.” Just hearing his voice sounded really nice, and lifted my spirits a whole lot. Knowing that he was thinking about me was such a small gesture, but at the same time it felt good to hear. It was just what I needed that moment. “Was there anything else?”

  “Yeah, there was.” Another pause. “I want you to be careful care I don’t want you to do anything that could be dangerous.”

  That sounded ominous. “You’re sounding really scary, Ronan. Is everything all right? What’s going on?”

  “I can’t talk about it now, and I have to go. I just want you to be careful, just watch out for yourself, okay?”

  “Uh, Okay,” was all I could say in reply. I didn’t really know how to take that. When you’re mobster stepbrother tells you to be careful, that tends to derail conversations.

  “I’ll come see you tomorrow, but I want you to go home now, and stay inside. Got it?”

  “Got it.” And I heard Ronan hang up, and I put the phone back in my pocket.

  Well, that was scary. I wonder if Ronan knew something that I didn’t. When it came to matters of violence, I Assumed he did. Now I had a decision to make – was I going to keep with my plan to try and escape town, or should I go home and hide out just like Ronan suggested?

  Ronan was being cryptic on the phone, and not giving me any more information. Maybe he didn’t know anything, maybe he was just being careful, or maybe he was really worried about something, or someone, that was coming after me.

  Maybe someone was watching the bus station this time, and the train station, and the airport. I guess I couldn’t take that risk. Even if I didn’t like staying at the cottage, for now, it might just be the safest place on earth for me. At least there, was, and if I needed him, he could come and rescue me.