by Cindi Madsen
“He can be when he wants, and he definitely knows how to charm people. He’s got so many connections, Cass, and he’s going to be so pissed you and I got away. I’ll be honest right now and say we’ll always have to be careful. It might mean moving around a lot.”
As he said it, the reality of their situation slammed into him, without the rosy lenses this time. A life on the run. Worrying anytime she wasn’t with him or was more than a few minutes late. What if Bobby got desperate for money and ended up going to Carlo with their location?
No, he wouldn’t do that.
Vince’s gut hit the floor. Not sober, but if he was using… He ran a hand over his face, telling himself he could work that all out later. Once they were farther away, he could think more steps ahead.
“I’m going to check the messages on my phone real quick. See if I can find out what’s going on.” He picked up the hotel phone, dialed his cell number, and then punched in the voicemail code.
Carlo’s voice filled his ear. “What the fuck’s going on, Vince? Did you take care of the waitress? I know things got screwed up, but just come in. We can fix it if you come in. If not, you know what I’m going to have to do. Please don’t make me do it. I should’ve…I should’ve listened to you. People are breathing down my neck and…just call me.”
Vince skipped to the next message. It was Bobby. “I know you might not get this, but if you do, tell your friend I looked up her friend, and I’m on my way to check in. She believes in me, and I’m doing it.”
Tell my friend I looked up her friend? What is he…? Vince shifted to face Cassie. “Bobby said he looked up your friend, and he’s checking into rehab. Anyway, I think that’s what he meant.” More than anything, he wanted it to work, but he knew having Bobby stuck in a rehab center for however many weeks would only make it easier for Carlo to find him, even if he used a fake name, which Vince prayed he’d been smart enough to do.
Of all the times to be responsible… please don’t let it get him killed.
“Annie’s the best,” Cassie said. “I hope he goes through with it. Just know that a lot of people have relapses…”
He hung up the phone, not bothering to listen to the next message from Carlo. “What’s going on? Suddenly I’m the optimist and you’re the pessimist?”
“I just don’t want to give you false hope. I’m just…I can’t…my mind’s sort of at maximum capacity with all my thoughts and worries right now.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “I’m sorry. Of course he’ll make it through. Then both of you will have shown Carlo what you’re made of. Well, without actually showing him, since he might kill you.”
Her face darkened. “I wish there was a way to ensure he doesn’t get away with it. Especially killing that guy—killing Eduardo.” She said his name with quiet reverence. “I think of his family, his son in Mexico, and it eats at my conscience. I don’t know if it’ll ever stop.”
Vince pulled her to him and kissed the concerned crinkle on her forehead. “We’ll think of something. But right now we need to hit the road.”
She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Okay. We can do this. We’ll start over, just like you said you wanted to.”
As he held her, his mind spun over exactly how he was going to keep the promise he’d made to her last night. Worry for Bobby mixed in, muddying every path he could think of, and a plan he really didn’t want to consider worked its way into his head. With Bobby stuck in one place, even if he’d covered his tracks, it was only a matter of time until Carlo found him.
He couldn’t leave his brother without protection right when he was working so hard to turn his life around. And he and Cassie could run forever, and she’d still never be safe.
There was only one way to keep her truly safe.
And it meant that he couldn’t be the one to start over with her.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Cassie checked out of the motel and collected the deposit while Vince went across the street to the grocery store. Apparently he needed a few more items.
“We good to go?” she asked as she climbed into the Jeep.
“Good to go,” he said, his eyes fixed on the road.
They merged onto I-81 and headed south. She kept thinking Vince was too quiet, but he’d never been especially chatty, so she took over for both of them. She commented on the scenery and asked for his opinion on dishes she knew how to make or wanted to learn how to make.
After she’d exhausted that line of questions, she fell quiet and just let herself soak in his rugged profile and the strong hands he’d run over her body last night and this morning. For a brief moment after they had sex in the shower, she worried she’d used it as an escape, the way she used to, and she didn’t want to repeat her past mistakes. But then she realized sex with Vince was a completely different kind of getting lost. Because she wasn’t running from her life, she was moving toward it.
Unconditional understanding and love was also involved, no fake intimacy about it.
When the split for I-70 came up, she expected Vince to head west, but he turned east instead. “I thought we were going to West Virginia,” she said.
“Minor change of plans. Just a small detour into Maryland.”
“Why?”
He looked across the Jeep at her and every one of her organs turned to stone. “Vince, why?”
“The Jeep’s too distinctive, and airlines aren’t going to take cash no matter how much you or I flirt with the desk clerks, not to mention flights are too easy to track. So I’m heading to the nearest Greyhound station.”
Her panic eased, everything inside her body slowly figuring out how to function again. “You scared me there for a second. Jeez.”
He reached over and wrapped his hand around her thigh. “I wish I would’ve had enough time to get credit cards with our new identities, but the people I know who could do it also know Carlo, so cash will have to do for now.”
She placed her hand on his. “We’ll make it work.”
There was a sad edge to his smile, and she wanted to do whatever it took to calm his worries, the way he did hers. She took a stab at what was bothering him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more enthusiastic about Bobby. It’s really great. I say we both be optimistic, glass-full people from now on. Starting over’s going to be an adventure, too, and you know I vowed to have more of those.”
She couldn’t stop rambling, but she got this strange vibe, like if she stopped talking, stopped hoping, then everything would crumble.
Vince pulled up to the Greyhound station in Frederick. He handed her a bulging pale pink and gray backpack. “They didn’t have bright pink, but I figure we’re going for inconspicuous, anyway. Your clothes and your pictures are in it. Just sorting out things a bit to make it easier.”
“Oh. Okay, thanks.” She grabbed it with one hand, but quickly added the other when it ended up being heavier than she suspected. “And pale pink is still awesome.”
Vince came around the Jeep and opened the door for her. The frigid wind slammed into her, and she tugged the jacket she’d confiscated from him tighter around herself as she took his extended hand.
“Aren’t you going to get your bag?” she asked as they started toward the station.
“It’s got all the weapons and it’s heavy, so I’m leaving it here while we check the bus schedule.”
Weapons. Right. When Cassie searched the duffel for her purse she’d seen another pistol and a knife that made hers look wimpy in comparison. Hmm. My knife’s probably still somewhere in Vince’s Jeep. Good riddance.
Once they stepped into the station, Vince led her to a row of seats. “Sit here while I figure out where we should go and then buy tickets.”
“Why don’t I just come with you?”
“Please,” he said. “After what happened in your apartment, people might be looking for you. I need you to stay out of sight as much as possible.”
She resented it and refused to say “okay,” but she sat down and crossed
her arms. Vince gave her another one of those smiles that didn’t reach his eyes before heading over to the ticket booth.
He’s definitely acting weird. Cagey. She tried to tell herself it was simply the stress and having to work out their next move, but an ominous wrongness made her skin feel too tight.
A few minutes later, Vince walked over and sat next to her. He took her hand and leveled her with his brown eyes. “You trust me, right?”
The tightness got worse, and a band formed around her chest, squeezing a little more with each breath. “You know I do.”
“You’re leaving in fifteen minutes to Oklahoma City.” He unzipped the front pocket of her backpack and pulled out papers and a driver’s license that identified her as Kate Jones. “I want you to get off at one of the stops along the way and change your destination. You’ll probably have to buy a new ticket, but it’s worth it. Don’t settle in whatever city you land in. Get a car and pick another city. Somewhere fairly big, so that even if someone learns your fake name, you’ll get lost with the rest of the Kate Joneses.”
Cassie’s mind raced, and the band around her chest got so tight her lungs stopped taking in air. “I don’t understand. You’re not coming with me?”
He brushed her hair off her face settled his hand behind her neck. “You were right. It’s about time Carlo pays for his crimes. I’m going to make sure that happens before he hurts you or Bobby.”
“But I meant we should figure out something together.” Hysteria raised her voice an octave higher than usual. “If you go back, he’ll kill you.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan. If I went with you now, it would make it more dangerous for you and put Bobby at risk. Since Carlo won’t stop until he kills you, I’m going to convince him you’re dead. Promise me you’ll go somewhere else and start over. Go to culinary school, become a chef. Live out your adventures—the skiing, rollercoaster kind. I won’t be able to do what I need to do if I’m worrying about you, too.”
He leaned closer and said in a low voice, “I put a pistol in the bottom of your bag. The safety’s on and the clip’s out, but I want you to learn how to use it.”
“I’m from Colorado. My dad taught me how to use a gun before he taught me to drive.”
A genuine smile hit his lips this time. “Good. That makes me feel better.”
Tears burned her eyes, even as she tried to blink them back. “How are you going to find me after everything’s finished with Mr. Rossi?”
The muscles of his jaw tightened and so did the hand holding hers. “The point is for no one to be able to find you. Not even me.”
She opened her mouth to argue, and he pressed a finger to her lips. “I should’ve convinced you to change your name and get as far from Jersey as soon as we survived that drive-by instead of pretending everything would work out simply because I wanted it to. More than anything, I want you to be safe, and that’ll never happen while you’re with me.”
“I only feel safe with you,” she said, and a warm tear ran down her cheek, immediately followed by another, so her attempts to not cry had totally failed.
Vince wiped them away with his thumb. “Please don’t cry, baby. I already feel bad enough.”
“I don’t want to go back to being alone. You ruined me. I can’t go back now that I know what it’s like to be with someone I can be myself around. Someone to share dreams with.”
He closed his eyes, just for a quick moment, and then they met hers. “Find another someone. Someone better.” He wound a strand of her hair around his finger. “Maybe try to find someone whose boss—whose uncle—hasn’t sent them to kill you.”
“Is that supposed to be funny? I can’t just find another someone.” More tears spilled down her cheeks. “You’re it. I love you.”
“And I love you. That’s why there’s no other way.”
The announcement that the bus for Oklahoma City was now boarding came over the speaker. “You need to go,” Vince said. “You’ve got all of your cash, plus I put most of my stash in the backpack. I wish it was more, but between bailing out Bobby and giving him money for rehab, it’s not as much as I’d hoped. But it should at least get you started.”
“I don’t want your money. I want to come with you and help. I’d rather risk being shot than start over again.”
“Well, I’m not willing to risk it.” He grabbed the stupid pink backpack, pulled her out of her seat, and started toward the bus loading area. The stubborn donkey philosophy seemed as good as any, so she dragged her feet and pulled against him.
Unfortunately, Vince was strong enough that she wasn’t sure he even noticed. “Do I have to carry you onto the bus? Because I swear to God I will.”
“If you try it, I’ll start screaming.”
Vince spun around and tugged her to him, so fast her chest bumped into his. “Please don’t make this harder than it already is, Cassie. I love you, and if you love me, you’ll do this.”
“You’re not playing fair,” she said, and a fresh wave of tears rose up.
Vince crashed his mouth over hers. The kiss was wild, reckless, half-torture, all pleasure. His tongue memorized hers, and her body molded to his, the flood of sensations nearly sending to her knees.
When he broke the kiss, both of them were gasping for air. As the rest of the world pushed in, she realized they’d gained the attention of everyone around them. Vince leaned in, and his lips brushed her ear. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said, and then he strode away and never looked back.
Chapter Thirty-Four
At least the bus hadn’t been completely booked, allowing for a few empty seats. Cassie would’ve felt sorry for anyone forced to endure her crying, sniffling, and subsequent stormy mood.
Four miserable hours had passed, and she hadn’t bothered stretching her legs at the first twenty-minute stop. But by the time they pulled in to Pittsburgh for their dinner stop, her body ached to move, and her stomach protested skipping the chance to eat. She frowned at the sign announcing their location—considering she’d left the state this morning to go to Maryland, only to come back, it felt like she was going in circles.
On autopilot, she walked into the diner and sat at the counter, which only reminded her how alone she was. When the waitress came by, she asked for a club sandwich.
“Excuse me?”
A neatly dressed woman with a stylish white bob smiled warmly, while the man next to her looked like he wanted to bolt. If she had to guess, she’d put the couple in the late sixties age range.
“Now, Maude, remember how we’re going to stay out of other people’s business?” he asked, gently nudging her toward a table. Or at least trying to; Maude was obviously better at dragging her heels than Cassie.
“Thanks for the reminder, Harold, but I just want to chat with her for a minute.” She made a shooing gesture. “Go have a seat and order me the special when they come by.”
Harold shook his head and made his way over to a booth, muttering under his breath. Maude sat on the stool next to Cassie. “I’m Maude, and I can’t help but notice you’ve had a rough day.”
“It’s been a little rough, but I’m fine, really.” Cassie even attempted a smile, but it didn’t feel right.
The skeptical press of Maude’s lips told her she wasn’t buying it. “My husband’s right. I get into other people’s business, but I like to think I help, and you, missy, look like you can use some help. So, unload. You rant or cry, and I’ll listen. After we hash it out, we’ll order a slice of pie, and you’ll feel better, I guarantee it.”
Cassie wondered how Maude would react to her telling the truth—she was on the run from the Mafia because she’d witnessed a murder, and to top it off, she’d fallen in love with the man who’d been sent to kill her. Oh, and he also happened to be the bad guy’s nephew. She doubted Maude would say, “My friend Gladys had the same thing happen to her!”
At least it’s an original problem, she thought, not sure whether she should laugh or c
ry.
“It’s that guy, isn’t it? The whole station saw that goodbye kiss, let me tell you.” Maude fanned her face. “Are you missing him already?”
“Yeah,” Cassie answered truthfully. “The problem is that I’ll miss him forever. That was goodbye.” Tears got caught in her throat, and she swallowed them down. No more crying.
“Oh, I don’t believe that. It might seem impossible now, but you two obviously have something special. You’ll work it out.”
“Sometimes it’s more complicated than that.”
“Harold and I have been married for forty-three years. There’s been plenty ups and downs, but when you find the one you love, you do whatever it takes. You’ll find your way back to each other.”
“Maude,” Harold said in the loudest whisper Cassie had ever heard. His wife pretended not to hear him.
“So…?” Maude raised her eyebrows, and Cassie realized she was waiting for her name.
“Ca—Katie.” Her license said Kate, but since Katie was closer to her name, she figured it’d be easier to answer to.
“What’s keeping you and your man apart, Katie? A military deployment? Long distance relationship?” she asked, her eyebrows twitching up more with each question. “Just tell me if I’m getting too personal, and I’ll go over to Harold before he has a stroke.”
Cassie hid a smile behind her fist, surprised to find she even had the ability to form one after this hellacious day. “Thank you so much for checking on me, but I’m really not ready to talk about it yet.”
“Sure, sure.” Maude patted her arm. “If you change your mind, let me know. I don’t want you to feel like you’re all alone.”
Alone. Her heart knotted. That was exactly what she felt like.
Maude headed back to her husband, and the waitress placed Cassie’s food in front of her. Suddenly eating no longer appealed to her, but she forced herself to take bites.
For a long time she’d isolated herself, but between the woman in the store yesterday and Maude’s going out of her way to check on her, Cassie realized there were a lot of kind people out there. After everything that’d happened, and with her memory of the murder in the alley back, it’d be tempting to give up on people and hide from the world again.
