by Kira Adams
I don’t get a chance to answer that question before I feel fingers wrapping around my wrist and then yanking me up. Stefano has fire in his eyes as he stares back at me. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Trying to wiggle free of his grasp proves fruitless, so I give up. “I didn’t mean any harm…I just thought maybe there might be something in there that might fit me better.” Tugging at the oversized sweatshirt with my loose hand, I’m hoping he gets where I’m coming from.
His eyes still look like daggers, but something softens on his face. It’s slight, but noticeable.
“I’m sorry; really, I didn’t mean to overstep in any way. I wasn’t really thinking.” His grasp has not lessened, but his expression has changed. The anger has subsided and now there is only sadness remaining. He drops my wrist and turns around, his back heaving up and down.
Most days he would look like the most put together of the entire bunch. If you saw them walking on the street, you’d put your bets on Stefano for having his shit together…but no one is prepared for loss. No one. He’s doing better than any of them ever expected.
His eyes drag up and down my dirty clothes before he takes a few hesitant steps toward the luggage. “I haven’t opened it since…”
He doesn’t have to finish the sentence for it to break my heart. He loved her with everything he had in him. Someday, I hope to experience a fraction of that kind of love.
“Trinity wouldn’t have been selfish. She would have wanted you to feel comfortable,” he says, a look of consideration on his face. “Pick out whatever you want; I just need to get some air for a few.” He’s up and out the door within seconds, before letting me respond.
Even though it isn’t an ideal situation, it’s better than being stuck in the same damn smelly clothes forever.
“You talked Stefano into it. We didn’t think you had it in you,” Bo says, as both he and Kevin enter the hotel room.
Staring down at the t-shirt and shorts, I shrug. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“We need to get you some actual clothes,” Kevin points out, plopping down on the sofa.
“That would be nice. I mean, if we actually ever settle somewhere permanently, maybe I could have more than one change of clothes.”
Kevin and Bo exchange wary glances with one another and again, I know I’ve overstepped. I’ve assumed I’m part of their future plans, but I’ve never been part of them before, so why now?
“I mean, anything would be nice to have…” I back pedal quickly hoping it won’t be too much of an issue.
“I’m going to go look for Stefano. See ya guys later,” Kevin hollers over his shoulder, as he quickly leaves.
Bo and I are the only ones remaining. “Bo, do you think we could take a walk today?” Before we left the farmhouse, he was letting me out nightly to walk the premises and get fresh air.
He seems to contemplate it before answering. “You know that’s not a good idea. There are a lot of people looking for you and a big bounty to be paid if they find you and return you to Eduardo.”
Sighing, I bury my head into my pillow. “It’s like I traded one jail for another.”
“You know, we are doing our best. Keeping you safe as well as keeping our heads off the chopping block. A little gratefulness can go a long way.”
I raise my head slowly, my eyes locking with his. “I’m thankful to be alive and away from there, believe me…it’s just I imagined it would look differently than this.”
“And what does that mean?”
“I don’t know. I envisioned freedom – pure and real freedom. There’s no other way to explain it. My entire life I’ve felt like I’m a bird with clipped wings. All of my decisions made for me; I’ve never had any room to stretch my legs.”
Bo stares back at me with a sense of sadness and sympathy.
“It’s okay, don’t feel bad for me.”
“If you could do one thing in the world today, what would it be and why?” Bo asks, staring me down from the couch.
Sitting up, I clutch the pillow to my chest. “It’s going to sound stupid, but I’d want to go to the mall and go shopping.” I’ve never really been given a chance to do that before, so it would be interesting to see what might catch my attention.
“Such a girlie answer,” he teases me.
“Fine, if we weren’t on the run from Eduardo, how would you be spending your perfect day?” Besides the little amount the guys have shared with and around me, I don’t know much about their pasts.
He sighs, throwing his arm behind his head as a pillow. “I’d be in the studio.”
“Like recording studio?”
He nods. “Yeah, I’d be making beats and producing music.”
The fact that he is into music attracts me. I’ve been singing my entire life and although it’s never been something I’ve pursued on a deeper level, I’ve always been interested to do so. “What kind of music do you make?”
“EDM, rock, R&B, soul, anything really.”
My mouth lifts into a small smile. “I’d love to hear something, someday.”
He runs his hand over his hair. “I don’t really play my music for anyone.”
“No one?”
He shakes his head.
“Why not?”
He sits up, propping his elbows on his knees. “If I don’t play my music for other people, I won’t be judged.”
My eyes widen. “Yeah, but if you don’t play your music for other people, you won’t know if it’s any good.”
“Harsh, Mikhaela,” he says, with a nervous smile.
“It’s the truth. You should just be thankful that someone here is willing to tell you it.” Again, maybe a little blunt, but it’s what I’m good at.
This elicits a smile from him. “How did Eduardo keep you locked away for so long?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, curiously.
“I mean that you’re a fireball. How was he able to trump everything?”
I laugh. “I don’t know if you’ve seen the house I grew up in, but once you’ve been inside those walls you’d understand.”
His expression turns serious. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” I stopped blaming others for what Eduardo did to me, long ago.
Seconds later Kevin and Stefano walk back through the door. Stefano’s eyes are red, puffy, and bloodshot. Kevin’s hand has not left his shoulder since they entered. “Come on, man. You can’t keep beating yourself up over this.”
Bo glances at me and then back at his two buddies. “I should…” he motions with his head toward Kevin and Stefano.
“Yeah, yeah, go.”
He does as instructed, but lingers on the stare a bit too long for comfort.
We get to the office building early because Bo warns the entire process is going to take a while. He goes in with Kevin and leaves Stefano with me. Stefano, still shaken up, decides to take a walk. Within no time, it’s just me.
There was an oversized shirt in Trinity’s belongings that fits me a lot better than the sweatshirt. On her, she might have looked as though she was drowning in it, but on me, it’s only slightly larger than my normal size. Unfortunately, that means my arms are out and on display, but I’m coming to terms with it all. It’s not like there is anything I can do to erase the marks, so accepting them feels like the right thing to do.
The weather is beautiful, but hot. The melt-your-face-off kind of hot, if you sit in it for too long. Thank goodness they left me the keys to the car. The a/c blows directly on my face, making my hair dance.
“Ms. Ramirez, a word please?” A well, put-together blonde female knocks on the rolled-up window. She is wearing a navy-blue suit that means business and the fact that she knows my name is not good.
Rolling down the window hesitantly, my eyes scan the surroundings. She appears to be alone, but if she was working with anyone else, they could also be out of eyesight.
“I’m going to need you to come with me,” the woman orders, al
ready opening the car door by reaching her hand in and unlocking it from the inside. My heart begins racing.
“Who are you?” The woman looks far too clean to be working for my father…but maybe it’s a smoke screen.
She pulls out a badge which clearly reads ‘FBI’. My heart sinks into my stomach. She turns around and starts to walk across the street to an unmarked black sedan. “Come on, we’re going to take a ride.”
Glancing around, the guys are nowhere in sight. Unfortunately, when it comes to the government, you don’t really have a choice. Begrudgingly, I lock the car and follow behind her.
It’s a silent ride for the first fifteen minutes, but then she breaks the ice. “I’m Agent Tanasbourne.” When I don’t immediately reach out to shake her hand, she continues. “We know who you are, Mikhaela…and we know what you did.”
It feels like my heart is a jackhammer. “I didn’t do anything.”
She looks at me with a telling smirk. “Okay, maybe not you directly, but the trio you’ve been on the run with. Ever heard of guilty by association?”
“What do you want from me?”
She sighs, sliding her sunglasses up to the top of her head. Her emerald green eyes look right into mine. “Mikhaela, if we found you, then your father can find you. You aren’t safe.”
Her words scare the absolute shit out of me. My eyes dart around anxiously. Anyone who knows of my father knows how dangerous he is. If the FBI knows the real extent of everything that has happened behind closed doors then my father is in more trouble than even he knows.
“You’re not in any immediate danger…for now. But you and I both know he isn’t going to let you cross that border.” She knows everything. Her eyes drop to the scars littering my arms, making me feel self-conscious. My arms instinctively cross in front of my body to stop the stare.
“What do you want from me?” I repeat my question from earlier.
“We want Eduardo.” Her answer does not surprise me in the least. He’s been on America’s Most Wanted list for the last ten years. The reason he moved us to Nashville in the first place was that he was trying to lay low. He’s been back and forth from Mexico, eluding police since before I was adopted.
To be honest, it never felt as though he would ever be caught. He mastered the art of evasion.
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you. You say you know what moves we’ve been making. If that was true, you’d know that my father hasn’t spoken to me since everything went down.”
She rolls her eyes. “You think we’re stupid. You forget we have ears, everywhere. We know everything.” She pauses, running her hand over her mouth. “Your father has been looking high and low for you and he’s close. Your cousin is only about forty miles away as we speak.”
The idea of them being so close without my knowledge upsets me. “What do you want me to do?”
“We need you to be bait.”
“If you know all of his moves, why haven’t you just arrested him yet?” The game they are playing is confusing.
“If only it were that simple. Your father has been dodging us for so many years; he’s a pro at it.” She pauses, grimacing. “Look, we’ve been following you since we heard your father on the tapped line ordering out hits left and right, after his money was stolen. He’s angry and he’s going to do anything and everything to find you.”
“If that’s true then he probably already knows you are following him, no?” Again, the whole situation is rather confusing.
“Listen, here’s the bottom line: your father is not going to let you cross into Canada, period. He’s been in touch with your cousin all day and they have plans to intercept you before it gets to that point. We’ve been listening in on their calls through your cousin’s tapped line. You’re out of time, Mikhaela. You either help us with what we need and walk out scot free or risk being caught by your cousin and forced back into your old life.”
“How can you guarantee that after all of this I will be free?” Skeptical doesn’t even come close.
She locks eyes with me, staring deeply into mine. “We can get you a new identity. A legal one that will be recognized by the state and government.”
“So, what then? Where will I go? Where will I live? I will have a new name, but nothing else will have changed.” So far, it seems as though they will be benefiting a lot more than me.
“Mikhaela, we want to help you. We can help you start over. You can’t go too far because we are going to need you to be a witness for the prosecution.”
My eyes widen as her words sink in. “There’s the catch. You want to use me as the star witness, put me right back into the lion’s den, and then toss me to the side once you have what you need.”
Agent Tanasbourne’s facial expression softens and she lowers her voice. “Look, I know what you’ve been through living in that house. I know that you just want to live a normal life, and we can help you with that. We will cover the expenses of an apartment, your new credentials, and groceries for the first year if you can just help us catch him. You will get a chance at a new start and we will have the man that has been hiding from us for all these years. It’s a win-win.”
Realizing that we have been away for far longer than expected, my body jolts. “We’ve been gone for a long time. They might be back already.”
She nods, her facial expression unbothered. Pressing a button on an earpiece she has, she speaks into it loudly. “Can you give me an ETA on the subjects, please?”
After a couple of moments of concentration, she turns her focus back to me. “They are still in the process of getting the documents, although my eyes tell me that Stefano is close and on foot. You should probably go.” She hands me a business card. “That has my cell on it. Call, text, whatever you want – just don’t let it be too late.”
The car abruptly stops and without even realizing it, we are right back in front of my vehicle. The door unlocks and she opens it for me. “Think about what I said. If we don’t help you tonight, we may never get a chance.”
Climbing out, her words toss and turn repeatedly in my brain. If we don’t help you tonight, we may never get a chance.
Bo
“That couldn’t have gone any smoother,” Ammo claps his hands as we enter the elevator.
Call it intuition, call it a premonition, but something feels off about how simple everything has been. My eyes shift around the small metal box cautiously, my mind racing.
“What’s wrong, man? We got what we came here for and now we can leave the country. Isn’t that what we wanted?”
It’s hard to put it into words but it’s more of a gut feeling than anything else is. “I don’t know. Have you talked to Stefano?”
Ammo laughs. “Dude, I’ve been with you the whole time. When would I have done that?”
He’s right, but paranoia is taking over. It’s as if the universe is telling me that something is about to pop off. Anxiety grips me by the collar. Until we get outside and see the two of them, I’m going to be uneasy.
When we finally reach the doors of the tall office building, the rental car comes into sight, calming my nerves. We are too far away to see if they are inside, but it’s a good sign. Approaching the car, it appears empty. My eyes scan our surroundings, looking for any sight of them, but it’s getting darker by the minute.
“Can you call Money?” I ask Ammo before feeling a hand on my back. Stefano magically appears behind me.
“Hey!” I exclaim, shaken. “We were just going to try to call you. Where’s Mikhaela?”
He shrugs. “She isn’t with me. She was in the car when I left.”
My head swivels back and forth in various directions. There is no sign of her anywhere. Unfortunately, for us she does not have a phone, so locating her could be quite frustrating. Would she have just walked off like that?
“How come you didn’t stay with her?” My tone comes off scolding.
Stefano gives me a look that shuts me up right away.
“Dude, you don’t
think…” Ammo trails off once it begins sinking in. “No. There’s no way. We are so close. She had to have just walked off for some air or something. Or maybe she was thirsty or needed to use the bathroom? She’s a female, they have needs…”
His rambling is not helping. Each second that passes by drives my anxiety higher and higher. Over the last week of traveling with her, we’ve grown fond of her. It’s our fault she’s in this mess, but she’s adjusted quite fine. Although she could never fill Trinity’s shoes, it’s been nice to have some estrogen to keep us in check.
A black sedan pulls right up to the side of the rental car and a tinted window slowly rolls down. Inside, a blonde female with piercing green eyes, stares back at us. “Bo Drake, Kevin Olsen, Stefano Moretti, I’m going to need you to come with me.”
Ammo and I share worried glances. No one calls us by our real names and where did she even come from? Does she know where Mikhaela might be? “Who are you?”
She opens the car door, stepping out. She’s a gargantuan of a female, towering over all three of us. A badge hangs from her left blazer pocket. It’s an FBI badge. The color drains from my face.
“Gentleman, my name is Agent Tanasbourne, but you can call me Laura.” She locks eyes with each of us before continuing. “We need to get out of sight; can you follow me to a secure meeting area?”
“We’re not going anywhere until you tell us what you did with Mikhaela.” Probably not a great thing to be forceful with the government, but they must know where she is.
“That’s the thing, Mr. Drake; we didn’t do anything with her. Her cousin got to her and in order to have him lead us to Eduardo, we couldn’t interfere and blow our cover.”
My heart drops into my gut. She told me stories about her cousin and his ruthless ways. When we asked her what he might do to her once they found her, she couldn’t even answer.
