Dominic
I drive around and only stop to put in gas and let Sofia stretch her legs, but I need to keep moving. I don’t know how they’re following us, but they are.
My only concern is that I get us to the rental place as soon as it opens, grab the four-by-four vehicle I’ve rented and get some distance between us and this area.
I park outside the building. I can feel Sofia has gone a bit slack, and I know she’s exhausted, but she can sleep in the car. She protests but climbs off the motorbike. I have her wait just inside while I call Alessandro.
“Everyone is looking for you two,” he says immediately. “Every single affiliate of Jose’s is out for your blood and to bring that girl to him.”
I sigh. “They’re cropping up everywhere. I’ve had to move the whole night. But I think I’ve lost them now. I’m switching vehicles. Is there any news on Facuno?”
“He’s only loyal to Jose because he’s been bullied from what I can tell, but there’s something that doesn’t add up. I agree. Something feels fishy.” He sighs. “Just get somewhere safe. Try one of the safe houses if you have to.”
I glance around. “I will. I’ll call you later today.”
I hang up, take the sim card out and get rid of it. I’m running out of burner phones. I’ll have to get some more.
I go to the checkout desk and hand over my license. It’s not long before I’ve signed everything and got the keys. We check over the vehicle to ensure there are no scratches or dents, and she lets us leave. I throw my stuff in the trunk and climb in. As soon as Sofia is in, she curls up and closes her eyes.
I don’t blame her.
I pull out of the parking and start to drive.
I consider all the safe houses I can go to, but something keeps throwing me off. I just feel like I’m missing something, but I can’t put my finger on what that is.
I pull off into a game reserve and park. I settle back to sleep for a while with Sofia. It’s been a long night, and I don’t know when we’ll next get a chance to sleep.
I wake up to a knock on the window and reach for my gun, but it’s a park ranger standing outside the car. I roll down the window, “Yeah?”
“Sorry, sir, you can’t sleep here. There’s no loitering. You’ll have to move on,” he says, looking at me seriously.
I roll my eyes and start the car. “I was done sleeping anyway.”
He walks away, and Sofia stirs next to me. “Where are we?”
“Leaving,” I say with a huff. “I stopped to get some shut-eye.”
Sofia looks around. “Where are we going next?”
“I’m still trying to decide,” I admit. “At least the car is more comfortable. There’s going to be a lot of driving.”
Sofia glances around and settles down. “I think I know this area.”
“That’s nice,” I say sarcastically, as though I need directions from someone when I’ve lived in New York all my life.
She frowns and mumbles something under her breath, but I don’t catch what she says. I look in the review mirror and see a car behind us with three burly-looking men in it.
“Dammit, they’ve found us again!” I growl, speeding up.
“How?” Sofia cries, glancing back at the car speeding up to keep up with me. I take a sharp right and punch the gas. I weave through traffic, regretting not having the motorbike now.
“Go left, go left,” Sofia says. “I know where we can hide.”
“Just shut up and buckle up,” I shout back, hitting a right and driving as fast as possible. I mount the sidewalk twice to maneuver around traffic. Horns blare behind me as I do so, and people on the sidewalk jump out of the way, screaming obscenities.
“Just go around the block. I know where we’ll be safe,” Sofia shouts angrily.
“Will you just shut up!” I yell, turning into an alleyway. It’s a dead end, and Sofia panics.
“Oh, God, what now? What now?”
“Get low and stay low,” I growl, getting out of the car and opening the back door to crouch behind.
The car crawls into the alleyway behind us, knowing we’re trapped. They stop the car and slowly get out.
The passenger in front calls, “Give it up, Sorvino. We got you trapped.”
“I’d love to give her up, but I wouldn’t want to punish you guys. She’s really annoying,” I call back before I position myself in the gap between door and car and start firing. They duck behind their doors and fire back. Three times they hit the car, and I groan. There goes my deposit.
I focus and fire, hitting one guy in the chest through a window. The back window of my car shatters, and Sofia screams. “Stay down,” I yell.
I could roll a grenade, but then we’re trapped here. We won’t be able to reverse out and get out of here, which could be precarious.
I watch them as they reload. The other passenger has moved forward to take over from his fallen comrade. His head is just peaking over the lip of the window-too small a target to try and hit.
I snort and aim low, hitting the guy in the leg and bringing him down, then I fire consecutively until I’m sure he’s dead.
The driver doesn’t seem to want to take a chance and jumps back into his vehicle, reversing out with squealing tires. His open passenger doors rip off in his efforts, but he doesn’t stop.
I wait to see if he’s coming back, but he races off, so I climb back into my car, shut the door, and start the engine with a small prayer.
It doesn’t start. “Dammit, Princess, get out. We need to get out of here.”
She is shaking as she opens the door and slowly climbs out. I grab our things from the trunk and roar, “Hustle, Princess, hustle. There’s no time for bullshit.”
She’s staring at the bodies lying in the alleyway, and I grab her arm, marching her past them. She looks at me fearfully, but I don’t have time for this. We need to find a new set of wheels and fast.
I lead her down the block and toward a busy area. I look around, trying to work out where we ended up. It always looks different when you walk, at least to me anyway.
Sofia pulls out of my grasp and walks beside me. “You killed those men.”
“Those men wanted to kill me and to take you,” I point out, leading her toward a shopping mall. “Come on. We’re going to jack a car for now.”
“But won’t the police arrest you?”
I stop and stare at her. “Really? That’s what you’re worried about?”
She blushes and looks away. “I just thought we were supposed to be lying low.”
“We will be, we just need to get away from this area, and they know what car we were in,” I say, walking toward the far end of the parking lot where there are cars.
Sofia keeps up, running a hand through her hair. “How do they keep finding us? I thought you were good at this!”
“I am,” I growl. “Something isn’t adding up.”
Sofia
Dominic pulls me along until I pull away from him and simply keep up. “If you had just listened to me, we wouldn’t be in this mess.’
“Listen, Princess…”
“Stop calling me princess. I have a fucking name,” I snap at him, sick of his bullshit.
He sighs but doesn’t say anything to me. I walk beside him, “Men!
It’s impossible for you to take directions, especially from a woman!”
We weave through the cars in the parking lot, and I point to some in the middle. “Those look reliable if you can break into them.”
He snorts. “We want something a little less conspicuous. This will do.”
He stops outside a rusted sedan. I roll my eyes. “Are you serious?”
He opens the door, which is unlocked, and tosses his things in the back. “Get in or stay here. At this point, I don’t give a fuck.”
I hurry around the car and climb in. I can’t believe the gall of this guy. He needs my father’s help and is treating me like shit.
“Can I at least know where we’re going now?” I ask as he pulls out some wires and starts hot wiring the car.
“Central park,” he says. “Hold onto your hair clip, honey, ’cause this isn’t going to be as smooth as the Land Rover.”
I roll my eyes, he is so lame it isn’t even funny, and his cutesy names for me are wearing me down. The sedan revs to life, and he puts it into gear, pulling out of the parking lot.
Strange noises are coming from the engine almost as soon as we join traffic. “How long until we get there?” I ask, concerned as I spot some smoke coming from the engine.
“About an hour and a half. Why?” he asks.
“I don’t think this car will get us that far,” I say wearily. “There’s smoke coming out the engine.”
Dominic waves a hand. “The owner has been driving like this, so it should be fine. We’ll drive slower and take a little longer to get there.”
I shake my head but settle back and look for my seat belt. There isn’t one. Great! Isn’t this super safe!
After driving for almost twenty minutes, Dominic mutters to himself, “Shit.”
I look over at him. “What is it?”
“Car’s getting a bit hot. We may have to pull over for a bit. I’ll stop at the next gas station and top up the water,” he explains, hitting the steering wheel.
“Can’t you just steal a car that isn’t from a thousand years ago and that actually runs?” I ask with a hint of snark in my voice.
Dominic doesn’t look at me. He stares straight ahead, and I think I see his lips move for a moment.
“Are you counting?” I ask with a frown.
“Counting, so I don’t shoot you myself,” he retorts. “Just keep quiet and stop trying to be helpful. You aren’t helping. You’re just irritating me.”
I look out the window. “Fine, see if I offer any more help.”
“That’s the point,” he snaps. “I don’t want you to. Just shut the fuck up.”
I don’t respond, he’s angry, and I don’t know how far he’ll go before he does snap and does something to me. He’ll make sure my body is never found. I don’t have to remind myself that he’s a killer and a good one at that.
While driving, he takes out a phone and dials a number. “Hey, it’s me. I need a car. Can you get one to me?”
I listen, but I can’t determine what the other end’s voice says.
“I’ll send you where you can drop it once I stop,” Dominic says.
“Just get it there. I’ll do the rest.”
He pauses, and the voice gets slightly raised, so he says, “They attacked me, I just… took them out. They’re the ones doing this in public,
Alessandro.”
I look at him, confused. Is he getting into trouble for shooting those men? I frown, I know he had to do it to save us, but clearly, someone isn’t happy we just left the bodies there.
“I know, I know. I’ll clean it up once I’ve delivered her. Just relax.
I’ll speak to you later.” He hangs up and tosses the phone to me. I catch it.
“Take the sim card out,” he explains. “And break it in half and toss it out the window.”
I start to open the phone. “Why?”
“So they can’t track us,” he says. I break the sim card in half, which is really hard because it’s small, then roll down the window and toss it out. As I finish rolling the window up, the lever for the window comes off in my hand. “This is seriously a piece of junk.”
Dominic shakes his head. “Please stop whining.”
There is a spluttering sound from the front of the car, and Dominic and I look at each other.
“I’m not trying to be helpful. I’m just pointing out the obvious, and it’s obviously not a good sign,” I say, holding my hands up in surrender.
Dominic’s eyebrows knit together, and he growls, “Piece of shit car.
Let’s take the next off ramp and find somewhere to stay.”
“I’m really grateful you saved me, but can we also get me some clothes and some food?” I ask. “‘Cause I’m fucking hungry, and your clothes are literally falling off me. Again, I’m super grateful you saved me.”
Dominic mumbles, something I don’t catch, but I don’t ask him what it is. He takes the next turn-off, and I see a sign that says Islandia. I know more or less where we are-about another half an hour or so away from New York City, in a normal car.
Dominic pulls into the parking lot of a casino hotel and gets out. “Let’s check in, grab some food, eat in the room and relax a little.” I nod. “Sounds like a plan I can go along with,” I say.
Dominic glances at me and then leads me inside the hotel.
“Welcome to Jake’s Fifty-Eight Casino Hotel. Are you checking in?”
“We’d like to book a room,” Dominic says. “Cash. You can book it under Mr. Sam Miller.”
The receptionist’s nails click-clack against the keyboard, “We have a room available on the fourth floor, single bed.”
I open my mouth to protest, but Dominic cuts me off, “That’s fine, we’ll take it.”
After more typing, a payment, and a rather generous tip from Dominic, we walk toward the elevators. The receptionist wanted to get a bit flirty, but to my amusement, Dominic wasn’t having it.
We go to the fourth floor, and in a few minutes, we find our room. Dominic lets me go in first and locks the door behind himself.
“I’m not sleeping in the same bed as you,” I protest, looking at the double bed.
“I’ll take the sofa,” he says, pointing to a two-seater in front of a television. “Just don’t snore.”
I offer him a smile, but he doesn’t return it. “I’ll be back in a little while. I’m going to go get some food.”
“Why don’t we just order room service?” I ask. I don’t like the idea of him leaving. Every time he does, we land up running for our lives.
“Because if I go get food, I can scout around and make sure we weren’t followed,” he says shortly. “Now, don’t go anywhere.”