“Thanks.” Relaxing into the seat, I whoosh out my breath as Hands describes the mission’s latest details. He’s still talking when the airline attendant insists I turn off my electronics.
“Sorry, got to go. We’ll talk more, after I land.”
Two hours later I touch down, and still no word. After shaking hands with Slate in the airport, I need to know what the fuck is going on.
“I’ll brief you on the way.” He rushes me to the curb where a Hummer waits. In the backseat, he shakes his head. “The power has been out in Vermont, but I was finally able to contact the B&B’s proprietor. She claims Rose left this morning.”
“Wasn’t that the plan?” My heart races as our vehicle blends into traffic. There’s something he’s not saying.
Frowning, he glances out the back, nods at the driver’s face in the rear-view window, then lets out his breath. “Our man called from the Burlington hospital. Someone gave him a nasty blow to the head. He never saw her.”
An unknown fear grips my chest. “Fuck. Who took her?”
“Facial recognition identifies him as Paolo Stephano, her ex-husband.”
“I thought he was in Italy. Dammit. Do we know where he took her?”
“We’re working on it.” His steely glare might intimidate some, but not me.
“Dammit. That’s not nearly good enough.” My fists clench at my side and when he sees them, his brows raise.
“Chill. I got my best guys on it, and we’ll get her back but if you want to abort the mission, just say the word. It’s a hell of a lot easier to have the Feds take over.”
“Shit.” I can count the people I trust on one hand, all of them work for him.
“Let’s get this show on the road.” The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can focus on finding Rose.
He takes out his iPad, calls up a map, and points out a throughway exit. “We’re going to put the detour here. We have at max, ten minutes before the state police arrive. We need to get in, steal the truck, and drop it off in the next town over. Timing is crucial.”
“How many men we talking about?”
“There’s two upfront, one sleeping in the cab, and three in the container, itself.”
“I understand there’s a detour, but what makes them stop?” I need to be sure he dotted all the i‘s and crossed all the t’s.
Acknowledging my concern, Slate nods. “The exit ramp has a steep curve. The driver either slows down or tips over. Once they reduce speed, we’ll have a disabled oil tanker jackknifed across the road. No mother fucker in their right mind would plow into it. We get in and get out. Piece of cake.”
Piece of cake, my ass.His optimism does nothing to quell my growing unease.
Chapter 24
Rose
As I sit with Paolo in front of the fire, I remember how I once hung on his every word. The same inner child craves to abdicate all her responsibilities to someone else. That’s how young and naïve I was when I first met him.
Sensing my conflict, he stands, steps closer, and widens his toothy, wolf-like smile. “You want me back. Why else would you tell Vincent I ordered the dolls? Let’s stop pretending and go back to the way it was. My private jet waits to take you home.”
The arrogance breaks my temporary insanity and tethers me to reality. “You want me to move to Italy with you?”
“Not yet. First, I need to fix your mess.”
Pretending to be clueless is my go-to response and I’m an expert at it. “Me? What did I do?”
At my squeaky voice, he chuckles and buying my act. taps the tip of my nose. “Nothing you need to worry about.”
“The dolls, is that it? I’m really, really sorry I said it was you.”Fact check? I actually am apologetic.If I hadn’t got him involved, he wouldn’t be threatening to take me overseas.
“Oh my God. You’re going to steal the fentanyl.” My jaw drops open and his grin widens.
