“Come on,” I said, lifting my purse over my shoulder and getting up as the same dark blue sedan crossed the street once again, this time on the other side of the traffic. “We’re going out the back.”
Ron’s chair scraped back against the café floor as he hurried to follow me. I walked slowly though, and soon, he had to slow the speed of his gait to match mine. It was clear he didn’t want to, but if I was going to get him out of here safely, then we had to be smart about it.
I lifted my head and turned past the bathrooms straight for the café’s tiny kitchen. I’d been here many times—it was why I’d felt so comfortable to meet him in this location. I never went anywhere without several escape routes in mind. A few of the younger employees paused and frowned as we passed, but it wasn’t my presence that made them question us back here. It was Ron’s. He was sweating like crazy, and it seemed that his body odor only grew more and more intense with each second.
Look like you belong,I reminded myself,and they’ll believe it.I’d run into an ex-thief a year or two ago that had taught me that motto. People believed confidence, no matter what it sold them. So confident, I became.
Even with Ron’s sweating and shaking and his darting gaze, we made it all the way through the kitchen to the back door. I popped it open and glanced out into the alley. One side wascompletely open, while the other was blocked off by a set of dumpsters and a large brick wall. My heels clicked against the pavement as I led him outside. I dug my hand into my purse and pulled out a burner phone, a small wad of cash, a non-traceable credit card, and a set of keys. I was afraid this would happen, but I’d planned for it—or rather, I was still in the process of arranging things. This was my option B. Five years of learning this life. Sink or swim. Life or death. Both were good motivators that quickly made me realize I was a Price Heir, after all. But the most critical thing the trial and error had taught me was to always be prepared.
“Here,” I said, reaching over and shoving the card, cash, phone, and keys into Ron’s hands.
He gaped at the money and phone and then at me as we came to a stop at the mouth of the alley. “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”
I watched the blue sedan cross the street, and before the driver could spot us, I grabbed Ron and ducked behind a low-hanging sign on the side of the building. “Listen to me very carefully,” I said, keeping my eyes trained on the sedan. There had to be more, possibly an assassin already after him, but I didn’t want to alert him and send Ron into a spiral of panic. He was the type who would absolutely make things worse when he panicked. I shifted my gaze back to his face.
“I want you to take that money and card and grab a taxi out of the city. Use the phone I gave you. Here—give me yours—I don’t want you using it for the foreseeable future.” When all he did was blink at me, I huffed and dug through his pockets until I found the phone I was searching for. I shoved it into my purse. “Now, as I was saying…” Ron still hadn’t moved or said anything more. Instead, his eyes were centered on something over my shoulder. I glanced back but saw nothing. With another irritated huff, I snapped my fingers in front of his face and brought his attentionback. “Focus,” I said. “Take a taxi. Use the phone I gave you to contact me when you get to a safe place.”
“Safe place?” he repeated, his face growing more flushed than it already was. “Where is that? Do you have a?—”
“No,” I interrupted him. “I don’t have a specific place. You’ll need to find a motel or something to hide up in. Grab some food with the money I gave you and stay put until I can come for you. There’s enough money there in cash and on the card to last you for several weeks as long as you don’t stay somewhere too expensive. Motels—Ron. Stay where they don’t have any CCTVs.”
He looked like he was going to be sick. I had to move this along. My eyes darted back to the street. That fucking sedan had turned back around. This time, it was slowing at a nearby light. The backdoor opened. “It won’t be forever,” I said quickly. “The phone I gave you is secure. Call me if there’s an emergency, otherwise, I want you to wait for me to call.”
“W-what are you going to do?”
Hope like hell that one of my contacts would come through in time for me to get him. I stepped out from behind the sign and waved my hand for a taxi. A yellow cabby caught my eye and pulled up to the curb. I stepped back to where Ron stood. Two men in black were coming down the street.
“Switch cabs often,” I pushed the words out in a rush as I latched onto his arm and practically dragged him towards the taxi. “Use the cash,” I snapped.
“But—what!” Ron didn’t get to finish his sentence as I slammed the door closed on him.
“JFK airport, please,” I told the man in front before glancing back to Ron as he cursed and rolled the window down. The men were getting closer.Why the hell did I choose to wear heels today?I wondered absently. “Use the chaos at the airport to switch cabs,” I said, lowering my voice and leaning halfway intothe cab as I tried to keep an eye on the men coming. I turned to the cabby. “There’s a hundred-dollar tip in it for you if you can get him there as fast as possible, sir. He’s late for a flight.”
The cabby’s eyes widened. “Yes, ma’am!” He nodded excitedly and then—just as every other cabby in New York when there was a hefty tip involved—threw caution to the wind and sped out into traffic. My lips twitched as I heard Ronald shriek just before the taxi was out of range.
Now, time to figure a way out of—I turned the opposite way the men were approaching and ran head-first into a massive chest. I stumbled, nearly going down on my ass, before the man’s hands gripped my elbows and steadied me.
Startled, I adjusted myself. Having been to New York several times on and off, it was a rare occasion when someone was kind enough to catch a person when they fell or ran into them. Chivalry wasn’t dead, after all.
My eyes lifted. My lips parted. A thank you and apology were on the tip of my tongue and as soon as I met the man’s eyes, every word in my vocabulary dried up and burst into dust. Every word except one.
I gaped up at the man and let that word spill from my lips as shock overtook me.
“Gaven…”
Gaven’s face was hard. Lethal. His eyes were like twin ice chips as he glared down at me. “Hello again, Angel,” he said. “Or should I call youwife?”
