Calling Scott on the way, he made sure his cousin picked up Jonathan. No way would he take any chances Victor would get to the child as well. Scott had assured him the boy was safe, scoffing down chicken fingers and French fries. He’d call the other guys too but none of them were close enough to be of any immediate help. Scott had wanted to come, but Jack needed his son safe and didn’t trust anyone else with the boy.
He approached the turn off for the state park Victor had asked to meet in. The place would be empty in January. Cabrini’s car was in the lot so he parked the truck next to it and slashed the tires, just in case. Walking in, he stopped at the wooden map and studied it, seeing the trail Victor said they’d be on. Looking again, he found one that looped around connecting to it from a different direction. That would be the one he took.
The wind blew and he zipped his jacket higher, the snow crunching under his feet. It was cold today but not as cold as it could be in New England at this time of year. He should be thankful. And when Callie was safely away from the monster, he would be.
It took almost fifteen minutes but he finally approached the area Cabrini wanted to meet in, cautiously circling around the outskirts first. Could there be a way to rescue Callie without confronting Victor? Get the drop on the man so he didn’t have the upper hand?
As he peered through the trees, something bright waved from the distance. Callie’s crimson winter coat, signaling like a red flag. At least she had on something warm. Moving silently, hoping to sneak up on them, he patted the gun tucked in the back of his jeans in reassurance. He tugged his coat back over it so it might go unnoticed.
Getting closer, he checked out the area. Callie stood on the edge of a clearing, her arms around the branch of a tree. A few steps farther and he could see her hands fastened together with some sort of binding and she struggled to get free. Cabrini was nowhere in sight.
This was a trap. Had to be. No way would Cabrini leave her here by herself for him to find. But where was he? Glancing around nervously, he waited for what seemed like forever. Was Cabrini on an earlier part of the trail expecting to shoot him when he came down the path? If he was, that could work to Jack’s advantage.
After another minute, eyes moving in every direction, he crept closer to the woman he loved. Had he ever told her that? Actually said the words? He’d shown her in so many ways how he felt but thinking back, maybe he hadn’t said it outright. Once they got out of this, he would make sure to tell her every day of their lives together.
Still searching the area, he approached her. Her head flew up, her eyes filled with fear.
“I’ll get you out of here, Calico.”
She shook her head as he ran to her side. “No, Jack, Victor…”
“Is right here,” Cabrini said, from behind him.
Damn, he’d walked right into it. But what had his options been? To stand here and watch Callie twist in the wind?
Turning around, he made sure to get between Callie and the mobster. Cabrini stood less than ten feet away with a gun pointed in their direction. Shit. Disarming him might be a possibility if he were closer, but he wouldn’t take the chance of Callie getting hurt with a stray bullet.
“You wanted me, you’ve got me, Cabrini. Now let her go.” It would never happen but he had to try.
The mobster laughed. Not a pleasant or humorous sound and terror ripped through his gut. He didn’t care what happened to him, hell he’d thought of putting a bullet into his own head a time or two in the past few years, but Callie needed to survive. To be there to take care of their son, and now their new little baby.
“Why should I let her go?” Victor sneered.
Jack clenched his jaw and fisted his hands. “I’m the one who killed Angelo. She had nothing to do with it. Let her go.”
“She may as well have killed my son,” Victor growled. “She betrayed him by sleeping with you. Is that why you killed him? You wanted him out of the way so you could have her?”
“It was self-defense. He came after me with a knife. Gave me a nice little souvenir too.” He pressed his hand to his stomach. “I never meant to kill him. My mission was to stay alive.”
“And you are alive and he’s not.” Victor’s face was filled with rage. There’d be no negotiating with him.
How could he get Callie out of here safely? His eyes flickered around the clearing, hoping for some miracle to pop out. Maybe Chris and a whole FBI contingent were on their way into the park right now. Yeah, he was delusional. The chaos at headquarters would take a while to simmer. He’d need to keep Cabrini talking and distracted, maybe kill some time without getting them killed. Find an opening to get Callie out of here at least.
“I need to remedy that situation,” Cabrini added. “Put your hands on your head and keep them there.”
Doing as he was told, he debated whether he could jump Cabrini as he came closer. Or would the man simply shoot him while he stood here? Then what would Cabrini do with Callie? The thought sliced sharply through him.
“You know this place will be crawling with cops in a few minutes. You might want to consider running now.”
“Is that what you are, a cop?” Cabrini practically spit out the words. “All this time I thought you worked for a rival syndicate. Thought maybe Callina here worked for them too. But she also mentioned the authorities and some of the information she took from my computer wouldn’t be at all useful to any rival of mine. Only to the law.”
Moving closer, Cabrini motioned for him to turn around. Still not close enough to make a move on. He rotated, slowly. Callie’s tear-ravaged eyes stared at him and his heart bled. Fury bubbled through him at the red mark growing on her face. Cabrini had hit her? Had he hurt her any other way? Hurt the baby?
Victor patted him down and he closed his eyes when the man found his gun. Was that his last hope? He looked at Callie, hated the terror he saw in her eyes. Would this be his final vision of her? If it was, she needed to know how much she meant to him.
“I love you, Calico,” he whispered.
A tiny smile crept on her face as more tears coursed down her cheeks.
