“Jazz,” I say, hurting for her.
I was lucky to have had a mom who loved me more than anything and who always made sure I knew it.
“So, Tatiana Teszner, I reckon we have nothing to lose. Let’s face it. Even if Dante catches you, he’s not going to kill you. He’s made that clear. What’s the worst that can happen? He can drag you back to New York, and your relationship can go back to being complicated.”
“All right,” I say slowly, not entirely convinced, but Jazz is already gathering sachets from the complimentary coffee bar.
By the time Noah wakes up, I’m a brunette with a surprisingly good hair dye. Jazz is truly a magician. For now, I’m wearing one of her baseball caps because I don’t want Noah to get a fright when he doesn’t recognize me.
I’m dressed in one of her stylish black dresses with flats to match. A costume jewelry choker and a thick silver bracelet hide the marks on my neck and wrist. The Rolex obscures the welts on my other wrist. I was never going to wear it, but it’s worth at least a hundred thousand grand, which will come in very handy when I manage to sell it.
Jazz is wearing a vintage style dress with a wide skirt. She matched it with hot pink heels. Her cherry-brown hair is twisted in big curls and tied with a huge pink ribbon. A studded denim jacket completes the ensemble.
Our meagre possessions are packed into my bag that’s hidden in the bedroom closet. We didn’t want to risk taking Jazz’s suitcase, which may attract unwanted attention.
Noah walks into the lounge in his airplane pajamas with his dinosaur under his arm.
“Hey, sweetheart.” I go over, my heartbeat already wild in my chest. “Did you sleep well?”
Jazz nods at me. We decided to order breakfast with a flask of coffee as soon as Noah was awake. It will take some time for the sleeping pills to take effect, but we have no idea for how long the men will be knocked out. We didn’t want to drug them too early only for them to come to their senses before Noah was ready and we were gone.
“I’m hungry.” Noah looks me up and down, frowning at my attire. “Can I have pancakes? Can I make some with Dante?”
My heart clenches painfully. “Dante isn’t back yet. He has a job that keeps him very busy, so he can’t make pancakes every day.”
Noah shifts the dinosaur to his other arm. “Can I still have pancakes?”
“Sure.” I smile, hoping it doesn’t look as tremulous as it feels. “Do you want to play a game?”
His interest is immediately piqued. “What game?”
“Dress-up.” Jazz does a twirl to show off her dress. “Like your mom and me.”
He gasps. “Can I dress up like a pirate?”
Jazz taps a finger on her lips, pretending to be thinking. “I don’t have a pirate’s costume, but how about we dress you up like Goldilocks?”
He pouts. “I don’t want to be Goldilocks. I want to be the daddy bear.”
Jazz shoots me a panicked look. “I don’t have a bear costume either.”
Noah perks up. “Can I dress like Dante?”
“Noah.” My voice is soft and cajoling as I go over and stop in front of him. “You can be a pirate or a bear another time. We have to use what Jazz has here today.”
“But I don’t want to be Goldilocks.”
“Who would you like to be?” I keep my tone light. “What about Superwoman but only in a dress instead of her costume?”
He hugs the dinosaur to his chest and makes an angry face. “No.”
Taking a deep breath, I go down on my haunches. “We don’t have much time. We’re going away, so we have to leave quickly.”
His eyes grow wide. “I don’t want to go.”
“Sweetheart, we have to.”
I try to touch his arm, but he jerks away.
