“Two days,” he said.
“Two?”I balked, falling onto my back in the snow and looking up at the blue sky.
“Yeah, two. As in forty-eight hours,” he grunted.
I mouthed his words in a mocking gesture.“Where the hell are we?” I bit back.
“Canada,” he said dryly.
I shot up as fast as my sore body would allow.“Canada?!”
He nodded once.
“How did you get me across the border?!” I was screeching, voice echoing across the snow, but I didn’t care.
He shrugged and grinned—a paltry response.
“Gray…” I warned in a growl.
“I put you under the bench seat of my truck, okay? There’s a secret space under there that I use to move things across the border like guns, ammo, knives… you fit nicely.” He grinned through his thick, rugged facial hair, frosted with ice on the tips.
My mouth fell open before I replied.“Like what, packed meat?”
He chuckled.
“So, I’m hereillegally?”I asked bitterly.
“I couldn’t let immigration make a record of your crossing,” he said.“They’llbe looking for you, and if there are records, they’ll head our way in no time.”
“Theywho…?” I pushed. I knew what he’d say, but I wanted to hear him finally admit it.
He huffed.“My family, Betty. Okay? My family… the mafia.” He didn’t even blink.
My hunch had been correct. He was ex-mafia, and they were usually all related. This was hisfamilythat was after him, afterus. The idea made me sick. Family, to me, meant nothing but love and respect, not murder and revenge.
“I’m not going with you.” I shook my head.“What about Nash and Sybil? My dad, my job?” Family might not mean much to him, but to me, I’d move heaven and earth to keep them safe. I wasn’t about to leave them to the wolves alone.
Gray stood.“Nash and Sybil are safe in Scotland. No one knows where they are because they took your family’s plane and landed off-grid. It’ll take time to track them down, and besides. This is about me. They’re looking for me and using you to do it.”
“So I’m bait? Why me, Gray?” I challenged.
He tilted his head and gave me a dumb look, but admitted nothing.“From what I know,” he began,“they also found out about the Rembrandt and that you were involved. That doubles down on the danger. They won’t branch to Nash, Sybil, or your dad unless my uncle gets desperate, and stupid. For now he’ll be chasing you, so we have time. Going that far out on a limb to use your dad or brother to capture me puts him and the organization at risk. I have someone watching your family. If anything turns up a red flag, they’ll move in and get them to safety, just as I did for you. Ipromise.Please, trust me.”
I cursed under my breath.“Trustyou?”I scoffed.“Not happening. You’ve given me no reason to trust you. You disappear without a trace and leave me hanging time and time again. How do I know you won’t just take me out into the woods and leave me there?”
“I’m not leaving you,” he practically growled, taking me aback.
I took a moment to regroup before deciding to retort with,“And where does my dad think I am?”
Gray sighed.“He thinks you went to join your brother in Scotland. I left him a text from your phone explaining you needed time off and left that night.”
I scoffed.“And he just… believed that?”
Grey pushed out his lower lip, looking smug and unbothered.“Yeah, he did. He said to have a great time…sweetie.”
I scoffed again.“Bullshit.” However, that did sound like something my father would say. He never questioned me and was used to my random disappearances.
Admittedly, I could be a little dramatic and leave for a trip somewhere without letting anyone know. I hated that Gray’s cover for me worked, too. My brother and Sybil were due to be gone for several more months, which kept questions about my whereabouts at bay for quite some time.
