I'm In Trouble

My escape plan was intact.

The car was parked in a lot that didn't open for hours.

I needed to lay low, but I couldn't wander the streets of Brookhaven. I'd been photographed too often next to my dad.

My face splashed the newspapers whenever we buried a family member, which meant even street thugs recognized me.

The five thousand in cash was in my bag. I'd have to make it stretch until Linden Falls.

Dad read my credit card statements and had access to my accounts. A notification would pop up in his email as soon as I bought something.

I exited the taxi and descended to the subway, escaping the growing darkness.

I switched lines at random and mingled with the rush-hour traffic. There was safety in numbers, but my father's men would find me.

They'd check the bus and train stations, airport, and the metro. The junkyard didn't open until ten.

Where could I go to wait?

My back was stiff from hours of sitting. The riders dwindled to a handful before I changed trains and headed toward Solstice Bay, where David lived.

He was my on-again-off-again fling—the only mafioso I stomached. I'd run the gamut of wise guys, and they tended to stick between cruel and dumb.

Most never finished high school. Some of the older guys, the ones from huge families who relied on every working hand, never dabbled in public education.

David was an obnoxious ass for telling everyone about us, but I was safe with him.

Fifteen minutes later, I approached his apartment.

David sat on his porch, drinking. He had a bad habit of hanging outside, gun in his lap like a goddamned sheriff. I discouraged him against being a target for the Costas, but David had patted my head as though he found my concern adorable.

He was my age, fair-haired, and good-looking in the traditional sense. He respected my boundaries, even when my father wasn't there to destroy him.

He waved at me as I crossed the street. Then he drained his glass and rushed to greet me.

"Hey." He enveloped me in a bear hug and rubbed my back. "I haven't seen you since the memorial. How are you?"

"Not great."

"I guess you wouldn't be. Come." His sympathetic smile transformed into a rakish grin. "I'll make you feel better. At least for a little while."

God, I really wasn't supposed to be here.

I allowed him to pull me into his brownstone. Usually, we got only a few steps inside before ripping each other's clothes off. David pushed me against the wall, his gaze heavy.

Cesare's warning burned in my mind, consuming any desire. Before his lips touched mine, I palmed his chest.

"That's not why I came. I'm in trouble."

David hesitated, his smirk still intact. "Whatever it is, it can't be that horrible."

"Trust me. It's bad. Can we sit?"

"Sure."

Frowning, he took my hand and led me into his house, a sparsely decorated bachelor pad with only the essentials.

Aside from a table and a sofa, he had zero furniture and didn't seem to give a damn about decorating. I couldn't imagine sleeping on that camp bed every night or living in this barebones apartment, but I'd never asked for more from our relationship. Neither had he.

On some level, we must've known this wouldn't last. Which was probably why he didn't flinch with my next words.

"David, I have to leave."

"Yeah?" He hunkered near the window, scanning the glistening streets. "Where are you going?"

It wouldn't do any good to tell him. "I don't know. I have to go before they—before my dad forces to marry him. Cesare Leone."

A fresh wave of misery hit me when he shot upright, hands balled at his sides.

"You're kidding." In seconds, his attitude shifted from nonchalant to furious. "Shit, Mia. We've been messing around while you're with him?"

"No, we haven't. I'm not a cheater…he was my sister's fiancé. It was an arranged marriage. A peace offering to the Costas. When she died, I thought it was over. Now everyone seems to think I'm marrying him, and I have no choice. They expect me to walk down the aisle with a man who terrifies me. No fucking way."

David was silent, his young face reflecting shock.

A stab of pity nagged at me as he rubbed his neck, mouth agape.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't put this on you. Coming here was selfish. I wouldn't have, but there's nobody else. Please, help me. Please. I don't want to be his wife."

"Ignacio must be searching for you."

A fist-sized lump bulged in my throat at the mention of my father. He was sobbing when I left, and I never even said goodbye to Mom.

How was she taking my absence?

"I need somewhere to stay for a few hours."

I quieted the storm in my head as David absorbed everything with hardening features. He'd never been cold around me, but his withdrawal was almost palpable—as though he'd walked out of the room.

"You should leave."

I must've heard wrong. "What?"

"Go to him. There's nothing I can do. Even if I wanted to fuck with Leone, you won't get ten miles. He'll catch you, and then he'll make an example out of me. I wish I could do something, but...you're screwed."

"He won't find me. I've planned this for months. I just need somewhere to lay low."

"Leone won't allow you to disappear." David wheeled to my side, his lips set in a grim line. "If you'd have let me ask your father for permission, we'd be more than a fling. Perhaps that would've been enough to keep you out of Leone's hands. Now we'll never know."

"David, come on. How could I have known this would happen?"

"You were always going to belong to someone. Sorry, Mia." David slipped a phone from his pocket. "I can't help you."

I glanced at the screen. "What are you doing?" "If you don't go, I'm calling your dad."

"Don't!" I made a grab for the cell, but he lifted it out of reach. "David!"

"You're not leaving me much choice. Ignacio will realize you were here. If something happens to you—"

"—what do you think he'll do when he finds out you were dating me?"

"Maybe he'll beat the shit out of me. Frankly, I'm more worried about Leone."

Great—even David was scared of him.

"David, please. I'll leave. Don't call my dad."

"Fine" He closed his phone, his brows knitting with sympathy. "I really am sorry, but you have to go."

The one guy I trusted would rather sell me out. I shouldn't have expected anything less.

My shoulder collided with his as I bolted from the living room and blazed down the steps, flying into a pitch-black street.

A tall man lounged by a car, texting.

He buried his phone in his slacks and pushed off the BMW. His suit bled into the darkness as he stepped into my path.

The smile carving into his cheeks stole my hope.

Cesare.

"Found you."