Page 11

Chapter 10

The next four hours of the drive were made in relative silence, other than the radio. The only words I spoke were along the lines of what do you want for lunch and do you need to go to the bathroom . And Evie answered with as few syllables as possible each time.

My nerves were at a sky-high level when we stopped for a bathroom break somewhere in Mississippi. I was so afraid she was going to go rogue inside the store and scream at the top of her lungs that she was Evie Bouvier and she’d been kidnapped.

But she didn’t. She dutifully tucked her hair beneath the ball cap and put on the sunglasses I’d grabbed from a convenience store when I’d stopped to gas up.

Rolling my shoulders to try and get rid of the kinks, I looked over at Evie. She was napping, but at my gaze, she popped her eyes open and blinked sleepily a few times before stretching her arms over her head and yawning.

“Where are we?”

It was the first time she’d initiated any conversation since she told me she hated me. I wasn’t usually a man who gave a ripping fuck what anyone thought of me, but I’d be lying if I said hearing those words from Evie didn’t bother me just a little bit.

“We’re in Florida.”

She rubbed at her eyes with her fingertips. “I didn’t even think to ask where we were going. I was a little overwhelmed with everything else.”

“Understandable,” I said, tilting my head back and forth. “We’re headed to Rodrigo’s cousin’s place north of Jacksonville.”

“Where is Rodrigo?”

My heart thumped mightily a few times, and I inhaled a long breath to quell it. “I’m not sure. I gave him my regular phone to take up in the chopper with him and forgot to put his number in my spare phone.” Stupid. I’ve been worried about the old guy for hours.

Evie held up a hand, her voice rising an octave. “Wait. He went up in the helicopter? The one with…”

“He had a parachute, Evie. I’m sure he’s fine. We’ll find out once we get to his cousin Rocco’s house.”

She relaxed back into her seat a bit. “Okay. How long is all this going to last? The running thing?”

“I’m not sure,” I replied, and she eyed me skeptically. “I’m trying to be as honest as I can, Evie. I just don’t know. Rocco disappeared a long time ago to escape from my father. I didn’t even know he was alive until Rodrigo told me earlier today. Rod thinks his cousin can help us disappear since he did it so effectively.”

Her eyes closed and her face squished into a grimace of resignation. “All right. This is all way out of my league, so I’m trusting you on this. You haven’t hurt me yet.” She blinked over at me, a rare vulnerability slipping into her voice. “Are you going to?”

“No, Evie. I will never hurt you, though I can’t promise not to piss you off from time to time.”

The sigh she emitted seemed to be never ending. “Okay, I guess that’s the best I can ask for at this point.” She straightened in her seat and stared out the front windshield. “But I still hate you.”

“Fair enough,” I told her, trying not to smile. Stubborn little wildcat.

Pulling the SUV onto the driveway, I was surprised at the lack of security measures. There was no gate, no guard, nothing. Just a long, winding seashell drive that led to the pretty little home that was partly visible from the road.

“This looks nice,” Evie said, leaning forward to peer at the white wood house with black shutters and colorful flower boxes. Nice was a perfect description for it, large enough to be comfortable but small enough to be cozy.

I didn’t recognize the man who stepped onto the porch and lifted one thick hand in greeting. He was wearing camouflage cargo pants and a black tank top. “Stay in here and let me check it out. We may be at the wrong address,” I told Evie as I pushed open the door.

“Hey, I’m not sure I’m at the right place,” I called, but when a deep chuckle met my ears, my steps faltered. Squinting against the late afternoon sun, recognition sparked in my brain at the familiar sound.

I’ll be damned. Rocco?

Rocco Scordato looked different from the last time I’d seen him. A lot different. Most noticeably, he’d put on about forty pounds. He definitely wasn’t fat, but gone was the rail thin man I’d known when I was a teen. He was also bald now and sported a black beard with a smattering of gray, making him look more like a rugged biker than a slick mafioso.

“You’re at the right place,” he said, crossing the dark-green manicured lawn to slap me on the bicep. “Come on inside. My wife’s got an early dinner ready.”

“I… okay. Sorry about that. I didn’t recognize you at first.”

“And that’s the whole point,” he pointed out with a wry lift of one bushy eyebrow. “Do you have suitcases?”

Stepping closer, I lowered my voice. “I have three duffels full of cash.”

He jerked his chin up and down. “Definitely want to bring those in then. This is a nice neighborhood, but you never know. I was talking about your personal things though. My cousin said you had a lady friend with you, so we made up both guest rooms. I wasn’t sure if you’d be sharing or not.”

“That’s gonna be a no on the sharing,” I told him, figuring I could confidently speak on Evie’s behalf. Though I certainly wouldn’t mind… “We don’t have much in the way of personal belongings. We kinda left in a rush. Are we, uh, staying here?”

“Of course,” he boomed. “My cousin was in a hurry so he didn’t give me much information, just that you and your friend needed help. Come inside, and you can tell me everything.”

“All right,” I said, walking around to the passenger’s side. “Let me get E—”

“No names until we’re inside,” Rocco broke in, his voice sharp as a dagger as his eyes darted around the well-kept yard.

“Right.” I held open the car door for Evie as she emerged without her sunglasses and cap.

When I turned back to Rocco, his eyes were trained on her and as wide as dinner plates. “Holy fucking shit,” he muttered, apparently recognizing her, probably from the news coverage. “Whew, you do need our help, son. Get her in the house quickly, and I’ll unload the car.”

Tossing him the keys, I led Evie across the lawn and up the two wooden steps. Before I could knock, the door swung open to reveal a beautiful woman with a full figure and a broad smile. Her curly brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and green eyes gleamed from her mocha-skinned face.

“Come on in. I’m Jamie.” She said with a slight Jamaican accent, sweeping an elegant hand toward the living room, which was decorated in gray and red.

“Thanks for having us,” I told her, unsure if I was supposed to give this woman our names. Her eyes were trained on Evie, and I saw the flicker of recognition there, but she brushed it off with a shake of her head and stepped toward the other woman.

“Look at you, sweetheart,” she crooned softly, drifting her fingertips beneath the bruise on Evie’s cheek. “Who the hell did this to you?” Her eyes darted accusingly toward me, but Evie shook her head.

“It wasn’t him. It was the… the people who took me.”

Jamie nodded, her lips pressed into a sad smile. “All right, sweetie. Let’s get you settled and you can tell us more.”

“Thank you,” Evie replied.

Rocco lumbered in then, a duffel in each hand and Evie’s flowery bag slung over a thick shoulder. Jamie’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, I think floral is your color, honey.”

He dropped the bags and glared at her without an ounce of ire. “You got a smart mouth, woman.”

“And that’s why you married me,” she said with a wink before turning her attention back to us. “Follow me.”

Evie and I trailed her across the living room and down a hallway. “You don’t have to put us up,” I told her. “We could have stayed at a hotel or something.”

“Nah, we have a lot of work to do, and it’s easier and safer if we’re all under the same roof,” she said before opening a door on the right. “Evie, this can be your room. It’s more girly than the other one.”

“It’s beautiful,” Evie said, entering and looking around at the soft pink wallpaper and white bed. Gauzy white curtains draped over the two multi-paned windows.

“There’s a bathroom here,” Jamie said, sliding open a white barn door. “It connects to the other bedroom, so you two will have to share.”

We walked through and into the other bedroom, which was done in shades of blue. “This is great. Thank you,” I told her and received a warm smile in response.

Retrieving our bags from the living room, I dropped Evie’s off in her room. “There’s one more change of clothes in here. I’ll see about getting you some more things, if you’ll make me a list. Like the kind of hair stuff you like or… I don’t know… whatever else girls need.”

She almost smiled at me but not quite. “Thanks. I think I’d like to take a shower, if that’s okay.”

“Of course. I’ll close my door so you’ll have some privacy.”

I found my way to the kitchen where I found the couple working side by side at the counter. “Rocco,” I started.

“Robert,” he corrected. “That’s my name now.”

“Oh, gotcha. Have you talked to Rodrigo lately? I don’t have any way to contact him, and I’ve been worried.”

“I heard from him a couple hours ago, just briefly. He’s fine and holed up near the coast of Mississippi. Don’t worry about him.”

Relief flooded me, and I let out a long breath. “Okay, good. Evie is in the shower. I need to get her some more clothes and stuff at some point.”

“I can run to Target later,” Jamie said, glancing toward the hallway where our bedrooms were located and lowering her voice. “Tell us what’s going on and why the hell you have a missing fashion heiress on the run with you.”

I filled them in while they stacked warm sandwiches on a platter, Jamie stopping a couple times during my story to press a hand over her chest. “Oh, that poor girl. And you. Dear god, your father is just as horrible as Robert told me.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” I muttered.

“And how does Evie feel about being kidnapped, rescued, and then kidnapped again,” he asked.

“I didn’t kidnap her,” I snapped out, scowling at Rocco, er, Robert. “I explained the consequences and she said she’d go along with it.” Then I rolled my eyes and added, “Reluctantly, okay? She’s not thrilled about this.”

“I imagine not,” Jamie said. “Well, we’ll do our best to make it as… comfortable as possible for her.”

We cut off our conversation when we heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and Robert picked up the tray of food while Jamie and I carried the drinks and chips into the sunny dining room.

“Can I ask you a question?” Evie asked, biting off the point of her honey ham and swiss cheese sandwich.

“Sure. Anything,” Jamie told her.

“How did you two get together?”

Robert chuckled and leaned forward on his forearms, looking ready to roll. “I’m glad you asked. This is a great story.”

Jamie held up her palm to him. “Let me tell it. I do it better.”

“You do not,” he argued. “I’m an excellent storyteller.”

She scoffed. “Whatever. You have no flair… no pizzazz!” Jamie emphasized her claim with spread fingers and shaking hands.

“We don’t need jazz hands to explain our story, Jamie honey.”

The woman cocked her head and pursed her lips. “We do, if we don’t want it to be boring.”

He chuckled. “The way we met is anything but boring, honeybunch.” His large hand made a sweeping gesture to the woman beside him. “By all means…”

“Thank you,” she retorted smartly before turning her attention to Evie, who was seated on a cream, padded chair beside me. “You see, it was a dark and stormy evening in mid-July.” Her husband gave a here we go roll of his eyes, and she elbowed him for his insolence. “The moon was hidden behind a bank of clouds, leaving all corners of Florida bathed in darkness.”

“Dramatic woman,” Robert mumbled, and Jamie flipped him her middle finger.

“Anywayyyyy, I was at my office late, working on some charts.”

“They don’t even know what you do,” her husband pointed out.

“I was getting to that.” She shot him a side eye and stole one of his sour cream and onion chips as punishment. After crunching it loudly in his ear, she explained to us, “I’m a reconstructive and cosmetic surgeon.”

“The best damn plastic surgeon in Florida,” Robert said, beaming at his wife.

Jamie’s hand reached up and stroked his beard with a familiarity and affection that told me she did this often. He was practically purring like a fucking kitten at her attention.

“Thanks, babe. Anyway, like I was saying, I was working late on that dreary night when a man suddenly appeared inside my office, all wet and menacing looking.” She smacked her hand against the table. “He had the damn audacity to wave a gun around and insist that I perform surgery on him to change his appearance.”

Beside me, Evie widened her eyes in horror. “What did you do?”

Jamie bobbed her eyebrows up and down. “I reached in my desk drawer and pulled out my own gun. Clicked off the safety and pointed it directly at his head.”

“Such a badass move,” Robert said, kissing her temple.

“You still didn’t leave,” she reminded him, casting a fond look up at his furry face before returning her attention to us. “The jackass made himself at home in the chair across from my desk—with my gun still trained on him, mind you—and spilled his guts. He’d been in the Mafia in New York but wanted to go straight. He begged me to help him because some asshole named Luca Cappitani was after him.” She cast a chagrined smile at me.

“Sounds familiar,” I said dryly. “What happened next?” I was fully invested in this story now.

“I told him to place his gun carefully in my desk drawer, and then we’d talk. To my surprise, he did.”

“May I add something, oh, great storyteller?” Robert asked his wife, and Evie giggled at their antics.

“Please do,” Jamie said solicitously.

He gave her another temple kiss before speaking to Evie and me again. “I’d been watching this beautiful lady for a few days and was already half in love with her.”

“Stalker,” Jamie said around a fake cough, and we all laughed.

“I mean, she was an older woman…”

“Three years, Robert,” his wife scolded, holding up that many fingers for emphasis. “I’m only three years older than you.”

He ignored her and continued. “But she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. And so fucking smart. She sat there that night and listened to me.” His voice turned quieter. “Her brother had been killed by the Shower Gang in Jamaica, which is kinda like our Mafia here, so she took pity on me since I wanted to get out of that life. She agreed to help me.”

Evie reached across the table and squeezed the other woman’s hand. “I’m so sorry about your brother, Jamie.”

“Thank you. I told Robert—well, Rocco back then—if he was serious about cleaning up his life, I would do what I could. Instead of radical reconstructive surgery, I suggested he shave his head and grow a full beard. Facial hair on a man can completely change their look. He had a very prominent brow line, so I did do surgery to reduce that.”

“Cro-Magnon head, I believe were her exact words,” Robert added, and I snickered. “As soon as I was healed, she sent me away and told me not to come back until I had my shit straight. So I went to school and became a coiffure artisan.”

A… what?

“He’s a hairstylist,” Jamie informed us dryly.

My chin pulled back in surprise as I looked at the smug face of Robert. “ You are a hairstylist?”

“Don’t sound so shocked,” he said with a grin, twiddling his large fingers at me. “These hands can work hair magic. That’s my day job, of course. By night, I’m a covert computer and technology guru.”

At my questioning gaze, Jamie huffed out an explanation with a roll of her eyes. “Hacker.”

“Covert computer and technology guru,” Robert insisted. “I know I said I was going straight but…” He shrugged his big shoulders. “Instead of using my computer skills to launder money for the mob, I now use it to help people who need me.”

“What kinds of people?” Evie asked, speaking for the first time in a while.

Jamie gave her a soft smile. “We work with a lot of abused women or people who need to disappear like Robert did. People who are searching for a better life.”

Evie nodded once and dropped her chin to her chest. I could hear her breathing pick up, and then she stood abruptly, mumbled, “Excuse me,” and hightailed it down the hallway, presumably to her room.

Starting to push from my chair, I said, “I’ll go check on her.”

Jamie rose gracefully and motioned for me to sit back down. “Let me.”

Exhaling a long breath, I sank back down and rested my elbows on the table, sinking my fingers into my dark hair.

“You all right, man?”

I lifted my weary head, clasping my hands at the back of my neck. “I’m trying like hell to save her, but all I’m really doing is hurting her.”

Robert was silent for a long moment, staring down at his empty plate before lifting his concerned gaze to mine. “I know, Damiano. But sometimes those things are not mutually exclusive.”