AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That was easy to answer. “If your records are so good, you should know I worked my summers in those big, fancy city law firms. Before my last year of law school, I learned that wasn’t the life I wanted. Working twelve to fourteen-hour days, seven days a week, only to be treated like a sex object by an entitled partner and hit on constantly by every man in the firm and every loser on the street? No thanks. I have no desire to live in those crowds. Give me mountains, rivers, and wide open spaces. I don’t have to hike, ride, or fish to enjoy them. I just want to see them. So what if I’m never rich? I have everything I need, and I get to enjoy it while I’m young, not just dream about freedom and totter through it on arthritic legs. Or never make it at all. Cities are dangerous.” The memories made her shiver, but she held it back. She’d told him too much as it was, spilling words like a fountain.
“Cities aren’t my favorite either. But coming back here didn’t seem like an option.” He stared straight ahead.
“Until they forced you to come back.” His profession of love wasn’t real. Maybe he believed it, but he didn’t even know her. Talking business during a few meetings meant nothing. Especially when he’d reacted so poorly during those same meetings. And he hadn’t come back willingly. It was all nonsense.
He shook his head. “I wanted to come back. But I was a coward. My actions were unforgivable. And being here with you, but not with you? Brutal.” He swallowed hard.
Sam turned away. Unforgivable might not be right, but she certainly wasn’t ready to pardon him. The confession, paired with the attractive package, was tempting, but he was selling a fantasy. If she gave in now, he’d take more and more and more, until she had nothing left. Then he’d leave her with crushed dreams and a broken heart. Again. She wasn’t a foolish child.
Talking about the past and their emotions was dumb. Wiz had taught her to live in the moment and focus on survival. “Where are we going? What’s the plan? And don’t you dare tell me it’s ‘need to know’ or something equally stupid. I’ll ditch you and go back to Wiz’s.”
“I’m an idiot.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. He tapped the screen, then tossed it in her lap. “Bring up the app labeled ‘Scanner’ and put it on speaker. With the number of people Koslov rolled south, Wiz, Geo, and the rest of them will be busy. You don’t want to get in the middle of that.”
The scanner squawked to life. “Marcus Fire, continue staging for law enforcement for fire at Ninth and Madison. Marcus law enforcement, second priority, multiple reports of shots fired, explosions, and fire at Deb’s Bakery. Third priority, possible break-in at Fourth and Main, smoke detectors activated. Last priority, shots reported at Borde Ranch Road. Homeowner reports all residents are safe.”
Sam squeezed her eyes shut. At least her friends were safe, but Koslov’s people broke into her office and set a fire. All her critical client files were in fireproof safes, but the working files weren’t. She had cloud backups for electronic files, but hard copies were still a big part of her business. She should have bought more fire safes, but she hadn’t believed that Koslov would go so far to save his reputation.
Trevor’s phone rang. “Answer it. Put it on speaker.” She did.
“Mills, Davidson. Deb’s Bakery is a war zone. Koslov’s people are shooting, Copperline is firing back. Koslov’s using grenades and rocket launchers. One vehicle incinerated themselves, but they got the bakery, despite some fancy contraption Copperline deployed. Koslov’s forces left, and Copperline’s brought more in. Most of them are fighting the fire, but there’s a lot of yelling and posturing between Copperline and local law enforcement. Marcus Fire has just showed up. What do you want me to do?”
Trevor scowled. “See if you can broker a truce between Copperline and the locals. Get at least one of them moving to Sam’s office before it burns. Then report everything up the chain as terrorism. That’ll get the bosses moving.”
“Copy that. Davidson out.” Trevor pounded a fist on his steering wheel.
“We need to go back.” She couldn’t leave her friends to face the Marcus police, the sheriff and the district attorney. She was sure the sheriff was dirty, and probably the DA, but didn’t have proof. “Geo and Deb will need a lawyer.”
“They need a criminal lawyer, not you.” He sighed. “Besides, my supervisors will step in now.”
Sam huffed. “That means they need a lawyer even more. No one should talk to the FBI without an attorney.”
“Then find them a criminal attorney. You can’t go back. Koslov’s people are hunting for you. More importantly, the people Koslov worked for are hunting you. You organized the effort to push Koslov out and they know it. Deb may be the face, but without you, the whole thing will fall apart.”
“That’s ridiculous. Erin, Deb, and Wiz can run it.” She’d done her part, but they all worked together.
“They can now. But you set it up. You got the local business owners to join Deb, to stand up against Koslov. You did the footwork. Erin helped, but you were the person all those business owners believed in, the reason they took a chance. In the mob’s world, if they take out the power behind the throne, then everything falls apart, and they don’t create a martyr by killing the king or queen. That means you’re a target. Koslov’s employers are gunning for you and those are not people you mess with. If you think grenades and rocket launchers are bad, these people will send assassins. Wiz and Geo are no match for them.”
Nothing he said made sense. “Trevor, I’m nobody from a tiny town in Montana. Why would they bother?”
“Because you made them look bad. A small-town lawyer made them look weak. Other Bratva organizations will try to take advantage of that, too.”
“So, I have to disappear forever? Into protective custody or witness protection?” Leaving everyone behind was like dying.
Trevor shook his head. “I wish that was an option, but since you can’t testify against anyone, you’re not eligible for WITSEC.”
Gulping, Sam turned away from Trevor. If Wiz and Geo couldn’t protect her and the government wouldn’t, her chances of survival were slim. She had a few dollars in her purse, no outdoor survival skills, no real weapons, and while she could wait tables or do other minimum wage jobs, she was too recognizable. She was good with makeup, but not theater makeup—she couldn’t change her appearance that much. Not without plastic surgery and she had no money. Besides, the thought of making herself ugly made her shudder. It might seem shallow, but she’d spent too many years downplaying her looks for the man next to her. She wasn’t doing it again, not even to save her life.
Trevor offered his right hand to her, palm up. “I’m not going to let you die, Sam. I’ve got a plan.”
She didn’t take his hand. She wasn’t giving him any more power than he had already. “But I’m not eligible for help. You just told me that.”
He let his hand drop. “You’re not eligible for any formal protection program, but I’m going to help you. I don’t care what my bosses want. Let them fire me.”
Sam snorted. “So we’ll both be unemployed and on the run? That’ll be great.”
“I’ve got money. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough to live on. But that’s not my plan. I’m going to make sure you’re safe for now, then get you back to your life. No one, including me, will hurt you.”
“You can’t guarantee that.” Sam crossed her arms and looked out the dark window. Trevor had white knight syndrome. But if he could help her get money from her bank accounts, she could survive for at least six months. Maybe more. Erin and Deb could pack and store her personal stuff and rent her house out for the summer. Then she could sell it through a realtor. Her equity would allow her to rent some place cheap for quite a while. But before that could happen, she had to make it through the night and probably a couple more weeks.
