“You fucking heard me, Elio. As soon as she’s alone, I want you to grab her and bring her here. No matter what it takes,do you understand?”
My brother’s voice is rife with confusion as he says, “Alright, I will.”
Something slides through my chest, fear, anticipation, anger all rolled up together.
It might not be her, a logical voice in my head suggests.
But I know it’s bullshit. It’s her. My little siren has walked right back into my life once again. And this time I’m not letting her go.
First, she’ll pay for daring to walk away from me in the first place.
CHAPTER NINE
LILIANA
Blind panic never gets you anywhere.
In my worst moments, I always hear my mother’s voice in my ear, guiding me down the right path. She might infuriate me more than anyone else in the planet, but she’s also the smartest person I know and she’s never led me astray.
In light of Carlos’s revelations, I force myself to calm down. And then I begin making a plan. I say goodbye to him and apologize for getting him into this mess in the first place. The guilt over what he had to endure will forever hunt me but I can’t dwell on that right now.
He only lets me go after I promise to call him once I arrive at my motel. He wanted to follow me but I assured him it wasn’t necessary. I’m not going to the motel to stay. I just need to pack up my things, laptop, change of clothes and then I’m out of here.
I’ll head back home to my mother and daughter and then we’re leaving that town as well. Carlos is right. Nowhere in this city is safe, I don’t even trust the state to be safe anymore. We need to get out of New Jersey, far far away from Rafaelle Vitale’s reach.
The rest of my meagre savings can get us a fresh start somewhere else. We’ll be dirt poor but at least we’ll still be alive and together.
He can never find out about my daughter.
I have no idea how I’ll explain all this to my mother. And I don’t know how I’m going to convince her to leave but I have no choice. He could always track me to her and then who knows what he’ll do. The sight of the stubs on Carlos’s hand makes me feel sick once again.
I nearly stumble as I walk but I stand upright, walking as fast as my legs can carry me. The motel is only ten minutes away. I just need to get in and out and then leave.
I’m so focused on the thoughts running through my head that I don’t hear the footsteps until it’s too late. Three pairs follow me and when they become louder and more incessant, my heart starts to race. Survival instincts have me breaking into a run and when I hear them following, I start to scream.
“Help!”
It’s no use though. The sidewalk is mostly deserted and this is a seedy area. The people here are more likely to turn away and ignore me than help.
I turn a corner and catch sight of the motel. Hope flares within my chest as I think of the possibility of making it there before my captors catch up to me. But I don’t notice a small stone in the middle of the road. I trip and immediately go down. Pain shoots up my knee and that mixed up with the fear has my eyes welling up with tears.
I turn towards my attackers, still on the ground. Reaching for the stone that tripped me, I brandish it like a weapon, knowing deep down it’s no use.
“Stay away from me!” I yell, my tone hysterical.
There are three men, two of them dressed in dark suits. The one in front is dressed super casually in a t-shirt and jeans. He has dark eyes and even darker hair and there’s something familiar about him but I’m too scared to place it.
“Please. I don’t have any money.”
The one with dark hair advances on me, a frown on his face. There’s nothing threatening in his expression but them chasing me down the street isn’t exactly non-threatening behavior.
“This isn’t about money, Liliana,” he says gently.
My heart skips a beat, “How do you know my name?”
He lifts both of his hands up carefully, “I’m not going to hurt you, just relax.”
He’s still walking towards me so I decide to launch the rock in my hand at his face. I’ve always had impeccable aim and it meets its mark. The rock hits the side of his forehead. He grunts in pain, his hand reaching up to feel the area. Satisfaction fills me when I sight blood.
