Page 100 of Mafia Obsession

Wrath shifts on his feet like he might object. Might call Ares.

But he finally gives a small nod. “Go.”

The entire campus is secured, monitored, and layered with state-of-the-art safeguards. They also don’t see me as theprisoner I really am.

In the lobby, I don’t look back as I cross the polished marble floor. If someone follows me, I don’t want to see it and react. I’m dying inside.

A security camera blinks above the exit. Yanking my hair out of the bun, I angle my face down, letting my hair fall forward as I push through the doors.

At the curb, the black sedan waits exactly where it should, engine idling patiently. Innocently.

For a moment, I stand on the sidewalk and hesitate. Damn… What if… What if I just tell Ares about Sandrine?

What if he figures out why my father changed her name and hid her? What if he finds the person she’s hiding from?

A mafia boss like Ares would know exactly how to use information like that. And protect her the way he wants to protect me.

I sigh, considering the reality. He doesn’t love me. He just wants to own me.

Still, I understand with devastating precision that once I get into this car, I’m setting off a bomb whose blast radius will level this city. Ares will hunt me down when he figures out that I’m gone.

But with such a busy network, it should take hours to reconcile the ordered car for Atlas he didn’t need. By then I will have landed in Chicago and can disappear into the folds before they know I’m gone.

The December air slices across my cheeks differently from when I got here this morning. Now it’s the wind beneath my wings. A sign to say: fly and be free.

I get into the car, and the driver glances at me over his shoulder with a flicker of recognition.

“Miss?”

My heart pounds, but I don’t let the panic show on my face.

“Change of plans,” I say, already reaching for the seatbelt. “Atlas can’t make it. Ares asked me to go in his place.”

His fingers tap once against the wheel, our eyes locked in the rearview.

“Problem?” I snap with authority.

“No, miss.” The driver finally nods and shifts the car into drive.

Hiding my relief, I sit back, but my phone buzzes in my hand.

Unknown Number

Panicking, I power it off without answering. I plan to remove the SIM card once I buy a burner phone at the Chicago airport.

I spend the next two hours dealing with typical airport tension while looking over my shoulder every few minutes. Waiting to get on the plane, standing in line, feeling like a sitting duck. Finding my seat and then staring at the galley as other passengers file in. All while I wait to see Ares coming for me, his large, intimidating frame strutting down the narrow aisle.

The doors close. No Ares. We pull away from the jetway. No Ares.

I keep my eyes glued to the tarmac. Waiting for movement. For chaos.

Nothing. The plane lifts off, and I close my eyes in relief.

I did it. I outmaneuvered the God of War.

Chapter 38

Ares