Page 48

"Maybe it was her father, Leo, did you say his name was? He's in Italy, right, not in the States? Maybe he decided enough was enough."

"Don't be ridiculous," Mario snaps at me. "Everything goes through Leo. He has no reason to take his daughter from the hospital."

"Are you sure about that? I heard fathers get weird about this kind of thing. Maybe he felt threatened."

"Threatened?" Mario glares at me. "What would be threatening?"

"I don't know. You had a woman in your house and she was taken without your knowledge. Maybe he feared the same would happen to his daughter since obviously, your security is lacking."

"You dare insult me?" Mario roars. "You have no idea what I have done to protect her, no idea how important she is. Her very life is the… the…" He trails off suddenly and his little eyes narrow to slits. "Why are you so interested in Leo?"

I hold his gaze. "Am I? I'm just giving you options. You should consider all angles."

"All angles? You know nothing about this—about Leo, you…" He trails off and something finally clicks in his eyes. "When you were on the phone… I know you came into the country with a woman. Is she really someone you are dating?"

I smirk. "No. Not at all. In fact, I think she might take my balls for insinuating that."

"You… what have you done? What have you done?" His voice climbs louder and louder with rage, and then his hand dips back behind himself to the gun situated on his belt.

I'm already pulling the handle open. As soon as it clicks, I throw myself against the door to force it open faster and the last thing I see before I tuck and roll out of the car is the silver flash of Mario's handgun. Two gunshots follow me as I slam into the tarmac and roll over myself, carried by the momentum of the car.

Tarmac scrapes and drags at my clothes, grazes my forearm, and collides hard with my elbows and knees as I roll, but I keep going until the squeal of brakes being slammed reaches my ears. Gritting my teeth, I twist my body to slow my roll and as soon as I land on my stomach, I scramble upward and sprint for the sidewalk. Several more gunshots follow me, hitting parked cars, walls, and a lamppost as I dart past them all as fast as I can. Each bang makes me flinch and I lift my arms, then dive over the hood of a parked car and land hard on the other side with a grunt as three more gunshots collide with the metal.

"Fuck," I gasp out. My heart pounds as hard as my shoulder throbs from my exit from the car, but there's no time to catch my breath. I'm back on my feet and throwing myself down a nearby alley before anyone can get another shot on me.

The heat of the day fills the alley with the stink of garbage and smoke, clogging my lungs as I pant and sprint as fast as I can. Reaching the mouth of the alley, I take a right and race down the sidewalk, then across the road to the cacophony of angry, alarmed drivers. I run until my heart bursts and the chasing yells and pot shots from Mario's pursuing men become nothing more than a distant noise that melts into the crowd of the city.

Once I'm sure I've lost them, I run a few more streets and finally collapse down some steps leading to a cafe tucked just below street level. A few curious patrons look me over as I melt into the steps, panting desperately, but after flashing them all a smile, most look away. Only a couple continue to watch me as I pull my phone out of my sweat-soaked pants and dial Raven's number.

"Joker," I gasp out between harsh breaths. "Everyone… good?"

"Yep. Everyone is secure. They'll be arriving at the yacht in about ten minutes. You alright?" Subtle concern leaks into Raven's voice.

"Clean… getaway." Heat flushes my face and sweat continuously rolls down the edge of my face no matter how often I wipe it away.

"All in all looks good," Raven says. "I have a boat waiting for you to take you to the yacht. Think you can get there in thirty?"

"Sure… lemme just… catch my breath… and I'll be there…"

An hour later, I climb up the ladder onto the private yacht and take Valentina's hand, letting her haul me up the last two rungs.

"You good?" Her brows pull together as she runs her eyes over me. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"I'm fine. Mario tried his best but you know me. I'm a track star. All that yoga gives me the lung capacity of an elephant."

"Do they have a big lung capacity?"

I shrug, falling into step beside her as we slowly walk down the deck and people behind us busy themselves with securing the speedboat I took to the side of the yacht. "Okay, a whale, then."

"Alright." She snorts softly.

"How is Illyana?"

"She's fine. She's settled in, but she has been asking after Mario and a woman called Mandy who I believe is some kind of caretaker she has. Won't be too difficult to keep her under control, though."

"Under control?" I arch one brow. "She's a kid."

Valentina jabs her sharp elbow into my side and I dart away with a yelp. "You know what I mean," she snaps.