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I sat there stunned. Listening to Jim speak.
“Two days later, I got a call from Antonio saying his sister had died in a car accident. I had no idea she had witnessed the murder, fuck I had no idea about the murder until Antonio had told me. He didn’t trust the FBI with his sister, and he certainly didn’t trust Dante. The guy is a nut case. He wanted his father dead so he could have control of the family.”
“It was staged? Her death was staged?” I asked.
“Yes, but at the time I didn’t know it was. Antonio did it all on his own without the FBI’s help. He felt like he couldn’t trust anyone.”
“Not even you? His partner?”
Jim laughed. “If that had been my sister, I wouldn’t have told him. Anyway, once I started to piece it all together, I went to Antonio in Italy. Told him I had seen Gabi and that you had been in Italy. That’s when he told me the truth. That Gabi was alive. I told him if I had put two and two together, it wouldn’t take long for Dante’s guys to figure it out. Antonio put someone on Gabi when she left Italy and Antonio’s had someone planted in with Dante the last six years. Dante’s in Colorado. He’s coming after Gabi.”
I dropped my head and scrubbed my hand down my face. “Son of a bitch.”
“Yeah. I’m not convinced they saw her in Italy though and neither is Antonio.”
“Why?”
“Dante is a smart guy. I don’t doubt that he hasn’t believed that Gabi has been dead all this time, but he isn’t a very trusting guy. I’d bet a year’s paycheck he’s been scanning all the major newspapers still for Gabi to slip up.”
The cooking competition.
“Oh holy shit. The cooking competition. They put her picture in the Denver paper.”
“That’s what Antonio thinks. Anyway, he was contacting Gabi and telling her to move on to the closest safe house.”
I shook my head, trying to make sense of the massive information Jim had just laid out on me. Then it hit me.
“Dante’s here in Colorado?”
“Yes. And he knows her name, Nic. Antonio has someone following her.”
“Why are you telling me this, Jim?”
He paused before answering. “I saw the way you looked at her that day and I knew you were destroyed thinking she was cheating. I didn’t want you to go the rest of your life wondering what happened. If Gabi leaves, you’ll never see her again.”
Standing, I attempted to calm my heart down. It was pounding in my chest.
“Then I better make sure I get to her before she leaves.”
“Hey, Nic. Can ask one favor of you.”
“Anything,” I said as I raced into my house.
“You didn’t get any of this information from me. Right?”
With a grin, I put my side arm holster on. My mother stood there staring at me as I checked my gun and slipped it into the holster.
“What information?”
Jim chuckled. “If you ever want a job . . .”
“I’m actually pretty damn happy where I am.”
“I thought so. Take care and please, don’t try to be the hero. Dante De Luca isn’t someone to mess around with.”
I smiled. “Neither am I, Jim. Neither am I.”
AFTER HANGING UP with Jim. I got a text from Cole.
Cole: Nic, I need you at Gabi’s place. STAT
I could run to Gabi’s place faster than I could drive, so that’s what I was going to do.
“Mama, I need to get over to Gabi’s.”
The look on her face told me she knew something was wrong.
“What is happening, Nicholaus?”
Kissing her on the cheek, I grabbed my other phone for work. Just in case.
“I can’t go into it right now, Mama. I’ll call you later.”
“Is Gabriella okay?”
Stopping, I turned back to look at her. “I really hope so.”
She nodded. “Then go to her. Be careful, son. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mama.”
Racing down the street, I said a prayer I wasn’t too late.
I hit reply on Cole’s text and tried to type the best I could as I ran.
Me: I’m on my way.
Antonio had a guy on Gabi, so I knew the moment I got to her place he would alert her brother. Fine by me. I had no fucking intentions of letting the woman I loved leave me. Her days of running were over if I had anything to say about it.
A half a block away from her place, I dropped my jog down to a walk. I didn’t want to bring attention to myself or alert Dante’s people of anything.
Lifting my phone, I pretended to be on it, but what I was really doing was trying to look around. I saw a black car parked on a side road. It had a perfect view of Gabi’s bakery. There was no way that was the FBI guy. He wouldn’t be that obvious.
