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“I’m not staying down there,” I replied in growing panic. “I’m a mess—”
“No, you can’t wait there. Who knows what will happen once he talks to Alex? They could take this chance to take you out. You need to hide until Simu can get there to pick you up. You’ve got to get out of the building right away.”
“Not Simu,” I mumbled.
“Pull it together, Cat. I can’t come get you. I’m in the middle of something. I’m going to text you a safe place to hide until he can get to you.”
He covered the mic with his hand because suddenly his voice was muffled. Then he was back on, “Simu’s leaving now. Get off the phone and get out of there. Take the service exit and check your phone right before you step outside so you know where to go. Once you’re on the street, make yourself as inconspicuous as possible, and follow the directions to the meeting spot.”
“Okay,” I muttered and hung up. Thrusting the cell phone in my purse, I lopped it across my chest and quickly took the stairs down. Did I agree with Cristo that I was in danger? In a heartbeat. This wasn’t simply about upsetting or hurting Luca’s feelings, this was about betraying a mafie clan, and not just any mafie clan, either. The most powerful mafie this side of the Atlantic.
Mafiewas mafie was mafie. There were a few hard-line rules, and betrayal was as black and white as they came. There was no room for gray, for shading. Even if Luca was willing to spare me, there was little chance that Alex would. And Nicu? He’d insist on disposing of me in case I’d found something incriminating.
Skidding to a halt when I heard a noise, I snapped my mouth shut and breathed through my nostrils. I waited a few moments but didn’t hear another sound, so I resumed my descent until I hit the ground level. Peeking out into the hallway, I found myself near the mail room, off the main foyer. Shit.
I sifted through my muddled brain to remember which direction the service entrance might be. Did it even matter? I deserved whatever they did to me. Then the image of my father choking that man in our basement flashed in front of my eyes. Yikes. I wasn’t sure I was worthy of living, but I wasn’t going to let someone torture me to death. It would break my mother’s and Bunica’s hearts. Although, dying by my own hand was still up for debate. After what I had done, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to live with myself.
Sneaking out of the stairway, I flattened myself against the wall and followed the hallway until I passed the service elevators. Spotting a “Service” sign on a door, I sprinted the rest of the way and slipped into another stairway. The walls of this staircase were bare concrete and scuffed-up. I dashed down to the lower level. Halfway across a dark, gray-colored corridor, I saw a crack in a pair of double doors.
The service entrance.
I checked my phone and opened Cristo’s text. It was the address of a movie theater a few blocks away on Broadway. He directed me to buy a ticket and hide in a stall of the women’s bathroom until I got a text from Simu. My spine slammed against the wall as a building maintenance worker came whistling down the hall and turned a corner without noticing me.
The moment he disappeared, I raced to the opening and slipped out onto the street. Stooping forward in an attempt to make myself smaller, I ducked my head and hugged the storefronts as I fled to my meeting point.
