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I grabbed some money from the jar in the kitchen cupboard where I knew cash was kept. Luckily it was well-stocked with one-hundred-dollar notes.
I picked up the car keys and I was about to rush out the door when I thought about Mr. F. I shook some dry food into his dog bowl and filled up his water bowl. I gave him a pat on the head and told him to be good.
I quickly made my way outside and used Palmina’s car keys to get inside her car. Without stopping to think about it any further, I started the engine and drove toward the perimeter gates.
I held my breath as I neared the gates. My heart was in my mouth.
The guards opened the gates and waved me through. Luck must have been on my side for once. I wanted to hit the accelerator as soon as I was out of the gates, but I knew that I couldn’t act suspiciously.
Once I was a good distance away from the Marchiano estate, I pulled over and checked Palmina’s cell phone. It was pin protected, damn. I knew Marco might try to track her phone, so I removed the sim card and ditched both it and the phone in a trash can.
MARCO
She had promised me. She had promised me that she would not try to run again.
She had betrayed me and betrayed my trust. Even worse, she had betrayed Debi.
My blood was coursing through my veins, making it difficult for me to think straight.
When I arrived home, Alessio had already gotten there before me and was trying to trace Juliana. “We’re trying to track Palmina’s phone. It was in her car. It might give us Juliana’s location.”
I looked across at Debi who was red-eyed and looked shaken. “Hey shortcake, are you okay?” I asked, taking Debi into my arms and giving her a hug.
“Yes,” sniffed Debi. “I don’t understand why Juliana did this.”
“Neither do I. But don’t worry, I’m going to get her back.”
At that moment Mr. F decided to pee on the floor. “For God’s sake, someone take that dog into the garden.”
Danio was also back now. “I’ll take him out. Come on, Debi, it might cheer you up if you come outside and play with Mr. Fluffy.”
Alessio looked up from his laptop. “I’ve tracked Palmina’s phone to a gas station near the interstate. She must be heading for L.A. That would be her obvious destination.”
“Call the airfield and tell them to get the jet ready. Get some of our soldiers together and be ready to leave in ten minutes,” I ordered Alessio. “Camillo, you stay here with the kids and let us know if you find out anything else.”
Alessio and I drove to the private airfield. Fury had taken over my body. She has a head-start on us of over six hours.
She might have gotten away, but we could easily cut her off before she reached her family in L.A. It would take almost thirty hours for her to drive there, but we could travel that distance in a fraction of the time in our jet.
When we arrived at the airfield, we drove our SUV straight up to the jet which was being refueled. I hurried onto the jet while Alessio stood on the tarmac talking to the pilot.
Alessio came on board. “You’re not going to like this, Marco.”
“Spit it out,” I barked.
“The pilot says we can’t take off because fog is starting to shroud the city.
“Fuck it!” I slammed my fist onto the table in front of me. “How long until it clears?”
“They’re not sure yet.”
“Tell the fucking pilot to look at the fucking forecast. I want an answer in two minutes!” I roared.
I got up and started pacing up and down the aisle until Alessio came back. “The fog is going to be bad. It isn’t forecast to lift until tomorrow evening at the earliest.”
Fuck! Juliana already had over six hours head-start on us, plus the flight would take another four hours. If we couldn’t take off until tomorrow evening, then we might not make it in time to cut her off.
I looked at Alessio. “We’re driving to L.A.” We had to try to catch up with Juliana. “Come on!” I shouted over my shoulder, running back down to our SUV.
