Chapter Thirty-nine
Rome, Italy
Bianchi Compound
“You’ve accepted my money, Ms. Roane, but you haven’t achieved the objectives for which I hired you.”
She stood in front of the desk like some sort of naughty child pleading her case to a strict and humorless headmaster. The old man’s face resembled an emaciated prune. His body had likely always been whipcord thin and now looked like a withered, bent stick. With one targeted hit, she could break him in two with one hand.
She hadn’t liked Luis Mendoza; she liked Rudolph Bianchi even less. But liking her clients had never been a necessity. She could spend an unlikable client’s money just as well as she could anyone else’s.
“I disagree with your assessment, Mr. Bianchi. I achieved two of your objectives. I believe both Señor Mendoza and Señor Conti are spending quality time in hell because of me.”
“That was a different contract, and I paid you handsomely for those hits. You have not achieved the final objective, which is the most important one. Gabriella Mendoza has not been found. You were to bring her to me. You have failed.”
“I have not failed. I just haven’t finished the job. Shooting someone is much easier than finding a lone woman who doesn’t want to be found.”
“So you believe, as I do, that Señorita Mendoza arranged her abduction so she could escape her grandfather.”
“I do.”
“At least we agree on that. However, that does nothing to fix the issue. I’m going to hire additional investigators. The one who brings Gabriella to me will receive payment, plus a sizable bonus. If you want that to be you, Ms. Roane, I suggest you do your job.”
Considering the austerity and emptiness of this rotted old castle, this was a major concession from Bianchi. The man’s miserly reputation was well earned. She knew the reason he wanted Gabriella found and could not fathom a kid growing up in this place. Hell, the man probably wouldn’t live past the child’s first birthday.
But it was not her place, or even of interest to her, why he wanted what he wanted. Money was her only priority.
His thin lips curled with arrogant amusement. “What do you say about that, Ms. Roane?”
Oh, how she wanted to end the old fart’s life right this instant. Taking orders was her least-favorite part of her job. The people who hired her always thought they knew best. That she should have done something a different way or she wasn’t fast enough. Some people could not be pleased no matter how smoothly their orders were carried out.
Being in the service industry as she was, she had to put up with a certain amount of kowtowing and public relations. It was the nature of the beast. However, the sheer unpleasantness of Rudolph Bianchi made her want to end him much sooner than was wise. He was such a sourpuss.
But she wanted the money she had been promised, and she wanted the bonus. She would have both.
“You’re right, of course. And I will do my job. Will you give me just one more day, sir, before you hire additional people? I believe I can convince you that your trust in me was not misplaced.”
“What difference will one more day make?”
“I need to fetch something from my apartment in Paris. It will, I think, give you an insight into just how close I am to closing this case.”
Watery eyes the color of old mud gleamed at her. “Is this a trick? An effort to delay the inevitable?”
The man might be old as dirt, but he was still crafty and alert. His intelligence was an inconvenience she could have done without.
“No trick. In fact, if you’re not impressed with what I bring you tomorrow, I’ll return your retainer money.”
“Very well. I’ll expect you at noon tomorrow. Don’t disappoint me, Ms. Roane. I don’t deal well with fools.”
“You won’t be disappointed. I promise.”
Ivy left the mansion in a hurry. She had so much to set up before their next meeting. And she hadn’t lied. Mr. Bianchi would definitely not be disappointed in what she brought to him. He would, however, be more than a little surprised.
A few miles down the road, she pulled into a parking lot and sent a text. The response she received was all she could have hoped for and more.
Game on.
***
Willoughby, Wisconsin
She had a job. It was all Gabby could do not to kick up her heels. Since she was wearing four-inch stilettos, she decided against that, but did do a little skip down the street. She was now the assistant to the director of the Willoughby Museum of Art and Natural History. The museum was split into two parts, and she would work on the art side. The job couldn’t have been more perfect for her if it had been designed with her in mind.
She told herself that she had gotten the job on her own merits, but she wasn’t completely sure. It was true that the interview had gone well. The ice-blue suit she’d chosen, and not the red one Lacey had suggested, did look good on her. And the instant she’d walked into the museum, she felt as though she were home. With almost no effort, she had smoothly answered the interview questions as if she’d been Jessica Olsen all of her life.
Maybe doubts would always be a part of her makeup, at least until she had some experience doing things on her own. For right now, today, she was absolutely ecstatic and couldn’t wait to share her good news with Lacey.
She hadn’t heard a peep from Jonah. Not unexpected. He had been more than clear on their need to never see each other again. And while she understood his reasoning that she needed to separate herself from everything and everyone she knew, there was a part of her that told her he had used that as an excuse.
She hated that whiny, insecure voice that would pop up at the most inconvenient times. Maybe that was just an aftereffect of having her heart broken. Whatever the reason, she didn’t like the feeling. She might never see Jonah again, but she would never forget him and all that they shared. Concentrating on the good memories and not the pain would be the mature thing to do. If not for Lacey, she wasn’t sure she would have done nearly as well.
It felt so odd and wonderful to have a friend. One she could share good news with. One who would be happy for her success. And one who was the sister of the man she loved.
But Lacey would be leaving tomorrow, and while she would be sad to see her friend go, Gabby knew it was for the best. The time had come for her to be on her own…have the life that she and others had worked so hard to achieve. It would be the height of hypocrisy and selfishness to squander the chance. Just because she had a broken heart didn’t mean she couldn’t have a valuable life. To have that life of meaning, she had to let go of the past.
Still, this clean break everyone insisted on was so damn painful.
She stumbled on a pebble on the sidewalk and realized she’d been walking down the street without any awareness of her surroundings. Just because she had escaped her past didn’t mean she could take her safety for granted. For the foreseeable future, she had to take all precaution.
She stumbled on another pebble, almost tripping, and cursed her lack of foresight. She should have brought comfortable shoes to wear back home. It was only five blocks from the museum to the bus station, but in four-inch heels, that could feel like a mile. She glanced up at the street sign. One more block to go. She winced as the toe pinching began in earnest.
Her mind on getting to the bus station and sitting down as soon as possible, she didn’t see the man until he was almost on her. She spotted him out of the corner of her eye. He was running across a parking lot, toward the sidewalk. His fierce expression wasn’t necessarily alarming. The gun in his hand was.
“Stop! Thief!” An old man, eighty if he was a day, hobbled after the man. “He just robbed my store!”
If she had given herself time to think things through, she might have made a different decision. But the hard look on the thief’s face, combined with the desperation of the old man, made her decision for her. The man was a yard and a half away when he pivoted to avoid a collision with her. Intending that there be a collision, Gabby made an abrupt move, putting her body directly in his path. She swung hard and made contact with his right arm, knowing from experience that his arm would go numb, along with his gun hand. He dropped the weapon, snarled a curse at her, and pivoted again, trying once more to run. Gabby stuck her foot out, tripping him. The thief teetered before falling face first onto the pavement.
The man rose to his knees and scrambled for the gun.
Gabby kicked the gun out of the way and then pressed her spiked heel into the man’s back. “Stay put.”
Before she could do anything else, a uniformed policeman ran toward them. “Are you okay, ma’am?”
“I’m fine, Officer.” She moved away and watched as the policeman hauled the man to his feet and handcuffed him.
The old man, winded from running, grabbed hold of her hand and shook hard. “Young lady, thank you. You stopped him.”
“It was nothing, really. Just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Anyone would have done the same thing.”
Gabby was doing her best to downplay her role when things went from bad to worse. A van with the local news station emblem on its side drove up and parked at the curb. Two people jumped out, one of them holding a camera, the other holding a microphone.
She held back a sigh. This was what she got for requesting a small town to relocate in. Any kind of excitement, even something this mild, was sure to bring attention.
Dozens of people milled around, excitedly chattering about what they’d seen and what happened. The old man continued to talk to the news media, explaining in painful detail about how Gabby had saved him.
When a microphone was shoved in her face and a smiling reporter began to ask questions, she knew without a doubt she was in big trouble.
***
Utah
“Five days. She’s there five damn days, and she blows her cover.”
Over a thousand miles separated them, but Lacey’s huff of exasperation came through loud and clear in Jonah’s ear. “It wasn’t exactly her fault, Jonah.”
“Fault or not, she’s got to get out of there. No way in hell can she stay there now.”
“How do you even know what happened? It’s not exactly national news.”
“I have an alert on my phone.”
“An alert?”
“For news from Willoughby, Wisconsin.”
“I see.”
The amusement in Lacey’s voice barely penetrated his worry. “I’m going to call Justice. We’ll—”
“I’ve already talked to Grey. He said, and I agree, that we need to wait.”
“Wait!” Jonah barked. “Wait for what? For her to get kidnapped, taken back to those bastards?”
“Calm down, big brother, and listen. We’re in a small town in Wisconsin. Not only does she have a new name, she’s got a new hairstyle. Even had it lightened a bit, with streaks of gold. Looks fantastic, by the way.”
When he let loose what sounded like a feral growl, she added with more solemnity, “Seriously, Jonah, she barely looks like the same person. I’m not sure even you could recognize her. Besides, the chances of this news reaching Italy is almost zero. And even if it did, no one would recognize her. New name, new look. It’s no big deal.”
Jonah ground his teeth. Didn’t anyone get this? “The chance exists. That’s what counts. She needs to get out before something happens that we can’t control.”
“You mean that you can’t control, don’t you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“She’s not your responsibility anymore.”
“I didn’t keep her safe just to have her put her life in jeopardy the moment she’s out of my sight.”
“Wow. It’s like déjà vu all over again. For a second, I was hearing Daddy talk.”
The hurt slammed into him, followed by the knowledge that she had a point. He had sounded a lot like his old man.
“Low blow, Lace.”
“Justified, Jonah. Now, do you want to talk to her? Because if you do, you’d better check that attitude. She’s had a pretty emotional day and doesn’t need any shit from you.”
“You’ve got a foul mouth, Lacey Lou.”
She snickered at the nickname he’d given her when she was a baby. “I learned from the best. So, are you going to behave?”
“I’ll be on my best behavior. Promise.”
He heard whispers and then Gabby, sounding a little husky, said, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“I know, baby. I’m just worried about you.”
Gripping the phone in her hand, Gabby held back tears. It had been a roller coaster of a day. Her emotions were all over the place. First the job offer, then the chance to stop a thief, followed by the horror of all the attention she had gotten. And now talking with Jonah. She hadn’t been sure she’d ever hear his voice again.
“I think you should leave. We can put you back in a safe house until we get you a new identity and location.”
“I’m not going anywhere. This is my home now.”
“That makes no sense. The primary purpose of you disappearing from the public eye is to keep a low profile. That’s been shot to hell.”
“I live in a small town, thousands of miles away from the Bianchis. There’s absolutely no reason for anyone in Italy to hear about this incident. By tomorrow, it will be old news here. All the way in Italy, it won’t even register.”
She cleared her throat, adding firmly, “The matter is settled.”
And because she wanted to hear him say something other than give her dire warnings or a stern lecture, she said, “I got a job today.”
“You can get another one somewhere else.”
Gabby closed her eyes. What had she expected? Jonah would always look at her through a lens of protection. She had been his charge, and that was what he would always focus on first.
“Your job with me is over, Jonah. I’m not your responsibility anymore. You’re not my protector or my keeper. I’m on my own now and—”
“I’m aware of that. Just because I want to keep you out of the clutches of that son of a bitch doesn’t mean I’m trying to take away your independence. I’m trying to keep you alive.”
She drew in a trembling breath. They were going in circles and would never agree. Yes, there was the possibility of danger, but if she moved every time the possibility existed, she would be on the run for the rest of her life.
It was now or never. “I appreciate your concern, but the matter is settled. Goodbye, Jonah.”
“Wait!”
She ended the call and dropped the phone on the kitchen counter. With a smile that felt both frozen and fake, she said, “Let’s celebrate my new job.”
***
“Okay. I’m going to tell you something. Being the pigheaded man that he is, Jonah would deny it, but I swear it’s true.”
“What?”
“I don’t think he and Teri would have lasted.”
They were sitting in Gabby’s living room. An empty pizza box sat between them, along with an empty bottle of wine. She hadn’t told Lacey about her hopes and wishes books. Jonah was the only one who knew about them, but this had been on her list. She had wanted to have a girls’ night with a friend to share secrets and giggle. They had started out with giggles, but now, with full stomachs and two glasses of wine each, the secrets were coming out.
“Why don’t you think they would have stayed together?”
“Because they didn’t have anything between them, not really. They started dating at the same time they began digging up dirt on my dad and Adam. That’s all they concentrated on. If they’d been dating like a normal couple, I think the relationship would have ended with just a few dates.”
“But why?”
“Other than their shared interest of revealing the corruption of the Slater empire, they didn’t have much in common. Mind you, I only saw them together a few times. They were trying to keep their relationship a secret, but whenever Jonah talked about Teri, it always revolved around their investigation. There was affection there, but the tender feelings you’d expect to see when a man talks about the woman he loves weren’t there.”
Lacey’s smile was soft, almost wistful. “I only saw you two together for a couple of hours, but there was more emotion and tenderness between you than I ever saw with them.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. Jonah couldn’t keep his eyes or his hands off of you.”
“He couldn’t?” She blushed. “I don’t even remember him touching me.”
Lacey’s green eyes, so much like Jonah’s, glinted with laughter. “That’s probably because you were touching him, too. You guys have it bad.”
“It doesn’t matter. Even if he admitted his feelings, we couldn’t be together.”
“And why not?”
“Because I need to stay hidden.”
“So? You can stay hidden and still have a relationship. No one has to know.”
She had a feeling Lacey’s boss wouldn’t agree with her opinion, but that was one of the many things she liked about Jonah’s sister. Lacey definitely had a mind and an opinion of her own.
“That’s exactly what I told Jonah. He said it wouldn’t work.”
“Look up stubborn in the dictionary and you’ll see Jonah’s picture.”
Despite her misery, Gabby laughed. The woman definitely had a way with words. It was obvious she adored her brother, but she didn’t hold back her thoughts when she believed he was wrong.
“Is that what you and Wyatt have done? Kept your relationship hidden?”
Brightness left Lacey’s eyes, and Gabby wanted to call her words back. “I’m sorry. That’s none of my business.”
“No, you’re right. And saying it’s complicated is a cliché, but that’s because clichés are often all too true. Our relationship is beyond complicated.”
“But why? It’s obvious he’s crazy about you.”
“Is it?” Her smile was sad. “Tell Wyatt that. Maybe he’ll believe you.”
They went on to talk about other things, but Gabby kept thinking about Lacey’s words. Relationships were complicated. Perhaps hers and Jonah’s was more so than most, but did that really mean they couldn’t have one? Apparently, no one knew that Wyatt and Lacey were in a relationship. Why couldn’t that work for her and Jonah?
Her mind veered away from her biggest doubt, but the voice inside her head wouldn’t let it lie. Was Jonah using her need to stay hidden as an excuse to not be with her? She knew he had feelings for her, but maybe that’s all he had. Feelings didn’t necessarily equate love, at least not the forever kind.
And without a doubt, hers were forever.