Chapter Forty-two
Willoughby, Wisconsin
Gabby stood in the middle of her living room, the phone gripped so hard in her hand she vaguely wondered if there would be indentions where her fingers were digging in.
“Rudolph Bianchi is dead? You’re sure, Grey?”
“Yes. His body was found by his butler yesterday morning.”
“But how? Was it an assassination, too?”
“Natural causes. He had a massive heart attack.”
Her legs like overcooked asparagus, she collapsed onto the sofa. “I don’t know what to think. How to process this. Does this mean it’s over? That I’m free?”
“I’m not ready to have you contact the press and announce your whereabouts to the world, but yes, I think very soon we can say this is over. You’ll be able to live as Gabriella Mendoza if you like. Or you can stay Jessica Olsen.”
It was too much to take in at once. She had just gotten used to being someone else, and now the possibility existed that she could go back to being herself. The mind boggled at the possibilities.
“Does Jonah know?”
“Not yet.”
“Can I call him?”
“I thought you might want to. Be prepared, though. He might not be in the best frame of mind.”
“What happened?”
“Let’s just say that he’s revisiting his obsession with taking down Teri’s killer.”
Teri again. The woman Jonah couldn’t forget. How silly for her to think he could love Gabby. Despite Lacey’s insistence that Jonah’s feelings for Teri wouldn’t have stood the test of time, to him, Teri would always be his only love.
As if he hadn’t noticed her lack of response, Grey continued. “But if anyone deserves to be able to tell him, you do. He’ll be glad to hear good news for a change.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“Last I saw him, he was here in Dallas, insisting on getting you relocated somewhere else.”
“I’m glad I didn’t. Everything went back to normal the next day. My new employer hadn’t even heard about the incident. Neither the photograph in the paper nor the news segment on television looked like the old me.”
“That’s what Lacey told me. So, how are you liking your new job?”
“It’s fun. A little monotonous at times, but I’ll take that over running for my life any day.”
“I hope soon that’ll be a thing of the past.”
“But you want me to be cautious still. Is there something about this I don’t know? Some other threat?”
“Not that I know of. I’m just not fond of coincidences, even happy ones. The deaths of the two people who were your biggest threats coming so close together is a little too convenient for my peace of mind.”
Even as much as she wanted to shout about her freedom from the highest building in Willoughby, she agreed with Grey. There was no harm in waiting. Besides, she liked her life right now. The stability after the storm of being on the run was reassuring and calming. Peaceful. There was only one thing missing. One person for whom she would give up all that stability and peace. And he was still in love with another woman.
“Maybe you should tell Jonah instead. He probably doesn’t want to hear from me right now.”
“I disagree. I think you’re exactly who he needs to hear from. The sooner the better.”
Grey was right. She should be the one to call Jonah and let him know her nightmare might be over for good. He deserved to hear the news from her.
What would he say? Would he see this as a new beginning not only for her, but also for them? Could she convince him that he was the man she wanted for all time? But even if she did, would that make a difference? Would she learn that it was as she feared? That he had used her need for anonymity as an excuse? Jonah was obviously still in love with his fiancée.
“Gabriella? Everything okay?”
She shook her head to clear it. Keeping Grey Justice on hold while she tried to figure out her love life wasn’t the most polite thing to do.
“Sorry. Yes. Just thinking things through.”
“So you’ll call Jonah?”
“Yes. Thanks, I will. And Grey?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you again for everything. Without you, I’d still be locked away. There’s no telling what might have happened to me.”
“You’re the one who instigated it. I just provided the tools.”
She didn’t agree but knew there was no point in arguing.
“We’ll talk soon. Continue to keep as low a profile as possible until we’re sure it’s clear.”
“I will.”
After the call ended, Gabby stared at the phone in her hand. A part of her wanted to call Jonah right away and let him know about Bianchi’s death. She knew he would be relieved. Another part hesitated. If she told him and he didn’t see the need to change their relationship, how would she deal with that?
Shaking her head at her indecision, Gabby hit the speed-dial key for Jonah. When his voice mail announced he wasn’t available, she couldn’t decide whether she was relieved or sad.
She wouldn’t leave a detailed message. The possibility always existed that it could get into the wrong hands.
“Hey, it’s me. Just heard some interesting news. The one we were worried about is no longer a problem.” And because she was a coward when it came to telling Jonah what she wanted, she added, “Call me back if you want details, or you can contact your boss.”
She held the phone several more seconds, wanting to say something, anything that might change the way things were between them. Finally, realizing that there would be a huge amount of dead silence on the message, she ended the call with nothing more than a simple, “I miss you.”
***
Dallas, Texas
Jonah listened to the message three times. He’d been in the shower when she called, and while he hated that he’d missed talking to her, he was glad for the time to think. He didn’t like what was going on. His instincts had been honed in prison. Anticipating and expecting trouble at every turn made for a paranoid, uneasy existence, but it had kept him alive.
This was no different. His gut was telling him that no way in hell had they just lucked out with both of Gabby’s tormentors having up and died. Luis Mendoza’s death had been understandable and less worrisome. There were so many who had wanted him dead. Whether it had been Bianchi or a dozen of his other enemies, a hit had been only a matter of time. But now this? Didn’t matter that Rudolph Bianchi was an old, sickly man and could’ve croaked at any time.
The stink of conspiracy was all over this. Question was, who and why?
Instead of calling Gabby, he punched in Justice’s number. Jonah didn’t waste time on pleasantries. Justice would be expecting his call.
“Do you believe Bianchi’s death is just a convenient coincidence?”
“No.”
“Something’s up.”
“I agree.”
“What did you tell Gabby?”
“That she needs to continue to take precautions until we know she’s safe.”
“How’d she feel about that?”
“I think she’s having trouble digesting everything, but she’s a smart woman. She won’t put down her guard until she’s certain.”
Holding the phone to his ear, Jonah strode to the closet and pulled out his go bag. The need to ensure Gabby’s safety was becoming a living thing. The longer he thought about it, the more concerned he became.
“I’m heading there now. I’ll call her on the way.”
“The plane’s at the airfield, fueled and ready to go, waiting for you.”
Jonah huffed out a humorless laugh. “You know me a little too well for my peace of mind.”
“I just know what a man does for a woman he loves.”
Arguing with him would do no good, especially when he knew Justice spoke the truth. He did love Gabby, and he would do anything for her.
“I’ll call you when I get to her apartment.”
“You’ll find a packet on the plane with Gabby’s apartment keys, along with other vital information you might need.”
Jonah snorted. “Must be nice to be a know-it-all.”
“It helps in times of trouble. I’ll let you know if anything develops.”
Grabbing a couple extra weapons, Jonah was out of his apartment and striding toward his SUV within minutes. Once he was on the plane, he’d call Gabby and let her know he was coming. He had a feeling the only person who would be surprised that he was headed to her was Gabby herself.
***
Willoughby, Wisconsin
The flight was less than two hours long, but the arrival of the rental car had been delayed. Just to be sure she was safe, he had called Gabby when he boarded the plane, once when he was in the air, and then the minute he landed.
She probably thought he was the most paranoid asshole in the world. Didn’t matter. Something wasn’t right. He’d been around too long, seen too much evil, to take for granted that Bianchi’s death was just a happy coincidence. The more he thought about it, the more certain he became. Until he could get to Gabby, he would not relax.
His mind whirled, backtracked, and then went around again. He had to get to her. Had to protect her, make sure she was safe. He had to—hell, he had to tell her he loved her. Couldn’t live without her. If necessary, he’d change his name, too. Whatever it took. He wanted to be with her, no matter what. And if he hadn’t been driving, he would have reached up and kicked his own ass for waiting so long to realize just how much she meant to him.
Of course he had loved Teri, but Justice was right. The time had come to let her go. The guilt would always be with him. Since his own father was responsible for her death, how could it not? But guilt accomplished nothing. He wanted a future with Gabby. If she would still have him.
The cellphone beside him rang with Justice’s ring tone. Jonah grabbed it and hit speaker. “What’s up?”
“Are you at Gabriella’s yet?”
“No. I’m about ten minutes away. Why?”
“Get there quicker.”
Already speeding, Jonah punched the gas. The urgency in Justice’s tone worried Jonah almost as much as the words. “What’s wrong?”
“We tracked down the payment Mendoza made to the investigator he hired—the one that killed him. Had to go through several phony accounts before we found the real one. The money went to an account in the Bahamas. Payee was Ivy Roane.”
“Dammit. She’s not dead.”
Jonah’s gut clenched. They had feared this might happen. Last year, Ivy Roane, a contract killer, had been hired to destroy the entire Slater family. With Justice’s help, Eli and Kathleen had taken down the man responsible for the contract. But Ivy Roane hadn’t cared that her employer was dead. She had been determined to carry out the job. She had almost succeeded. With Eli and Kathleen, along with Jonah and a few more of Eli’s men, they had successfully foiled Ivy’s plan. After being shot multiple times, the woman had plunged into the ocean, miles from land.
“How the hell did she survive?”
“Miracles can happen to even the most evil of people.”
“You have any idea how to find her?”
“We’re working on it.”
“Eli and Kathleen know yet?”
“I was just about to call them. They’ll want to up security on everyone.”
“Yeah. It’d probably be best if my mother stays in Italy until this is resolved. Is Lacey with her?”
“Yes. I’ve called her and told her to be on alert. I’ve got Kingston headed to Wisconsin, too. He can stay at Gabriella’s apartment and be prepared for what might go down, while you get her to a safe house.”
“I’ll take her to my place again.”
“That should work.”
“So what’s Ivy’s connection with Mendoza and Bianchi?”
“Both men hired her. Mendoza retained her to find Gabriella. I’m assuming she posed as a private investigator to get to him. Bianchi likely initiated the whole thing.”
“So she pretends to be a PI to get to Mendoza. Then she does him and Conti. Then she kills Bianchi?”
“That’s the working theory. There was no autopsy on Bianchi, so who knows?”
“But why murder the man? That’s not her MO. Murdering clients doesn’t exactly get you repeat business.”
“I agree. Something’s off.”
“She’s got an agenda, and it somehow involves Gabby.”
“Until we figure what the hell is going on, we’ll keep everyone on alert.”
Jonah ended the call and pressed the accelerator down to the floor. How the hell had Ivy Roane gotten mixed up with Mendoza and Bianchi? What was he missing? She wouldn’t have killed Bianchi without benefitting in some way. Killers like her didn’t kill just for the fun of it. There had to be some kind of gain.
Who could—
If he hadn’t needed to get to Gabby as soon as possible, he would have slammed on the brakes. How the hell had they missed this?
Grabbing the cellphone, he punched Justice’s number. The instant the man answered, Jonah said, “I know who’s behind it.”