“Me too,” I whisper, staring at her. I want Rosa’s attackers dead. I want them eliminated in the most brutal way possible. It’s wrong, it’s sick, but I don’t care. Images of the man Julian killed last night float through my mind, bringing with them a peculiar sense of satisfaction. I want the other one—Sean—to pay the same way.
I want to unleash Julian on him and watch my husband work his savage magic.
A knock on the door startles us both.
“Come in,” Rosa calls out, using her sleeve to wipe the tears from her face.
To my surprise, Julian enters the room, his expression tense and oddly worried. He’s changed clothes since this morning, and his hair looks wet, as though he just took a shower.
“What’s wrong?” I ask immediately, my heart rate spiking. “Did something happen?”
“No,” Julian says, crossing the room. “Not yet. But we may need to expedite your departure.” He stops in front of me. “I just learned that an artist’s sketch of the three of us is being circulated in the local FBI’s office. The brother who got away must have a good memory for faces. The Sullivans are looking for us, and if they’re as well connected as we think, we don’t have much time.”
Fear wraps like barbed wire around my chest. “Do you think they already know about my parents?”
“I have no idea, but it’s not entirely out of the question. Call them now, and tell them to pack what they can. We’ll pick them up in an hour, and I’ll bring all of you to the airport.”
“Wait a minute.” I stare at Julian. “All of us? What about you?”
“I need to deal with the Sullivan threat. Lucas and I will remain behind along with most of the guards.”
“What?” I find it hard to breathe all of a sudden. “What do you mean, you’ll remain behind?”
“I need to clean up this mess,” Julian says impatiently. “Now, are we going to waste time talking about this, or are you calling your parents?”
I swallow the bitter objections rising in my throat. “I’m going to call them now,” I say tightly, reaching for my phone.
Julian is right; now is not the time to argue about this. However, if he thinks I’m going to meekly go along with this, he’s deeply mistaken.
I will do whatever it takes not to lose him again.
Chapter 32
Julian
The drive to Nora’s parents’ house passes in tense silence. I’m busy coordinating the security logistics with my team, and Nora is furiously texting with her parents, who seem to be bombarding her with questions about the sudden change of plans. Rosa watches us both quietly, the black-and-blue swelling on her face hiding her expression.
As soon as we arrive, Nora hurries into the house, and I follow her in, not wanting to leave her alone for even a half hour. Rosa remains in the car with Lucas, explaining that she doesn’t want to be in the way.
When I walk in, I see that Rosa was right to stay outside.
Inside, the Lestons’ place is a madhouse. Gabriela is rushing around, trying to stuff as many items as possible into a huge suitcase, and her husband is speaking loudly on the phone, explaining to someone that yes, he has to leave the country now, and no, he’s sorry he couldn’t give more notice.
“They’re going to fire me,” he mutters darkly as he hangs up, and I resist the urge to say that no job is worth his life.
“If they fire you, I’ll help you find another position, Tony,” I say instead, sitting down at the kitchen table. Nora’s father shoots me an angry glare in response, but I ignore him, focusing on the dozens of emails that managed to pile up in my inbox in the last few hours.
Forty minutes later, Nora finally gets the Lestons to stop packing.
“We have to go, Mom,” she insists as her mother remembers yet another thing she forgot to take. “We have bug spray at the compound, I promise. And whatever else you need, we’ll order and have it delivered for you. We don’t live in a complete wilderness, you know.”
Gabriela seems mollified by that, so I help her close the huge suitcase and haul it out to the car. The thing weighs at least two-hundred-and-fifty pounds, and I grunt with effort as I lift it into the trunk of the limo.
In the meantime, Nora’s father brings out a second, smaller suitcase.
“I’ll take it,” I say, reaching for it, but he jerks it away.
“I’ve got it,” he says sharply, so I step away to let him handle it on his own. If he wants to continue stewing, that’s his business.
Once everything is loaded, Nora’s parents climb into the car, and Rosa goes to sit in the front next to Lucas. “To give the four of you more room,” she explains, as though the back of the limo can’t easily accommodate ten people.
“Do all these cars need to be here?” Nora’s mother asks as I take a seat next to Nora. “I mean, is it really that unsafe?”
“Probably not, but I don’t want to risk it,” I say as we pull out of the driveway. In addition to the twenty-three guards split between seven SUVs—all of which are currently idling on this quiet block—I also have a stash of weapons under our seat. It’s overkill for a peaceful trip to Chicago, but now that there’s trouble, I’m worried that it’s not enough. I should’ve brought more men, more weapons, but I didn’t want Frank and company thinking I was here to do a deal.
“This is insane,” Tony mutters, looking out the back window at the procession of cars following us. “I can’t even imagine what our neighbors are thinking.”