Chapter 4
Four
Harper
The moment Jayden is upstairs on the phone, he slams the door shut, silencing my screams for help. I hurry out of the metal folding chair, grab it and carry it toward the egress window, using the chair to stand.
There aren’t any locks or security systems with an alarm blaring when I manage to open the window.
I climb out into the darkness.
I’m underdressed for the night air and shiver. It’s nearly pitch black and there’s only a sliver of moon in the sky. Not enough to offer light to find my way to the main road.
From the looks of it, I’m at a cabin, someplace in the woods.
Great.
That describes too many remote locations. I can’t even fathom what town I’m in right now.
I don’t have my phone, no car. I sneak away from the property, quiet as I hurry down the gravel road and follow it down the mountain.
My hands are freezing, and I wrap them around myself to keep warm. The short-sleeved shirt with a dip in my cleavage is not practical for outside. But I wasn’t expecting to be stuck out in the cold.
I was dressed for the bar, attempting to bring in a few extra tips. I’d taken the money Nikki had given me and bought some cute clothes for work.
I survey the area, looking for any sign of a home, aside from the place where I came from. Perhaps even a car, someone who can lend me their phone to call Luca for help.
The road is desolate down the mountainside.
The gravel is rough and worn as the switchbacks make it nearly impossible to see around the corner, not that I can see much. I keep to the edge of the road, the gravel under my shoes making it apparent that I’m following the road, as the grass is dried and dead under my feet.
If only it were summer, and at least then the sun might still be out.
I’m not overly tired, which either tells me it’s not horribly late or the adrenaline surge is keeping me awake.
Luca must know by now that I’m missing, and I’m sure he’s wracked with worry.
Keeping to the edge of the road, I stumble through the dark.
My arms are freezing, my fingers numb. As I finally reach the paved road at the bottom of the mountain, I’m shivering and clutching my arms to my chest to keep warm.
There’s not a car in sight.
I walk.
The road is abandoned, and I’m not quite sure what road I’m on or where I am. The area unfamiliar in the dark, there are no landmarks, no signs, nothing recognizable yet.
Minutes feel like hours, and the headlights of a car in the distance gain on me. I keep to the edge of the road, not wanting to get hit. No one will stop if they can’t see me. I wave my arms, hoping that the passerby will help.
They drive by at full speed before hitting their brakes and backing up, slowly approaching me.
The small sedan rolls down its window and I peek inside. “Harper, is that you?”
The young woman’s voice, I barely recognize. But I’ve seen her before, I swear it.
“Do I know you?” I ask and shake away the cobwebs. “Can I get it a ride?”
“Of course.” She unlocks the door, and I grab the handle, climbing into the front seat.
“Can I borrow your phone?” I ask, her face seemingly familiar as the interior lights flip on when I open the door.
But I’m not sure from where I recognize her.
She forces a smile as I buckle into the front seat, and she pulls onto the main road. “Where can I drop you off? You look lost. Did your car break down?”
She reaches into her purse and retrieves her cell phone, glancing at it briefly to unlock it before handing the device over to me.
“Thanks,” I say and dial Luca. He picks up on the first ring.
“Hello?”
“Luca.” My heart leaps wildly and my hands tremble. I’m unsure if it’s the cold still raging through me or my anxiety rearing its ugly head.
“Harper! Where are you?”
My breath catches in my throat, and I hold back tears. Just hearing his voice offers me comfort. “I managed to escape. I’m in the car with—” I glance at the girl beside me. “What’s your name again?”
“Izzie,” she says, and her hands tighten on the steering wheel as she focuses on the road in front of her. “Where do you want me to drop you off?”
“She says her name is Izzie,” I whisper and glance at her, realizing I recognize her and now remembering from where.
I’d met her once, briefly, outside of the police station. She’d handed me a business card with the name Eagle Tactical, had tried convincing me to talk to her dad who owned the company. I’d tossed the card and made sure Dante never knew about it.
“Where are you?” Luca asks.
“I’m not sure—I see the Blue Sky Resort. You can drop me off there,” I say, glancing at Izzie, pointing at the bright lights and the resort in the distance on the mountain, wanting to be someplace public and safe.
Riding in the car with a stranger, after what just happened, I don’t feel particularly safe.
She turns onto Great Mountain Road, which winds us up along the mountain. We’re nowhere near the top, but it’s a heavily traveled road, paved, unlike the one I’d been on when I’d escaped.
“Okay, Moreno and Nico aren’t far. I’ll have them pick you up. When you get there, go inside and stay in the lobby.”
“I will. I love you, Luca.”
“I love you too.”
His words are like music to my ears, soothing everything inside of me. But I know I’m not safe, not yet.
Jayden is still out there.
Izzie turns left onto the private road for the resort and she glances at me, her brow furrowed. I hand her back the phone. “Thanks.”
“Listen, I didn’t know—I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry,” I repeat slowly, wondering why she’s apologizing. I shift uncomfortably in my seat as I glance her over.
Jayden had a partner.
There had been two people who’d grabbed me.
“You were there, with Jayden,” I say and unbuckle my seatbelt.
“I didn’t know—Jayden told me you were in on it. That you wanted to get away from the mafia. From Dante. When he mentioned your name, I believed him, because we’d met—outside the police station.”
My breath catches in my throat and bile rises to my lips. I swallow the burning sensation down and gulp air with it. “You were the one who told him I’d gone to the cops.”
Izzie shakes her head, slowing down but approaching the resort. I reach for the door handle, yanking it open.
“I swear I only told my father. I had no idea Jayden was going to do that. I’m sorry, please, Harper, believe me.”
“He abducted me, and you helped him.”
Izzie’s eyes are wide, her bottom lip trembling. “I didn’t mean—I’m truly sorry.”
“If he ever comes near me again, I’ll see to it that you’re put behind bars along with him.”
She nods vigorously. “I swear on my life, I had no idea—he lied to me. Please, Harper, if you go to the police—”
She’s scared I’ll have her arrested for what she did, for her role in it, because Jayden couldn’t have done it on his own.
“Give me your phone,” I say, holding out my hand.
She nods, pushing it into my palm. “Whatever you want, it’s yours.”
“I’ll keep your little secret, on one condition.”
“Anything,” Izzie rasps.
“What’s your passcode?”
She relays it to me, and I unlock the phone, climbing out of the car.
“Is that it?” she asks, relief flooding her features.
Hardly.
“No.” I lean into the car, glaring at her. “One day, when I come looking for you, I’ll expect you to do as you’re told, no questions asked. You owe me.”
Izzie nods and tugs her bottom lip between her teeth.
“And you won’t breathe a word of your debt to anyone, including your father.”
“I swear it.”
I slam the car door and head inside the resort, finding the lobby. There are several patrons hanging around, and I grab a seat in an oversized chair near the fireplace.
A few sets of eyes glance at me, and I can’t help but wonder how terrible I must look. I ignore all of them, sitting and dialing Luca.
“Harper?” his voice catches with worry.
“I kept Izzie’s phone,” I say matter of fact.
“Okay. Is she still there with you?” There’s concern laced in his voice.
“No.” I opt to keep her secret, even from Luca, for now. “Any idea how long until Moreno and Nico show up? The heat is on in this place, but I’m still chilly.”
“They’re twenty minutes out.”
“How’s Zeke?” I ask, glancing at the clock. I’ve been gone a couple of hours.
“He keeps asking for you. Nikki tucked him into bed already. I wanted to read him a story before bed, but I couldn’t…”
I keep my voice down, not wanting anyone to overhear my conversation with Luca. “It’s okay. Give him an extra kiss from me, would you?”
“You can give him one yourself when you get home.”
Exhaling a heavy sigh, I crack my neck. “Yeah. Listen, Jayden was completely foolish, snatching me from work, but his intentions weren’t evil.”
Luca scoffs. “Are you sure about that?” He doesn’t sound convinced.
“Anyone who lays a finger on my wife—”
I cut him off. “Listen, I know you’re mad. So am I, but this—it needs to end, now. Before someone gets hurt. You know your father will send men for retaliation. I don’t want that.”
“You’re a better person than I am,” Luca tells me. “But it’s not up to you.”
“Luca!”
I feel several sets of eyes on me, and I lower my voice again. “Please, talk to your father. Convince him that retribution isn’t the only way.”
I sense his frustration. “Do you honestly think he’s going to listen to me?”
“He ought to if he wants you to run the organization one day.” I glance toward the door and spot Moreno stalking inside, his overcoat on and black leather gloves. He looks warm.
He’s also carrying my winter coat.
“Moreno’s here,” I say.
“Doesn’t mean we have to hang up yet,” Luca tells me cheekily. “Is it selfish that I don’t want our call to end?”
“Not at all.” I keep the phone to my ear as I stand and approach Moreno, taking the coat and sliding my arms one at a time through it. I button the jacket and he leads me back outside into the cold.
Moreno opens the door for me outside. The awaiting SUV is parked out front, the engine on, with Nico behind the wheel. Moreno opens the back door, and I climb inside.
“Where’d you get the phone?” Moreno asks, glancing at the device as he retrieves mine from his pocket.