6. Chapter 6
Chapter six
R issa felt Elio’s hesitation in the way he took her hand as if he was willing himself to do so. She really couldn’t imagine how discombobulating and even frightening it must be to just wake up in the middle of a traumatic event with no memory. In her opinion, Elio was handling it surprisingly well. He was calm, even if she could feel the panic thrumming beneath her fingers as she clasped his palm.
Turning to the back of the motel room, she pulled him into the bathroom where there was a window. She checked it out last night to make sure that it opened and was wide enough for Elio’s broad shoulders to fit through.
She figured it was going to be a tight squeeze, but if the police were already here—as she had feared they would be—it was the only way. She turned back to look up at him. His eyes were fixed on her, full of both questions and trust. Unexpectedly, the guilelessness of his expression brought a pang of emotion to her heart.
She hoped she made the right call during the night. It should at least turn out all right for Elio. She wasn’t so sure how it would go for her.
Her pulse had picked up, now matching that of the man clinging to her hand, and she felt almost dizzy with trepidation as she motioned toward the window.
“Can you fit through there?” she asked.
Elio glanced at it quickly. “I’ll fit,” he said, and Rissa nodded.
“You go first, then,” she said. Elio looked like he wanted to argue with that but couldn’t come up with a reason why, a bonus of his memory loss—at least, for her. Rissa glanced over her shoulder, wondering how long it would take for the cops to get hold of the night clerk and find out which room they were in or simply work their way along the strip, knocking on doors.
“Hurry,” she whispered, and finally, Elio shrugged. Putting his hands on the windowsill, he easily heaved himself upward, the muscles in his back rippling as he wedged his shoulders through the narrow opening and shimmied the rest of the way out, his feet going last. Rissa followed, and he was waiting to help her, his hands catching her shoulders and lifting her gently to the ground.
Directly behind the motel was a thin strip of vacant lot, overgrown with weeds in which Styrofoam cups, plastic bags, and other odd bits of trash had caught and now shuddered feebly in the light morning breeze. On the other side of the lot was a road, and idling on the pavement directly across from them was a dark-colored Charger.
Their ride.
Taking another deep breath to quiet her nerves, Rissa grabbed Elio’s hand again and started toward the car. One ear was tuned to hear the shouts of police officers behind them, calling for them to freeze and put up their hands. But they ran lightly across the field without being stopped and reached the car.
Elio grabbed the back door and opened it, and Rissa dove in. He followed, slamming it shut behind him. Immediately, the car revved and moved smoothly forward.
Rissa sat up and stared at the dark-haired man in the driver’s seat, her heart thumping in her chest. There was no doubt this was Elio’s cousin. He could have even been his brother; the resemblance was uncanny. But there was a roughness, a harshness to the lines of Vince Accardi’s face that Elio did not have—at least, she didn’t see it in him.
Piercing dark eyes met hers in the rearview mirror, and she felt her heart leap.
What if I’ve made a huge mistake? She really had no idea what to expect from an established mafia regime. However, Elio trusted his family enough to think that they were their best bet before the crash at the gas station. In the end, it was his trust in her that led her to make a decision based on her trust in him. Surely, he wouldn’t have intended to take her to his family if he thought any harm would come to her.
Vince said nothing as he turned onto the highway and sped up, passing the motel. Rissa turned her head, her eyes catching on the three police cars lined up in front of the long building and the officers starting down the row of rooms. They had gotten out of there just in time.
When the motel faded from view, Elio’s cousin finally spoke.
“So. Rissa Mahoney. You have no idea how happy I am to finally be meeting you.” He didn’t sound happy. In fact, his voice was dark with judgment, and Rissa felt chilled as she met his angry eyes in the mirror once again. “You realize you’ve caused quite a rift in our family, right?”
“No,” Rissa refuted, despite her quickening heartbeat. “Elio told me that you don’t trust me and that you wanted him to take a larger part in the family business. But I haven’t done anything. . .”
“Are we sure about that?” Vince cut in sharply. “What about the cops that nearly arrested my cousin again a few days ago? And then raided my grandfather’s house looking for him?” His voice was cold and implacable. “Who called them, Mahoney?”
“I don’t know!” Rissa protested. “I don’t even know where your grandfather’s house is. How could I?”
“Maybe that journalist friend of yours figured it out,” he snapped back. “Or maybe Elio told you. Elio?” he asked, turning his attention to the other occupant of the backseat. “What do you say? Did you let it slip where Nonno lives?”
Elio frowned. “I don’t know.”
“I told you,” Rissa said. “He has amnesia.”
“Bullshit,” Vince growled, and Rissa’s mouth opened with surprise. “This isn’t some shitty movie. Somehow, you’ve turned him against his family,” he continued, his voice rising with anger. “What did you do to him, Dr . Mahoney?! Ever since he got to know you, Elio has been MIA. He’s almost been taken by the police multiple times, and now he’s got the entire world on his ass, and you’re telling me he can’t even remember his own name? I don’t know what your game is, Doc, but I’m going to find out.”
For a moment, Rissa was speechless with shock, trying to make sense of the man’s accusations. Beside her, Elio had been looking back and forth between her and Vince, his eyes worried.
He wasn’t kidding when he said his family was paranoid, she thought.
“Listen,” she said finally, pinning Vince with a glare as his gaze caught hers once more in the mirror. “I don’t know what has gone down to make you all so sure that I’m some kind of. . .informer, okay? But I’d appreciate it if you’d remember for a second that I contacted you, Vince. I’m the reason Elio hasn’t already been picked up by the police. So, you can drop the ‘you’re the villain’ act.”
The emotions she had been shoving down to remain calm ever since being forced to make all the decisions for herself and Elio began bubbling up inside her, finally seeking release. She took a shaky breath.
“I know we’re not on the same side,” she continued. “Fuck, I don’t even know what the sides are, but I am doing my fucking best, all right?” The words spewed from her mouth as she warmed to her topic. Vince was being unfair and unreasonable, and she wasn’t in the mood to take it.
“You think I wanted any of this? Every choice I’ve made since the very beginning has been because I care about Elio and I want what’s best for him. So lay off, okay?”
Her voice cracked as she finished. The tears she had been holding back for what felt like forever burst from her eyes and poured down her cheeks as she finally lost the careful hold she’d had on her emotions over the past hours. She bent forward, her head in her lap, and sobbed, her body shuddering with the force of it.
I care about him just as much as you do, she thought. Maybe more. And I’m just as overwhelmed and scared and. . . She wasn’t even sure she could put a name on all the emotions swirling through her like a flood.
Vince was silent, but Rissa suddenly felt a hand on her back, gently rubbing back and forth. Sitting up, she looked over to find Elio watching her, his forehead puckered and his eyes shadowed with concern.
“Hey,” he said. “It’s going to be all right.” He put his arm around her and pulled her into him.
How do you know? she thought. You don’t even know me. But she didn’t say it. Instead, she laid her head on his broad chest, relaxing into his embrace, and sobbed until she had no tears left.