5. Chapter 5
five
“ H ere. Eat.” Lina handed him a brown bag that Carl had left in the nondescript small black Honda CR-V he’d delivered to them. She and Curtis were now driving north on the FDR.
Curtis, in the passenger seat, looked into the bag. “Salt bagel. You remembered.”
Lina heard the appreciation in his voice, though it was lacking the luster Curtis usually displayed when she’d presented him with food in the past. He bit into the bagel-sandwich filled with cream cheese and lox almost in auto mode. But he took another bite and chewed in silence. She didn’t think he knew he was hungry until he’d smelled the food. Getting a package with a dead animal would’ve stolen anyone’s appetite. But it was now close to noon, and the only thing he’d had was espresso shots.
“Thank you for that,” he said when he finished his food. “You want the other half?”
“I’m fine for now,” she answered as she concentrated on driving.
“This isn’t what I expected,” he said. Now that he had food in his system, his disposition seemed better and the initial shock seemed to have dissipated. “I thought you security people have a fleet of black Suburbans.”
“We have those, but this car blends in with traffic better. The Honda CR-V is the most common car in New York State. And guess what the most common car color is.”
“Black.” He smirked. “Where are you taking me?”
“Upstate. To Marcus’ cabin,” Lina answered. “You’ll be safe there. We’ll give the police a few days to figure out what’s going on.”
“This is serious, isn’t it?” he asked, sounding flat this time.
“We don’t know yet.”
“You sounded serious when you talked to the detectives.”
“They should’ve done a better job keeping your name secret.”
“My name would’ve come out anyway once the trial started,” he said.
“Did they explain to you about the risk of testifying?” Lina glanced at him. “Marcus told me you gave them evidence—a video of Rocco—”
“Brandishing a bloody knife at me. And there is the knife itself,” he confirmed.
“They could’ve spared you this,” she said.
“I felt I needed to do my part. I saw him killing a person. Though I regretted that it’d put him in prison for life, he had to answer to that.” Curtis’ voice was firm.
Lina wanted to reach out and squeeze his hand to convey she understood, but she didn’t. She kept her eyes on the road.
“You must think I’m an idiot,” he said when Lina said nothing.
“I don’t think you’re an idiot,” she said. “As your security consultant, I’d advise you not to take the stand if it was unnecessary, but I get it.”
Curtis nodded. “I didn’t think it’d come to this.”
She could see Curtis not thinking further than what he thought was the right thing to do. He had seen little of the world’s darkness in real life.
“Is hiding really the way to go?” he asked, half to himself.
“We’re lying low. Out of sight, out of mind,” she explained.
“You sounded like you knew these Stilettos well.”
“By reputation only. It helps to know all the trouble makers when you’re in security.”
“You said Serafina Stiletto is a dangerous woman.” Curtis looked at her. “How dangerous?”
Lina’s lips flattened into a thin line, not wanting to tell him the truth, but she couldn’t lie to him. “The word on the street is she’s ruthless—more so than her late husband. When he died, she took over the family operation. Antonio Stiletto was tame compared to Serafina, and he was no softie.”
Her phone, connected to the car’s system, rang. Only a string of numbers appeared, but she knew it was Marcus. Hers was encrypted as well. No one besides Marcus and the top level at B&Y could contact her on this number. She pushed the answer button.
“You’re on speaker. You have info?” Lina didn’t bother with pleasantries.
“It’s escalated. Serafina declared war on the Murphys. There’s always been tension between the two families, but there was also a boundary they wouldn’t cross before. Some kind of agreement between the older patriarchs. But now we don’t know what will happen. With the Murphys supposedly out of the game, it could become a massacre instead of a war.”
“Not exactly good news for Detective Durham, but it takes their attention off Curtis.”
“Not quite,” Marcus said, his voice grim.
“Wait…what do you mean, not quite?” Curtis chimed in.
Marcus didn’t respond right away.
“What is it?” Lina asked.
“You’ll need to go farther than upstate,” Marcus suggested. “There might be a bounty on Curtis.”
“A bounty?” Curtis echoed the words with a croak in his voice.
“Serafina doesn’t just have her eyes on the Murphys but also on you. Rocco was her baby. So, until we can figure out what to do, it’s better if you disappear.”
Blood drained from Curtis’ face. “But I did nothing to her son.”
Lina reached out to squeeze his arm. “We know. But a mother’s grief might just push her over the edge.”
“Serafina’s deranged to begin with,” Marcus said.
Lina was aware of Serafina’s cutthroat erasure of the faction that wanted to steal power from her when her husband died. She’d seen Serafina’s picture. She might look like a harmless socialite from Long Island, but she’d showed them who actually ran the show.
Before Marcus scarred Curtis with further details, she asked, “Where can we go?”
“I’ll arrange a plane to take you out of the country within the hour,” Marcus said. “Get to—”
“Wait,” Curtis cut in, anxiety seeping from his voice. “If I disappear, won’t they just go after my family?”
Lina sharply eyed her passenger. “That’s unlikely.”
“How can you be sure? I watched The Godfather , for fuck’s sake. We can’t leave my parents. They could be in danger, too.”
“I’ll get someone to secure your parents,” Marcus assured.
“No, they’re not staying here as sitting ducks while I’m hiding.” Curtis focused his eyes on Lina, his gaze determined. “We’re getting my parents.”
“Curtis, our priority is your safety,” Marcus started.
“They’re stubborn people. They won’t listen to you. I need to get them,” Curtis insisted.
Lina blew a breath as she made a quick decision. “Where are they?”
“Princeton.”
Stifling a groan as she calculated her moves, she made a sudden lane change into an exit. “Marcus, change of plan.”
The traffic-ridden trip out of Manhattan into Jersey felt like a breeze with Lina at the wheel. Curtis watched her maneuver the car from one lane to another, finding space to keep them moving forward with precision. Sure, she got some honks here and there, but everybody honked in New York.
They were now on Route 1 in Jersey and less than ten miles from his parents’ house. The almost-two-hour ride felt like forever, despite Lina’s skillful driving and assurance that all would be fine. Her voice was confident, but his musically trained ears detected the micro timbre of distress.
Lina Cheung was unshakeable, and Curtis wouldn’t want anyone else covering his ass in this situation. If not for their unusual first meeting, he doubted he’d recognize her anxious tell at all. He was actually surprised he was still attuned to her vibe. When she’d worked the tour with his band, he’d learned to listen to her instructions and watch her body language. Nothing serious had ever happened, but preventing incidents had been her priority.
One time, he’d ignored her specific directives at a summer music festival and had gone out into the general crowd without an escort. They’d been between soundcheck and their headlining show that night, so he’d thought he’d see what the rest of the festival had to offer. After a few harmless chats with friendly fans, unfortunately, he’d gotten mobbed. He didn’t know how, but Lina had come to his rescue and gotten him out with a misdirection tactic. But boy, the death-stare she’d given him afterward had made sure he followed her every word.
Curtis’ eyes narrowed at how Lina’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. He glanced at her face and saw her eyes systematically checking the rearview mirrors. Her jaw was set in concentration. Something was up.
“We’ve got a tail,” she answered his unuttered suspicion.
“We do?”
“Don’t turn around,” she warned. “Use the mirror. Older year black Blazer, a few cars back.”
“How do you know they’re following us?” He checked the side mirror, and saw the unremarkable SUV. “Like this car, there are a bunch of old Blazers on the road.”
“Not with a dent on its front right bumper and cheesy white dice hanging from its rearview mirror. They’ve been with us since we got on the turnpike. At least, that’s when I spotted them.”
Curtis turned to her, amazed that she noticed the minor details.
“You know the back roads around here?” she asked.
“Like the back of my hand.”
“We don’t want to lead them to your parents’ house,” she said. “Did they answer the text?”
As a precaution, Lina had told him to take the battery out of his phone and try to contact his parents from her secure phone. But his parents didn’t pick up. Most people didn’t pick up unknown numbers anymore—too many solicitors and scammers.
“No. My parents, especially my mom, are very cautious. They probably thought it was a scam. You know those scammers who would clone someone’s voice and claim they’re in trouble?”
Lina didn’t answer.
“And ask for money?” he continued.
“Curtis, focus. Take us off this road and let’s lose them,” Lina instructed.
“Right.” He reoriented himself to where they were and grinned. “I gotcha. Put some more distance between us and take the next right at the light.”
The light turned yellow, and the car in front of them stopped as it was about to turn red. Lina had to step on the brake and sent them lurching forward as the car halted.
“Dude! He absolutely could’ve gone!” Curtis yelled at the car in front of them.
Lina, unfazed, checked the mirrors again. Echoing her movement, he saw they’d lost their lead. The black Blazer was two cars behind them. When the light turned green, they could easily follow them. He quickly reassessed the route to his parents.
“Once we get on the country road, we can pass these cars and we’ll lose them on the smaller side roads,” he said. “Will that work?”
She nodded. “Just tell me where to go and I’ll drive. This is your turf. Trust your instinct.” She turned her gaze to him and gave him a quick wink. “I do.”
The vote of confidence gave Curtis a boost, and he grinned. And for once today, he felt he wasn’t hopeless.
The light turned green.
In the next ten minutes, they focused on putting distance between them and the Blazer. As soon as it was safe, though probably illegal, Lina zoomed past the car ahead of them, leaving their tail having to pass three cars if they wanted to keep up. They took sharp, sudden turns to get out of the Blazer’s view. But whoever was driving the Blazer was almost as skilled as Lina, or just damn lucky. They’d almost caught up, even after losing sight of them on the last road. They weren’t trying to hide the fact they were tailing Lina and Curtis anymore.
“Floor the gas,” Curtis told Lina. “No one is ever on this road around this time. Get us way ahead of them, then turn left at the T.”
Curtis didn’t see the Blazer when they made it to the T. Lina slowed down only enough to make the turn without burning rubber.
“That way.” He pointed at a driveway to their right. “And let me out once we pass the gate.”
He quickly jumped out and closed the wooden gate, then got back in. “Park behind the old gatehouse.”
Lina did exactly what he said and turned off the ignition. From where they sat, they had enough view of the intersection to see the incoming car, but he knew they were protected.
“It’s my buddy’s parents’ farm,” Curtis explained. “They wouldn’t mind.”
Lina just nodded.
They waited in silence for the Blazer. Seconds felt like hours, but he knew their tail would show up. There was no other way. It finally pulled up at the intersection. It sat idle for long seconds before turning left toward them but then suddenly changed direction to the right.
Curtis didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath and let out an audible exhale.
“Great navigating,” Lina said with a smile on her face.
The approval in her eyes made Curtis’ chest swell with pride. He’d never felt so accomplished for giving driving directions.
They waited for a few more minutes, making sure the Blazer didn’t double back before they pulled out. They stayed vigilant of their surroundings, but the rest of the drive was a non-event.
“Go all the way up the driveway and around the garage. We can park the car out of the street view,” Curtis said.
Before the car even fully stopped, he rushed over the back patio toward the sliding back door, ignoring Lina’s warning to wait for her. He was about to bang on the door when he saw it was unlocked. The door was often open during the summer months, but why would it be unlocked in the middle of January?
“Mom!” he called out when he stepped into the breakfast area adjoining the kitchen. Papers were strewn across the table. “Dad!”
He ran into the living room and found boxes on their sides with their contents—old photos and letters—spilled out on the rug. Stacks of books by her mother’s reading nook had fallen over. The mess was out of place in his parents’ meticulously decorated home.
Fear spiked his blood as he searched the rest of the first floor.
“Curtis,” Lina’s low, firm voice came from behind him. She lifted a finger to her lips, signaling him to quiet down.
She listened to the quiet house, and her gaze flew to the ceiling. There were faint noises. She pointed to the second floor and signaled for him to stay behind her. He followed her quietly, but his heart was pounding, and his head was going haywire.
Where the fuck are they?