Chapter 3 #2
‘You will,’ I grunted. ‘ Listen, babe, we’re walking out of here now.
So I can calm down and recalibrate, because right now I want to walk back to that desk and tear the agent a new one for profiling you.
I’m also tired as hell, but I need to see this through.
In a few, a couple of deputies are pick us up outside.
They’re the decent cops, so please don’t panic when you see them.
They’re going to take us to the Sheriff, who’ll help make sense of what’s happening and help you. Got it?’
She gazed up at me, her deep brown eyes searching mine for a beat, until she nodded.
‘OK.’
I jerked my chin at her. ‘Let’s roll.’
Taking hold of my gear, I led Sofia along, my hand on her back.
We moved at a fast yet nonchalant pace that kept all eyes off us as we headed for the terminal exit.
The airport noise buzzed around us, a chaotic blend of rolling luggage wheels, boarding announcements, and families arguing over gate numbers.
I kept a firm grip on the strap of our bags, my focus fixed on the exit doors fifty yards ahead.
Sofia walked a half-step behind my shoulder.
Her breathing sounded shallow, but we were almost clear of the terminal.
We just needed to hit the pavement outside and find our ride.
A small, scrappy woman in a denim jacket drifted in behind me, into my peripheral vision, cutting close to my left side.
I adjusted my stride to avoid colliding with her, expecting the usual brief bump of a rushed traveler.
Instead, a hard cylinder got shoved into the flesh between my lower ribs.
My brain stalled for a fraction of a second, cataloging the strange pressure.
The hell? I thought, my eyes snapping down.
The stranger looked about twenty-five, wearing faded clothes and tired, smudged makeup.
She had a bright, disarming grin fixed on her face, even nodding to a passing family to mask the weapon concealed beneath her sleeve.
‘Jude, that’s Luisa,’ Sofia whispered on the other side of me, her voice cracking with terror. ‘She’s the minder.’
‘The one you’re running from?’ I murmured
‘That’s me,’ Luisa hissed, flashing a fake, unhinged smile as she stepped closer to me. ‘Keep walking, sfigato. Try any funny business, and I’ll blow your guts across the terminal.’
Not on my watch, sweetheart, I thought, keeping my arm clamped around Sofia’s waist and steering her to avoid making a scene in the open.
The woman marched us behind a thick column, blocking the view of the airport cops and the security cameras.
Luisa sneered, the friendly facade dropping as we hit the shadows.
She raised the weapon, a compact, matte-black Glock 43, and leveled it at my chest.
It was a slim nine-millimeter pocket gun, perfect for a smaller hand to conceal and handle with lethal accuracy.
‘Hand her over,’ Luisa demanded, her eyes wide and manic. ‘Dario and the Compagni padrone won’t be happy about Sofia running off. You don’t want this smoke, my friend.’
‘You’ve no idea what I want,’ I growled, as my reflexes took over in split-second moves.
Releasing my bags, I slapped the barrel aside, grabbed Luisa’s wrist, and twisted the joint until the bone popped.
Luisa gasped as I took possession of her weapon.
My left palm slammed into her throat, crushing her windpipe, stopping her from calling for help, and pinning her to the wall.
Sofia’s breath hitched behind me in shock at the speed of my unhinged defense.
Leaning in on Luisa, jamming her shoulder to the wall with my elbow, I popped the magazine out of the Glock with a flick of my thumb.
A quick yank on the slide ejected the live round from the chamber, catching the brass casing in my palm.
I dropped the ammunition into my jacket pocket and shoved the useless frame into my waistband.
My hand pressed into Luisa’s throat as I glared down at her.
Turning my head to Sofia, I met her gaze.
‘Anything you want from your so-called friend?’ I growled.
‘I just need my passport. In her bag.’
My eyes fell on the bag slung over the minder’s shoulder.
‘Have at it, make it fast.’
Sofia moved quickly to retrieve the ID from the woman whose eyes were spitting shards of wrath at her.
When Sofia stepped back, my mind ran through a few scenarios.
I could hold Luisa hostage and hand her over to Kian.
The mob rarely moved solo, though.
That option risked more violence if Luisa had backup waiting inside the terminal.
We were already exposed at the airport, where security could spot us at any moment and turn this shitshow into a catastrophe.
I could no longer risk our safety, so I decided to let her go.
‘Get the hell out of here,’ I growled, keeping my hand pressed on Luisa’s throat enough to restrict her air. ‘Or I’ll hand you to the sheriff in pieces. Tell whoever the fuck Dario is that she’s mine now.’
I released her, and Luisa collapsed forward, coughing and clutching her neck.
She flung us a gaze filled with fear and loathing, cursing my lineage in rapid Italian before sprinting toward the exit.
‘Damn,’ Sofia whispered. ‘You’ve just made an enemy.’
‘She now knows to think twice before coming for you,’ I rumbled, grabbing our gear once more, irritated as fuck. ‘With me.’
I guided her out toward the pickup zone.
Once outside, we came to a stop at the kerbside as instructed, and a few moments later, two county deputies pulled up in a county SUV.
Sofia trembled, finding my arm and holding on to it tightly.
‘Don’t worry, I’ve got you.’
She seemed to relax a little at my burred words.
‘Jude Valenti?’ the first cop called out, stepping out of the vehicle.
‘That’s me,’ I growled.
‘Sheriff Martinez sent us.’
‘Thanks, man,’ I told the lead deputy.
He nodded. ‘All good, we’re your ride to HQ.’
Sofia’s fingers remained locked around my arm as we walked to the waiting patrol car.
I loaded my gear into the SUV’s trunk, and she remained with me until I ushered her into the backseat.
She slid in, clutching her backpack and strapped in.
I settled in beside her, narrowing my eyes on her, trying to figure out what the fuck her story was.
We rode in silence in the back of the Ford Explorer to the county building, a bleak monolith of stone and glass.
The deputies escorted Sofia into a small, windowless interview room while I waited in the hallway for Kian to show up.
I sank into a chair and kept my eyes on my new, unexpected companion.
A brown-haired female cop soon came by and handed me a cup of coffee.
‘Sorry, it’s awful department brew.’
‘If it keeps me awake, that’s all I’ll ask of it,’ I drawled.
Her eyes lit up as she studied my face.
I recognized the look and suppressed a curse, pursing my lips.
She pointed a finger at me and beamed. ‘Jude Valenti, right?’
I huffed and gave her a jerk of my chin in confirmation. ‘That’s me.’