Chapter 26
Anna
In order to get to me, they’re going to come for Vincenzo and his family, and nothing, not his army of soldiers or Massimo’s, can change one damn thing.
It doesn’t really matter if my father did or didn’t barter me off in the end.
I was promised to Barcelo and everyone in the crime families across the land knows it.
That gives Bastian rights, and I know it.
Deep down in my soul where the fear starts and grows, entangling every one of my nerves. When I think of what he may do to me out of revenge for the sins he thinks I’m guilty of against his brother, every muscle in my body goes numb.
It doesn’t matter where I turn, I will just bring trouble to Vincenzo’s door.
This responsibility that Papa created by giving me to Barcelo initially, is mine to bear, and only mine.
And the only way forward that doesn’t result in having anyone hurt including myself is to do what Massimo and Sophia urged me to do so long ago.
Run … hide and go underground.
Only now it will be more difficult. If I had listened to Massimo I wouldn’t have been found out. My secret would have been safe, but instead I had to venture out and see the world. And run smack dab into Vincenzo. Crime boss of the DeLucas.
My heart constricts—no matter that I probably shouldn’t have let it, my heart has already been taken by the man who would bring a war to his family’s door for me.
If I let him…
My hand runs over the smooth steel barrel of the gun before tucking it into a backpack I find in the back of Vincenzo’s closet, along with extra ammunition, and essentials that will get me through whatever travels are in my future.
Right now, I have to move and fast. There’s only going to be a small window of time, and I intend to use it to the best of my ability.
I lock the en suite bathroom door and pull it closed, toss the backpack over my shoulders, and then go get two large vases I saw the other day from the top of the kitchen cupboard.
I need them to be heavy enough to cause a loud noise and create a mess when they shatter.
I take a last look around the room and send both of the vases sailing into the bedroom wall and let out a loud scream, then race to the front door, slipping behind it before the security guard comes bursting in, running straight toward the area of the sound.
The minute I hear him banging on the locked bathroom door, my feet move, and fast. I don’t take the elevator. The minute he hears it the chase will be on.
No, I need more time than that but the steps are going to take me a while. I head down the stairs, but exit three floors down, then take the elevator. I get out slowly while my heart pounds in my chest, glancing in the large wall-sized gold embossed mirror in the foyer of the lobby as I walk by it.
Vincenzo’s long henley, my workout pants and ballet shoes, and his jacket and ball cap. No one will suspect it’s me even if they see me on the cameras. At least that’s the hope.
I push past the exit door, and my heart constricts as I pass by soldiers, guilt flooding my conscience knowing they were put here especially for me, to keep me safe, while I am fleeing the one place I’ve ever felt safe and the arms of the man that no matter the circumstances, I’ve come to love.
A taxi waits idle by the curb, and I don’t hesitate to get in the back, although maybe I should after the last catastrophe with a driver, but instead I tell him where to take me as the crowds and noise fill my head and the neon lights around the boardwalk twinkle around us. “Down to the docks, please.”
His eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror. “The docks at this time of the evening are not exactly welcoming to tourists.”
I nod. “I appreciate the concern but I’m meeting my father.
” Hopefully if anyone catches up to this particular cab driver, they’ll dismiss it knowing Papa is dead, anything at all not to leave a definite trail behind, that’s the key.
At least that’s what Delz said and his training has kept me alive more times than I can count.
The lights on the docks are sparse, a couple turning on within a few moments of our arrival, one then another, creating at least some sense of lit space as they turn the water a coppery color and dusk begins to settle into dark.
I give the man cash, silently thanking Vincenzo for keeping so much in a small drawer next to his bed. I will pay him back one day when I can. Somehow, I’ll get the money to him, although I know the amount, while lifesaving to me right now, is probably trivial to him.
The decks are slippery as I pass the large party boats, gambling cruises that are tied up, but everything seems quiet as I make my way to the warehouses, listening forsounds of talking or other noises as I walk cautiously in the shadows cast by the large boats and toward the looming structures ahead.
Vincenzo’s family control things that move in and out of here and while Atlantic City may not have the large stacks of shipping containers like New York City, there are plenty of ways to get contraband from one place to another in the boats that sit rocking against the docks.
The moment I almost reach the warehouse, I regret coming down this far.
It’s way darker than I envisioned and the sound of men’s voices causes my blood to race and my heart to pound.
I have to take cover. Without thinking I slip into one of the rocking boats, flattening on the bottom of the boat as the sounds of their voices and boots scuffing against the sloshy decks get louder and louder.
The sounds stop abruptly, causing me to panic. The silence of the night creeps into my veins, slowing my breathing, dragging me into a fear induced state that I’ll have to overcome quickly if I am to survive. But still, they could be right there on that dock, looking down at me, ready to pounce.
Fear and the need to move get the best of me.
I crawl, inch by inch against the bottom, slowly making my way to the front of the boat, my hand reaching up, running against the dash in search of a key, hoping against hope that someone left it in the ignition. My chest tightens when I finally locate the ignition spot but with no key to be found.
The voices suddenly get loud. Maybe they’re just past me, it’s hard to tell, but they’re not right on top of me like I thought. It’s hard to make out what they’re saying but it’s clear they aren’t happy with each other and it’s hard not to believe they aren’t after me.
I have to stay low and keep out of sight.
Still, I need to move if I’m going to be able to get away.
My body stays glued to the bottom, inching to the other side, heart in my chest, reaching up, grappling to open the glove box, my fingers scrambling inside touching all the contents until wrapping around a set of keys.
Now, I have a way out … but if the men see or hear one thing amiss, they’ll be all over me in a second and I’m going to be dead. I can’t start the engine yet. I just need to get away from the men at the dock.
Watching carefully, I pull on the rope, slipping the knot loose, causing the boat to drift away from the dock and into the darkness of the sea.
The waves gently push me farther and farther.
I stay low, hoping that nothing, especially me, is casting a shadow against the lights glowing from the other end of the dock as the boat heads out to sea.
The waves don’t stay calm as I get farther out, instead turning boisterous and choppy. I may not be proficient with a boat, but I do know that I’m going to need a motor to cut through these waves because there’s no way I am going to control this thing without the ability to throttle and steer.
The minute I try the key, the coughing sound of the ignition causes my chest to constrict. “No, no, no. You have to start.” This can’t be happening. I was supposed to find a yacht to slip onto with not one of these soldiers patrolling the docks.
I turn the ignition over again praying in my mind over and over again.
“Do not flood. Do not flood.” Once, twice, three times and then, finally, it cranks to life, but the sound of the roaring engine turns my blood cold.
Never did I expect it to be so loud, cranking with energy and spilling into the night.
It’s not easy to navigate, quite different than a car. It takes effort to get the small boat turned, cutting inland toward the marshy and residential areas in the back bay, but my heart begins to calm as I see solace in the distance and the sound of the waves rhythmically slap against the hull.
The lights in the distance appear every so often across the bridge, sending waves of fear down my spine, but the lights soon disappear, allowing me to breathe again as the boat finally reaches the shore.
I climb out of the boat into the water with the whipping wind in my face, pulling it with the rope as far onto the sandbar as I can before finding a tree and tying the boat off against the trunk.
The sound of loud voices causes me to duck into the trees and take cover.
“Paulie over at the DeLuca casino said she escaped, and everyone is looking for her. They all think she’ll head for the docks.
That’s where they’ll be. They didn’t see the bitch take that boat.
We have about ten minutes before they figure out what we know and get here, fucking find her first. If the boss finds out we let that bitch get away, we’ll be swimming with the fucking fishes after Sarone and that Gallini psycho find out. ”
My heart beats so fast I may have a heart attack right here and save them all the trouble of torturing and killing me.
I find my footing over the rocks and begin moving away from the sound of the men’s voices but the minute I trip, falling against the brittle branches, I hear that voice.
I know I should have stayed right where I was.
“Hear that? Find her!”