Everything started to sway as I tried to regain my balance.
Fuck, I’m sitting down not standing.
I closed my eyes and took in a few deep breaths. “Wait. You’re throwing some serious shit my way with no explanations.”
“Eight years ago, Antonio and I were undercover in New Jersey. We were working to bring down Marco Du Luca, an Italian mob boss. In the process, Antonio and I befriended the guy’s son, who we didn’t think was a part of the mob. His name was Dante De Luca. He hung around with us, did everything with us. So much so, I was beginning to have my suspicions that he was undercover himself. One night, he met Gabi. He really took to her and they started dating. I never got the feeling Gabi was as into Dante as he was to her. He asked her to marry him and she was going to tell him no, but Antonio ended up telling her about the opt. He needed Gabi to get closer to the family so we could bust them.”
My stomach turned. “He used his sister to get closer into a mob family?”
“Believe me, he hated himself then and even more when Gabi witnessed Dante killing his own father.”
It felt like I hit a brick wall.
“What?”
“Yeah, she of course freaked and immediately told Dante she wouldn’t have anything to do with this life. He threatened her. Told her if she ever left, he’d kill her.”
“And where in the fuck were you and her brother when all this went down?”
“About to bust a drug deal Dante’s father had set up for that night. This was the deal we had been waiting for. The one that was going to take the family down. Gabi had called Antonio freaking out. He left right before the bust went down, so Dante never did find out that Antonio was FBI because he wasn’t there when it all went down. News spread quickly that Marco had killed himself. That he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life in jail. The body though was never found.”
I sat there stunned. Listening to Jim speak.
“Two days later, I got a call from Antonio saying his sister had died in a car accident. I had no idea she had witnessed the murder, fuck I had no idea about the murder until Antonio had told me. He didn’t trust the FBI with his sister, and he certainly didn’t trust Dante. The guy is a nut case. He wanted his father dead so he could have control of the family.”
“It was staged? Her death was staged?” I asked.
“Yes, but at the time I didn’t know it was. Antonio did it all on his own without the FBI’s help. He felt like he couldn’t trust anyone.”
“Not even you? His partner?”
Jim laughed. “If that had been my sister, I wouldn’t have told him. Anyway, once I started to piece it all together, I went to Antonio in Italy. Told him I had seen Gabi and that you had been in Italy. That’s when he told me the truth. That Gabi was alive. I told him if I had put two and two together, it wouldn’t take long for Dante’s guys to figure it out. Antonio put someone on Gabi when she left Italy and Antonio’s had someone planted in with Dante the last six years. Dante’s in Colorado. He’s coming after Gabi.”
I dropped my head and scrubbed my hand down my face. “Son of a bitch.”
“Yeah. I’m not convinced they saw her in Italy though and neither is Antonio.”
“Why?”
“Dante is a smart guy. I don’t doubt that he hasn’t believed that Gabi has been dead all this time, but he isn’t a very trusting guy. I’d bet a year’s paycheck he’s been scanning all the major newspapers still for Gabi to slip up.”
The cooking competition.
“Oh holy shit. The cooking competition. They put her picture in the Denver paper.”
“That’s what Antonio thinks. Anyway, he was contacting Gabi and telling her to move on to the closest safe house.”
I shook my head, trying to make sense of the massive information Jim had just laid out on me. Then it hit me.
“Dante’s here in Colorado?”
“Yes. And he knows her name, Nic. Antonio has someone following her.”
“Why are you telling me this, Jim?”
He paused before answering. “I saw the way you looked at her that day and I knew you were destroyed thinking she was cheating. I didn’t want you to go the rest of your life wondering what happened. If Gabi leaves, you’ll never see her again.”
Standing, I attempted to calm my heart down. It was pounding in my chest.
“Then I better make sure I get to her before she leaves.”
“Hey, Nic. Can ask one favor of you.”
“Anything,” I said as I raced into my house.
“You didn’t get any of this information from me. Right?”
With a grin, I put my side arm holster on. My mother stood there staring at me as I checked my gun and slipped it into the holster.
“What information?”
Jim chuckled. “If you ever want a job . . .”
“I’m actually pretty damn happy where I am.”
“I thought so. Take care and please, don’t try to be the hero. Dante De Luca isn’t someone to mess around with.”
I smiled. “Neither am I, Jim. Neither am I.”
AFTER HANGING UP with Jim. I got a text from Cole.
Cole: Nic, I need you at Gabi’s place. STAT
I could run to Gabi’s place faster than I could drive, so that’s what I was going to do.
“Mama, I need to get over to Gabi’s.”
The look on her face told me she knew something was wrong.
“What is happening, Nicholaus?”
Kissing her on the cheek, I grabbed my other phone for work. Just in case.
“I can’t go into it right now, Mama. I’ll call you later.”
“Is Gabriella okay?”
Stopping, I turned back to look at her. “I really hope so.”
She nodded. “Then go to her. Be careful, son. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mama.”
Racing down the street, I said a prayer I wasn’t too late.
I hit reply on Cole’s text and tried to type the best I could as I ran.
Me: I’m on my way.
Antonio had a guy on Gabi, so I knew the moment I got to her place he would alert her brother. Fine by me. I had no fucking intentions of letting the woman I loved leave me. Her days of running were over if I had anything to say about it.
A half a block away from her place, I dropped my jog down to a walk. I didn’t want to bring attention to myself or alert Dante’s people of anything.
Lifting my phone, I pretended to be on it, but what I was really doing was trying to look around. I saw a black car parked on a side road. It had a perfect view of Gabi’s bakery. There was no way that was the FBI guy. He wouldn’t be that obvious.
No. That was Dante’s thugs probably. Lifting my phone from my ear, I called Liam.
“I need a favor.”
“You’re going to owe me a shit ton of them, do you know that?”
“I know. Listen there’s a car parked on Twenty-fifth just up from Colorado Ave. I’m pretty sure it’s the mob.”
Liam chuckled, then grew quiet. “Wait, are you being serious right now?”
“Never been more serious.”
“Does this have anything to do with Gabi?”
“Yes, and I’ll tell you when I can.”
He let out a groan. “Fuck. All right, I’m on it.”
Crossing the street, I made my way around the building. I was going in the back, which I knew meant the guy Antonio had on Gabi would know I was there.
Rushing up the steps, I stopped when I saw Gabi coming out of her place with a suitcase.
“It’s for the best that I leave now.”
Cole was on her heels and they both stopped when they saw me.
Gabi gasped and dropped her things. Covering her hands with her mouth, I knew she was trying to hold back her emotions, just like I was. So many things had happened over the last few days. The last time we spoke I said things I regretted. The pain and confusion I had felt hours ago vanished looking at the fear in her
eyes.
We stood there for a few moments staring into each other’s eyes before I made my way over to her.
I pulled her into my arms. “You’re not going anywhere, Gabi.”
Her body instantly melted into mine as she buried her face in my chest and cried. I was practically shaking at the idea of her taking off all on her own.
Lifting my eyes to Cole, I said, “There was a black car parked on Twenty-fifth. See if a black and white is there with it.”
He nodded and quickly made his way back inside Gabi and Charity’s place.
“I’m so sorry,” Gabi sobbed. “I wanted to tell you the truth, but I was so afraid.”
Cupping her face in my hands, I kissed her lips and softly said, “It’s okay, agapimé. I’m here now.”
She shook her head as tears streamed down her cheeks. “You don’t understand, Nic. I have someone after me. He’s dangerous and I’m putting all of your lives at risk.”
I kissed her again. Her arms wrapped around my neck as she held onto me as if her life depended on it.
“Let’s go back inside, Gabi.”
Drawing back, her eyes widened in horror. “Nic, I have to leave. I can’t tell you why, but—”
“I know everything, Gabi. I know Antonio is your brother, I know about Dante. I know everything.”
“W-what? How?”
“It doesn’t matter, all that matters is keeping you safe, let’s go back inside.”
Gabi shook her head, her body trembling in fear.
“I wanted to tell you so many times! I couldn’t betray my family or risk putting you and them in danger.”
My arm wrapped around her as I reached for her bag and handed it to Charity. “Let’s go back in and figure all of this out.”
When we walked in, I looked over at Cole. He motioned to the balcony. “Things are getting interesting.”
“How so?” I asked.
“There is more than just one black and white. If I had to guess, I’d say FBI is there as well.”
I walked over to the sofa and sat Gabi down on it. Charity instantly sat next to her and wrapped her arm around her.
“What’s going on?” Gabi asked.
“Hang tight, baby.”
Taking out my phone, I called Liam. “Talk to me.”
“Turns out you weren’t the only one interested in that car. When I called it in, the Feds must have heard it. Drake Handley said when he pulled up behind the car, it was instantly surrounded by FBI agents.”
My heart started pounding as I stepped out onto the balcony. “Any word from your friend over there?”
“I’ve got a call in, waiting to hear back.”
One of the feds walked up to the guy thrown over the hood of the car and said something to him that caused him to look directly up at me and Cole.
“That’s him,” I mumbled.
“Who?” Cole asked.
Turning to look at Cole, I said, “Dante.”
His eyes widened in shock as he leaned in closer to me and asked, “How do you know?”
Forcing my eyes back to the asshole who was now being cuffed, I slowly shook my head and shrugged.
“Call it a gut feeling. But I think I know the person who knows for sure.”
The fed watched as they walked Dante and two other men to the back of a black SUV. He then turned and looked up at me.
“Antonio,” I whispered.
EVERYTHING WAS SPINNING. Nic was here. Dante was coming after me. I needed to get to the next safe house.
I turned to look at Charity. She was my best friend. Like a sister to me and I had to leave her. If I didn’t, I’d be putting her and her unborn child in danger.
“Why didn’t you just testify against Dante, put his ass in jail?”
I swallowed hard. Shaking my head, I knew I shouldn’t even be still here, let alone talking to Charity about this.
“The first person I told was Antonio. He was working undercover to take the family down. By the time Antonio had gotten to where it happened, everything had been cleaned up, the body moved. He had no proof Dante had killed his father. It was my word against his.”
Wrapping my arms around my body, I glanced out onto the balcony. “Dante threatened me and said if I told anyone, he was going to kill me and my family.”
“That had to have been terrible.”
Nodding, I whispered, “It was. The FBI promised protection, but Antonio decided it would be safer if he faked my death and only my father and he were in on it. They didn’t tell my mother right away because they needed her to act like her only daughter had just died.”
Charity gasped.
“The last six years my brother has been waiting for Dante to screw up. And Lucas would be there to get it all.”
“Whose Lucas?”
I was telling Charity way too much information, but God it felt good to get it all out.
“Lucas was the inside guy Antonio had planted with Dante. Not FBI, an old friend of his that pretty much buried himself into the family as a payback for my brother saving his life. He was there waiting for Dante to slip up.”
“Holy shit. This feels like a damn movie.”
With a soft laugh, I stood. “Yeah. A horror movie.”
Nic and Cole were both looking down at something going on.
“What are they doing out there?”
“Nic mentioned something about a car sitting out there.” She took me by the arms and faced me to her.
“Let me make you something to drink or eat.”
Frantically shaking my head, I replied, “I have to go, Charity. If I don’t leave soon . . . something . . . something terrible could happen.” My voice cracked.
Strong arms wrapped around my body.
“Nothing is going to happen,” Nic whispered in my ear.
My head dropped back to his chest. Oh, how I wanted to believe him.
“I’ll make something to eat for us all,” Charity said as she glanced over to Cole.
“You don’t understand, I have to leave before . . .”
The knock on the door had us all frozen in place. Nic placed his finger on my chin. “Baby, breathe. I think it’s just going to be your brother.”
My brows furrowed. “What?”
Nic motioned for Cole to come stand next to me. Cole grabbed Charity’s hand and pulled her with him as he stood in front of both of us. My head peeked around his body as I watched Nic head toward the door. My breath caught in my throat.
He looked out first, then reached for the door handle.
The pounding of my heart in my chest was almost unbearable. “Nic! Don’t!” I cried out.
My knees almost buckled when I saw my brother standing in the doorway.
“Antonio?” I gasped.
His eyes found mine.
“Gabi, are you okay?”
Rushing around Cole, I ran to my brother. “What’s going on? Why are you here? What’s happening?”
Antonio laughed then wrapped his arm around me. “Christ, Gabi. Catch your breath and invite your brother into your house.”
I stared at him like he had grown two heads. “Not more than an hour ago you were telling me to leave. Now you want me to show you the place?”
He nodded. “Yes. But first, I think you need to introduce me to someone.”
All I could do was stand there and look at him. He finally took me by my arms and said, “Gabi, it’s over. Dante will never hurt you.”
The air left my lungs and I had to reach for his arms to steady myself. “What do you mean it’s over?”
His eyes swung over to Nic, then back to me.
“Let’s sit down. I’ll explain everything.”
I sat with my hand in Nic’s as Antonio explained everything to me. How Lucas had alerted him to Dante finding my picture in the Denver paper and how Dante had been having someone follow me since he found out where I was. He even knew I went to Italy. Lucas had secretly recorded Dante’s plan to kidnap me.
My entire body s
huddered.
“Is that why you had so much security in Italy? You thought he’d show up?”
He nodded. “I knew I was risking things, but it was the only way to get Dante to come to you.”
My stomach churned as a wave of nausea hit me. “Come to me? You wanted him to find me?”
“Once I found out Dante had found you and was crafting a plan, I went to the FBI and got them involved.”
My mouth dropped open. “You said you couldn’t trust anyone in the FBI. That’s why you came up with this whole plan to keep me away.”
“The plans changed. I needed them. Needless to say, they weren’t very happy with me not bringing you to them immediately, but I pleaded my case. Brother worried about his sister . . . I played that card.”
Numb. My entire body was numb as I sat there and listened to my brother. I drew in a shaky breath and waited for him to keep talking.
Pushing his hand through his hair, he closed his eyes then looked back at me. “The FBI had been watching you since your picture went into the paper.”
“What?” The pounding in my head was getting louder. The ache growing stronger. “You’ve had the FBI watching me? And you said nothing!”
I’d never been so angry with my brother in my entire life.
“I know, Gabi. I know you’re angry with me. I needed you to believe that you were safe. That everything was good. If for any reason I would have thought your life was in danger, I’d have gotten you out. But Lucas gained Dante’s trust a few years back and has been his number two guy. Dante just started talking more and more, I needed to make sure everything we got down was done legally. I needed him to confess about his father’s murder and the only way to do that was with him finding you. That picture was actually a good thing. Once Dante saw it, he started spewing out everything about his father’s murder.”
I dropped Nic’s hand. My fingers came up to my temples were I massaged them gently. “So you knew Dante had found me weeks ago, and you said nothing. How could you do that to me?”
“I knew Nic was around and he was a cop. I really felt like you were safe. Plus the FBI has been watching you.”
Standing, I pointed to Antonio. My entire body shook with anger. “You used me as a damn pawn, Antonio! Again! And to make matters worse, you put the lives of people I love in danger.”