I stood off to one side in the shade, watching everyone get ready. I kept looking around nervously, trying to find Louisa, but she was nowhere to be seen. I actually hadn’t heard anything about her since I saw her in the stream, and I had to assume she was busy with her own preparations.
“Impressive, isn’t it?”
I turned around, startled. Vince smiled at me.
“Oh, yeah. It is.”
“Are you coming?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Good for you. I assume Rafa was pretty pissed about it?”
“He was.”
Vince laughed and stood next to me. We stood there in silence for a minute, watching the preparations.
I liked Vince. He seemed different from the other men, not more reserved, but more serious. He seemed to understand something that nobody else did, or at least he always had that expression. I felt comfortable around him, though I didn’t really know him.
“Rafa likes you a lot,” Vince said finally.
“I feel the same way about him.”
“Good. So you’ll listen when I say this.” He looked at me, his expression hard. “Don’t get yourself killed.”
“I don’t plan on it,” I said, taken aback.
“Good. So when Rafa says run, you’ll fucking run. If he says to scream, you’ll scream. Right?”
I nodded once. “Right.”
“Good.” He looked back over at the men. “Are you really pregnant?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I haven’t taken a test yet.”
“Take one as soon as you can. Don’t hold this over his head.”
“I’m not. He chose this. He wanted this.”
“That was before.” He shook his head. “He cares a lot about you, Cassidy, but who knows what that man really wants.”
He nodded at me and then walked away, leaving me stunned and confused.
What had Rafa said to Vince that would make him come to me like that? I couldn’t imagine it. Rafa seemed so excited for me to be pregnant, and now Vince was suggesting otherwise.
I didn’t know what to feel, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. The men were climbing into trucks as the bosses called out orders. Vince was in the midst of them, rounding them up, getting everyone moving.
Someone waving caught my eye. It was Rafa, standing near a big black truck. I waved back and tried to smile, but I was shaken.
I headed over to him. The lights of the truck blinded me for a second.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready.”
“Come on.” He climbed into the driver’s seat.
I got in the passenger’s side. As soon as I was in, we started rolling out. It was eleven, an hour before the meeting was scheduled.
“The plan is simple,” he said. “We’re getting there early and the guys are setting up. We’ll stick here, in the car, until it’s close to time. We’ll meet up with the other bosses and watch what goes down.”
“Fine,” I said.
“You okay?” he asked, glancing at me.
“I’m fine.”
He nodded and concentrated on driving, not pressing me any further. I couldn’t tell if he noticed my apprehension around him, but that didn’t matter. He probably thought I was just nervous about what was going to happen.
I was nervous, of course. I’d never done something like this, and I knew it was going to be dangerous. Hell, everyone kept telling me that I was stupid for wanting to come along.
But this was happening because of me. I couldn’t stay away. I wasn’t that kind of person. Even after everything, I still had to put myself out there and see things through. Rafa seemed to understand that.
Maybe he did, or maybe he didn’t. I thought he understood and wanted me anyway, but maybe Vince was right. Maybe he was only doing this out of some kind of pride or obligation.
I hated that Vince had thrown me for a loop at this final hour. Things were about to come to a head, and I’d learn soon enough if I really was pregnant or not. I hadn’t questioned things until this moment, heading to the most dangerous meeting of my life.
The caravan headed out of the compound and through the city. Nobody stopped us, and we blew through every red light. I assumed the police had been bought off, and if they had been, it was incredibly impressive. It was just another example of how much money and power the Barone family actually had.
We arrived at the spot around eleven twenty. The cars pulled up, and everyone got out. Orders were called out as I stood next to our car. Rafa conferred with a few guys I didn’t recognize, and I just stood around and watched.
They moved with precision. Some headed to the roof of the building, and some went inside. Rafa kept glancing at me, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of nerves or something else.