Packing Heat(68)

“How do you know?”

“The smoke came from the floor.”

“Fuck. Come on.”

I pulled her on, my heart racing with excitement and adrenaline. I didn’t know where we were going or if we were close, but I kept us moving.

Finally, we reached the exit. The smoke was pouring out into the night, and I stumbled out. We were both coughing as we sucked clean air into our lungs.

People were all over the place. Some were Spiders and some were mafia, and they were fighting, brutally and deadly. I yanked her along, and we were running through it. I stopped to kill a man who got in our way, shooting him clear through the eye. No hesitation or thoughts; I simply killed him and continued moving. Nothing was getting in my way. Nothing was stopping me from saving Cassidy. Blood was drenching the ground as bodies were torn to bits.

Ahead, some of the cars were already pulling out. I shoved her ahead as I turned and got off more shots. I held them off as she ran toward the truck.

Once she was in, I followed. I threw the door open and dove inside. I started the engine and peeled up, steering off into the night. I went the opposite direction of the compound, heading away from the fighting and away from the mafia.

And we were away. The gunshots continued as the fighting escalated, but we were running, flying away along the roads.

We drove for ten minutes, out of the city and into the suburbs, before I finally pulled over.

The full magnitude of my decision hit me in that moment, and for some reason I didn’t care. All that mattered was that Cassidy was safe beside me. She stared at me, horror and fear in her eyes from what she had seen.

I grabbed her face. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said.

I let out a breath and gently released her. “Good.”

“Rafa, what are we doing? You killed mafia guys back there.”

“We’re done with them,” I said. “We’re leaving.”

“What?”

I looked at her. “I can’t make you come, but I want you to.”

“Come where?”

“I don’t know, but I have money. A lot of money. I can get us new identities. We can start over.”

“This is insane.”

“We’re not safe here. We’ll never be safe here. The Spiders, the mob, someone will try to hurt us sooner or later. But if we leave right now and never come back, the chaos will shield us. They’ll think we died or something worse. We can start again.”

She stared at me, taken aback, shocked. I couldn’t believe I was willing to leave the mob for her, but it was the truth.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“I love you. I need you. Come with me. This is real.”

She bit her lip. “I love you too.”

I knew it. I felt it. I needed it.

I kissed her, and she kissed me back.

After a time, maybe years, I couldn’t tell, we stopped. I put the car in drive.

I took her hand. I pulled out.

I loved her. It was real. I knew it was real, and I knew I had loved her from the very start, but now we had said it. Somehow, saying it out loud made it all the more real, made it somehow actual.

I would give up anything for her. I would do anything for her. I didn’t care if she was pregnant or not. It really had never mattered, although I wanted it to be true.

She was mine. She made me a better man, and I knew I was doing the right thing.

I could give them a real life.

I was going to give them a real life.

Far away, someplace where nobody could touch us. Just me and Cassidy and our baby, together against the world.

That was all I ever needed.





33





Cassidy





One Year Later





I took a deep breath, looking off into the distance. The mountains loomed there, beautiful and imposing, never moving, never shifting. They were one of the two constants in my life.

Rafa was the other constant.

I loved Colorado. I had never thought I would, but for some reason it really agreed with me. Maybe it was the thinner air, or maybe it was something else, but I loved it.

“Cassidy!”

I walked to the edge of the steps. “Yeah?”

“Come here!”

I walked downstairs, smiling to myself. I had gotten a moment to myself for the first time in so long, and now Rafa had to call me downstairs.

Not that I minded. He was on baby duty, and he was an amazing father. I loved being around him and little Jonathan.

“Look!” I stepped into the kitchen just as Rafa lifted Jonathan into the air. The baby laughed and spread his arms out like an airplane, and Rafa laughed.

I couldn’t help but laugh too. He looked just like a little baby airplane.

Rafa lowered him down, laughing and tickling Jonathan.

I had never in my entire life imagined that Rafa, this enormous, terrifying, tattooed mafia man, would turn to absolute mush around a baby. But as soon as Jonathan was born, that was exactly what had happened.