Step Bride: A Bad Boy Mob Roman(58)

“Has anyone been here?” he asked.

“No, nobody.”

“Do you know where your mother is?”

“No. What’s wrong?”

He took me by the shoulders. “Listen to me carefully, Nat. Things are going to happen very fast from here, and you need to trust me. Can you trust me?”

I felt dizzy. “Of course I can. Just tell me what’s happening.”

“Arturo knows about your mom, about her cheating with the Franklin kid.”

I felt like I was falling through the floor. A spike of fear ran down my spine. “What are we going to do?” I asked.

“I’m taking care of it,” he said. “First, we need to get your mom here. Can you call her?”

“Okay.” I walked over to the phone numbly and dialed her room number. It rang and rang, but nobody answered. “She’s not in her room,” I said.

“Fuck. Try her cell.”

I nodded, dialing. It rang twice, and then she answered. “Hi, sweetie,” she said.

“Mom? Where are you?”

“Oh just taking a little late-night dip. Did you know there’s an indoor pool here?”

“Mom, can you come to my room right now?”

She sighed. “What’s wrong, honey?”

“Listen. It’s really, really important that you get here right now.”

“Can it wait? I was just about to finish my laps.”

“Please,” I said. “Please. You need to get here right away.”

I didn’t know if it was because I pushed or if it was because of the fear that she heard, but for whatever reason she listened.

“Okay,” she said. “Be there in a minute.”

I hung up the phone and looked at Lucas. “She’s coming.”

“Good,” he said. “Pack a bag. And one for your mother too, if you can.”

I nodded, moving quickly. I grabbed a suitcase from the closet and began to throw things into it. Meanwhile, Lucas paced nervously, constantly glancing at his watch.

I filled the suitcase with enough clothes for me and my mom. We weren’t exactly the same size, but I figured it wouldn’t matter. We could get more clothes down the line.

Five minutes passed, though every second felt like an eternity. Lucas was on edge, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. His intensity made me feel both comforted and terrified. I believed that if anyone could get us to safety, it was him, but he was still so strong and terrifying.

“What’s the plan, Lucas?” I asked him.

“I know a place you and your mom can stay until this all blows over.”

I wanted to press him, but suddenly there was a knock at my door.

Lucas looked at me, holding a hand up for me to be quiet. I watched as he pulled a gun from his pants. He slowly opened the door.

“What’s wrong, Nat? I was just—” Mom started to say, but Lucas quickly pulled her inside. “Lucas! Oh, what are you doing?”

“Mom,” I said to her, “Arturo knows about you and Franklin.”

She gaped at me for a second. “You silly, dumb bitch,” she said icily. “You shouldn’t have told.”

I was so completely taken aback that I barely even noticed when Lucas stepped between the two of us. “Natalie,” he said. “Natalie, calm down.”

I realized that I was trembling and barely in control of myself. I took a deep breath.

“It wasn’t her, Camille,” Lucas said. “Arturo saw you on security footage.”

Her face dropped. “Oh. Oh dear. I’m so sorry, Natalie,” she said.

“Listen to me, Mother,” I replied. “We’re going to do exactly what Lucas says tonight. Once this is all over, and we’re both safe, I want you out of my life.”

“But, sweetie,” she said, “it was just a mistake. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m tired of your mistakes.” I turned away. “We’re done after tonight. If you care about me at all, you’ll at least listen to Lucas.”

“Okay,” she said softly. “Okay, sweetie. I’m so sorry.”

But I wasn’t listening. I quickly threw on a sweatshirt and some sweatpants and tossed another pair to Camille. She pulled the clothes on over her still-damp bathing suit.

“Okay, listen up,” Lucas said. “The plan is simple. We’re heading down to the garage where we’ll grab a car. From there, we’ll go to safe house where you two will stay until this all blows over.”

“Sounds easy,” Camille said.

“What about the cameras? And the gates? And the guards?”

“I’ll worry about all that,” he said. He walked over and put his hands on my shoulders. “You can do this.”