Sweet Vengeance (14 page)

"He
was a bad person, Allie.  You did the right thing."

She
seemed to accept that.  Her shoulders relaxed against the seat as her grip on
his hand lessened.  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Jase
was grateful when Allie fell asleep.  He looked over his shoulder and changed
into an inside lane of traffic.  He turned the radio up a bit so his voice
wouldn't disturb her sleep and pulled out his cell phone.  Max answered on the
second ring.

"Give
me the status."

Max
sighed.  "It's bloody.  We lost five good men today."  The sound of a
doctor being paged came through the phone.

"Damn." 
Jase didn't want to hear that.  "Are you at the hospital?"  Even
though his men knew what they'd signed up for, they had families, people who
loved and depended on them.

"Yeah,
I'm here with Johnson.  They're patching him up.  He took one in the thigh, but
he'll be okay.  The cops are waiting to take him in when the docs are through
with him."

"Did
you call our lawyer?"

"It's
taken care of."

Hell,
in the matter of a few days and one woman, his entire organization had been
rocked to the core.  "Who ratted us out, 'cause you know damn well someone
did."

"I
have no idea," Max answered.  "I'm still working on that."  He
paused. 

"Somebody
talked."  Jase was pretty sure his men were loyal, but he'd also learned
money was a powerful lure.  "You're positive they were there for Allie,
right?"  Jase was sure, but he wanted to hear Max say it.

"Yeah. 
Kip managed to get that out of one of Trasatti's men before he gurgled his last
breath.  They want her bad."  Another pause.  "Did you find out
why?"

Jase
put his foot on the brake as the car in front of him slowed.  "No.  We've
talked about it, but she doesn't seem to have a clue."  He couldn't help
remember the awkward way she'd avoided his gaze last night when he'd asked
about her ties to the mob.  Was she telling the truth?

"She
doesn't seem to have a clue?  Damn it Jase, have you even tried to get anything
out of her?  For all you know, she could be a double dealer sent to infiltrate
your
organization.  Maybe they're just making it look like they want her, when
really they want you.  We've done enough shit to them in the past that they'd
love to plant us."

That
pissed him off.  He couldn't believe Allie would betray him.  Her awkwardness
had been that she hadn't wanted him to see how much pain she was in after the
phone call to her aunt.  Nothing else.  "She's not one of them."

"How
the hell do you know?"  Max voiced his frustration.

"I
know," Jase answered, lowering his tone.  "She had to shoot one of
them today."

"So,
maybe she's cold-blooded.  You know what they say, everyone in the outfit is
dispensable if it furthers the cause."

No. 
There was no way the sleeping young woman next to him would whack somebody. 
"Did the guy die?"

"Yeah,
along with a bunch of other guys." 

Shit. 
There was no mistaking Max's annoyance, but that didn't change things with
Allie.  "I'm not wrong about her, Max."

"All
right, Jase, but you'd better pump her for information.  Do whatever it takes. 
She knows something."

"Okay. 
I will.  I'm heading out of town right now.  Keep me posted."  Max was
right on that count.  If Trasatti wanted her that bad, either she had, or they
thought she had, some pretty damning evidence.  It looked like he was going to
have to squeeze her again for information.

He
hung up the phone and glanced at Allie.  With all the trauma she'd experienced
over the past two days, she needed rest.  And she still needed to have her
bandage changed.  He'd had Max help him earlier that morning, but he'd figured
he would have had plenty of time to change hers later on.  It was amazing how
fast life could shift from one reality to another. 

Just
like his had several years before.  Nothing in life was constant.  Allie had
been on a date with her boyfriend, and
bam
, life changed.  His own
existence had been altered when his family had taken a celebratory trip from
Oregon to Chicago.  One minute a person could be happy, and in the next, life
could become unbearable. 

Sometimes
when his defenses were down, he'd still see his sister, Charlotte, drowning in
a pool of her own blood.  Fucking Trasatti family.  They would pay.  He would
waste his dying breath if he had to, to make sure they did, and soon.  Max had
convinced him that his vengeance would be sweet, and up until this point, he hadn't
cared if it took a lifetime to see it happen.  But it seemed his patience had
worn thin.  His goals were taking too damn long to realize.  He glanced over at
his passenger.  A peaceful look had settled on her face. 
Too damn long
.

*       
*        *

A
bump woke Allie, and she shifted in her seat, slowly opening her dry eyes.  She
stretched her stiff neck, trying to get her bearings.  The afternoon sun
hovered in front of them, shining down on the stretch of freeway that lay ahead. 
Other cars filled the lanes, but they weren't jam-packed like they would be in
downtown Chicago. 

Allie
hadn't forgotten her second close call with death, but she wasn't quite sure
how to deal with it either.  Her insides were raw, abused by terror, but she
was with Jase again.  Safe again.  That thought alone kept her sane. 

"Where
are we?" 

"We're
a couple of hours outside the city."  He glanced at her, his eyes hidden
behind a pair of dark sunglasses.  "I'm taking us to Cedar Rapids, and
we'll catch a flight from there.  Less chance someone will find out where we've
gone if we put some distance between us and that God-forsaken neighborhood back
there."

Allie
blinked, trying to process the anger in his voice.  Sure, he'd almost been
killed, too, but wasn't that part of his chosen profession?  Was he angry
because his building had been destroyed?  Or Jenna?  Allie didn't dare ask if
she was okay.  "Where are we going after we reach Cedar Rapids?" 

"Oregon." 

"Oregon?" 
That surprised her.  She'd never been more than a couple of hours outside
Chicago.  Now she was headed toward the west coast?  "What am I going to
do in Oregon?  Is that where my new life will be?"

"I'm
not sure yet.  I didn't have time to make plans before we were forced to leave.
 I need some time to figure things out."

Time. 
She had nothing but.  At least she was still with Jase.  She sighed.  She
needed to get a grip on reality, needed to feel normal again.  But what was
normal?  Her life had become a whirlwind.  Everything seemed unreal.  Two days
ago, she'd been planning a quiet life with Joey and her baby.  Now, she was a
victim on the run.  The knot that used to be her stomach clenched tighter.  She
turned in her seat and rubbed her hand over Boo's soft head, searching for some
comfort. 

This
was no life for a baby.  Even if Jase got her a new identity and sent her to
college, there was always the possibility the violence from her past could show
up again.

"I
talked to Max a while ago."  Jase interrupted her thoughts.  "Just so
you know, the guy you shot didn't die."

She
glanced at him, but he kept his gaze on the road.  "Really?"  Relief
gushed through her.  "He looked like he did."  She closed her
thoughts against the memory of her attacker falling to the ground, blood gushing
out of his stomach.

"So,
I guess you're even."  He eyed her then.  "They shot you, and you
shot them."

She
hadn't considered that.  The Trasatti family had been the ones who started it. 
She'd only given them what they'd deserved.  "I guess so."  She allowed
herself a small smile.  That made her feel so much better, knowing she wasn't a
killer.  She couldn't stand the thought she'd taken someone's life.  "I
guess they took him to the hospital?"

"Max
said the cops showed up and carted everyone off to jail, the hospital or the
morgue."  The muscles in his arm flexed as he reached down and grabbed a
bottle of soda from the console between them and held it out to her. 
"Want something to drink?"

She
took the bottle and twisted off the cap.  The cool liquid felt good on her
throat.  "Where did you get this?" 

"I
stopped at a convenience store a while back."  He reached for a second
bottle of soda and opened it.

"Really?" 
She took another drink.  "I must have been out of it.  I didn't even
notice we'd stopped."

"You've
had a rough couple of days."  He pointed toward a plastic sack on the
floor.  "There's some cheese and grapes in there if you're hungry, and Boo
would love another dog biscuit."

The
hours since she'd had toast for breakfast seemed like a lifetime ago, and she
was hungry.  She tossed Boo two treats and then peeled back the wrapping on a
cheese stick. 

Clusters
of houses and commercial buildings thinned out as the distance grew between
them and Chicago.  Trees and rural areas filled the space outside her window,
everything seeming normal, almost mundane, and in direct opposition to her
life.  The silence in the car grew comfortable, and Allie relaxed, knowing at
least for the moment, she was safe. 

Several
miles down the road, Jase pulled into a rest stop.  "We'd better let the
dog out for a few minutes.  It's been a while since he's had a break." 

A
small brick building with restrooms sat at the top of a slope.  Trees, fresh
with new leaves, shaded a grassy area with a few picnic tables.  Two semi
trucks edged the parking lot, their drivers nowhere in sight.  "We should
stretch our legs, too.  We have a couple more hours on the road."

Allie
exited the SUV and walked with Jase toward the picnic tables.  It seemed summer
wouldn't wait to arrive, and it was too warm to stand in the sun.  Boo headed
for the nearest tree, stopping to sniff the grass every couple of feet.

She
snuck a glance at the man walking next to her.  He was something to look at
with his short, dark hair and strong muscled chest.  He was definitely a
man
. 
It amazed her at how much of a boy Joey seemed when compared to him.  This guy
was bigger, for sure, but his street sense put him years beyond Joey.  Her
heart filled with admiration.  Twice, he'd saved her life.  She trusted him more
than she'd ever trusted anyone else.

He
caught her gaze and pinned her with his as they reached a picnic table. 
"I know you're not going to like it, and I hate to keep bringing it up,
but I'm getting the sense you're not telling me everything." 

She
couldn't hold his gaze.  "I told you, I don't know anything more about the
mob."

He
grasped her wrist, forcing her to face him.  "Look at me." 

She
reluctantly turned her face toward him.  "I'm not lying."

He
studied her, and she couldn't find a trace of warmth in his expression.  This
was the man who wouldn't hesitate to pull a trigger.  "You are lying.  I
can see it in your eyes."  He tugged her closer, his grip like handcuffs
around her wrist.  "Tell me."

She
shivered.  She'd thought he'd been intimidating when he'd yelled at his men,
but that was nothing compared to now.  "I promise I don't know anything
else about them."  If she thought she could get away, she'd run.  Anything
but telling him about the baby.  She didn't think she could bear the look of disgust
or disappointment she'd find on his face when he learned she carried a
mobster's child.  Joey might not have been Jase's direct enemy, but close
enough.

He
moved his face within inches of hers.  "Allie."

"I'm
pregnant."

Her
statement left Jase's head spinning.  "Pregnant?"  He'd expected a
confession about the mob.  Or something else.  But pregnant?

Allie
bit her lip, staring at him as though she were afraid of his reaction.  He knew
he should say something, but he had a hard time wrapping his mind around a
response.  "Okay." 

"I'm
pregnant with Joey's baby."  Her eyes were moist, and the last thing he
needed was for her to cry.

"I
heard you the first time."  He had to admit, he wasn't thrilled with her
revelation. 

"Is
that all you have to say?"  Her tears had quickly turned to anger.

"Give
me a minute to think."  He didn't want her more upset, but he needed time
to process. 

"What
do you need to think about?  You're not the one who's going to have a
baby."  She jerked her hand out of his wrist and started walking back
toward his SUV.

He
quickly caught up to her.  "Why didn't you tell me before?"

She
kept moving.  "What am I supposed to say?  Oh, hey, by the way, the baby
I'm carrying is tied to the mob?"  Her eyes were full of anger. 
"Just leave me the hell alone okay?"  She started to run, heading
toward the restrooms.

He
stopped.  So that's what this was about.  She thought he'd judge her because of
her baby's father.  He'd already figured out Joey had lied to her and misled her,
not to mention he'd almost gotten her killed.  He knew Allie was innocent.