Page 151 of Be With Me
My pulse drummed against my ears. How long had they been there? What had they heard?
Dad took a step toward me. “I didn’t want to believe it, Mia.” His voice was low. Hard. “But it looks like I was wrong.”
I shook my head. My heartbeat was deafening. “Dad, I don’t have time for this.”
“Jenny told me everything.” Red was creeping up his neck, spreading over his face. “Romolo Ferraro? Really, Mia?”
He knew.
But none of that mattered.
Not right now.
“I have to go. I need to?—”
He stepped in front of me, Jenny flanking him. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said.
There was no point in trying to fight back the panic. I couldn’t. My flight instinct kicked in, and I surged past them, clutching my phone and my purse to my chest.
The exit wasn’t far. Just around the corner. I’d be out on the street in a few seconds, and then I’d get into a cab and deal with all this later. After I found Romolo. After I was sure he was okay.
I turned and skidded to a halt. Two security guards stood by the exit.
There was nothing relaxed about their body language, but I moved toward them anyway. They weren’t going to stop me?—
They stepped forward, blocking my path.
“What are you doing?” I demanded. “Let me pass.”
They didn’t budge.
I whirled around, my desperation rising. “Dad, please. Not now. I have to make sure he’s okay.”
His gaze darkened until it was pure coal. “I said, you’re not. Going. Anywhere.”
There was no reasoning with him. I turned back to the guards. “Get out of my way.”
Instead of acknowledging me, they glanced over my shoulder toward my father, as if waiting for him to issue a command.
A beat.
Then one of them moved and grabbed me by the arm.
“What are you doing?” I thrashed against his hold. “Let go of me!”
A kick to his shin made his grip loosen, and I ripped my arm away and took a step back.
My thoughts raced like wild horses. Why were the guards here instead of outside where they normally stood?
It was like they had been waiting for me.
The realization hit me all at once.
This was an ambush.
My dad had anticipated this. He'd waited to see how I’d react to the news to confirm what Jenny had told him. But in order for that to be true, he would have had to know about the explosion in advance.
The ground beneath me seemed to tilt. I felt like I was about to throw up. It was hot. So hot.
