Page 13 of Heartbeats Amidst Chaos: Part 3
This indicated that she might also be the connection between him and the bombing, though he almost couldn’t bring himselfto believe she would be so petty. There was only one reason he could think of that she would want to drag him into whatever she had gotten involved in and set him up to take the blame. But was it enough?
Suffice it to say, the police footage Reagan reported had led them to the resort, the resort led them to Miranda, and Miranda led them to an attack by what appeared to have been his grandfather’s dreaded “shadow gang.” The connection was there; Elio just wasn’t sure what it was.
At this point, he was just running scared. It felt like the entire world was after him, and he didn’t know which way to turn. It only made things worse that he had dragged Rissa along for the ride. Every chance he’d had to cut her loose and let her go, he hadn’t been able to do it. And he hated himself for it because it was starting to look more and more like they weren’t going to get out of this without paying a very high price.
Unless he called in reinforcements.
His grandfather’s words echoed in his mind.
“You can only turn your back on your family so many times, my boy. Eventually, something will send you running to them for good.”
Elio didn’t want to get his family involved. He didn’t want this to become a gang war or get sucked into their machinations to the point where he was beyond extricating himself ever again. But there was one thing about his family that he knew for sure:They would be there for him. They would keep him and Rissa safe. And he had already determined that he would do anything to keep Rissa safe and make sure that she, at least, came out the other side of this unscathed.
A sign ahead briefly gleamed with a list of the amenities offered by the next exit, and Elio glanced down at the gas gauge, cursing under his breath when he saw that it was nearly empty. If he’d had more options and more time to choose a car—but he hadn’t. No use wishing now.
Rissa stirred at his expletive, and he glanced over to find her watching him. Her face was guarded, her blue eyes cool. He was pierced with the realization that he could read nothing in her expression and that this was intentional on her part. A deep, aching suspicion told him that this last string of events had been the last straw for her, that she had finally had enough.
He wouldn’t blame her if she wanted nothing more to do with him after today. But unfortunately, her life was now definitely in danger. They needed to stay together to stay safe. For the time being, she was stuck with him.
“I’ve got to stop for gas and to make a phone call,” he said.
Rissa just nodded. She looked like a broken doll huddled against the door, her bare feet pulled up under her and her dress dirty and frayed from their escape. It opened tiny fractures in Elio’s heart to see her like this; he didn’t dare give them too much of his attention for fear that they would open into yawning spacesthat left no room for the survival instinct that was currently driving him.
He took the exit and guided the car toward the glowing lights of the first gas station he saw, pulling in and parking at a pump in the far back corner.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” Rissa said. She slipped her feet into the ruby-colored flats she had somehow managed to keep track of all this time and climbed out of the car without looking back.
Elio watched her head toward the back of the station, disappearing around the white brick half-wall that sheltered the entrance to the women’s restroom.
He started the car filling with gas, pulled out his cell phone and, after the slightest hesitation, dialed Vince.
His cousin picked up immediately.
“Don’t tell me,” the burly man growled into the phone. “You’re in trouble again.”
“How did you guess?” Elio’s attempt at a joking tone fell monumentally flat. “Yes,” he said simply. “I don’t know how, but Nonno’s ‘shadow gang’ found me again. And Vince—I saw Miranda.”
There was a pause. Then Vince said, “What’s that psycho bitch got to do with anything?”
“I don’t know,” Elio said. “But she’s involved. I’m positive of that.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Come and pick us up,” Elio said. “I’ll text you the location.”
“Who is ‘us’?” Vince asked suspiciously.
“Rissa is with me,” Elio admitted. He sighed, recalling his last conversation with his cousin and feeling like somehow, everything had just come full circle in the worst possible way.
“The hostage?” Vince’s voice was smug. “I knew there was more going on with you two than met the eye.”
“Please, bro. Just come get us.”
Elio hung up and returned the nozzle to the gas pump. He glanced toward the women’s restroom, wondering why Rissa had not yet reappeared. This time, he noticed the scrubby woods behind the station and how closely they crowded to where Rissa had disappeared. He was abruptly struck with a wave of fear.
What if whoever was after them had somehow tracked them here and had been waiting to grab her, just as they had been waiting to grab them back at the lake? Was that even possible?
Stuffing his phone in his pocket, Elio set off at a jog across the lot.
