What if Jake found me?
How would he know where to find me?
I’m in a cottage nestled in the woodlands of San Bernardino, approximately one hour away from L.A. The cottage is still listed in my grandmother’s maiden name, so my name isn’t linked to it in any way, shape, or form.
I’m supposed to be safe here. I should be safe here. At least that’s what I’ve been telling myself since I left Marquees and got on the plane which would take me back to the States. He took me as far as Nice. I was on my own from there.
I gaze through the bedroom window and check the dark woods. There’s no one outside. There shouldn’t be. My closest neighbor is a mile away, and to them, the cottage and the surrounding lands are out of bounds.
“I’m just scared,” I rasp and try to stave off another bout of tears.
“I know, sweetie. Everything is the same here, so try to stay strong to keep yourself safe.”
“I’m trying.”
I’m doing my best. I’ve been here for a week and on edge, to say the least. The slightest sound makes me jumpy. I know I can’t stay here forever, but I’m
going to stay for as long as I can. Scarlett used to use the cottage as a getaway from the city. It’s one of the few assets my grandmother left us that didn’t get taken away after Mom died.
I managed to get an old car from the dealer in town, so I’ve been to the convenience store to get food and other things for the house. I haven’t been anywhere else. Since there isn’t much storage space in the cottage, I had to go to the store twice. The day after I arrived and earlier today. I bought a ton of canned food and bottled water that should last me a while.
“Okay, go now. I’ll check in again when I can. Just to be on the safe side, it may be best if I only call if I have news.”
“I understand.” It would be a shame to get this far and fuck things up because we weren’t careful on the phone. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
“You don’t have to thank me. You did a lot for me when no one else would help. I’ll never forget that.”
I sigh because that isn’t the same thing. Knowing someone’s darkest secrets is different from helping them stay alive. Definitely not when he’s bailed me out of shit more times than I can count.
What he’s referring to is the fact that I’m the only person who knows he killed Sergio Marchesi, a Don of one of the most powerful crime families in Italy.
Sergio killed Marquees’ family to teach him a lesson after a drug bust. He went into their home and executed them in their sleep: Marquees’ wife, his newborn son, and two daughters. Sergio killed them all.
Because of who he was, no one wanted to do anything about it.
I helped Marquees get his revenge on Sergio. At the time, I was working in a seedy underground bar reserved for the fucked up and dangerous. I was barely old enough to work there, but I needed money, and they needed cheap labor.
When Marquees found out Sergio was doing business there, I helped by playing the bait that lured Sergio in for the final kill. The asshole had a taste for young girls. That happened six years ago, and to this day, he’s listed as missing, but that means dead in our world.
“That was different, Marquees.”
“It wasn’t. What you did for me was important to me. It took guts, and we barely knew each other at the time.”
At the time, we’d only known each other for a little under eight months.
Something tugs on my heart when I think back to how we first met. I’d been in Monaco for just under a month when someone broke into the shit hole of an apartment I managed to rent. They stole all my money. Everything I had left from selling the pearls Grandmama left me.
The landlady kicked me out when she realized I wouldn’t be able to pay the rent. Never mind it being her fault for not fixing the door when I complained. I doubt, though, fixing the door would have stopped anyone from breaking in. The place was a dive, and I stuck out like a sore thumb.
Marquees found me on the road in tears with nothing but the clothes on my back. He and his wife took me in and got me a place six months later.
“You’ve helped me more than anyone has. You and your family.” I lost my way the day Grandmama died. They were the first people to show me kindness in years. Meeting Marquees and his wife helped to balance me. They made me feel human again. “Your wife was like the mother I wish I had. Of course, I was going to help you.”
He’s silent for a moment. The sound of nothingness is reverent against the drumming of my heart in my ears.
I hear him drag in a labored breath then release it.
“Then you know she’d want me to save you. I want to save you. Goodbye, my Belle. Be safe.”