Total pages in book: 206
Estimated words: 192184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 961(@200wpm)___ 769(@250wpm)___ 641(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 961(@200wpm)___ 769(@250wpm)___ 641(@300wpm)
It’d been a while since I’d driven and I can’t say I was all that great at it, but I got out of there, quickly. I drove the opposite way that we usually came in, figuring I’d figure the rest out later and also figuring if the other guy wasn’t far, he’d come from the other way.
Ten minutes later I was kind of lost, but I was pretty sure I hadn’t been followed. Fifteen minutes after that, the flip phone was ringing and it was Dario.
“Dario!” I answered.
“Tia! What’s your status?”
I spoke fast, “I got Nino to the safe house because these two guys were there with guns and Nino got one, I don’t know where the other is, he left before Nino got here and I got into Tommy’s Jeep and I’m maybe about thirty minutes away from Bianca’s salon where Nino said to meet her. There was a tracker on the Jeep so whoever put it there knows where the safe house is!”
“Okay, yeah, I just got off the phone with him. Change of plans,” Dario said. “Are you being followed?”
“I don’t think so. I’m on a dirt road alone. Haven’t seen a car for the whole time I’ve been driving. Where’s Tommy?”
“I’ll explain after. Get to 15 Sweet Avenue as fast as you can. Don’t put 15 Sweet into in the GPS in the Jeep in case there’s a hack on the GPS. I will give you directions.”
He gave me directions and let me go.
I got a text and it said Tommy.
Where r u?
I pulled over and dialed his number. No answer. I answered back.
Trying to call!?! Urgent
Him: Can’t talk live. Text me where u r.
Me: I’m driving to meet Dario. Someone came to the farm!
Him: Were ru meeting Dario?
Something wasn’t right.
Me: Where are you? Is everything ok?
It dinged with,
Im ok. Were r u goign?”
I suddenly had this sinking feeling, remembering the text that came through that was a fake about Luciana’s labor. How did I know whether or not this was Tommy? I wrote,
I need to talk to you. I need to hear your voice.
Him: I cant talk 2 u. Need u 2 tell me were u r so I cna meet u. its urgent.
My gut told me it wasn’t him.
I wrote:
What’s OUR favorite ice cream flavor?
The answer:
Strawbery. Were r u honey plz
The answer came after a long time. Strawberry? Honey? All those typos? Not Tommy.
I called Dario back and told him someone was texting me from Tommy’s phone or that Tommy’s phone was cloned and he told me to just hurry to meet him. I ignored the next three texts that came from whoever was pretending to be Tommy.
It was nighttime when I pulled up to 15 Sweet Avenue. It was a small run-down looking house on a small and quiet street . All the lights were off. I parked and put the gun into my waistband under my shirt at the back. I knocked on the front door. I saw a figure move behind the curtains on the window adjacent to the door.
Finally, the door opened a little and Dario pulled me in by the wrist.
“We gotta move!” He said, looking angry and tweaked. He walked me through the house, holding my elbow. It was a sparse run-down place with no furniture and everything was in rough shape. He went down the stairs to the basement and now I knew it was Dario’s safe house. The basement apartment was totally redone, high tech, every modern convenience. No one appeared to be here but him. I used his bathroom and then he grabbed a duffle bag and we went back upstairs.
“Stay here!” he said and I waited by the top of the stairs as he headed toward the front of the house. He was gone only about 30 seconds, then he rushed me through the back door where there was an alley with a separate garage. Inside was a black SUV. He ushered me into it. This looked like the same SUV I’d been picked up from my grad in.
“Gimme the phone?”
“Where’s Tommy?” I asked, handing it to him.
He did something on the phone while shaking his head. “I don’t know.”
“He said someone faked a text from Eddy so I was wary.”
“Good.” He pulled out and was driving crazy-fast.
“Where are we going?” I had no idea what that place even was.
“Bianca’s ma’s house, where I’ve got the girls and the kids.”
“Luciana?”
“She’s there, too.”
“How’s your dad?”
“Pop’s hanging in, last I heard.”
“When did you last see Tommy?”
“I haven’t seen him. He was supposed to meet me this morning. He never showed.”
I felt sick to my stomach.
My phone, sitting on the seat between us, rang. It said Tommy on it.
“Tommy!” I looked to Dario.
He jerked his chin at the phone. “Answer it. Careful. Gimme the phone if it’s not him.”