Read Online Lawless: Mob Boss Book Three by Michelle St. James - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Michelle St. James
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a few words with her brother. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, but she kept her chin up, even tried to smile as Ed pulled away from the dock. She waved until they turned back toward the house.
Nico put his arm around her. “They’ll be okay.”
She nodded, but he couldn’t be sure she believed him.
They sped across the water and were back in Bass Harbor well before noon. After some quick instructions to Ed — including a weekly grocery drop to the island — he and Angel made their way up to the parking lot where they’d left Luca’s SUV. It wasn’t ideal. Nico had no way of knowing if Raneiro was searching for the vehicle. But it was a chance they’d have to take until they could get some clean papers and a new car.
“Are we going to the Hudson Valley house?” Angel asked when he got on the highway heading south.
“The Hudson Valley house burned to the ground a month after we rescued David.”
He didn’t look at her as he said it. The pain of losing the historic house — the one place where he most felt his mother’s presence — was still too raw. He’d loved having Angel there last fall, had hoped to bring her back, to share the history of his family summers there with her. In some of his wildest dreams, he even thought they might have children who would grow up there one day.
“Burned to the…” she didn’t say anything for a long minute. “What happened?”
“Electrical short, they said.”
“They?”
“The fire marshall.”
“Were they right?” she asked.
“Probably not.”
She reached across the console and took his free hand. The feel of her small hand over his, trying to offer him comfort after everything he’d brought to her door, almost undid him.
“I’m so, so sorry, Nico,” she said softly.
He nodded. “Me, too.”
“Why would someone do that?”
“To make sure I had nowhere to go,” he said simply.
“You can rebuild it,” she suggested. “When this is all over.”
“Maybe.”
The task in front of them wasn’t a small one. Getting out of the Syndicate with a free pass to a new life was unheard of after a hit had been taken out. The hit meant you’d already crossed the point of no return. That you’d betrayed them or fucked up so bad they needed to make an example of you. Letting you go then was a show of weakness, and the only way Raneiro would be willing to risk a show of weakness is if taking another course was so valuable that the upsides outweighed it.
And Nico wasn’t fooling himself; there were few things worth a show of weakness to Raneiro Donati.
He was glad when Angel changed the subject.
“So where are we going?” she asked.
“Albany.”
“Albany?”
He nodded. “There’s a small international airport there. The city is low key but big enough to get lost in for a little while. We’ll get a hotel, buy a cheap phone, and call Raneiro. Then we’ll figure out what’s next.”
He took them up through the Berkshires and into Vermont before cutting back down into New York. He was steering clear of Boston, and while he wasn’t crazy about the tolls — toll booths always had cameras — there was no way to get to New York without them that wouldn’t involve miles of backroads.
They stopped once for dinner and twice for gas and arrived in Albany just after sunset. The city was old and gritty, populated by brick buildings that had been standing since the early 1900s — some of them even longer — and bordered by the Hudson River in the east. He took the turnoff for the airport and pulled up to the ticket machine for long term parking.
“I thought we were getting a hotel,” Angel said, waking up in the passenger seat as the lights from the parking lot shone into the front seat.
“We are.” He navigated the car toward a spot farthest from the terminal. “But we need to ditch this car first.”
They removed their bags from the backseat and left the ticket on the dash. Then he led Angel away from the terminal, not wanting
Nico put his arm around her. “They’ll be okay.”
She nodded, but he couldn’t be sure she believed him.
They sped across the water and were back in Bass Harbor well before noon. After some quick instructions to Ed — including a weekly grocery drop to the island — he and Angel made their way up to the parking lot where they’d left Luca’s SUV. It wasn’t ideal. Nico had no way of knowing if Raneiro was searching for the vehicle. But it was a chance they’d have to take until they could get some clean papers and a new car.
“Are we going to the Hudson Valley house?” Angel asked when he got on the highway heading south.
“The Hudson Valley house burned to the ground a month after we rescued David.”
He didn’t look at her as he said it. The pain of losing the historic house — the one place where he most felt his mother’s presence — was still too raw. He’d loved having Angel there last fall, had hoped to bring her back, to share the history of his family summers there with her. In some of his wildest dreams, he even thought they might have children who would grow up there one day.
“Burned to the…” she didn’t say anything for a long minute. “What happened?”
“Electrical short, they said.”
“They?”
“The fire marshall.”
“Were they right?” she asked.
“Probably not.”
She reached across the console and took his free hand. The feel of her small hand over his, trying to offer him comfort after everything he’d brought to her door, almost undid him.
“I’m so, so sorry, Nico,” she said softly.
He nodded. “Me, too.”
“Why would someone do that?”
“To make sure I had nowhere to go,” he said simply.
“You can rebuild it,” she suggested. “When this is all over.”
“Maybe.”
The task in front of them wasn’t a small one. Getting out of the Syndicate with a free pass to a new life was unheard of after a hit had been taken out. The hit meant you’d already crossed the point of no return. That you’d betrayed them or fucked up so bad they needed to make an example of you. Letting you go then was a show of weakness, and the only way Raneiro would be willing to risk a show of weakness is if taking another course was so valuable that the upsides outweighed it.
And Nico wasn’t fooling himself; there were few things worth a show of weakness to Raneiro Donati.
He was glad when Angel changed the subject.
“So where are we going?” she asked.
“Albany.”
“Albany?”
He nodded. “There’s a small international airport there. The city is low key but big enough to get lost in for a little while. We’ll get a hotel, buy a cheap phone, and call Raneiro. Then we’ll figure out what’s next.”
He took them up through the Berkshires and into Vermont before cutting back down into New York. He was steering clear of Boston, and while he wasn’t crazy about the tolls — toll booths always had cameras — there was no way to get to New York without them that wouldn’t involve miles of backroads.
They stopped once for dinner and twice for gas and arrived in Albany just after sunset. The city was old and gritty, populated by brick buildings that had been standing since the early 1900s — some of them even longer — and bordered by the Hudson River in the east. He took the turnoff for the airport and pulled up to the ticket machine for long term parking.
“I thought we were getting a hotel,” Angel said, waking up in the passenger seat as the lights from the parking lot shone into the front seat.
“We are.” He navigated the car toward a spot farthest from the terminal. “But we need to ditch this car first.”
They removed their bags from the backseat and left the ticket on the dash. Then he led Angel away from the terminal, not wanting
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