Sweet Vengeance (22 page)

"All
right."  Robert stood and walked to the sink.  "Whatever you
say."

Jase's
anger and irritation returned.  Robert and Carole didn't understand.  They
hadn't seen what he'd seen.  They lived their little sheltered lives, safe in
the confines of his property.  They had no idea what life on the street was
like.  Allie knew, and Jase was determined to do whatever was necessary to keep
her away from it.

Jase
pulled into his Chicago warehouse very much aware of the differences between
today and the day he'd snatched Allie away from the men who hunted her.  The
place had been restored to order.  It actually looked like a shipping
business.  There were no dead bodies lying at the entrance, no sounds of
gunshots echoing off the tall cement walls.  And thank God, Allie was far away
from it all and safe.

He'd
hated to leave her in Oregon, but after their night together, he knew he had to
leave.  Besides, he needed to see firsthand what had transpired in Chicago
since he'd taken Allie into hiding.  He'd also learned the longer the cat was
away, the more the mice would play, and keeping an organization full of
would-be criminals in check was not an easy thing.

Now,
more than ever, he was desperate to put an end to the Trasatti organization. 
He had no idea what he'd do once he'd exacted his revenge, but he'd started
thinking he might like to find out.

He
left his SUV near the entrance and parked next to Max's bright-red Ferrari 360
Spider.  Jase had always preferred to keep a low profile when it came to his
belongings.  The less people noticed, the less trouble he had.  Max was
different.  Max wanted everyone to know he was there.  He wanted people to be
afraid of him and run when he was in the vicinity. 

Jase
nodded at the few men he encountered, noticing Timmy and Junior would no longer
be counted among his ranks, not to mention the others who'd died during the
shootout.  He needed to stop and see Junior's widow before he left town.  And,
God, Timmy's kids.  He struggled with the overwhelming knot in his throat,
trying to ignore the similarities he shared with them.  At least Timmy's kids
still had their mother.  He'd make sure they were all well taken care of.  Of
course, money wouldn't replace the lives of his men to the families who loved
them.  He knew that kind of tragedy first hand.  It was unfortunate people with
loved ones chose this way of life.  It was better suited for the cold-hearted
lonely souls in the world.  Those who could die and not leave anyone behind.

People
like him.

The
door to Jase's office was open as he approached.  From inside, Jase heard Max
talking.

"That
better
not be all you have for me."  Irritation colored each of
Max's words. 

Jase
stepped inside the doorway, giving Max an arched brow when he found him leaning
back with his alligator boots propped on Jase's desk.  Max immediately sat
upright, dropping his feet to the floor.

"I
gotta go.  I'll call you later.  In the meantime, you'd better work on keeping
your promises."  Max ended his call and grinned at Jase.  "You're
back."  He vacated Jase's spot and took a seat across the desk.

Jase
slipped into his comfortable leather chair.  He admitted it sounded like Max
was on the take, but unlike him, Max was a true mobster, and Jase had never
asked him to give up his side dealings.  Jase couldn't ask for help from
someone neck-deep in mob activity and not expect that person to retain his
lifestyle.  What would be the point?  He needed Max for his connections.  Max
needed him for financial backing.  It was a win-win situation that had turned
into a friendship.  Of sorts.  "What was that all about?" 

"It
was Frankie.  He's trying to back out of our deal."

"Good
old Frankie."  Jase knew all about Frankie and his small-time money
laundering outfit.  It was a wonder one of the big guys hadn't taken him out
yet.  It was also probably why Max kept doing business with him.  Just like
Jase, Max seemed to have a soft spot for the little people unless they pissed
him off.  "Guess he'll find a way to fix things."

"He
always does.  He robs Peter to pay Paul, and as long as I'm Paul, we get along
just fine."  Max adjusted his ball cap before he scrubbed several days'
worth of beard.  "So, you're back.  What's that mean?  Have you squeezed
any information out of that sweet thing you've been toting around?"

Jase
hated the way Max referred to Allie.  Max placed very little value on most people
which was why he was good at what he did.  He had a strange way of helping the
underdogs until they were no longer underdogs.  Then they were fair game. 

But
Allie was more than a "sweet thing".  Jase also understood Allie
seemed like a threat to their business dealings, but in a matter of days, Jase
would ship her off, and he and Max would be like flies on shit to the Trasatti
family again.  "Allie hasn't been able to tell me anything new.  She's
pretty baffled about the whole thing."

"Really." 
Max's eyes narrowed an almost imperceptible amount.  "Where is she?"

"I
moved her out of town.  She's safe for now, and if she does remember anything,
she won't hesitate to tell me."

Max
inclined his head.  Jase could tell he wanted to press for more information,
but he knew Max was smart enough to know when it was better to keep his mouth
shut.

It
was a strange relationship between him and Max.  There were some people Jase
couldn't trust and some he could.  From the moment they'd met, he knew Max was
one of the ones that he could, shady character or not.  Both men respected each
other, and despite their differences, both had the same goal. 

Some
would say Jase was wrong to trust a mobster, but they had their own codes of
conduct, too.  And in Max's world, breaking that code would result in death. 
Trust wasn't something they took or gave lightly.

"Have
you learned anything else on this end of things?"  Jase eyed his
right-hand man.

Max
clicked the ball-point pen in his hand.  "I've confirmed it was the
Trasatti family who took out both of your other properties and attacked us
here.  Other than that, not much."  He clicked again several times before
throwing down the pen.  "They're definitely after Allie, but no one, and I
mean
no one
knows what exactly they want with her.  Word on the street
is that they just want to talk to her."

"And
you believe that?"

Max
snorted.  "Of course not.  Talk to her and then kill her maybe, but if
they get their hands on her, she won't see daylight again." 

The
thought turned Jase's stomach.

"They're
pretty pissed at you for hiding her, that's for sure."

"Good." 
Now that Allie was safe, they could bring it on.  Jase was more than ready for
a fight.

Max
shook his head.  "The whole thing is peculiar, and it makes me think it
must have something to do with the head honcho himself."

"Franco
Trasatti?  We rarely hear or see anything from him anymore."  Jase flexed
his fingers before making a fist.  Franco Trasatti was the man he held
personally responsible for his family's death.  Jase had caught him watching
from a nearby car as his men slaughtered Jase's family after they'd
inadvertently witnessed a brutal hit on two other people.  Jase folded his
arms, his fingers absently touching the spot beneath his ribs where his own
scar lay hidden.  The first scar of many.  Unfortunately, he'd lived while the
rest of his family had died.

Allie
was in some serious trouble if Franco was involved.  Like he didn't already
know that, but still.  "What the hell could he want her for?  She doesn't
know a damn thing."

"Well,
that's why I keep asking you, man.  You won't listen, but she's the key to this
whole thing, I'm telling ya."  He leaned closer to Jase.  "Can't you
put a little pressure on her, or put the moves on her and see what you learn
with a little pillow talk?"

Great
idea.  Screw the pregnant woman to gain information.  Or maybe he should
torture her instead.  Max was only trying to help him, but at that moment,
planting his fist in Max's face would have made Jase feel a whole lot better. 
"It wouldn't matter.  She doesn't know anything.  Trasatti has his facts
or his people mixed up."  Allie was telling the truth.  She had to be. 
"Up the bribes on the street.  See if that'll get us some
information."

"If
anyone knew anything about her, I would have heard by now.  My sources are
impeccable."

Jase
stood, glowering down at Max.  "Just do it."  He wanted answers
before he returned to Oregon in two days.

*       
*        *

Allie
woke from a restless night's sleep.  The time between dusk and dawn had become
a nightmare since Jase had disappeared two days ago.  He'd made love with her
and then left without a word, and the only thing Robert would tell her was he
had business to take care of.  She wondered if he'd gone back to Chicago, and
if so, would he be safe?  And why hadn't he said goodbye?

It
didn't take long for Allie to dress and make her way to the kitchen, searching
for breakfast.  Being pregnant made her ravenous.

She
entered the sunshine room as she'd started to call it, but no one was around. 
At the very least, she'd expected to find Carole puttering around, ready to ply
her with the latest gourmet version of French toast or scrambled eggs.  But, it
seemed the box of Cheerios she found in the pantry would have to make due
today.

"Allie." 

She
startled, turning to find Jase standing in the doorway.  "Hi."  She
couldn't help but smile.  He was so cute with his dark spiky hair and even
darker eyes.  Even though he'd only been gone for a couple of days, she'd
missed him.  She wanted to run and throw herself into his strong arms, but
something in his expression kept her motionless.  He didn't return her smile,
and her heart took a nosedive when she spied the suitcases in his hands.

She
couldn't breathe.  She struggled to suck air into her lungs. 
"Today?" she whispered.

He
smiled, but it was forced and flat.  "Are you ready to try out a new
life?"

She
wanted to shake her head and beg him to let her stay.  But that wasn't part of
the deal.  He'd offered her a better future, but not a future with him, and
what had happened under cover of the night didn't change anything.  She should
be grateful for the gift.  "I suppose so." 

She
took a breath, trying to compose herself.  Deep down, she called on the
emotional strength she'd cultivated from living in a rough Chicago
neighborhood.  "I guess I'm a little nervous."  It was a good line,
and actually, very true.  It had the added benefit of keeping her tears in
check.

"Yeah." 
He held out the suitcases.  "Do you need help packing?"

She
swallowed her despair.  "No.  I can do it."  She took the empty
suitcases and sat them on the floor next to her.  It wasn't like she had that
much anyway.  She had nothing from her previous life, just the clothes from her
short stay in Oregon.  She was in the perfect position to start anew.

Jase
touched her arm.  "How's the wound?"

"It's
doing good."  She wanted desperately to go back to that first morning when
she'd woken up in his safe house and he'd cared for her.  She needed more time
with him.  "How about yours?"  She hadn't seen his wound without a
dressing since they'd left Chicago.  Carole or Robert must have been helping
him with it. 

"It's
healing."

Allie
bit her lip.  Yeah, their wounds were healing, but would her heart?  Would
his?  Or did it not need to?  This was the first time they'd spoken since
they'd made love.  But it was like that night had never happened.  How could it
have meant so little to him?

Jase
had given her an hour to get things together.  It was hard to pack.  Not that
Allie didn't have enough room in the suitcases Jase had given her, but once she
was alone, she couldn't stop the tears.  Over and over, she paused to blow her
nose and splash cool water on her face, but she couldn't postpone the
inevitable. 

Jase
stood near the front door when she rolled her suitcases out into the small
foyer, and together, they left the house with Boo in tow.  Jase led them toward
a white Camry that waited for them near the front of the house.  Robert and
Carole were curiously absent, but what did she expect?  These weren't her
people.  They were Jase's.  She couldn't expect they'd become attached to her
after visiting for such a short time.

Allie
managed to hold it together while Jase put her suitcases in the trunk.  She
opened the car door, letting Boo climb in first.  She ruffled his soft fur,
heartbroken that she would be losing him, too.  Allie said nothing when Jase
joined her.  He started the car and proceeded down the long drive, winding his
way through the maples and pines.  Tears burned behind her eyes, but she
refused to let them fall.  She dug her fingernails into her palms, trying to
shut the door on her emotions.  She reached over and turned up the radio,
hoping music and driving would be enough to distract Jase.  The last thing she
wanted was for him to see her cry.