I stared at her for a moment. She'd lost her ever-loving mind. Ignoring the twinge of unease and-dare I admit it, even to myself?-hope caused by her observation, I grabbed my suitcase and pulled it off the bed. "You're being ridiculous. He kicked me out of his house."
"I'm just worried about you. I don't think he's going to let you run away."
"Well, he has no idea I am, so he can't stop me." I looked around one last time. "Ready? I have a bus to catch."
She looked like she wanted to say more, but in the end, she just said, "Yeah," and got up to join me at the door. "I'm gonna miss you."
"I'm gonna miss you, too." Tears filled my eyes and I blinked them away as I hugged her. Angry tears. Fuck Luca and his psychotic brother. If it wasn't for them, my sister would be alive, and I would still be the girl I was before I'd met them. Not this scarred woman who was about to run for her life. Alone.
And yet, the more I hated him, the more I longed to run back to him and beg him to forgive me. I missed the feeling of safety I felt in his arms when he held me tight against him all through the night. The way my body would begin to burn from nothing more than a look. The way he pushed me. He made me feel more like a woman than any man I'd ever known. And yet, somehow, amidst the helplessness of being his captive, I'd emerged stronger than I ever was before. Powerful. Without him, I felt sad and small and weak.
I shoved away the thought as we made our way down to Sammy's car. I told myself I didn't want him. My body did. And it would be fine once I found someone else who would give it some attention. What was the saying? The best way to get over a man was to get underneath a new one?
And if I believed that, I was a fool. But was trying my hardest.
We made it to the bus station and Sammy came in with me while I waited. She ran her eyes up and down my frame, eyeballing my yoga pants and favorite sunflower tee. "You gonna be warm enough?"
"Yeah. I've got a hoodie in my carryon, and I'll get a heavier coat when I get where I'm going."
"Remember to let me know where you end up as soon as you can."
"I will."
"And call me from a pay phone and hang up when I answer at every stop, so I know you're safe."
"I don't think pay phones exist anymore."
"Then call from any phone except your cell phone. Borrow somebody else's phone. You know, so they can't track you."
I laughed, but it quickly faded away. "Okay. I promise."
The announcer came over the speakers, telling us my bus had arrived. I planned to go north to Montana and then... I had no idea. I just wanted to get as far from Texas as I could get before I stopped. I had my passport. Maybe I'd keep going into Canada until I thought it was safe to leave the continent. After all, I'd always wanted to go overseas.
I stood up, and Sammy did the same, grabbing me in a bear hug. "I mean it. Call me as soon as you can."
I hugged her back and tried to reassure her. "It'll be okay, Sammy. You'll see. I'm gonna find someplace gorgeous and then you can come visit me. Soon."
She nodded, but didn't seem convinced. "I'll wait here until the bus leaves."
"Okay." Kissing her on the cheek, I pulled up the handle of my suitcase and rolled it outside to where the bus was loading its passengers. As I waited in line, I didn't look back. I was afraid if I did, I wouldn't go through with this. And I had to leave. If not for my own safety, then for the safety of my friend and what was left of my family. I didn't even try to keep my departure a huge secret, although I didn't tell Sammy that. I put the ticket in my name and paid with a credit card. My hope was that I would lure Mario and his goons away. They'd follow me, and my parents would be safe until I could figure out how to get them out of town.
The bus driver loaded my suitcase into the storage compartment underneath the bus and I made my way over to the door to get on. I'd just found a seat near the front when my phone rang. One glance at the screen and my heart began to pound so hard my vision went blurry for a second. I tried to calm myself. I told myself there were any number of reasons he could be calling. But inside, I knew I was full of shit. I was too late.
My heart in my throat, I accepted the call. "Dad? What's wrong?"
"Veda?"
He sounded strange, like his tonsils were too large for his throat. "Daddy, what's happened? Are you okay?"
When he finally responded, he could barely get the words out. "Your mom and I... we're at the hospital... some men broke into our house last night. I tried to fight them... to keep them off her..." His voice trailed off, and I heard him fighting not to break down. "Your mother... they... oh, god..."
I stood up from my seat and started making my way off the bus against the flow of loading passengers. "I'm coming," I told him. "I'm coming! Where are you? Dad! Where are you?"
He gave me the name of the hospital and I hung up after assuring him I'd be there as soon as I could. Then I got my suitcase back and ran toward the station.
Sammy must've seen me coming and met me outside, grabbing me by the shoulders to stop me from running right past her. "Veda! What are you doing?"
"He went after my parents," I told her. "I have to get to the hospital."
Even though there were a million questions in her eyes, she didn't ask them. Instead, she pulled out her car keys and led the way back to her car.
"Can you drive any faster?" I asked her when we were on the highway.
"Why would he do that? Why would he go after your parents?"
I knew she was talking about Luca. "It wasn't L... him. It was his brother. The one who was engaged to Nicole." I paused, my throat closing up. "This is my fault, Sammy. Because I didn't do what he wanted me to do."
She reached over and took my hand. "This isn't your fault. And do you know that for sure? That it was him?"
"Who else would it be?"
"A random break-in?"
But I knew in my bones there was nothing random about this. Mario had done this to get my attention. He couldn't get to Luca, or me, for that matter, since he thought I was still there, so he went after my parents. And I was stupid to think that I could keep them safe by leaving first. That he would forget about his threats to me.
And then I thought of something else. What if he was waiting for me at the hospital? What if this was all a trap? A way to get to me?
Digging around for my phone, I found it in my back pocket. With shaking hands, I punched in Enzo's number.
"Who are you calling?" Sammy asked.
"The only ones who are capable of dealing with this."