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There he was. Nico Belinsky. A man I barely knew, but one who had moved heaven and earth to find me and then sent a band of rather terrifying angels to do the impossible.
I was free.
Okay, not free, because I still had a murder charge hanging over my head and a furious husband who’d hunt me to the ends of the earth, but for now, I could breathe forbidden air and dream. This time yesterday, I’d had nothing. Now, I had a chance.
Nico opened his arms, and I walked into them. For years, I’d saved my tears for the privacy of my bathroom, but when he wrapped Matty and me up in a hug, I couldn’t hold back.
“Th-th-thank you. I-I-I don’t know what else to say.”
“Then don’t say anything.” He leaned back to look at me. “You’re really all right?”
Physically? Apart from a twisted ankle and a skinned knee, I was fine. Matty needed a clean diaper, though. Mentally? I was a mess. When we’d ridden down in the elevator, I thought I’d be following Vito to the hospital, my heart had been hammering so hard. Even though the blonde woman stayed ice cool, I’d expected Cesare to be waiting when the doors opened, and he always carried a gun. Dying in a hail of bullets definitely hadn’t been on my bucket list when I moved to New York.
“I’m good.” A lie, but Nico didn’t need to know that. I’d already caused him enough problems. “Just a little tired.”
“You can sleep on the plane.”
“We’re going to Oregon?”
“Yes.”
“Is that where you live?”
“Mostly. I have other properties, but that one feels like home.”
“Is there anywhere I could get a diaper before we go? Matty’s been potty training, but he’s not quite there yet, and I couldn’t bring anything. No changing bag, no clothes, no—” I clapped a hand over my mouth as Matty began to fuss. “We forgot Shelley.”
“Who’s Shelley?” the blonde asked. Nobody had told me her name, and I didn’t dare to ask either. She scared me.
“Matty’s favourite toy. He can’t sleep without her.”
“Well, we’re not going back.”
“We can get him new toys,” Nico promised. “Whatever he wants.”
A sweet gesture, but I knew Matty would only want Shelley the snail. He had a hundred other toys, but they rarely held his attention for longer than a few minutes. Shelley was the only one that had stood the test of time, nearly a year so far. But the blonde was right; we couldn’t go back. Matty and I would both be starting from scratch, and we’d just have to get used to it.
“Thank you.”
“And we have diapers. I consulted with people who know more about children than I do and picked up the basics.”
“The dog could use a potty break as well,” the blonde said. Her accent had changed from American to English. Which one was real? Or were they both fake? “I’d rather it didn’t shit on my jet.”
The plane was hers? Perhaps I should have been surprised, but since I’d spent a couple of hours in her company, I really wasn’t. She probably owned a rocket and a submarine too. She struck me as that sort of woman.
Nico crooked a finger, and a uniformed lady appeared with a leash.
“Ma’am, we have a secure area for the dog to relieve itself.”
The dark-haired woman we’d stopped to pick up in the van—before we’d switched to a town car—reached out for Matty.
“I’ll change him.”
Instinctively, I clung to my son tighter, but Nico nodded to let me know it was okay. A wave of tiredness washed over me as I handed Matty over. Tiredness and relief. For so long, I’d been alone, but now that others were sharing the burden, the feeling was almost overwhelming.
“Take a bathroom break and then get Kaylin on board,” the blonde ordered. “It’s gonna be a long flight.”
Most of the night, if my math was correct. And for the first time in forever, I was looking forward to the morning.
