Page 12 of Rogue

The resources she has, it worked.

Well, until now.

“I don’t know that it came from him.”

“Well, I do,” she challenges.

My head pounds as my pulse quickens and the fear rises. “I didn’t even tell you yet.”

She lets out an exasperated breath. “Michele, I hired a man name Howard when you wanted to leave. He got you the car, the money, the identity set up. He is the driver who got you to South Carolina. Remember him?”

“Yes, vaguely, I remember him. Everything happened so fast. But what does that have to do with me now? I’ve been here for years.”

She sighs, “We should have changed your name completely.”

“Giulia, what happened?”

“Howard’s body was shipped to my office in a box. His head missing, but his ID card in his front pocket. There was a typed letter,” Giulia whispers the last sentence.

The tears fall. “I have his head,” I whisper as I now remember my brief time with Howard as I was getting out of New Jersey. “I got a box of flowers in Friday, but didn’t open it until today. There was a severed head of a man inside,” I manage to choke out as emotions overwhelm me.

“Where are you now?”

I look to the ceiling as I blow out a breath. “I don’t actually know.”

“What!” She shrieks.

“I have a customer, you know the cute one I told you about?”

“Monday, tiger lily biker man?”

“Yes. He was here when I opened the box. He called in his gang. Before I could put my thoughts together he whisked me off to his lair.”

She laughs a nervous laugh before immediately going back to serious, “you read too many damn books. When did your shipment come in?”

“Friday, but I was busy, so I didn’t open it until today.”

“Mine came today, it gave him the lead. Now that tells me, he’s a full weekend ahead of us.”

“Where are you? Your house isn’t safe, get out of town if you can. Don’t go back there.”

“I’m not home, I told you, but I don’t know where I am.”

“Where are you?” She repeats.

I feel like an idiot. “I really, stupidly don’t know.”

“How long was the drive from your shop? An hour?”

“Less than an hour,“ I tell her confidently.

“What’s the biker’s club? I can find out who their people are using some business connections.”

Oh, Giulia has business connections, they just aren’t necessarily of the legal variety. I don’t judge her, this is the only world she knows. I worry for her, but she is tough as nails. She has contacts all over, both in the corporate world and the underworld. She thrives as a boss. She saved my life knowing the people she does. It wasn’t easy for her to earn the respect of her peers, but she has. More than anything in business, though, Giulia is about family.

Love is blind, I learned that lesson the hard way. Giulia is the only reason I made it out.

“Kings of Carnage. They are nice men, Giulia. Don’t bust their balls.” I fight back the fears and tears threatening to fall down my face. Although, her giving them shit is one thing, the power she has, she could have them all un-alived with one call.

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