Page 28 of Hidden Rocco
Rocco didn’t pull away but he turned his head down toward her and said, “I should probably go.”
“Don’t you dare--I need you to stay.” She tugged on his t-shirt.
He peered into her eyes as if searching for any more bombshells, and she paused. She hadn’t told him her intention to dig out everything about his case, but this was a start. Knowledge was power and that had been ingrained into her psyche as a business negotiation skill. Her lips parted and he captured them.
His kiss made her believe in him.
Chapter 8
The multistate manhunt for the escaped prisoners continues…
Rocco stopped adding vegetables into the food processor and turned the radio announcement off, not wanting to hear anymore.
He feared the police would close in on him as soon as either the bus driver, the ticket seller or the Uber driver, who’d he’d met the night of his escape recognized his mugshot.
If he stayed here much longer, Mica might get in trouble for aiding and abetting a criminal, even if she hadn’t known. The law officers he’d met since leaving the military hadn’t cared about the truth.
But if Mica was in danger as she claimed, he’d help her as she’d helped him.
His mother’s memory haunted him too and his shoulders slumped.
If his brother hadn’t pointed his finger at Rocco years ago for armed robbery, then he’d be holding down a job and be near his mother’s side right now. Rocco might have been around to hear Roger and Harry’s plan to kill Mica, and stop them, rather than rot in prison.
The life he'd intended for himself flashed before his eyes. He’d have a one-story house with two bedrooms, a postal job delivering the mail, and go grocery shopping for his mother every week. He’d had a plan that all blew up in smoke when he’d gone to Vegas for a vacation and ended up accused of a bank robbery.
He touched his mouth, the memory of Mica’s soft lips burned on his soul.
His priorities were his mother’s health and Mica and Jacob’s protection. His own dreams had been destroyed long ago to wherehedidn’t matter--all he could do was leave the world better a place.
A knock behind him called his attention and he jumped.
He didn’t have much time to help anyone.
By leaving, he'd keep Mica’s name out of the news if he was caught working here for her. A knock from behind him caught his attention and a second later, she patted him on the shoulder and said, “Don’t listen to the news. I don’t want to know more than the weather.”
And that innocence was her only protection. He let out a long breath and turned the food processor on to finish his sauce, and replied to her comment. “It’s fifty out today, and getting warmer.”
She shrugged and handed him the next carrot for the soup he planned for later. “And tomorrow, a blizzard is predicted. Colorado is extreme in the weather changes.”
He turned off the food processor. If it snowed, he was stuck. “Where’s Jacob?”
“Sleeping in the library. I figured we could have lunch by the fire.”
At least until the storm ended. Hopefully it was the last one of the season.
She gave him another carrot. “Spring doesn’t come easy in Colorado it seems.” Someone knocked at the door. He turned off the food processor as he imagined it was the police, coming to arrest him and return him to jail, but she said, “Can you listen for Jacob again, Rocco? It should be my packages.”
Right. She'd said she'd ordered things. He swallowed and saluted her as he said, “Yes, ma… Mica.”
“Good.” She winked and went to answer the knock, and he peeked through the open kitchen door to make sure it wasn’t the police. Mica opened the door and he saw a man in a brown delivery uniform hand over several packages.
Clearly Mica had ordered herself more clothes as the name Armani was on the box. He straightened to return to his sauce but heard Jacob’s cries across the hall. He headed into the library and saw that her son was playing on the floor as she stayed near the door. “Jacob will want to know what happens next.”
“Next?” He moved the boxes next to the door.
She turned her head and for one moment Mica seemed innocent and sweet, like a girl in a comedy movie. “In the book. You only read him chapter one. There are one hundred and thirty-five more.”
His face heated as he said, “We don’t have to…”
