Page 28 of Stolen Goods
“I just need a couple of days.”
“And then what, Thad? You’ll live the rest of your life alone, somewhere far away where I’ll never get to see you again, always looking over your shoulder, waiting for the jig to be up? What sort of a life is that?”
“The one I’m resigned to.”
She sighed—an exasperated sound he’d heard many times before. “Look, I get it, Thad. I was running too, running from the secrets I knew you and Dad were hiding, secrets I never wanted to uncover. But then I stopped. I turned around. I faced the truth, and my life is so much better now. Yours could be too. Yeah, you might have to do some time. But those awful men you were working with would be behind bars too, and you would have put them there. Don’t you see the justice in that? I’m sure Nate could help get you a reduced sentence, and once it was over, you’d be free. No cloud hanging over your shoulder. No fear. You’d be free to turn your life around. To paint. To do whatever you want. To be the person you were meant to be, the person I know you are.”
Thad squeezed his eyes tight, fighting the beautiful dream swirling to life in his thoughts—of the future he always wanted, the future he could have had if his choices had been different. But the dream was just that—a mirage, a fruitless hope that would never be real. He hadn’t told Jo what truly terrified him about the idea of turning himself in. There was no telling the lengths the Russians would go to in order to shut him up. There was no telling what they’d do, who they’d go after, and who’d get caught in the crosshairs. Thad had no intention of finding out the answer.
“Think about it, Thaddy,” Jo pressed softly.
He ran his hand through his hair, turning away from Addison, from Jo, from the world. He didn’t belong there, with them, in the light. He wanted to crawl away, to hide in the shadows, where he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone anymore. “Jo.”
“Fine, Thad,” Jo cut in, voice losing its gentleness and gaining a sharp edge. Now this was a Jo he recognized—prepared to fight, refusing to back down, playing dirty the way they both knew how. “Don’t think about yourself or your life. Lord knows you never have before. Think about the people you’ll be leaving behind. The Russians knew about Addison and McKenzie—do you really think they don’t know about Emma too? Aren’t watching her right now? Aren’t waiting for the right time to make their move and force you out of hiding?”
Thad sucked in a sharp breath.
Of course he’d thought about Emma. He’d never stopped thinking about Emma. What to tell her. What to say. How to explain. Which was why he’d planned to swing by Arizona on his way south of the border, a long-overdue visit. But he’d never stopped to wonder if someone else would get there first.
Fuck!
Of course the Russians knew about Emma. The Feds too, probably. They’d have to be idiots not to. But it was okay. She’d be safe. He’d figure out a way to keep her safe.
“Jo—”
“You know I’m right,” she charged, never one to relent when victory was within sight. “The only way to keep her safe is to put these guys away for good, is to end this. And you’re the only person who can do that, Thad.”
“I’ll find a way to keep Emma safe, another way,” he argued, though the words sounded weak even to him. But turning himself in wasn’t the answer. “I’ll— I’ll figure something out.”
“There’s no other way, Thad.”
“There is.”There’s got to be.He just hadn’t seen it yet. But if there was an escape route, he’d find it. He’d never found a corner he couldn’t squeeze out of before, and he’d be damned if he was going to start now. “Just give me a few days, please, before you go to the Feds. That’s all I ask.”
Jo sighed, a resigned sound. “Fine. But promise me you’ll keep Addy safe in the meantime? That you won’t let her out of your sight?”
“I promise.” He’d promise her anything for a little bit of precious time to figure out a plan. “I promise.”
“I’ll tell Nate my computer got hacked, that the Russians were reading my chat. He’ll send someone after McKenzie, but that’ll mean the Feds will be notified about Addy a lot sooner than you’d been hoping. The reporters will probably get to the story a lot faster too.”
“That’s fine.” He waved away the concern. “We’ve already gone underground.”
“I figured as much.” A motor-like sound rumbled in his ears—Jo blowing a strained puff of air through her clearly pursed lips. “Put Addy on the phone. But Thad?”
“What?” He half sighed the word.
“This isn’t over.” An ominous promise pierced those words. “Not by a long shot.”
Biting his tongue to keep from firing back, he turned toward Addison and offered her the phone.
- 10 -
Addison
Addy’s mind whirled with all the information she’d overheard—jail time, and the Feds, and Russian mobsters. But her focus was maddeningly pinned on one word and one word alone.Who the heck is Emma?
“Jo wants to talk to you,” Thad murmured as he extended the phone in her direction.
Addy jolted, the sound of his voice pulling her from her thoughts, and jumped for the phone, snatching it from his hands.
