Page 154 of Capturing You
“Okay.”
“We have this…clue, as it were.” She felt stupid using the word. “There’ve been multiple references to MM and something called Bazz. Or maybe someone? We believe they were involved in smuggling or?—”
“The Montreal Mafia.” The words were spoken as if there could be no doubt. She did doubt, however, until he added, “One of the arms of the organization is run by the Bazzini family.”
Her heart thumped. Bazzini…Bazz.
Forbes straightened. “Jon, this is…a friend of Brooklynn’s. How long have the Bazzinis been operating up there?”
“Long time. Decades, as far as I know. The Montreal Mafia controls most of the drugs coming into eastern Canada. I’m pretty sure the Bazzinis are based in Halifax.”
Brooklynn sucked in a breath through her teeth.
“I take it that helps,” Jon guessed.
“Yes. Yes, it helps very much.”
“Good. Let me know what else I can do. More importantly… Look, it sounds like what you’re researching is bigger than two people can take on themselves. Why don’t you come up to Coventry—both of you—where we can keep you safe until you get this sorted out? I can help you put your clues together.”
“I’ll bring Brooklynn to you,” Forbes said. “I want to get her out of the middle of this. We’ll leave here first thing in the morning.”
“Perfect. I’ll text my address. Let me know if you want me to meet you halfway.”
She felt like a child being passed between divorced parents. “I’m not leaving until this is over.”
Forbes grunted. “We’ll see.”
A chuckle sounded over the phone. “Good luck with that, man.” Jon sounded amused as he ended the call.
She glared at Forbes. “I’m not leaving.”
“This isn’t up for debate. This is my fight. It was my family that was killed. I’m not having you here to deal with the Canadian Mafia.”
“I’m not… They’re not coming. It’s not them, it’s?—”
“People who are hunting you down.” His voice was too loud in the small space. He lowered it. “It doesn’t matter who they are, small-time or big-time, their bullets will kill either way. It’s not safe. It was selfish of me to bring you here just because I crave your company.”
She refused to be swayed by his kind words. “Nobody knows where I am.”
“For now, but I need to figure out what’s going on, and that means I’m going to have to venture into town and start asking questions, ruffling feathers. As soon as I do that, this house will cease to be a safe haven.”
“But then you’ll be in danger. You can’t do that. You should come with me.”
“I’m not leaving until I know who killed my parents. I’m closer than I’ve ever been.”
“But Jon could help. He obviously knows what he’s doing.”
“I’m close now. You go, work with Jon if you want, but I’m not leaving until I’ve found the murderers.
“Forbes, it’s waited all these years. It can wait a little longer.”
“No.” Gone was his smile. Gone was any trace of the amusement and humor she’d seen since their kiss. The serious, brooding man she’d first met was back. “It has to be now. They could go to ground again. And maybe this time, they’ll never come out.”
The thought of leaving Forbes to deal with this by himself… The thought that someone might hurt him, or kill him, had adrenaline coursing through her veins as if enemies were closing in that very second.
She tried to come up with an argument that would convince him to go to Coventry with her. Her memory snagged on something he’d told her a few days before. “What if the anonymous tip that brought you here was intended to get you out into the open? What if…what if that’s exactly what they want, so they can take you out?”
“Nobody knows I was in the house that night.”
