The only way to recognize the car was by a red rose that was supposed to be in the back window. I held my gun close to my body so no one would see it and so I could shoot anyone who tried to attack me, but I didn’t see anyone. Had Romeo truly believed I’d stay in that club long enough for him to come?

Probably, since I was supposed to come up with a whole plan to escape out of the city with some random guy and agree on everything, and that would take time, but still... I’d expected at least one or two men waiting near the back door, so why hadn’t they been there?

I spotted the red rose, and when I was sure no one was around, I crouched and reached under the front of the car where the key was supposed to be taped. I felt the tape under my fingers and tugged it off, and the key fell into my hand. I unlocked the door and got inside, glancing at my phone, but there were no new texts from James. Had he succeeded? Was he coming here?

I took off my wig, brought the engine to life, and waited, ready to step on the gas pedal and get out of here as soon as James was with me. A few moments later, a shadow caught my eye, and I looked into the rearview mirror. My blood ran cold. It wasn’t James. It was someone else. And he had a gun.

I didn’t want to leave without James, but I had to get away from here, so I pressed the gas pedal. But as I sped down the narrow street, I saw an SUV in the middle of the road, and then another.

Shit. I hit the brakes in the middle of the street. Men came out of the SUV, and I recognized one of them.

Romeo.

He was hiding behind his men, who lifted their weapons toward me. This was my fucking territory now, and they were standing right there in front of me. Mowing them down seemed like a good idea, but they’d shoot me before I even got to them, and I was sure Romeo would have enough time to step aside, or even to jump into a car behind him if I even started toward them.

My only choice was to turn back, but I could see a few of Desaltis’ men in the rearview mirror. There were a few alleys in between that I could use, though, and that was exactly what I was planning to do, even if they were going to chase me.