“Drop us at the grocery store on the edge of town,” Jake said.
“Miss Elizabeth?”
“Yes. The grocery store is fine.” Anne hugged her arms across her chest and stared out the window, her expression distant, her face pale. No doubt she’d have plenty to say to Jake later. Fine. Let her be angry with him; anger wouldn’t stop him doing whatever he had to in order to keep her safe.
Doug pulled the car into a space at the edge of the grocery store parking lot. “It was good to see you, Miss Elizabeth,” he said.
“It was good to see you, too, Doug.”
“Take care of yourself.”
“I will.”
“I’ll give Mr. Sammy your message.”
“Thank you.”
Jake stowed the gun in his coat and followed Anne out of the car. As soon as he shut the door behind them, Doug pulled away. Anne wrapped her coat more tightly around her and angled her body away from Jake. “I thought you didn’t think Sammy would help us,” he said.
“But he’s all we’ve got, isn’t he?” She whirled to face him, anger restoring some of the color to her face. “If you hadn’t pulled that gun and started making threats, I could have talked Doug into telling me what we need to know.”
“Or, he’d have pulled his own gun and marched you straight to your father.”
“I couldn’t let you hurt Doug. I thought if I did what you wanted in the first place—agree to talk to Sammy—you’d let the old man alone.”
He leaned close, almost, but not quite touching, his voice low, his gaze locked to hers. “I know this is hard for you. These people are your family. But you know they’re also killers. And I will do anything—including risking your anger—to protect you from them.”
The resentment was gone now, replaced by grief and resignation. “I know.” She stared at the icy pavement beneath their feet. “Maybe Sammy will help us. You were right when you said there’s no love lost between him and my father. Things may have gotten worse since I left.”
“Are you okay?” He studied her face, trying to read her emotions, but she refused to meet his gaze. So much for thinking he’d fully gained her trust.
“I’m scared,” she said after a moment. “Scared this trip is a waste of time and I’m going to have to run away again. Scared we’ve somehow made things worse.”
“I won’t give up until I find your father,” he said. “I won’t leave this alone until you’re safe.”
He started to pull her into his arms, but stopped as a black SUV braked to a stop in front of them, so close it almost brushed against them. The front passenger window lowered and Sammy Giardino looked out at them. “Doug told me you wanted to see me,” he said. “No reason to wait until tonight when I’m right here.”
Chapter Fifteen
Anne stared at Sammy, feeling as if she’d been thrust into a dream—one of those she’d had often in the early days of her exile, in which she ran into a member of her family on the street. The dreams had various outcomes—sometimes the other person embraced her, sometimes they turned away. In the worst dreams, they came at her with knives or guns. But Sammy did none of those; he merely regarded her calmly. Without his ski helmet and goggles, he looked more like the young man she remembered—a twenty-five-year-old version of their father, dark-haired and black-eyed, with the same hooked nose and square jaw that made Sam Giardino look so intimidating.
“Hello, Sammy,” she said, trying to keep the shakiness from her voice. “You’re looking well.”
“And you look like a schoolteacher.” He wrinkled his nose. “Where did you get those clothes—a thrift store?”
Was he goading her because he knew the answer to that question? Had he been aware of her the whole time she’d been in town? No, it was just a logical guess. The fact that it was all true was just a coincidence. “How have you been?” she asked.
“Well enough.” Behind them, a car honked. Sammy glanced around the crowded parking lot. “This isn’t exactly the right place for a private conversation. You must have a hotel room or something we can go to.”
“You don’t need to know where she’s staying.” Jake spoke up. Tension radiated from him, and he regarded Sammy with obvious suspicion. Anne knew the hand he kept in his coat pocket rested on his gun; she hoped Sammy wouldn’t be foolish enough to try anything here in this public place.
“It’s all right.” She turned back to Sammy. “I’m staying at the Columbia. Meet us there in the lobby and we’ll go up to my room together.”
“I’ll give you a ride.” He hit the button to unlock the car doors.
“We’ll walk.” Jake took her arm. “And come alone.” Not waiting for an answer, he pulled Anne away.
As soon as they were out of the grocery store parking lot, she jerked out of his grasp. “I don’t appreciate being bullied,” she said.
“Then I’m not the man you need to worry about right now. What are you doing, letting him know where you’re staying?”
“We need somewhere private to talk. And we need to get Sammy to trust us. We can’t do that if we don’t at least pretend we trust him. If you don’t think it’s safe, we can change hotels after he leaves.”
She expected him to argue with her, but he merely took a deep breath and nodded. “All right. But we need to be careful. We don’t know if he’s on our side yet. If we can’t persuade him to help us, we’ll have to leave town in a hurry. And I hope you have Thompson’s number on speed dial.”
“It will be all right. You’ll see.” She couldn’t believe her brother would hurt her—but then, she never would have believed her father would want her dead. The events of the past year had made her wary of her own instincts.
“I won’t leave you alone with him,” Jake said.
The words made her feel stronger. “And I won’t leave you alone with him, either.” She smiled, trying to lighten the mood, but his expression remained grim.
“I’m not the one he’s liable to hurt,” Jake said.
“Don’t be too sure of that. In case you haven’t noticed, my family doesn’t have a lot of fond feelings for you.”
“Was it like that before, and I didn’t know it? Or did finding out I worked for the FBI taint their opinion of me?”
“What do you think? If I’d known you were with the Bureau, I wouldn’t have come within ten feet of you.” She smiled to soften the sharpness of her words.
“But now my irresistible charm and sex appeal have overcome those reservations.”
His tone was teasing, but the heat of his gaze made her heart pound and her breath catch, especially as she remembered how close she’d come yesterday to giving herself to him once more. If only life were less complicated, and love was simply a matter of acting on feelings, without worrying about the consequences of those actions.
Sammy was already waiting when they reached the hotel, standing under the portico, hands in his jacket pockets, his expression somber and unreadable as he watched them approach. Did he see the big sister he’d once adored, or the traitor who had destroyed the family? “I sent my driver away,” he said. “So it’s just me. And no one else knows I’m here.”
“Thank you. It’s better for all of us if we’re careful.”
She led the way to the elevator, Jake bringing up the rear. He and Sammy hadn’t exactly been friends when they’d known each other before; she suspected Sammy had been jealous of this other young man who had claimed her father’s attention.
When she started toward her room, Jake moved up beside her and took the card key from her hand, then moved past her door to his. His gallantry touched her, though she thought it was unnecessary. If Sammy really wanted to know where she was staying, she had no doubt he could find out. But she said nothing and let Jake lead the way.
She waited until they were in the room with the door shut before she spoke. “How have you been, Sammy? And how are Stacy and Carlo?”
“Carlo is getting big, talking up a storm. Stacy still hates my guts, but nothing new about that.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Anne said. She knew her brother’s marriage had been more a business arrangement than a love match, but she’d hoped with time the couple would be happier.
“What about you? Please tell me you haven’t gone and married this scum.” He scowled at Jake.
“Don’t hold back, Sammy,” Jake said. “Let us know how you really feel.”
“I never liked you from the moment I laid eyes on you,” Sammy said. “You were too cocky by half. It was bad enough you fooled Elizabeth, but then you had the old man believing your lies. I thought the one good thing to come out of that night was that we were rid of you.”
“Sammy, stop it.” Anne stepped between the two men. “I didn’t invite you here to listen to you two bicker with each other.”
“Then why did you want to see me?” He sat in the room’s only chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He was a big, powerful man, and the posture only emphasized this. Anne had a hard time seeing the little boy he’d once been in the muscular, scowling figure before her. She’d counted on his fond feelings for her swaying him to her position, but now she wondered if that was even possible, especially given his antagonism toward Jake.
“I was hoping you’d tell me where Sam and the others are staying,” she said.
“Why? So your boyfriend can swoop in and finish what he started a year ago?”
That was why they were here, but she didn’t think stating it so boldly would help their case. The key to dealing with Sammy, ever since he was a toddler who wanted to stay up past his bedtime, was to persuade him to see how doing what you wanted would benefit him. First, she had to get past his animosity for Jake. “Jake isn’t my boyfriend. Until recently I thought he was dead. And he doesn’t work for the FBI anymore.”
“Then what are you doing with him? And why are you here in Telluride?”
Jake was here for revenge—but why was she here? Not to rekindle her romance with Jake. They’d already agreed that wasn’t possible. But being with him had reminded her of all she was missing by hiding from life.
“I’m tired of running away,” she said. “Tired of living a lie. I want to be able to go places and meet people without always looking over my shoulder. You can help me.”
He looked wary. “How can I do that?”
“Tell us where Sam is. Help us put him in prison again.”
“He’ll just get out. He has powerful friends in high places.”
“Is Senator Nordley one of those friends?” Jake asked.
“What’s it to you, Mr. Not-a-Fed?”
“I still have contacts in the Bureau.”
“It doesn’t matter who my father’s friends are, just know that he’s got them.”
“They’re closing in on your father’s benefactor, whether it’s Nordley or someone else,” Jake said. “He won’t be able to help the Giardinos much longer.”
“I didn’t ask Sammy here to talk about all that,” Anne said. She put her hand on her brother’s shoulder. “Did you know Sam is trying to kill me? He’s sent people after me three times now.”
“Three times and you’re still alive?” Sammy uncrossed his arms and looked her up and down. “You’re either very good or very lucky. I’m thinking lucky.”
“You think it’s all right that your father is trying to murder your sister?” Jake’s voice rose; Anne feared he was in danger of losing his temper.
“You make it sound like a Greek tragedy.” Sammy shrugged. “But in a way, I guess it is. She betrayed the family honor, so now she has to die.”
His words sent a chill through her. “Is that really how you think?” she asked. The idea that even Sammy could regard her with such coldness filled her with immense sadness.
He shook his head. “My opinion doesn’t count. Ask Pop—he’ll tell you that.”
“If your father is back in prison, where he belongs, you’ll be head of the family,” Jake said.
“And then you can come after me.”
“I don’t have a beef with you.”
“Yet.” He turned his attention back to Anne. “Are you sure Pop is behind these attempts to off you?”
“I recognized one of the men as having worked for him. And you heard him in court. He said I was dead to him, and he’d make sure that was the case.”
“He said that in court because he was furious at being taken in. Since then, he’s calmed down a lot.”
“What do you mean, calmed down?” Sam had always had a volatile temper, and he was not a man prone to forgiveness. Anne could think of more than one person who’d met with an “unfortunate accident” after incurring her father’s wrath; no doubt there were many more she didn’t know about.
“Now you’re the prodigal daughter,” Sammy sneered. “You’re his darling Elizabeth who could do no wrong. You were led astray by that FBI scum. And you never meant for things to turn out the way they did.”
“He said those things about me?” she asked. “Really?”
“Only a hundred times. And in the next breath he’s telling me how worthless I am. Why couldn’t I be the one who went away, and not his darling Elizabeth?”
“So you’re saying he doesn’t want me dead?” She fought back the surge of hope that threatened to overtake her.
“I’m saying he doesn’t talk like he wants you dead.” He turned to Jake. “He’d gladly see you in hell, though. If he finds out you survived the attack last year, you’d better watch your back.”
“So he doesn’t know I’m alive?” Jake asked.
“He never mentioned it. And I think he would have.” He grinned at Jake, a horrible smile that made Anne shudder. “Maybe I should take you out—earn some points with Pop.”
Jake never flinched. “Why mess up your clean record? The feds don’t have anything on you. They don’t have any reason to come after you once your father’s out of the way.”
“Except I’m a Giardino and they’ve got it in for us.”
“No one has it in for you, Sammy.” Anne began to pace back and forth in front of her brother. “I’m the one people are trying to kill.”
“And I told you, I really don’t think Pop is the one who’s out to get you.”
She stopped. He sounded so certain. And part of her wanted more than anything to believe that her father did not want her dead. “Then who is after me?”
“I can’t answer that. But maybe the feds think you’re a risk and they’ve decided it would be an easy out to kill you and make your death look like a mob hit.”
“Sammy, that’s crazy! The government has gone to a lot of trouble to put me in the Witness Security Program and keep me safe. Why kill me now?”
“Since when do the things the government does make sense?” He turned to Jake. “But don’t you think it’s suspicious how
he
showed up in your life again just about the time all these attacks started happening?”
Anne wrapped her arms around herself to ward off a sudden chill. What Sammy was saying was preposterous. Jake had no reason to want to harm her. The timing of his arrival and the attacks on her was just coincidence. But Patrick had tried to warn her about him, too.... Her eyes met his, and she saw the challenge there. Would she believe her brother, or her former lover?
“How do you know the attacks on your sister started when I arrived?” Jake asked.
“I’m sure she mentioned it,” he said.
“But I didn’t,” Anne said.
“You did,” Sammy said. “How else would I have known?”
How else, indeed? “What else do you know about the attempts on my life?” she asked.
“Nothing. Pop only tells me things he thinks I need to know, which is almost nothing.”
“But you said your father wasn’t behind these attempts to kill your sister,” Jake said.
Sammy squirmed, and Anne was reminded of a time when he was nine, and had been caught stealing change from their father’s desk. “I’m punishing you because you took the money,” her father had said, as he removed his belt and prepared to give Sammy a whipping. “But I’m throwing in a few extra licks because you need to learn to be a better liar.” Family values, Giardino style.
“I don’t think Pop wants Elizabeth dead,” Sammy said. “That’s all I know.”
“We’re not getting anywhere with this.” Jake turned to Anne. “Tell your brother to leave. We never should have bothered him.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t help.” Sammy stood. “But I think before you go in with guns blazing, you should come and talk to Pop. Make your peace with him. When you see he’s no threat to you, you’ll have no reason to turn him in.”
Except for the fact that he was a killer who’d broken the law,
she thought, but she didn’t dare say the words out loud.
“That’s the worst idea I’ve heard all year,” Jake said. “Once she goes to her father, he’ll have her. It’s like asking her to volunteer to show up at her execution.”
“I told you he won’t hurt her. Are you calling me a liar?”
The two men glared at each other, two bulldogs arguing over a bone. But ultimately, this was her decision to make, wasn’t it? “If I did go and talk to Sam—Pop—could you guarantee my safety...and Jake’s?”
“You’ll be safe. I’d be a fool to make any promises where Jake’s concerned.”
“Fine. Then I’ll go by myself.”
“No, you won’t,” Jake said.
“I have to do this, don’t you see? I have to find out how my father really feels about me.”