“Have you disappear. Create a new identity. You’ve heard of the Witness Protection Program? Something similar to that.”
“It wouldn’t work. They’d find me. My father had the police in his pocket. Camano took over and kept the bribes going.”
“We wouldn’t deal with local authorities. I have someone high up in the U.S. Marshals Service who would make sure that all information was strictly confidential. Josh Dantlow would handle the details of your resettlement himself, and any communication would only be through him … or me.”
She gazed at him skeptically.
“You doubt it would work? Dantlow would answer to me. There’s no question that he would betray me.”
“You killed three men tonight. If he’s government, are you saying that he’d turn a blind eye to murder?”
“I’m saying that I have him under control.” He shrugged. “And that he’d probably regard that scum as unimportant in the scheme of things. They all had records a mile long. I did the police a favor in removing them.”
“Your opinion.”
“And yours. You weren’t crying when you saw those bodies. You were shocked. You were a little sick. But all you could think about was that men who were trying to kill you had been taken out. They were the enemy.” He paused. “Like your father, like Rico Camano.”
He was right, she thought wearily. Why was she arguing when she might have been dead except for his lethal intervention? He had been there when she needed him most. She could never trust him. She could never trust anyone. But by that single act of violence, he had formed a chain it would be hard for her to break. “But you’re like Camano. You’re like my father. You said yourself that you were going to use me.” She glared at him. “How? I won’t do it if there’s any way I can get out of it. Would you beat me? Would you kill me if I learn too much?”
“A beautiful young girl like you? What a waste that would be.”
“You didn’t answer me.”
“No, but I’ve told you that I’m giving you your chance to save yourself.” He added, “And I’ll promise to make sure that you’ll be safe until you’re ready for me. That will probably be at least a few years.” He smiled. “After all, it would be to my advantage to keep Camano at bay and you alive. As you pointed out, you’re no good to me if I can’t use you.”
“Promises? I can’t trust your word. I don’t know anything about you.”
“You’ll have the opportunity to learn more. Once I have you settled, I’ll be visiting you frequently.”
“No! I want you to leave me alone.”
He didn’t answer.
No, of course, he wouldn’t. He had told her he was in control of the situation, and he was manipulating her into a position where he’d remain in control. “What … would you do with me?”
“Find you a safe place, surround you with safe people, let you grow and learn.”
“It sounds too … good,” she said doubtfully. “Where do you fit in?”
“Oh, I’m a very important part of the picture. I guard your body, and I give you gifts that only I can provide.” He smiled. “Because I can teach you how to block those memories assaulting you and push them away to some extent. It’s one of my more freakish talents. In some cases, I can also create a complete barrier and make you unable to read some of the people surrounding you so that you can have a few normal relationships.”
Her eyes widened. “You could do that?”
He nodded. “My pleasure. I thought you’d like that.”
Like? It would seem like a miracle to her. To reach out and touch and not have the poison of being thought strange or having everyone afraid of her. “It’s been … a long time. Not since everything went wrong when I was a kid.”
And he had probed and studied her and decided that this was an offer she couldn’t refuse. The idea that he was right and that she desperately wanted what he said he could give her made her suddenly angry. “You’re probably lying.”
“I’m not lying,” he said. “I promise you.”
“How do I know that? You’re setting all of this up and expecting me to go along with it. You can go to hell,” she said defiantly. “I’ll do what I please.”
He smiled faintly. “And you’ll be pleased to go along with the plan at least in the beginning. The Witness Protection Program is eminently respectable and will give you the opportunity to take it on the lam if you begin to feel threatened. I’ll have Dantlow give you impeccable references to verify his identity. On the other hand, it may be the only sure way to save your life. True?”
So true that it was filling her with desperation and panic. She had no money and no friends. She wasn’t afraid to go out on her own, but she knew that the odds would be against her. And she would not let Camano kill her.
“It … might be true,” she said reluctantly.
He nodded. “Then you agree.”
She was silent, considering if she had any other choices. “Temporarily. Don’t expect it to last.”
He chuckled. “God, you’re stubborn. And what a firecracker. Stubborn and full of anger and fire.” His smile faded. “But who could blame you? Defense mechanisms all the way.”
“You’re talking like one of those doctors again. Are you sure that you’re—”
“Very sure.” He was putting out the campfire. “And now that we’re on the same page, let’s get the hell out of here. I had to take the time to bind that wound and come to terms with you. But I want to be over the Kentucky border by dawn.”
“What’s in Kentucky?”
“An airport at Louisville and a meeting with Josh Dantlow.”
She stiffened. “You made an appointment with him before you talked to me?”
“Yes, and save the complaints. Time was important. You’ll have a lot more to be pissed off about before this is over.” He reached down and half pulled, half lifted her to her feet. “Can you walk?”
“Yes.” Her knees were shaking. She took a tentative step forward. “Give me a minute.”
“Screw it. Time’s still important.” He lifted her in his arms and headed for his car, parked by the road. “There’s one other thing that I have to tell you.” He was looking straight ahead. “Dantlow will ask you if you want to include any other family members in the Witness Protection Program. He’ll ask about your mother. I didn’t tell him that she wouldn’t be acceptable.” He smiled crookedly. “I didn’t know myself. But you’ll have to do it now.”
Pain. Sadness. Not acceptable? Who would ever believe that beautiful Gina wouldn’t be welcomed anywhere …
“Teresa?” He was looking down at her. “It has to be done. If it’s true that she betrayed you to Camano. Are you certain?”
She didn’t answer.
“Teresa.”
“I’m certain.” She cleared her throat. “I didn’t want to believe it, but no one else knew I was here. I know she didn’t want to do it. He probably lied to her. My mother knows she has to do what Camano wants her to do. She was always saying that we were both weak and had to obey if we were going to survive.” She could feel the tears sting her eyes. “And I knew it was coming. At my father’s funeral I could see it…”