The reason they keep finding us is that they’re tracking her. Something on her is giving her location.
Dammit, I’ll have to get her out of here first, then we can take care of that problem.
I take the stairs to the fourth floor, it doesn’t take me long, and I rush to our room. “Sofia, open,” I call through the door. “And hurry, they’re here.”
The door opens quickly. “How did they find us?”
“We’ll deal with that shortly. Come, we need to get out of here.” I grab my duffel bag and lead her out. I lead her to the other end of the hallway, where there are stairs. We hurry down, but I stop her from exiting through the ground floor entranceway. I lead her behind the stairs to the staff exit. “Through the back,” I say softly.
We make our way through, and there’s a wiry teen standing just outside. “Hey, you can’t be here.”
“Yes, I can.” I show him my gun, and he holds his hands up. “I’m not looking for trouble, kid, just a way out the back.”
He points to another door at the end. “Out there, and to the right is the parking lot.”
I take out a hundred-dollar bill and hand it to him. “Keep your mouth shut.”
He hurries away, and I lead Sofia out of the building and to the cars.
I break into a sleek black truck and hot wire it while Sofia climbs in. “What’s on you?”
“What?”
“What do you have on you that you’ve had since they picked you up at your father's house?” I ask.
She touches her earrings, and I turn her head. “Something has a chip, and it’s tracking you.”
“I’ve been wearing these since I got my ears pierced years ago. I don’t change them out. They’re diamonds from my father.”
They’re small studs, so I doubt they’re big enough. “What else?”
She runs her hands over her body as though trying to remember something. She runs a hand through her hair, and then her face lights up. “The clip.”
She hands it to me, and I put it on the dashboard. It’s got a cheap-looking crystal on it. I smash it with my gun, and it crumbled, revealing the tracking device.
“Who gave this to you?” I ask, tossing it out the window.
“Bruno did,” she says worriedly. “When he arrived with my father, he said it was just a little gift to remind me where I come from.”
“He’s the one who is betraying your father,” I growl, putting the truck into gear. “Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter 10 - Sofia
Dominic drives effortlessly through the back roads. We’re not rushing now that we know I can’t be tracked anymore. I’m livid that Bruno would betray our family like this.
“We need to warn my father,” I say to Dominic. “He needs to know.”
“We will. Don’t worry,” he growls. “Nothing worse than betraying your family.”
“Bruno is second in command. He wants to be Don,” I explain. “He thinks my father is too soft. Ha! Wait until my father deals with this betrayal.”
We’re on the freeway now, and Dominic turns the radio up. “We need to get somewhere safe. With Bruno being in on everything, I don’t trust even my safe houses.”
I sit forward. “I have friends in New York. Carmila! Carmila lives in New York. We can stay with her. Her family isn’t mafia, and they’re not involved in this mess. We’ll be safe there.”
“I don’t think so. It’s too risky.”
“Bruno doesn’t know Carmila,” I insist. “He doesn’t know who she is or where she lives. I made friends with her online before I came up here. We’ve been friends for three years. We can hide in plain sight.”