Dare To Run (The Sons of Steel Row #1)(93)

For the first time . . . I almost believed her.

The door opened, and I turned to it, gun held at the ready.

Fully reloaded, this time.

“Don’t shoot,” a voice I recognized all too well called out. “It’s me. Scotty. Are you guys ready yet?”

“Yeah.” I slipped my bag onto my shoulder, my gun into the holster, and held my hand out for Heidi’s. She slid her small, soft hand inside mine and hugged my arm close to her side. We were bloody, bruised, and dirty—but we were free. “We’re ready.”

Scotty looked at our joined hands and the bags on our shoulders. “Not so fake anymore, huh?”

“I don’t think it ever really was fake,” I admitted. “We’re running, and we’re never coming back. I’m . . . I’m gonna miss you.”

“I know.” Scotty shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m going to miss you, too. There’s one problem, though.”

I stiffened. “Yeah?”

“They’ll want a body, and so will the cops. You know it. No one leaves this life unless it’s by the gun, and they’ll want proof.” He took his hands out of his pockets. “You have to be dead, and everyone needs to know it. It’s the only way you’ll be free.”

Heidi peeked at me, her cheeks pink. “But how do we do that?”

“There are a bunch of dead bodies in here. Who’s to say one of them isn’t Lucas’s?” Scotty asked.

She snorted. “DNA. That’s who. You of all people should know that.”

“That’s why we have to torch the place and remove any evidence that one of these bodies isn’t mine,” I said, understanding where he was going.

“Exactly. But even more than that, we need there to be two more bodies.”

Heidi blinked. “Us?”

“Yeah. I got in contact with one of my buddies at the morgue, and we’re getting two cadavers sent in—a male and a female—so it looks even more real. We’ll falsify the dental records so you can escape without anyone questioning anything.” Scotty crossed his arms. “You will be, for all intents and purposes, dead. No cops will come looking for you, and neither will Steel Row. CSI will confirm it’s you, and you’ll be free.”

There was that word again. Free. “They would do that for you?”

“I got people.” Scotty nodded. “So, yeah. They would.”

Heidi trembled. “And then we just drive away.”

“Yep.” Scotty stared at Heidi. “I’ll tell Steel Row I saw you go down in a blaze of gunfire and smoke, which the evidence will corroborate, and hung around to make sure it was you. Chris will back me up because he doesn’t have a choice.” Scotty lifted a shoulder. “Not if he truly wants the crown.”

“I’m proud of you, brother,” I said. And I meant every word. “I’ll never forget what you’re doing for me now. I’ll never . . .”

Scotty didn’t say anything, but he dipped his chin in acknowledgment.

Emotion swelled within me, but I swallowed it back. He knew I loved him. And now I knew he loved me, too. But I had so many questions. “Why were you meeting with Bitter Hill the other day? I saw you.”

“I have a guy in there. He was keeping me informed of Chris’s plan. It was all a setup.” We walked down the stairs, and he asked, “Where will you two go?”

“I don’t know yet.” I squeezed Heidi’s hand. This whole thing felt like a dream. The best f*cking dream ever, and I never wanted to wake up. “We’ll hit the road, turn left . . . and just keep going.”

“And just keep going,” she echoed, smiling.

“Jesus, you two . . .” Scotty made a frustrated sound. “Okay, off you go. I’ll take care of this. Go, before someone sees you.”

I opened the door of my Mustang for Heidi, and she slid inside. She gripped the handle and looked up at Scotty. “My bar . . . and Marco . . .”

“I’ve been watching you, so I’ll take care of them both.”

She nibbled on her lower lip. “He’s on his way to Boston College.”

“I’ll make sure he gets, and stays, there.” He rolled back on his heels, and the wind blew his brown hair. “Don’t worry about life here. I’ll take care of it all.”

She sagged against the seat. “Thank you . . . for everything.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“I’ll be right in.” I closed the door and turned to Scotty. “Make sure there’s nothing left.”

He nodded. “You know it, man. You’re sure this is what you want? That you’re willing to walk away from everything you built and fought for, for a woman?”

I glanced through the window. She watched us, her cheeks flushed with excitement as she nibbled on her lower lip. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“Then go.” He patted me on the back in that man-hug we all did. “Go be happy. You deserve it. I’ll make sure Chris straightens his shit out . . . or I’ll have to finish what you didn’t.”

Not willing to let him leave with a lame-ass hug, I pulled him into my arms and kissed his temple. “I . . . I love you, brother.”