Bennett Mafia
Chapter 47 - BENNETT MAFIA

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

I was being dumb.

This hit me as we flew over Milwaukee. I was being so beyond dumb. Yes, Kai had said I couldn't go with him to see my father. But I wasn't a captive, and I had snuck out of there like I was. Both Brooke and I had. I'd continued to hide, using this friend of Carol's to take me the rest of the way. Disappearing was a skill I had, but it wasn't one I needed in this instance.

Maybe?

I didn't know.

God. Why was this so hard?

"You ready to touch down?" the pilot yelled at me over the system.

"Yes!" I yelled back. I was cold, I had to pee, and I was ready to try to right my world again.

Once we landed, I grabbed my bags and nodded to him. "I need to head to the bathroom."

He pointed where to go, and because I didn't really know if he was just Carol's friend, I disappeared again. I did have to pee, but I needed every advantage I could get. Bypassing the bathroom, I swiped a set of car keys hanging in the hallway. I went out to the lot and walked around, pressing the unlock button. In the second to last row, I slipped behind the wheel of a Taurus and headed into town.

The GPS was set up on one of the burner phones, and I put in an auto repair place. Not the one with the best website, but one that didn't have a website, one that had Yelp reviews from local customers. I pulled in and used their bathroom. We had landed during business hours, though it was getting late.

After I peed, I asked for a female employee, because there usually was one. When she approached, she was older-gray hair, makeup done. I couldn't tell her exact job title, but it didn't matter. I could see in her eyes she'd been around the block.

"I need a car," I told her. "My boyfriend is in the mafia, and I'm running from him." White lie. "I need anything you can give me. I have cash for something cheap and desperation enough to let you know I stole the car I drove here in." She hesitated, scanning me up and down.

I wore the same black clothing I'd had on when I left the house. I was sure I smelled. My hair was pulled low into a no-nonsense ponytail. If I needed to sell being on the run, I'd hit that out of the ballpark.

She ran a hand over her face. "He hit you?"

I didn't want to lie any more than was necessary, so I chose my words carefully. "I just have to get as far as I can from him."

"You stole that cash from him too?"

My eyes flicked up. "No. Cash is good. A friend gave it to me."

She still hesitated. "I don't want to get in trouble."

"Look, the car won't be reported for a while. Maybe even a few days." I glanced up to the cameras. "Wipe the footage, then call in a random car. You have cars parked here all the time. I know how auto shops are. No one's going to look twice. You can say your footage clears every few days anyway."

She wanted to help. I could see it, but a girl showing up with cash, a stolen car, and a story about a connected mob boyfriend spelled trouble.

A hoarse "Please" finally sold it.

She let out a sigh, nodding. "Drop your keys for the car on the floor and give me a second." She disappeared behind the counter, returning a few minutes later. She slid an envelope over to me. I could see there were keys inside. "That's to the Chevy truck out back. Leave what you can for cash. I had a friend who got beat up by her boyfriend, so I get it."

"Thank you."

I reached inside one of the bags, took a few hundred-dollar bills, and held them out to her. The envelope pocketed, I did as she said. I dropped the keys to the Taurus on the floor and headed out. The store had been empty, and as I got to the only Chevy truck in the back, I knew she was either erasing the security footage or calling the cops.

Either way, I pushed down on the pedal, though as I headed out of town toward the interstate, I had to admit I wasn't sure who I was even hiding from at this point. Kai?

My father?

The Network?

Or maybe myself.