The media frenzy was about to begin on it. I wasn’t too worried about my reputation or my career—I could bullshit enough to get out of that and plead ignorance to the Zeffari’s activities, but I could not hide from the Scarluccis if they saw this. They would know I was involved and they might begin to put a few things together that so far they had been clueless about.
“Shit,” I said.
“Is this as bad as I think it is?” Libby asked.
“Oh, yeah. It may be the worst possible scenario.”
My phone rang just then. The call ID said it was Ranier. I was not certain, but I answered it.
“Did you see?” Ranier’s voice came over the speaker.
“Yeah. We just saw it. Wow… I was afraid of this.”
“Well, you know what this means. You all need to hide.”
“I gotcha. I’ll keep in touch,” I said.
“You know how to be untraceable, the way we taught you? Or have you forgotten?” Ranier joked.
I shook my head. “Oh, no. I remember. I’ll talk to you soon.”
I ended the call and turned the television off.
“We have to go, now,” I said.
“Right now?” Libby asked. She wasn’t quite sure of the seriousness of this yet.
“Yes. It’s a news story on national television. That means it’s all over the major search engines news feeds, social media, streaming channels—there is almost no way that the Scarluccis don’t hear about this sometime within the next few hours. Hell, they might be on their way here right now.”
Libby and I ran upstairs. We quickly packed a few light bags and then packed a bag for Toby. Being careful not to wake him we put him in the SUV and then drove away from my beloved home. I prayed that nothing happened to it while I was gone, but in the end it was just a house. It cost money; I had money; Therefore, it could be replaced.
“Where are we going?” Libby said after we were a few miles away from the house heading out of town. The lights of the city were far away in the background.
“I was thinking we’d go to a cabin I rent up in Big Bear. It’s a fun place to hang out this time of year and it’s kind of where I go when I don’t want to be bothered by the media. It’s quiet and unassuming. No one is going to find us up there.”
“Great,” Libby said.
“Besides, we can get a bit of skiing going on. Have you ever been up to the mountains?”
“No, I haven’t,” Libby said.
I could hear the fear in her voice. I knew I promised her that we would be done running soon and now we were running even harder, but I had a feeling that this had to end sometime. It would not go on for weeks and months. I was sure of it. The Scarluccis didn’t have that type of staying power; they did have a criminal enterprise to run after all. Eventually, they might decide that Libby no longer mattered and just lose interest.
Of course, you really couldn’t rely on any of this.
And I was tired of proposing more conjecture to Libby. Soon, my word would cease having value. But I just wanted to put her at ease and make her feel better. Then again, maybe that was the last thing we really needed right now.
We didn’t talk much during the three-hour trip to Big Bear along the I-5 North. It was a nice, peaceful drive. Toby didn’t wake up at all the entire trip, which was for the best. I didn’t feel like answering all of his questions right now. I just wanted to concentrate on the drive and to make sure that we weren’t somehow being followed.
The paranoia was beginning to set into me. They could have been anywhere. What if somehow they found out about my cabin up at Big Bear? I didn’t really have any idea how far their reach extended. And if I did think there was a real threat to that, would I tell Libby? Would I take the risk of worrying her about something I couldn’t really change?
I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to lie to her or withhold any information, but at the same time I needed her to feel safe. I couldn’t stand for her to be scared or distressed. It put me on edge. I’ve always been kind of old fashioned and I felt like I was failing at my job of being a man if someone could bring danger close to my lady, or my son.
“When did you decide to get a place out here?” Libby asked. She was starting to rub her shoulders a bit.
“Cold?” I asked. “Yeah, the altitude of the mountains brings with it a bit of cold.”
I turned on the heater. I was more or less used to it.