Free Flight 12: A Sloane Monroe Thriller (Flight 12 Begins Series Book 4) by Cheryl Bradshaw

where you are!” Vincent yelled.
    “She’s bleeding,” Maddie said. “Let me help her.”
    “Stay. Where. You. Are.”
    Maddie stayed.
    “You don’t just work for Giovanni, do you?” I asked.
    “And you’re not just some chick who got caught at the wrong hotel at the wrong time.”  
    “How long have you been working for Rocco?”
    “I don’t work for him. I work for myself.”
    “Then why are you here?”
    “I’ve been loyal to Giovanni’s family for three years.”
    “What changed?” I asked.
    “Information.”
    “You found out about Misty.”
    “Found out I was workin’ for a family of traitors. Decided I’d approach Rocco. He paid good money to find out what I know. Ever since, I’ve been doin’ things for him, like escortin’ the doctor here to the airport tonight, makin’ sure nothin’ gets in the way.”
    “Why did he choose you?” I asked. “Why not someone else—someone he trusts?”
    “They’re … uhh … occupied at the moment.”
    Occupied.
    Giovanni.
    For a split second, Vincent’s attention diverted to something behind me. A second was all I needed. I pulled my gun. Fired. Missed. The pain of my wound getting in the way of a clear shot. I glanced behind me. Saw who Vincent was looking at. Cesare. A million swear words crowded my mind.
    Were they both in on it?
    A bullet whizzed by me, fired by Maddie’s gun. It plunged into Vincent’s chest. He reeled back.
    Cesare leveled his gun, pointing it at me. As I popped off another shot in his direction, he yelled, “Wait!”
    Maddie walked toward Vincent, unloading her clip into his helpless body. Cesare braced himself against the wall, glanced down at the blood oozing from his lower abdomen. He pleaded with me again. “Sloane, please. Wait.”
    His tone was different, nothing like the man who kidnapped me the day before.
    “You had your gun raised to me. You were going to kill me. Why should I spare you now?”
    “It wasn’t aimed at you. It was aimed behind you, at Vincent.” He reached an unsteady hand inside his jacket, pulled out a shiny piece of gold, raised it in front of me. With his fingers curled around the top, I couldn’t read everything it said, but four words stood out like a firefly on a darkened night.
    I slapped a hand over my lips, my eyes blurry, questioning myself and my actions. What had I done?  

CHAPTER 22
     
     
    “I’m calling 9-1-1,” I said.
    “No,” Cesare said. “Not yet.”
    Dashner stood. “I have some medical supplies in the hall closet.”
    My hands were sweaty, my heart pumping a series of rapid thuds throughout my chest.
    “Sloane.” Maddie squeezed my shoulder. “What do you want him to do?”
    “Yeah … yeah … get your kit. Maddie, go with him.”
    Maddie and Dashner disappeared into the hallway.
    I turned to Cesare. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. You were so … horrible to me.”
    He attempted a faint smile. “How do you think I lasted this long?”
    I flattened my hand, pressed it down over his. “I’m sorry I shot you.”
    “I’ve survived worse.”
    “How did you end up here—working for Giovanni?”
    “His brother, Carlo, was my friend. We worked a few cases together. As far as I know, I was the only other person who knew who Carlo was—his background—where he came from. I promised to look after his family if anything ever happened to him.”
    “Do they know who you are?” I asked.  
    “Giovanni does. He knew you’d try to escape today. He asked me to follow you.”
    “They’re planning something.”
    “Who?”
    “Rocco’s family. Something big. Giovanni and Daniela, they’re both in danger.”
    “Let Giovanni worry about them. We need to make sure Dashner gets on that plane tonight.”
    “Why can’t we just turn them into the guys heading the investigation?” I asked.
    “And leave the final piece of the puzzle, the biggest piece, unsolved?”
    “Can’t they interrogate him, get what they need from Dashner himself?”
    “It’s not