Finding Isabella

| 2 - Isabella |

"You know, mio amore, it's not good to lie to people."

The sound of his voice makes my throat go dry and a chill shoots down my spine.

"I'm sorry, but I think you have me mistaken for somebody else," I respond, but even I can hear the bullshit seeping out my mouth.

"You and I both know I would recognize your voice anywhere, tersoro," his tone is just as dangerous as I remember. "You spent too many nights screaming my name for me to forget it." I can picture the cocky smirk on his face as his words meet my ear.

Before I can respond, the sound of the apartment door unlocking captures my attention. Jess walks in but instantly freezes, raising his arms up and nearly dropping the bag of food when he sees my gun pointed at his face. The tension releases from my shoulders as I put the gun back in the waistband of my jeans.

"For fucks sake, Jess, you can't just do that," I shout, the phone in my hand momentarily forgotten.

"Sorry, love, didn't mean to give you a heart attack. Here's the food for dinner," he says. "Where's Christian?"

"He's in the bedroom," I respond. Jess nods and passes me, heading into the kitchen to put food away in the fridge.

"Who the fuck was that?" Alexi asks.

"That's none of your concern," my tone is defensive, but I don't need him snooping around.

"Let's get something straight mio amore," he sneers, "I don't care if it's been five years. You are mine. You will always be mine. So tell whatever stronzo I hear in the background that he should leave now for his own damn safety."

"Fuck off, Alexi," I retort.

"Ah, so you do remember me?" His mocking tone is aggravating.

"Alexi, you might as well forget about me, because you're never going to find me."

"I'm talking to you right now, aren't I?"

"And this is the last time you will ever hear my voice," I tease him.

"Don't test me, darling; we both know how much I love a good challenge."

A laugh escapes my lips, "you still don't scare me."

Christian runs over to me screaming, "mom, I'm hungry!"

"Hold on," I tell him before returning to the dangerously sexy man on the other side of the phone. "Goodbye, Alexi."

I hang up the phone, pull out the sim card, and use my foot to crush it. "Jess, I'm going to need you to wipe all of our previous aliases and close any possible loose ends."

"All fifteen?"

"Keep the ones we have now, nobody knows Kennedy and Christian Morris. But make sure Cassandra Jackson and all of our other aliases are wiped clean, please."

"Your wish is my command," Jess says with a mocking bow for dramatic effect.

I turn to Christian and tell him to wash his hands for dinner before meeting Jess in the kitchen. I help him finish making the plates of food and then set them out on the table. Memories with Alexi flood my head and I can't help but miss him. I miss the way his hands felt on my body, and the way he looked at me as if I would disappear, which, to be fair, happened quite often.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Jess asks as he nudges my side with his elbow.

"I guess I'm just missing him after hearing his voice," I shrug. Looking at Jess, my heart tightens in my chest. He's become my best friend, and one of the few people I've trusted so strongly in the past few years. We grew up together, and when Christian turned two-years-old he came to stay with us, which means he's been the only other constant in my life for the past three years. He's helped me through so many identities and aliases.

"I feel like I don't say thank you enough," I say with a smile and squeeze his hand. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, no matter what your name is," he winks. We laugh as we continue to eat and talk, with Christian joining in the conversation between the spoonfuls of pasta he's shoveling in his mouth.

Once we finish dinner and I manage to get Christian to fall asleep, Jess and I sit down in front of the television. While I watch a random show, he speeds through the keys of his computer, erasing Cassandra Jackson and every other name I've used. A huge weight lifts off my chest knowing my trails are officially cut off. At least the ones Jess knows about and helped me with. I lived another life all by myself for nine years before he joined in the craziness, and that's something I'm keeping him out of.

"You don't exist anymore." Jess smiles at me, setting his laptop down next to him on the couch. His phone rings and I mute the television. He responds with a code to whoever is on the other line before his eyes widen. "Yeah, we'll be right there," he says as his eyes dart around the apartment. "Yes, upstate New York," he nods. "Okay. We'll be there soon."

"Jess, what the hell was that about?" I ask, watching him jump off the couch and race around like a chicken with its head cut off.

"Somehow word got out about you. They know you're not dead."

"What are you talking about? Who was that?"

"It was your brother."

"Why?" I ask, my tone now just as frantic as his.

"Like I said, they know." He continues running around, picking things up and grabbing weapons and cash that were previously stashed away.

"Who knows what?" I grab his arm to force him to stop moving, so I can get some answers.

"They know that Isabella Garcia didn't die with her mother in the car that night," he runs a hand through his hair. "They have recent photos of you, which means they know what you look like. The only positive right now is that nobody knows about Christian."

"Okay, Jess, who know?"

"Everyone," he meets my eyes for the first time since the phone call. "Everyone knows, which means all of your dad's enemies just put a giant bullseye on your head."