Ballad (Rockstar #5)

by Anne Mercier

  I nod and she nods back.

  “It’s bad, Ben. Obviously the chemo I had last time wasn’t effective enough to keep me in remission long-term,” she tells me.

  “So, this is the next step?”

  She nods. “Yeah. If you want to bail out—”

  “Stop,” I tell her. “I’m here, right by your side through all of it and that’s not going to change, honey.”

  Tears fill her eyes and spill over in a steady stream.

  “You don’t have to do this alone anymore,” I whisper. “You’ve got me and you’ve got the entire gang here to support you—whatever you need. Anything you need, Nicole. Anything,” I reassure her.

  She nods. “Thank you.”

  “You don’t have to thank me. It’s all part of loving someone and part of being family.”

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a family.”

  “Well, you’ve got one now, and we’re not going anywhere. Be prepared, honey. As soon as word gets around, they’re going to descend on you like mother hens—especially Kennedy,” I tell her.

  She groans.

  “Let’s get a nap in before the chaos starts, yeah?”

  “Yeah, let’s.”

  “I love you, Coley.”

  “I love you, Ben.”

  I hold her in my arms, listening to her breathe as she sleeps and for the first time since I was a boy, I pray to a God I’m not sure even exists.

  I WATCH THE couple walk up to the building before stepping inside. The security is state of the art.

  “Whose building is this, babe?” I ask Cage.

  “A friend’s,” is all he’ll give me.

  “Hmm. Nice that they let us use the space.”

  From the outside, the building looks like a cafe, and there is, indeed, a café in the building, but it’s small and it’s a front for whatever goes on here. We’re in the back warehouse space where crates are stacked in rows.

  “I bet if we opened one of those crates, we’d find something very illegal,” I state.

  Cage lifts a brow. “If we opened one of those crates, we’d likely end up dead.”

  “Well then. No opening of the crates.”

  One side of his mouth twitches and I grin.

  “Showtime,” Damian says beside me.

  “Finally. I’ve been wanting to get my hands on these fuckers since we found out,” Ernesto announces.

  I look at him in surprise. “Blood thirsty?”

  He shakes his head. “Nope. Just a heavy taste for revenge.”

  “We don’t know she’s dead,” I remind him and he just looks at me blandly. I sigh. I really, really hope she’s not dead. I hope the team they sent in to get her out of the warehouse where she was, got there in time.

  “Like you said the other day. There are worse things than death, Sera,” Nesto reminds me.

  Yeah. Don’t I know it.

  “They’re waiting for you in the back,” I hear Celeste say. “Right this way.”

  I hear her heels click on the floor along with another pair, and when they round the corner, I curl my lip in disgust at the couple before me. Roberto is average height with an extra paunch in the middle. He’s balding and what hair he does have, is slicked back with what looks like grease. Gross. And his face? Gah.

  Next, I look to the woman. Blonde short hair. She’s short, but not as short as Luce. She’s carrying an extra 30 pounds that have the dress she’s wearing pulling tight, showing a few of her fat rolls. I have no issue with people being overweight. None whatsoever, but if you’re overweight, for the love of all that’s holy, don’t wear skin-tight clothes. It’s not at all attractive.

  When they reach us, they stand there, not saying a word.

  Cage steps forward. “I’m Cage Nichols. Your sister has been in my employ up until now.”

  Roberto nods and Kimberly just keeps chewing her gum, looking bored. Disrespecting my husband isn’t a good start to this visit.

  “What did she do?” the sister asks.

  Cage tells them about her coming on to the guys in the band, and she rolls her eyes.

  “How pathetic,” she replies.

  “Yes, it was,” Cage agrees. “Let’s head on in where Misty’s waiting.”

  We walk further into the warehouse and as we do so, I can see the unease filling Roberto and Kimberly. Idiots.

  “Uh, maybe this wasn’t a good idea,” Roberto starts.

  I pull my gun from my waistband and press it into his back. “Oh, come on. I think it’s a great idea. Let’s keep going,” I say and nudge him forward.

  “What—what’s going on?” Kimberly asks with a screech.

  “Just keep walking,” Damian tells her as he presses his gun into her back.

  “But—we…”

  “Hush now,” Damian placates. “Let’s just get this handled.”

  They both try to turn when they see Misty tied to a chair, her mouth gagged. We had to. She was wailing like a walrus and it was annoying Ernesto to the point he wanted to slit her throat.

  “Fuck. Fucking shit,” Roberto curses.

  “That about covers it,” I tell him.

  Celeste walks over and unties Misty’s gag. Wait—Celeste? I look at Cage, who just blinks. Whoa. When the shock starts to fade I narrow my eyes at him. He kept a secret. With a slight shake of his head he tells me we’ll deal with it later. And you can bet your ass we’re going to.

  I raise a brow at Celeste, whose expression doesn’t change. She merely takes a seat in a chair beside Misty’s.

  “You stupid bitch!” Roberto spits out. “You can’t do anything without fucking it up!”

  “You couldn’t even get the horny rockstars to fuck you, how pathetic is that?” Kimberly tells Misty. “You’re such a loser.”

  Misty shrugs. “Just shut the fuck up, both of you. You’re the ones who set this whole thing up. I told you from the beginning it wouldn’t work.”

  “Maybe if you’d have drugged them—” Kimberly begins and I press my gun to the side of her head.

  “You better watch what you say,” I warn.

  She rolls her eyes. “You’re not going to shoot me.”

  “I’m not?” I ask, looking around. “I think I am.” And I do—right in the knee. She goes down like a sack of potatoes, crying and carrying on like the bitch she is.

  “Damn, Sera. You knee-capped her,” Damian says with a whistle.

  I shrug. “I should have blown her mouth off so we didn’t have to listen to her.”

  Ernesto chuckles.

  “You shot me! I can’t believe you shot me!” she whines. I roll my eyes.

  “Shut! The! Fuck! Up!” Damian shouts and everyone goes silent. I smirk and send him a wink. That was so hot.

  Cage takes a chair across from Misty, sitting back, and crossing his legs in the way that elegant businessmen do. God, he gets my pulse pounding.

  “Tell me what you know,” he says to Misty.

  She looks up at him, her bald scalp red with razor—or knife--burn, her makeup smeared under her eyes and down her cheeks, dried blood on her shoulders and arms. She’s a wreck.

  “I don’t know who they spoke to. All I know is what they told me and that was what to do and how much money we’d get for it. That’s all.” Her head hangs back down and Cage looks away from her. “But if I did know something,” she adds, “I wouldn’t tell you. You’re just going to kill me anyway.”

  Cage looks at her and nods. Then he raises his gun and shoots her between the eyes. Holy smokes. I think I just orgasmed. I am so going to fuck him stupid later. I must have made a noise because he looks over, the tiniest of smirks decorating that glorious mouth.

  Kimberly’s in near hysterics now. How I hate that shit. I take the bandana from Damian’s back pocket, copping a feel while I do. He grins. I walk over to Kimberly and Ernesto pulls her head up by her hair, her screech echoing off the walls.

  “Christ, you’re annoying,” I tell her as I stuff the bandana in her mouth and t
ie it behind her head. When I’m done she throws herself on the floor, bawling like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

  It’s then that Roberto realizes we’re zeroing in on him. He gulps and looks around for an escape.

  “There isn’t one,” I tell him and his gaze snaps to mine. “You should have thought of your own well-being when you were making this deal.” I walk closer. “Did they promise to keep you safe?”

  He twists his hands together. “Please—”

  I just shake my head. “They lied. They don’t care what happens to you, only that you’ve done the job you were meant to do. So really,” I say, walking around Roberto, gun in my hand, “you should be thankful we grabbed you up before they did—because they are coming for you.”

  He twitches, shifting from leg to leg nervously. “I don’t—”

  “Sure you do. So just tell us,” Damian adds.

  I nod. “It’ll be easier for you if you do.” I shove him into a chair and he looks up at me in surprise. After tucking the gun in my waistband, Damian tosses me a roll of duct tape and carries one for himself.

  “Please—I’ll tell you whatever you want to know,” he pleads.

  “I know you will,” Damian tells him as we duct tape his hands and feet to the chair. Now Kimberly is screaming behind the gag.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake,” I bite out, pulling my gun back out, aiming it at Kimberly, and pulling the trigger. Single shot, right between the eyes. I let out a sigh.

  “Damn,” Ernesto says. “I was hoping to torture her a bit.”

  “With all that high-pitched squealing she was doing? No fucking way, man,” Damian replies.

  Ernesto cocks his head to the side. “Yeah, I guess. Women aren’t my style anyway.”

  Roberto freezes, his gaze locking in on Ernesto, who is slowly making his way over like a predator stalking his prey. Watching him, I now understand why Bella and Nico are as good as they are. Torture, killing, and fighting aren’t everyone’s ultimate goals, but they are for them, and both have aced all three.

  I stand back and let the men interrogate Roberto, who sings like a canary, telling us everything. All the who, what, where, why, when, and how we wondered about is answered. Ernesto’s disappointment can’t be hidden. He was hoping some torture would be needed but it wasn’t.

  “Can I at least shoot him?” Ernesto asks.

  Roberto’s eyes go wide. “But I told you everything.”

  “And? No one promised to let you go if you talked. We merely told you, you needed to start talking,” Ernesto tells him. “And talk you did, so I didn’t even get to pull out a fingernail. Fucker,” he mutters.

  I snicker then walk over to where Cage is still sitting, Misty’s body having already been removed. I sit on his lap, wrapping my hand around his neck, gun still in it, and I nuzzle into his neck.

  “I’m so going to fuck the hell out of you later,” I whisper.

  He chuckles. “Then it’s going to be a war of who can fuck the other harder.” He repositions me on his lap and I feel his hard cock press against my thigh. I bite back the groan threatening to escape.

  There’s more talking going on and I ignore it. Instead I turn to Celeste, who lifts a brow.

  “You better start talking,” I tell her.

  “You didn’t think Cage would have just anyone sitting at the front desk of his company, did you?” she asks.

  “No, but I didn’t expect this.”

  She shrugs. “I’ve known Cage for a long time.”

  I look to him and he nods slightly.

  “Were you…”

  “One of the kids Joan saved?” she asks and I nod. “Yep. I was.”

  “Well then. I totally didn’t see that coming,” I admit, more than a little shocked. “No worries. I’ll keep the secret.”

  “I wasn’t worried,” Celeste tells me with a smile.

  “I just wish I’d have known sooner,” I confess as my mind turns a mile a minute.

  “Why’s that?” she asks.

  “So I could have insisted on you attending our wedding. It was family.”

  “Fee,” Cage begins.

  “Yeah, babe?”

  “Who do you think stayed behind and watched over Joan?”

  “Ding, ding, ding… light bulb is at full wattage now.”

  Cage smirks.

  “Are they going to talk all day?” Celeste asks.

  “Ernesto didn’t get to torture anyone today, I guess this is his way of doing it,” I explain.

  “He’s trying to talk him to death?”

  I snicker. “No. He’s torturing him by letting him know he’s going to die and letting him wait and wonder.”

  “Ah. Sadist.”

  “You have no idea,” I tell her. “Do you?”

  She shakes her head. “This isn’t usually something I participate in, but I heard about your skills. I wanted to see it for myself.”

  I grin. “Yeah? They talk about me?” I look around.

  “Christ, did you have to tell her that?” Damian scoffs.

  “Dude, you think I’m fantastic, admit it. You admire my mad skills,” I tease.

  Damian lets out a laugh. “You’ll do, Serafina. You’ll do.”

  My smile fades and I scowl. He laughs harder.

  “Dick.”

  I hear the gunshot and look over to where Ernesto and Roberto are. Ernesto’s laughing and Roberto’s crying.

  “Did he just…” Celeste breaks off.

  Damian nods. “I’m not cleaning that one up!” he calls out to Ernesto.

  “What?” Ernesto asks in a playful tone, still laughing. “Roberto can’t help he pissed and shit himself. Imagine if you were on the other end of my gun.”

  “I have been,” Damian states. “I didn’t piss or shit myself.”

  “That’s because you’re a robot, like the terminator and shit who fears nothing and feels no pain,” Ernesto says.

  Damian grins.

  “Oh please, no Arnold impressions,” I plead and Damian laughs.

  “You’re no fun.”

  Another gunshot and then Ernesto shouts in the worst Arnold Schwarzenegger impression I’ve ever heard, “Get to the choppah!”

  We all groan.

  “That was so bad,” I shout with a laugh.

  All laughter dies when Ernesto makes his way over to where we’re all sitting.

  “What are we gonna do, Boss?” he asks Cage.

  “Exactly what you think we’re going to do.”

  Damian whistles. “There’s going to be a war.”

  “There has to be. Knowing that the Manzinis didn’t set this plan in motion leaves only one other option,” Cage tells us.

  Ernesto groans. “I don’t like to fight with the Irish. They’ve got some really bad tempers.”

  “So do we Italians,” I announce.

  “Isn’t that the truth?” Damian agrees.

  “Any news on Jana?” I ask.

  Celeste’s eyes shutter, then she shakes her head.

  “That is going to devastate my sister,” I admit.

  “We’re not saying anything until we know who’s got her and why. The Tierneys aren’t holding her,” Cage informs us.

  “What did they have to gain by planting Misty here? And why the hell did they want to hurt Lucy?” Celeste asks.

  “Nicole heard Misty mention the Manzinis.”

  Ernesto nods. “They were hoping to get on the Manzinis’ good side by fucking with us and they knew the Manzinis had targeted Lucy previously.”

  “Well, fuck me up the ass sideways,” I say and everyone laughs. “Not literally. So now we not only have to deal with the Manzinis, but the Tierneys too?”

  “Yep.”

  “Lovely. Anyone else I should know about?” I ask.

  “You want the list?” Cage asks.

  I let out a breath. “You know, I think I do.”

  He nods.

  “I’ll have it for you later,” Celeste tells me.

  “Thanks,” I mu
tter.

  She sighs. “Yeah.”

  Her tone’s as wary as mine. Who knew being a Russo could be so dangerous?

  “I was glad they stopped targeting me, but I’m not anymore. Not when they’re going after Lucy,” I announce.

  “They won’t get to her,” Damian reassures me.

  “And pretty soon they’ll get bored knowing they can’t get to her and refocus back on you,” Ernesto says.

  I nod. “I like that better.”

  “I don’t,” Cage mutters. “I don’t like any of it.”

  “I’m not carrying a litter of Kingstons, so it’s better if they shift focus back in my direction,” I explain.

  “I still don’t like it.”

  “Me either, babe.”

  Silence descends for a few minutes.

  “Ernesto, clean up your mess,” Damian instructs.

  “It’s all fun and games until your prey pisses and shits themselves,” Ernesto mutters.

  Fun and games indeed.

  NO ONE IS a match. Out of thirty-plus people, not one match. I’m getting more tired each day and the doc wants to admit me to the hospital.

  “Why? What can’t you do that they’ll do?” I ask.

  He sighs. “Give you the attention and care you need. I can only do so much on a tour bus.”

  I want to hit something, to scream and kick and holler, but I don’t. Instead I just fist the blankets tighter. I look over to Ben, who’s talking with Cage and Sera and sadness fills me. He’s going to have to leave tomorrow—they’ve already stayed here one day later.

  “What’s wrong, Coley girl?” Xan asks.

  “You all have to go and I’m going to be here,” I admit, picking at the blanket.

  He nods. “Yeah, it sucks ass, that’s for sure. But we’ve only got five more shows.”

  “In two weeks. Two full weeks,” I point out.

  “That’s true, but that time will go fast.”

  “Not when I’m lying in a hospital bed, it won’t. Trust me, I know. Been there, done that.”

  “I’m sorry, Coley. If there was anything I could do, you know I’d do it,” Xan tells me.

  “I know and I can’t thank you enough.”

  He nods. “Do you have any family who might be a match?”

  I can’t lie. They know about my aunt. “I do. But if they come here, they’re at risk. I left to spare them—and their children—from that.”