by Bethany-Kris
Oh, God.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Darryl said. “It’s not so hard to find you now when you pull stupid stunts, Ella.”
“You’re an asshole,” Abriella spat.
“Maybe so, but I’m not the one in trouble. I hope whatever you did today was worth it, sweetheart, because you won’t have another one like it for a long while.”
Abriella kept her mouth shut, but it was goddamn hard. She wanted to scream and lash out at the enforcer. More than anything, she wanted to rip her brother’s throat out for tricking her like he had.
Steeling her spine and refusing to give the enforcer the reaction of anger and fear that he clearly wanted, Abriella stood straighter. “Let’s go. Home, I take it?”
“Straight home.”
“Fine.”
“In my car,” Darryl added.
Abriella opened her mouth to argue, but Darryl’s lifting hand stopped her.
“Not a word,” he said. “You lost the right to have an opinion and to drive yourself around when you disappeared today.”
“I am not a damned child,” Abriella hissed.
“Your brother thinks that your actions today disagree.”
“Fuck you both.”
“What did you do?” Abriella’s mother asked.
Abriella glared at the enforcer standing beside her. “Nothing. I took a little detour and went shopping.”
“Keep saying that,” Darryl muttered. “No one believes it.”
Standing outside of her brother’s office, waiting to be allowed inside like Joel was a wanted man, Abriella’s frustration grew to epic proportions. The drive back across Chicago to her family’s mansion had been tense at best. Darryl continued to question her about where she had been all day. Abriella wouldn’t give the man a damn thing.
Let them search.
They would find nothing.
Turning back to her mother, Abriella asked, “Why are you here?”
Sara frowned. “Your brother was on a rampage. We happened to be one of the people he called when he finally got word that you were found.”
“We?”
“Me, too,” a voice said from behind Abriella.
Her father came to stand at Sara’s side.
“Dad,” Abriella said quietly, avoiding her father’s stare.
Peter had always been a good father. He rarely, if ever, raised his voice. He had never hit his children, treated them badly, or acted like they were anything less than loved.
Abriella knew that as she and her siblings grew up, her father had mostly been a bystander in their life. While he adored them and cared for them, he had been forced to stand on the sidelines while other men in their family took control. Men like her now deceased grandfather, Terrance, and now, Joel.
Peter never had much of a say with his children. He allowed family decisions to be made without his input, even when it came to his own offspring. It was one of the things that Abriella disliked about her father, although she did love him.
She just couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t care enough.
“You worried your mother,” Peter said.
Abriella let out a soft sigh. “I was fine. I’m twenty-two, not sixteen. I have a license and a car for a reason. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You told lies,” Darryl put in. “You acted like a fool.”
“Would you shut up?” Abriella snarled at the man.
Darryl shook his head and said, “I have had just about enough of your attitude, Abriella.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, so cut it out before I—”
The office doors opened, interrupting the enforcer before he could finish. Joel stood inside his office, sporting his usual scowl and with a cell phone in one hand. His rage filled gaze landed on Abriella, and for a brief second, she wished she could disappear.
Just as fast as that feeling had come, it left.
Her brother didn’t frighten her. He could take her things away, call her names, abuse her with his words and choices, but he still couldn’t own her. Fear was a possession to Abriella—one she wouldn’t ever hand over to her brother.
“You,” Joel said, still glaring at his sister.
“Yes?” Abriella asked.
“Get in my office.”
Abriella strolled on past her brother. Joel reached out and snagged her messenger bag off her shoulder. Immediately, he began to dig through the bag. When he couldn’t find whatever it was that he was looking for, Joel dumped the bag upside down and the contents spilled on the floor.
Her notebook, laptop, keys, makeup, tampons, and everything else that was inside her bag clattered across the hardwood. The rolled up bandage that she had taken from Tommas was also added into the pile, but Joel didn’t seem to notice it. Cursing under his breath, Joel tossed Abriella’s purse on top of the rest of her things, too.
Anger rushed through Abriella’s bloodstream at the very sight of her belongings being discarded on the floor like garbage. Where did Joel get off acting like that?
“Hey,” Abriella shouted. “What in the hell is that all about?”
Joel turned on Abriella with a fire lighting in his eyes. “Where were you today?”
“Out.”
“Where?”
“Shopping.”
Joel’s jaw ticked. “Where are the things you bought?”
Abriella tossed Darryl a cool look over her brother’s shoulder as she repeated what she had told the enforcer earlier. “I didn’t find anything worth buying.”
“You must think I am one stupid fucking idiot, Ella.”
No.
In fact, Abriella thought the very opposite of her brother. Tommas had always warned Abriella never to treat Joel like he was dumb. Joel was anything but stupid. He was slick, dirty, and quick on the ball. That made for a dangerous man, not to mention the sometimes erratic behavior her brother showcased when making decisions or reacting to something.
No, Abriella didn’t think of her brother as stupid. She was too smart for that.
“Well?” Joel demanded. “Do I look like an idiot to you?”
“No,” Abriella said. “Not at all.”
She just happened to be sneaky, too.
“You purposely tricked your enforcer, lost him, and then disappeared for an entire day. Why did you do that, Ella?”
Without missing a beat, Abriella replied, “Because I wanted a chance to be normal for a day, Joel, without all of this nonsense. Twenty-four-seven, someone is watching me. Someone is following me. I never get to actually be alone. So what? I took a day off, walked around Chicago a bit, window shopped, and relaxed alone. Who cares?”
“I do, and I’ll tell you why.” Joel took a step forward. He was too close for Abriella’s liking, but she wouldn’t back down. “Because you’re a goddamn liar, Ella. You’re sneaky, girl. You’ve pulled stunts like this before, and everybody knows it. If you want to run around acting out or whatever it is you were doing, then you’ll answer the consequences for that kind of behavior.”
“What behavior?”
Joel sneered. “Are you playing dumb today?”
Jesus.
Her brother was working every nerve she had. Abriella tried her hardest to keep her cool, but she was three seconds away from blowing.
“Who cares if I was out alone, Joel?”
“I just told you. I care. It looks bad on me. I won’t have my sister running around and causing me issues. I won’t have people looking at you and wondering what you’re doing when people aren’t watching. That is how rumors start, Abriella. That is how stories spread. And once you get a title on your back, there is no getting rid of it. You’ll stain me—stain your family with your actions and I won’t have it. You might not mind what people have to say behind your back, but I do. It stops now.”
Abriella blinked, stunned. “Excuse me?”
“You’re not deaf. You heard me. I won’t have others spreading lies about us simply because Abriella is bored with her life
and wants a change. You might not care if people call you a whore and stain your name with rumors, but I won’t allow it.”
“Joel,” Peter said harshly. “Watch yourself.”
“Shut up,” Joel said, dismissing his step-father with a flick of his wrist.
“Joel!”
Abriella’s mother’s cry was ignored.
Peter stepped up beside Abriella, glaring at his step-son. “You are out of line. What did Abriella do, other than worry us with her little disappearing act, to earn her that kind of language, Joel?”
“You have no voice here,” Joel said dully. “In fact, I don’t want you here at all, Peter. Take your wife and go back to the other side of the mansion.”
Peter opened his mouth to say something, but Darryl stepped between Abriella’s father and Joel. Immediately, Peter quieted with a scowl.
“Make sure they lock the connecting doors,” Joel said to the enforcer.
“Will do, boss.”
Abriella nearly gagged at that title being given to her brother. Joel was no boss. He wasn’t made to be a boss. No man heading a family acted like her brother did. Power-hungry, vindictive, and foul. A proper boss concerned himself with every man’s worries, not just his own.
Joel couldn’t be a boss. He was far too selfish, malicious, and ignorant to fill the role. He would run the Outfit into the ground. Abriella could see it happening already.
Pointing over the enforcer’s shoulder, Peter said, “This isn’t over, Joel. I’m done with your nonsense, son.”
“Son,” Joel said, scoffing. “That’s rich.”
“He’s never treated you like anything different,” Sara spat from behind Abriella.
Joel’s face remained cold and impassive. “He didn’t have to. Your disgusting actions were more than enough shame for me to wear my whole life, Sara. Once a whore, always a whore, right?”
“Watch it!” Peter barked.
Abriella took a second look at her father, shocked out of her wits. Never had she heard him speak to anyone like he had just then. He was typically a quiet-mannered, good-natured man. The anger in his features darkened Peter and made him look far more dangerous than she thought him to be.
Where had this man come from?
Joel also seemed too stunned to speak.
“I won’t have you treating your mother that way,” Peter said sharply. “She has loved and provided for you, Joel. She has held you when you were sick, sang your nightmares away when you were a child, and adored you for every moment in between. You may not like how you came into this world, but you are here because she refused to abort you when your grandfather demanded it. She loved you even then. She loves you when you are at your most vile. She will go home tonight and still love you. Do not call her a whore one more time in my presence.”
Joel’s sneer remained firmly in place. “I—”
“Shut your mouth,” Peter snarled. “I’ve heard more than enough. The only reason I am still standing here dealing with another round of your bullshit is because of your mother and sister, Joel. Otherwise, I could be chewing on glass and be happier than I am when I stand in a room with you.”
“Dad, it’s okay,” Abriella said softly, finally finding her voice.
Peter passed Abriella a strange look. “Ella.”
“It’s okay, Dad. I’m fine.”
“It’s not fine,” Peter muttered.
“You’re right, but …”
But she didn’t want her parents to be the next victims of Joel’s wrath simply because they stood up to him to protect her. She knew, without any doubt, that her brother would turn on their parents if he thought that Peter and Sara were getting in his way.
It was psychopathic.
Cruel, even.
It was Joel Trentini all over.
“Go to your wing,” Abriella settled on saying.
“Yes, go,” Joel said, drawling out his words with a threatening undertone.
Abriella glanced up at her father. “Please.”
With a tight jaw and a heated glare shot at Joel, her father turned on his heel, took his wife’s hand, and stalked from the room.
Joel sighed. “Thank God that mess is gone.”
“They’re our parents, not a mess.”
“They’re always a fucking mess for me.”
Darryl cleared his throat and held out his hand. Abriella’s cell phone rested in his palm. Joel took it from the enforcer with a knowing smile.
“Thanks, Darryl.”
“No problem, boss.”
Joel bent down and picked up Abriella’s keys from the pile of her things on the floor. “And I’ll take these as well, Ella.”
Abriella crossed her arms. “Take them.”
Her words were all bravado and little else. She was now without a personal cell phone and her vehicle. Her gilded cage, locking her away from freedom, had just become a little bit smaller. She couldn’t breathe, but God knew she hid it as best she could.
Joel didn’t deserve her anxiety. He would like it too much.
“Darryl will drive you to and from wherever you need to go,” Joel informed.
He looked Abriella’s cell phone over. She was glad that she had gotten into the habit of deleting her text and log files for calls and messages. She also had very little contact information for anyone in the phone.
“School included?” Abriella asked.
Joel nodded. “Of course. He’ll be close. You won’t outrun him the next time, I’m sure.”
“I didn’t outrun him this time.”
“Keep lying. It looks good on you.”
Abriella clenched her teeth to keep from spitting every vile thing inside her head. “Is that all? I’m tired.”
“No, that isn’t all.” Joel glanced up from the phone and met Abriella’s stare. “I suggest you curb whatever rebellious bullshit you’ve got going on right now, Ella. I don’t have the time or patience for it. Frankly, if you keep it up, I’ll find someone else who will teach you how to behave just to get you out of my hair.”
Her heart leapt into her throat.
He couldn’t be saying what she thought he was. Surely he wouldn’t.
Not yet.
“Guessing by the look on your face,” Joel drawled, “you understand me perfectly fine. Cut out your nonsense, Ella, or you’ll find yourself walking down an aisle in a white dress to meet whatever man I deem suitable to marry you. I’ve had a few offers from some families outside of Chicago, and even from some close by that would like a way into our business. You’re skating on very thin ice, sister.”
Goddamn him.
Abriella felt like she was going to throw up. She literally had to force herself to say, “Okay, Joel.”
“Okay, what?”
“I’ll behave.”
“Good,” her brother stated. “You can start by getting the fuck out of my face.”
Abriella didn’t have to be told a second time. She left the office and her things behind. The door slammed almost as soon as she was out of it. Behind the wood, she heard her brother curse. Then, something crashed into the wall. Typical Joel behavior. When he was angry, he acted out like a child.
“Rough day?” Darryl asked, his voice muffled slightly.
“Worse,” Joel grumbled. “I don’t have time for that spoiled little bitch’s nonsense.”
“I think you scared her straight.”
Joel scoffed. “Right. You don’t know my sister all too well. Keep close to her. You never know what Abriella might do next. I don’t trust her. She was lying her ass off. I’m going to send someone out to see if they can find out where she was.”
Fuck.
Abriella ignored the dread climbing up her spine.
“I can do it when she’s in class,” Darryl said.
“Sure. Make sure she sees you outside of the class when she goes inside. Mess with her head a bit. Abriella never was any good at playing mind games.”
Wrong, Joel.
Abriella was terribly good at b
eating her brother’s games. The fool.
“Is there anything else?” Darryl asked.
“Yeah, there is.”
“What?”
“Someone was at the club that night with Tommas when you set the bomb.”
Darryl grumbled under his breath before saying, “Man, I set that up right. It blew. I can’t help it that he used the fucking car starter.”
“No, not that, you idiot,” Joel snapped. “Someone else was there. Inside. I had guys doing the rounds, trying to get info about the investigation at the club. I guess there was a set of footprints in the slush outside the exit door that were small like a female’s. Plus, there was more around Tommas. And inside the place, Tommas’ bag had been dropped halfway down the hallway leading to the exit like someone had just let it go. Tommas was outside. Why wouldn’t he have his bag on him?”
“Someone was carrying it for him.”
“I’d say so.”
“Who?” Darryl asked.
“A woman, apparently. I want to know who she is.”
Darryl grunted in agreement. “Did they say anything about who it might be or who Tommas is messing with?”
“Not a thing,” Joel answered.
“What about the cameras?” Darryl asked.
Abriella’s heart stopped and her mind raced.
“The club was dark and the cameras inside don’t do well with the dark, only the ones outside. Plus, the place only had cameras set up in the important locations like above the cash at the bar and at the entrance. I know Tommas does business in there, so he probably doesn’t want it being caught on camera.”
“So we know nothing.”
“No. But we’re going to work on finding something out. Tommas is hiding his involvement with a woman, for whatever reason, I don’t know.”
Abriella’s heart started beating again at that statement. She hadn’t even thought about the fact that she might have left something behind that night at the club, some kind of evidence of her presence.
“But if he cares about her, I want to use her. Get him where it hurts, after all. He’s always been private and quiet about females, and that sort of thing,” Joel finished.
“I can ask around,” Darryl said.
“Do that. Now, get out of my office. I need a drink and a smoke. Maybe I’ll give Chloe a call, too.”