Hers to Love

by Talia Ellison

  “Yeah, if we can.” My finger hovered over the deleted messages folder. “There are more messages, but they were deleted. I don’t know if...” The messages were still there, but I had to click to restore them. “Never mind. I got them.”

  Michael leaned over my shoulder and stared at the screen. “I can’t wait to take off your clothes and...” he started to read out loud, then stopped. “Okay, definitely romantic messages. Aaand it looks like we’re really looking for a guy. Why didn’t Tony tell us? He couldn’t have been worried our family wouldn’t approve that he fell for a guy, could he?”

  I paused on another message. In bed with the enemy... A gasp escaped my lips and I almost dropped the tablet.

  “What?” Dylan caught my arm to steady me.

  “The enemy,” I choked out. “VS.”

  “I don’t get it.” Michael gave me a blank look. “We don’t have any enemies who...”

  “Sebastian Viteri,” I said, feeling lightheaded. Oh, God. I hoped I was completely wrong and just jumping to conclusions, but...

  “What?” Dylan gaped at me as Michael jerked back. “No. No way. Why would Tony even talk to that guy and how would he have met him? You’re wrong.”

  “Aaron told me Sebastian preferred men. And he’s the only enemy I can think of that Tony wouldn’t want to tell us about.” I was dating Aaron, but after everything that had happened, my family certainly trusted him more than they would ever trust Sebastian. We’d have all told Tony to be careful around that guy, and Jason would’ve probably insisted he stayed away.

  We didn’t know much about Sebastian except that he’d somehow gotten back into Roberto’s good graces and possibly also made it into his will. What if Sebastian was using Tony for information? What if he was the one who took him so he could make his next move? He had to know Aaron wouldn’t just hand over the Viteris’ business and assets without a fight.

  “Oh, God. I need to call Aaron. We need to...” I said.

  “Octavia,” Dylan said. “You can’t be sure it’s him.”

  “I know, but... call Mom and Dad and tell them to get someone to trace these messages. We need to find that person, whoever he is, and if it’s Sebastian...” I closed my eyes for a moment. Why would my brother trust Sebastian just like that? They were supposed to meet in a public place in the free zone again, but there were no guarantees it wasn’t a trap. Surely Tony wouldn’t be so careless... But he’d known. Tony had known who he’d been talking to. There was no doubt about that. I placed the tablet on the table and grabbed my phone. “I’m calling Aaron.”

  As my shaky fingers danced over the screen, I took a deep breath that did nothing to calm me. Dylan and Michael were rushing to alert the rest of the family. As the phone rang, I chewed on my fingernails. If Sebastian was really the one who’d taken Tony or if Tony had gone with him willingly, we needed to get to him as soon as possible to make sure he was safe. I just hoped we wouldn’t be too late.

  “Aaron? Did you find Sebastian? It’s urgent,” I blurted out as soon as he answered.

  “No, he’s well hidden, but I have a way to contact him. I’m going to arrange a meeting with him tomorrow. I need to know where he stands and what he wants.”

  “Good. Contact him. Now. You need to meet with him as soon as possible, or find a way to track him down somehow. He might have my brother.”

  “What?” Surprise echoed from the other end of the line.

  “My brother was exchanging messages with someone under the name VS. I think it stands for Viteri Sebastian, because there’s talk about sleeping with the enemy, and my brother was secretive about this relationship and... What do you know about Sebastian? Do you think he’ll hurt my brother? Why would he even want to contact him? He already made that deal with Jason and sent him that video, but... We didn’t even talk about that. Where could he have gotten that video? Did only your father have it? Sebastian and Roberto might’ve been closer than we assumed. What if Sebastian wants revenge?”

  “No, I... I don’t know. I don’t remember much about him. I’m sorry. I guess he’s changed, since my father let him back into his life and gave him that video. I’ll try to get in touch with him immediately. We need to find out what he really wants. If he has your brother, we’ll get him back, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay. Just contact him and let me know as soon as you find out something.” I ended the call so he wouldn’t waste a second more.

  ***

  “I should be there with you,” I said to Aaron as our car was nearing an abandoned building in the free zone where Sebastian had agreed to meet with him.

  “You can’t. Sebastian insisted that he and I meet alone or he won’t talk.” Aaron’s face was serious, his neck corded.

  “But what if it’s a trap? What if he’s not really planning to talk but to attack you? If he wants to take over everything, he’ll want you out of the way, and if he has my brother and has done God knows what to him...” My voice was high pitched, and I breathed in slowly. I couldn’t afford to be nervous and flustered right now, but it was hard to stay calm when I knew nothing about my brother’s whereabouts.

  My parents’ contacts had tracked that dating site profile back to Sebastian, or at least to one of his known locations before he’d moved again so he wouldn’t be caught. We were always a step behind him, and by the time we figured out one of his locations, he was long gone.

  “It’s going to be fine.” Aaron gave me a reassuring smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “We agreed that Marco will check him for weapons or anything else before letting him inside the room we picked for our meeting, and Sebastian’s guard will search me. There’s a camera in the room, and you’ll be able to see what’s going on.”

  That was only a bit reassuring. “Why can’t we just wait for him somewhere? Capture him and question him? I know this is the free zone, but maybe no one would figure out or care if we...”

  “Octavia.” Aaron took my hand in his and squeezed gently. “We’re going to find your brother. I have a plan.”

  “Okay.” I trusted Aaron to do everything he could to find my brother.

  The car came to a stop, and I pulled out my gun before I got out. Maybe Aaron wasn’t supposed to have any weapons on him, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t. Aaron looked at me over the roof of the car after he got out, and gave me a small nod. He made his way toward Marco and a bulky bald guy with a bunch of tattoos. The guy had to be Sebastian’s guard, but Sebastian was nowhere in sight. Marco and the guard were standing in front of an open door that led into the darkness.

  I headed for the other door and found myself in a well-lit empty gray hallway. The door to my left was open and I peeked inside to make sure it was safe, then entered a small room with a desk and chairs. There was a big projector screen on one of the walls that must have been a leftover from the time when the building was still in use, and I could see the room where Aaron and Sebastian were supposed have their meeting. There were only two chairs and a desk in there. Nothing else. I took a seat in an uncomfortable old wooden chair and leaned my elbows on the desk in front of me, my eyes never leaving the screen.

  The door of the room on the screen finally opened and Aaron walked inside, followed by a tall guy with black hair and dark eyes. Sebastian was wearing a black suit, and I wasn’t surprised Tony had fallen for the guy. He was very handsome, with dark stubble accenting his face, and he held his back straight, his shoulders up.

  “Long time no see, Aaron,” Sebastian said, and Aaron extended his hand toward the desk. They both took a seat. The camera was placed so that it seemed as if I were sitting there with them.

  “I expected to see you at my father’s funeral,” Aaron said, his voice cold, his face impassive.

  “I don’t like funerals,” Sebastian said simply, clasping his hands in front of him.

  “Why did you come back here?” Aaron leaned forward. “I thought you had made a life for yourself somewhere far from here and didn’t give a damn about our family.”

/>   “I missed my hometown. Why is that so strange?” A ghost of a smile traced Sebastian’s lips.

  “And that just happened to be right after my father died?”

  “I thought about coming back sooner, but I had other arrangements.”

  “Like what? Making a deal with Jason Ferrara?” Aaron’s eyes narrowed at him. “I’m doing you a huge favor by meeting you here like this. I should kill you for what you did.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” Sebastian’s smile faded. “You did. It was your decision to go behind your father’s back and plan God knows what. Too bad your plan failed, but that’s not my problem.”

  Aaron’s jaw tensed. “What do you want?”

  “I want what’s mine.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “You know what. All the Viteris’ property and assets should belong to me.”

  “You think you can just walk in here after so much time and become a lord.” Aaron let out a laugh. “You know nothing about leading our business here. No one’s going to support you.”

  “And they’ll support you? After everything you’ve done? You’re a traitor to them, Aaron. They don’t look kindly on that.”

  “You made a deal with a Ferrara. How do you think they’ll look on that?” Aaron said through his teeth.

  “It won’t matter. They’ll see I’m the better choice. You’re right that I haven’t been here for a long time, but I’ve been watching carefully and tracking all the dealings around here. I’m sure I can manage better than you. You’re still too young, and it would be a shame if you ruined our family’s legacy.”

  Aaron’s body was like a tense cord, as if he was ready to jump Sebastian. But he didn’t do it, probably because he’d realized that was what Sebastian wanted. “And you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. You think everyone will be fine with you dealing with Jason Ferrara because it was to expose me, but what will they think about your little fling with Tony? You know how my father felt about your partner preferences.” An icy smile twisted Aaron’s lips. “My father surrounded himself with men who thought the same way as him. Last time I checked, Tony is a guy, and a Ferrara. I’m sure they’re going to love that. Or are you planning to kill him after fucking him?”

  The tightening around Sebastian’s eyes was the only reaction he showed. “What I do is none of your business, but please, use whatever you want against me. Let the better man win.” Sebastian started to get to his feet. “I have a lot of work to do, and if you want to stand a chance against me, maybe you should come up with a plan. You can’t always kill everyone who gets in your way or annoys you.”

  “We’ll see what happens.” Aaron stood up, and Sebastian merely smiled and headed for the door.

  I rose, my chair scraping loudly against the floor. Aaron hadn’t made a move to stop Sebastian. What the hell? Why hadn’t he pressured him more about Tony? Sebastian had to know something, and he was probably planning to use Tony to get what he wanted. His eyes probably weren’t just set on the Viteris’ business, but my family’s too.

  I ran through the door and into the hallway, but when I emerged outside, Sebastian had already climbed onto a motorcycle and was speeding away, leaving his bodyguard behind. That probably meant other guards would be waiting for him wherever he was going. My heart fell. Now what?

  Chapter 8

  “Why didn’t you ask where my brother is?” I glared at Aaron, who was focused on something on his phone, and I nearly ripped that thing out of his grasp and threw it away.

  “We need to find out if he’s the one who has Tony,” Aaron said. “And if he is, where he could’ve taken him. But there was something in his eyes when I mentioned your brother’s name that...”

  “Well, why did you let him go then?” I raised my voice. “You could’ve just fucking asked him! But instead you figured out from one look into his eyes that he doesn’t know where Tony is? Really?”

  “Do you think he would’ve told me the truth? I doubt it. If he wanted to use your brother to get something from me, he would’ve mentioned it. But if he’s planning to use him to get something from your family, then he’ll want to make sure we don’t find Tony before he makes his move. That means he’ll have to rush to make sure we haven’t already found him. He doesn’t know how I figured out about him and Tony. He was surprised about that.” Aaron tilted the screen of his phone toward me. “Marco managed to put a tracker on him while his guard couldn’t see.”

  “He’s going to figure that out,” I said. Although, maybe Aaron was right. If Sebastian had Tony and he didn’t want anything from Aaron, then he wouldn’t have told Aaron he had my brother. “You should’ve said I was here too and wanted to talk to him. If he wanted to make a deal with my family for Tony, he could’ve told me.”

  “He’s very careful when moving around here and hard to track down, but he doesn’t have many guards with him and he can’t risk contacting them. So if he wants to make sure I or anyone else haven’t gotten to Tony already, he’ll have to go himself to check if Tony’s still where he’s hidden him. If we follow him, we can figure out where that is. Come on.” Aaron glanced at the phone and then slid it into his pocket. He pointed at a motorcycle that I hadn’t noticed before that was parked near one of the trees. Someone must have brought it here while Sebastian and Aaron were having their meeting. We ran toward it, and Aaron handed me one of the helmets, which I immediately put on.

  “I hope you’re right about this,” I said. If we lost Sebastian and Aaron’s plan didn’t work, I didn’t know what I’d do. Sebastian probably had big plans, and he wasn’t going to allow anything to mess them up. How my brother figured in all of that was still a big question.

  We hopped onto the bike, and I wrapped my arms around Aaron as tightly as possible. A few moments later, we were rushing through the streets and weaving around the cars. Aaron’s phone was vibrating in his pocket, and I realized it vibrated twice shortly before Aaron turned left and once before he turned right. That was how Aaron knew where we were going.

  I looked around, wondering where Sebastian could be going. There weren’t many places where he could safely keep Tony around here without anyone seeing him. It still had to be somewhere in the free zone. Aaron slowed down as we neared the biggest park in the free zone, and then he stopped.

  “Why did you...?” I started to ask, but then I spotted Sebastian’s bike parked not far from us. “Did he ditch the bike and the tracker?”

  Aaron pulled out his phone. “He’s here. At the park.”

  I climbed off the bike and slid off the helmet, then turned to see if I could spot any building around here that would be good for keeping my brother hostage. There were too many apartment buildings and a few restaurants, but all the entrances were clearly visible. If Sebastian had wanted to drag Tony into one of these buildings, he would’ve had to do it in plain sight or to find another way in, and a secret entrance surely wasn’t at the park. Maybe he was just here to meet someone... I blinked at the street name that was right across from me. “What time is it?”

  Aaron lifted the phone toward me, showing me the clock, and my mouth fell open. No, it couldn’t be.

  “Tony was supposed to meet with him here at this time,” I said. “Do you think...?” But Tony wouldn’t have just run away and let us all worry so he could meet with Sebastian in secret, which meant... “What if someone else has my brother? What if they got to Tony before Sebastian could?”

  “Let’s find out.” Aaron started toward the park and I ran after him, my pulse speeding up. We slowed down and hid behind one of the trees with a bulky trunk.

  “There.” Aaron pointed at a figure who was pacing up and down and looking at his phone.

  “What’s he doing?” If I wasn’t wrong, Sebastian looked... almost worried.

  “I don’t know.” Aaron turned his head and pushed me aside, stepping in front of me. I looked over my shoulder in the direction he’d moved and realized Sebastian’s guard was standing across f
rom us, a gun peeking out from under the jacket that he had draped around his shoulders, and it was pointed at us.

  Aaron mumbled a curse. “Where did he come from? I swear he wasn’t there when I looked a moment before.” He lifted his hands up as I contemplated trying to reach for my gun, but I was sure the guard would see me and shoot Aaron or me before I could do anything. Fuck.

  “What are you going to do? Shoot a guy for walking around the park? In the free zone?” Aaron said to the guy, who was approaching slowly and glancing around to make sure there weren’t any witnesses. “You’re leaving your boss unprotected.”

  “I’m not the only one protecting him here,” the guard said with a smile. “Turn around, both of you, and walk toward my boss. Slowly. If you try to run or make a wrong move...” He waved with the gun.

  We had no choice but to obey. Sebastian lifted his head when he saw us, and his face turned into a mask of fury. He strode toward us and jabbed a finger into Aaron’s chest.

  “What the fuck did you do to him, huh? Where is he?” he yelled.

  “Where is who?” Aaron asked calmly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Her brother!” Sebastian’s eyes met mine, then flew back to Aaron’s. “Where’s Tony?”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” I snapped. “You have my brother, don’t you? What do you want with him? Stop playing games!”

  Sebastian blinked at me and stumbled back. “Oh, Aaron. I underestimated you. You figured it out and you took him, and now you want something in return, don’t you? And your lovely girlfriend has no idea about it.”

  “What?” My mouth fell open. “Aaron wouldn’t do that.”

  “She’s right,” Aaron said. “I wouldn’t.”

  “Am I supposed to believe that?” A vein throbbed in Sebastian’s neck. “You’re just like your father. You stop at nothing to get what you want. You kill whoever you want to without blinking. Cut the crap and tell me where he is!”