“Don’t be sorry, this isn’t on you. I’m feeling okay, really I am. I suffered some smoke inhalation and these right here are second degree burns. I may need a skin graft but we’ll have to see.” He remains hopeful with a smile and turns to Valencia. “I’m sorry this had to cut your birthday weekend short, Val.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, you don’t need to apologize!”
“What happened exactly?” I ask.
Lance grimaces when he attempts to push himself upright on the bed. I support his back while Valencia offers her hand. “Thanks, guys. Well, I went to the warehouse because I received an email from your account stating you needed assistance in the warehouse. I thought it was odd, especially because it was so early on a Saturday, and on Friday you were adamant about staying on Mercer for the weekend, but work is work and so I made my way there. The four of us all arrived at the same time so we walked up together and into the warehouse. We were waiting on what was supposed to be you, and out of nowhere, I started smelling this gasoline. Then there were massive explosions of fire. I…I couldn’t navigate myself out of there. Bryce had to virtually pull me out because the firefighters were struggling to get to us. I really have him to thank. He risked his life too. If it wasn’t for Bryce I really don’t think I would have made it…not from where I was in the building.”
Valencia and I share a glance.
Bryce?
We need to give credit where credit is due.
I let Lance know that I’m here for anything he needs, financial aid included, just like we told Kayla, and plan to tell both Bryce and my half-brother. “Thanks, man, but the one true thing I want for both of you is to find Addilyn. That’s all I want.”
It’s what we all need now.
Along with uncovering who the hell sent those emails and who’s behind all of this.
Marcus is lying in a hospital bed and staring up at the ceiling when we enter. He’s suffered a few first degree burns and is far less interested in our presence. He doesn’t seem to care or even notice when Valencia and I pull up two chairs beside his bed.
The room is so clinically white. The tension is thick and the shades are drawn, creating a dark stream of friction. He doesn’t react to our embraces. It’s as if we don’t exist. Even after all the arguments and firing him only for him to continue working as if nothing happened, I still care for him.
I still want the best for him.
Marcus’ dark eyes stare ahead, beyond us. “When we were younger, do you remember when we went on that vacation to Rhode Island with Dad and my mother?”
“Yes,” I pause. “Yes, Marcus I do. It was just before my eighteenth.”
“Then I must have been nine. Do you remember we fought over something? I don’t remember what now, probably something…stupid. I stormed off and didn’t know it, but you had followed me. I was sitting at the edge of the bay and slipped and you didn’t think twice about jumping in to save me, remember that?”
“I do.”
“And he did the same thing to save you. Isn’t that right, Valencia?”
She clears my throat beside me. “Yes, he did save me.”
“Exactly, he saved you. Your family. I’m not a fucking part of it. I’m not a part of anything. So why come all the way to check on me?” Marcus looks at me to emphasize his point, redness circling his eyes. “Huh?”
“First, you’re my brother, and second, somebody torched my company’s warehouse. How could we not check in?”
“We’re half-brothers. Being blood never made anything better between us.”
“We still fought the same battles!”
“Yeah, battles you created! The ones you fucking built the moment you killed our—”
I lean forward against the bed and cut him off in a hiss. “This is not the time or the place.”
“It is! You wanna know why? Because I’ve made up my mind. I don’t want to see you anymore. I don’t want to see any of you. I don’t want to be a part of your fucking family.”
The words leave me uneasy. After everything we’ve been through, and even though we’ve never been close, the last thing I want is to lose another person. I don’t want to lose him. “Marcus, those battles were created the moment our father cheated with your mother while mine was dying. I know it’s not your fault. I am not claiming that it is. However, you didn’t help the agony. Never did you stand by me. Not even once. You amplified it with your own mind games.”
Marcus swallows hard, glancing between Valencia and me with narrowed eyes. “I should have died today. You weren’t there to save me this time. It would have been easy.”
“Please don’t say those things, Marcus.”
“You don’t know a thing about me, Valencia! None of you do!”
“My wife knows you! I know you!” I growl, losing my patience. “We have always been here for you. Always. Even through the drugs and when the last thing we wanted to do was look each other in the eye. I adhered to your deal after that Thanksgiving night. I did everything you asked me to. I am still doing everything you ask me to!”
“Exactly! Why are you? Why are you always helping me? I’m a burden. That’s all I am.”
“Marcus—”
“I want to be alone.” His voice cracks as he shuts his eyes. “Please…just leave me alone.”
It kills me. I see the physical reaction in Valencia’s eyes. I feel my own composure break. She has always been there for him too. Despite it all, we have always been family.
My heart breaks and not only for myself. “I don’t know where I went wrong with you. I supported you with everything. The grief. The terrors. The obsessions. But this, you cutting me out of your life, I will not accept that.”
“Then maybe we should end this right here.”
“We will always be here for you when you need us.”
“I don’t need either of you, Giulio.”
Wow.
I stand at the edge of the bed and Valencia follows suit, massaging my tense shoulder blades through my coat. Marcus avoids our gazes. So, this is really it. All I can do is stare at Marcus helplessly. I feel all my past burdens let go. The moment I step out of the hospital room, this will be us giving up on mending our parents’ mistakes.
This is our brotherhood burning.
This is our goodbye.
“Let’s go. He wants to be alone,” my wife whispers.
It takes a moment but when I finally nod I know this is it.
Goodbye, Marcus.
We walk wordlessly into Bryce’s hospital room. Perhaps he can bring some light to this situation. All hope fades at one glance at him. Bryce looks stone cold. The usual spark in his bright green eyes is doused. There’s no smirk or sassy comment upon arrival. His dark brown hair is swept to one side, his skin has a reddish hue and he’s shirtless with a white bandage on his lower abdomen; alongside it, dark tattoos spread out across his chest and down his fully inked arms.
“Oh, Bryce!” His body tenses at Valencia’s concern. “Are you okay?”
He continues to stare into the distance with a nod. His jaw remains tight, frozen in time. Bryce saved Lance and that means a lot to me, so when I extend my hand, I don’t expect the wave of resilience as we complete the solid shake.
A moment in history passes between us.
We accept each other.
“I appreciate what you did back there. You’re a hero. Thank you. I really mean it, Bryce.”
Another nod. He probably just needs some rest after such a torturous morning.
Valencia reads my mind with a smile. “We’re going to go and give you some space. Please let us know if there is anything we can do at all, finances included.”
Why isn’t he saying anything?
I wish I could erase my frown when we say our goodbyes, but I can’t.
“I’m sorry, Valencia.”
We turn back to Bryce, the words seeming foreign coming from his lips.
“For?”
Bryce’s gaze snaps between us as he t
akes in a sharp breath. “For being part of the reason ya cut your celebration short. I know how much it meant for you to be with family.”
“You’re the second person that has apologized. None of this is your fault. What happened this morning was a tragic incident and the police will find whoever did it. We just want you to recover and get back to the Bryce McCarson we know and love.”
“This ain’t my fault.” Dropping his gaze to his hands, Bryce repeats Lencia’s words as a mutter to himself. “Not my fault.”
I’ve never seen him this low and it’s concerning. He’s always so lively and resilient. Then it dawns on me that I’ve never heard Bryce speak about any friends or family here in Seattle apart from those in Hoxton. Could it be that…he’s lonely? Or more vulnerable than we thought? Maybe he really does value his friendship with Valencia and me…maybe we’re all he has. He and I aren’t really close…but we’re something so that must count…Right?
“Hey, are you sure everything is okay?” I ask.
“Positive.” His voice doesn’t convince me.
Valencia and I silently communicate to stay a little longer with him. Perhaps he just needs some time to open up and tell us what’s on his mind.
“Thanks,” Bryce says in desperation. “Thank you both for being my only hospital visit.”
My lips part to respond when the door bursts open. Freezing air floats into the room from the hallway. The last thing I expect are two Seattle police officers. A male officer checks us over and the other is a woman who marches towards Bryce, flashing her shiny badge awfully close to his face.
“Bryce McCarson, you’re under arrest for the alleged arson of Notti Designs Warehouse. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say or do will be used against you. Do you understand?”
My heart drops.
Bryce is…
What?
What is going on?
“Aye! What the hell do ya mean?” Bryce retaliates against the officer’s handcuffs. “I didn’t do it! I swear! I didn’t do anything!”
“Anything you do or say will be held against you. Do you understand?”
Bryce shakes his head. Only now does his entire body come alive. His eyes widen in shock as he turns to Valencia and me. “You’ve gotta believe me! It’s not me! I didn’t do it! I wouldn’t do something like that!”
The male officer steps between us, blocking us from a hysterical Bryce. “I’m going to need you both to step out, Mr. and Mrs. Giannotti.”
“He didn’t do this. I can see it in his eyes.”
Me defending Bryce?
Now, this is new but it feels right.
There’s absolutely no motive for Bryce to cause the fire. It was Lance who only just stated he was right there with him when all hell broke loose, and Valencia and Bryce have become so close during these last couple of weeks. I have to listen to my gut instinct.
Bryce could not have done this.
He did not do this.
“If it were that easy, you would be doing our job for us.”
The initial shock doesn’t subside during our drive home. It transforms into a glass jar of emotions that explodes every single time I relive the moment the police stepped inside Bryce’s room. The genuine shock in his eyes. His resistance. His pleas.
“He’s been set up!” Valencia says. “They must have found some evidence but it must be planted or circumstantial. Who would do that?”
“I have no idea. I need to call my attorney for him.” I touch on the brakes as we approach a red light. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“I only hope they find who really did this because I feel bad for him. He’s suffered a lot. Maybe something to do with his past…with his dad never being there. Would Marcus know Bryce’s whole story?”
“Even if Marcus did, he doesn’t want to talk to us now.” I pull her hand over the console and kiss it. “And Bryce doesn’t strike me as the type of guy who talks to his friends like that.”
“So, you’re saying you believe at times the humor and confidence is a façade?”
“That’s what I suspect. Only time will tell, my gorgeous girl, only time.”
Valencia smiles through the chaos and is about to say something when her phone begins blaring. “It’s an unknown number…”
“Put in on speaker.”
A second passes. “Hello?”
“Mrs. Giannotti, I have a message to pass to you.” The voice is distorted. Shit. It must be one of the men still on the run from the other ransom call. The same ones who stole and burned my vehicle, kidnapped my kids, and attempted to drown Valencia.
What the hell is happening?
Valencia hunches forward in the passenger seat. “Who are you?”
“Mrs. Giannotti, are you listening?”
“You will pay. You will pay for all of this!” she grits, beyond frustrated.
“What do you want?” I growl into the phone seconds after Valencia’s threat. My grip tightens on the heated leather wheel. “Why don’t you just show yourself? Huh? Why don’t you just grow some fucking balls and own up to everything you’ve done?”
“I have Addilyn, Mr. Giannotti. You should not talk to me like that. Not when you’re driving around in your new car with that irresistible wife of yours. The fire…the letters…the kidnappings…You have no idea what types of things I can orchestrate. Understood?”
Valencia’s mouth drops and I flick my gaze to my rear-view. My heart, I can’t fucking feel it. Nobody seems suspicious. Nobody is on their phone. Nothing is out of place.
But the person is out there.
I just know it.
I can fucking feel it.
“You’re not even close, Giulio. Admit it, we know how to play this game better than you can both ever imagine. You won’t beat us. This game was practically made for us. Imagine that…”
“What the hell do you want from my family?” I hiss into the phone, blood heating my face. “Where the hell are you? Who the hell are you? FUCKING SAY SOMETHING!”
“Listen, is Addilyn okay? Please. We will give you anything, please—”
Laughter interrupts Valencia’s sentence. Haunting laughter that makes my core tighten. “So impatient. Remember, we control this game. The next move is made when and how we want it. You have twenty-four hours to find her. Twenty-four hours and then Addilyn Giannotti is no longer. Only twenty-four hours. Time starts…now.”
“Don’t—”
The call ends, leaving Valencia and I searching each other’s faces in dismay.
Fuck.
Valencia
The paranoia kicks in instantly.
Giulio and I spend the entire day attempting to come up with theories. There is only one issue. We can never settle on the culprit or culprits involved. We don’t believe Bryce lit that fire. He couldn’t have, not after we’ve grown so close in the last two months.
I notify Sergeant Flynn straight after the call from Addilyn’s kidnapper and the stakes regarding the investigation are raised again. Twenty-four hours…I need my baby back.
Even when evening falls and there are still no leads, the thought of running out of time is not a possibility. It won’t go that way. We will find Addilyn. Our hope has to amount to something.
Just before midday, Giulio and I received a call from SPD stating they have arrested two of the men who allegedly attacked me. Both names are unfamiliar. But there were more than two people in the room. I just feel it…
Seattle and Mercer Island Police are doing their best with zero clues and no verbal cooperation from the two men they arrested. It gets worse when they state they cannot track the number who called us as it was a burner phone. It forces us to take a whole step back with less than nineteen hours to go.
It’s 2 P.M on this detrimental Saturday afternoon. Something needs to save us before 9 A.M. tomorrow. It’s déjà vu, only this time Giulio and I are a team.
I feel better knowing the security at our Mercer Island home now consists of two m
en keeping guard at the same time instead of one.
Relief floods me when Kayla calls to notify us that she’s been released from hospital. She wishes us all the best while she recovers at home with Zac who flew in to see her.
It’s different this time for me. No tears fall during this whole ordeal. The fatigue, anti-depressants, and bittersweet moments of the past few weeks have finally caught up with me and all I want is an end to this madness. I don’t want any more tears—I just want Addilyn.
“So you knew about this house too?”
Helena grins as she finishes braiding Daisy’s hair. Daisy thanks her mother and runs off to play with her brother and cousin. “Sure did. Giulio made me join him to preview it. This confident husband of yours turns into a nervous wreck when he wants to please you.”
“Shhh, we all have our weaknesses.” Giulio chuckles and pecks my cheek. “It just so happens to be that Valencia is mine. Isn’t that right, amore?”
“And you’re mine.”
“Well, now that we’ve established that you two are made for each other, can we talk about the elephant in the room?” my sister mocks playfully. “I’m thirty and nowhere near being in the dirty club!”
No. Way!
“Oh my god! You read the card?”
“It may or may have not slipped out of the closed drawer and into my hand.”
“Look at her!” I turn to Giulio with a wide grin. “We’ve got our own Sherlock Holmes on our hands. Helena Holmes. The funny thing is that’s actually your last name, haha!”
“Yeah, it’s a good thing Ben Holmes was my weakness.” Her smile flattens as she sighs sharply. “I still feel a little guilty I jumped in with Marcus and lost myself for a little while.”
Giulio purses his lips. “From experience, I know grief does not have a time limit. You’re a smart woman and your decisions are valid. You made them for a reason and that reason doesn’t have to equal guilt.”
“You’re right. I just…I don’t know. It’s been seven years since he passed and I feel like I’m ready to find love again. Other days, the whole idea scares me to death. That’s why I thought something casual with Marcus would…help…but, well, you both know how that went.”
Merciful Vows: A Bittersweet Second Chance Romantic Suspense (The Giannotti World Book 1) Page 41