You Belong With Me

by Kristen Proby

  Less than an hour later, Rocco returns to the apartment with an older man that looks just like him. With his dark hair slicked back, dressed in a dark suit with a dark shirt, and the signature mafioso ring on his right little finger, this man screams mafia boss.

  I glance down and see Elena shrink against me as if she’s a scared little girl afraid of the bogeyman.

  And that pisses me right off, igniting more anger in me than I’ve felt even in the time we’ve been here. Even after Carmine threatened my family.

  “Uncle Carlo,” Elena says and lifts her chin, but she doesn’t pull away from me.

  The man stops in front of us. His face is stern, but his dark eyes soften as he stares at the woman he hasn’t seen in many years.

  “Little one,” he says and immediately tugs Elena into his arms for a firm hug. “Oh, how I’ve missed you, sweet girl.”

  In her shock, she doesn’t hug him back right away, but then her arms encircle him, and she holds on tightly.

  “Are you surprised?” he asks when he finally pushes her away.

  “Shocked,” she admits.

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong. We’ll be having a stern conversation before the night is out, but for right this minute, I want to look at you. You’re a beautiful woman, Elena. And a smart one.”

  He pats her cheek and then walks away without even acknowledging that I’m standing here.

  “Maybe too smart,” he continues. “However, you underestimated me. You see, Elena, I’ve known where you were since the minute you left Seattle eight years ago.”

  Elena’s eyes grow wide, and Carmine rounds on his father.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Carmine demands. “You knew? Why would you send us off on some wild goose chase if you already knew where she was? I just wasted weeks of my life.”

  Carlo is impassive as he stares at his eldest son. “Because, my dear boy, you have to earn my trust back.”

  He dismisses Carmine and turns back to Elena.

  “You know there’s a price to pay for deserting the family the way you did.”

  “Grandma sent me away,” Elena replies. “For my own safety.”

  “That wasn’t her call to make,” he says easily. “She wasn’t in a position to make those decisions. Do you think the men she called to help with your arrangements didn’t immediately report back to me? They were my employees, not hers.”

  “Then if you knew where I was, why didn’t you come for me before now?” Elena asks.

  “Because I didn’t have a need for you. You were safe, and I kept an eye on you.”

  She narrows her eyes. “I’ve seen black SUVs around town, but I always brushed them off.”

  Carlo smiles. “See? I told you, you’re a smart girl. We kept tabs on you, watched out for you. That break-in you had a few weeks ago was unfortunate. I suppose boys will be boys.”

  “Holy shit,” Elena whispers.

  “So, yes. I knew you were safe, and I didn’t need you, so I left you be. You’d endured enough at the hands of your father, piece of shit that he was.”

  On that, we could agree.

  “So, why now?” Elena asks. “What do you need from me now?”

  “Why, nothing. But you came to the funeral. Mistake number one.” He strides across the room and sits on a stool by the kitchen island, leaning an elbow on it as he turns to us conversationally. “I knew the minute you left Bandon with your little friend here.”

  His eyes turn to me.

  “And I’ll get to you in a moment. I was surprised when I didn’t see you in the crowd at the church, but I was busy mourning my mother-in-law and seeing to the service. I would have left things alone and let you return to Bandon and live your life for a while.

  “But Carmine recognized you.”

  Carmine shakes his head and rubs his hand over his mouth in frustration. He’s seething. All three brothers look as if they’re ready to kill their father themselves.

  “So,” he continues, “I couldn’t very well brush it off, could I? And, I’ll be honest, it didn’t sit well with me when I found out that Archer had found you.”

  He turns to me now, his eyes cool.

  “You’ve been an issue for my family for way too long, Mr. Montgomery.”

  “Uncle Carlo—”

  “But I’ll expand on that in a moment. First, there are consequences for what you did, Elena. A price to pay for leaving and for doing so much in your power to stay gone, as if you don’t want any part of us at all.”

  “I don’t,” she says and crosses her arms over her chest.

  “Well, I’m sorry to hear that. Now—”

  “I’ll take her punishment,” Carmine says. “It’s my fault that she’s here. I’ll take it.”

  Carlo takes a deep breath. “Noble. But no, that’s not possible. You know that’s not how this works. You have to dole out the punishment, my boy.”

  “You won’t touch her,” I say, speaking for the first time since he walked into the room. “I’ll take her punishment.”

  “Brave,” Carlo says, his eyes brightening as he thinks it over. “And this becomes an all new ballgame.

  “No.” Elena takes my hand in hers. “Archer, no.”

  “I accept,” Carlo says, watching Elena. “But you won’t get off scot-free, little one. No, your punishment is that you have to watch. Every moment. Every single thing that’s done, you’ll watch, and you won’t beg for it to stop.”

  “Uncle Carlo—”

  “It’s settled.” He motions to his sons. “Clear the room and tie him up, then we’ll get started. There’s no time like the present.”

  Chapter 20

  ~Elena~

  No. No no no no no. This is my worst nightmare come to life. I watch in horror as Rocco and Carmine move the furniture to the edges of the room, and then Shane places a kitchen chair in the middle.

  “Have a seat,” Carmine says, gesturing to the chair.

  “No. Please, no.” I grab onto Archer’s arm, but he turns to me, frames my face in that special way he does, and smiles down at me.

  “Hey, it’s okay, E. Everything’s going to be okay.” He kisses me softly and then turns away, sitting in the chair. Before Rocco can even start tying his hands down at his sides, securing them to the legs of the chair, Shane hauls off and punches Archer in the face.

  “Jesus,” I mutter and crush my fist to my mouth.

  “It’ll be over before you know it,” Uncle Carlo says with a wink. “Now, I won’t tie you up unless you do something stupid like run in there and get yourself hurt. Stay on this stool.”

  I can’t move. I want to. Everything in me screams to run to him, to cover him with my body so I can absorb the beating and not him.

  But if I do, I’ll only make things worse for him.

  So, I stay put and feel my eyes glaze over as Rocco pulls a bullwhip out of a gym bag.

  “No,” Carmine says, glancing at me. “Not the whip.”

  “Why the fuck not?” Rocco asks.

  “Show them,” Carmine demands. I shake my head no, but he advances on me, spins me around, and pulls up the back of my shirt.

  “What the fuck is this?” Uncle Carlo exclaims. “Did this prick do this to you?”

  “Of course, not,” I growl, turning to my uncle with a glare. “My father did it.”

  He sputters, and his face flushes with fury as I yank my shirt down and turn back around. His jaw tightens, and he merely nods at my cousins.

  Rocco tosses the whip aside but pulls a hammer out of the bag instead. Archer’s eyes don’t leave mine as Rocco rears his arm back and brings the hammer down on Archer’s hand, smashing it against the leg of the chair.

  “Motherfucker,” Archer growls, his body shaking in pain and anger, but he still doesn’t look away from me. It’s as if he’s soaking in my strength, my love for him, to use as a shield against what’s about to come.

  The three of them take turns, punching and kicking him until he’s a bloody, swollen mess
, breathing hard and sweating profusely.

  I glare at all three of my cousins, silently damning them to hell for putting Archer through this insane pain.

  But Archer doesn’t cry out again. He winces, but he never once begged for the torture to stop. Archer pants hard, his tanned skin streaked with his blood and sweat. His head begins to fall forward in exhaustion.

  “Well. Now he’s ready,” Uncle Carlo says with a smile. “Untie him and let’s see what he has left in him. If he fights back and manages to survive the beating, I’ll let him live.”

  “You’ll do better than that,” Archer says with a growly voice. “You’ll let me marry Elena.”

  Uncle Carlo’s face transforms from agreeable to rage in an instant.

  “Who do you think you are to tell me what I’ll agree to?”

  “I’m taking her punishment for leaving eight years ago,” Archer continues, not retreating from my uncle in the least. “If I win this fight, you’ll give us your blessing to marry. This is more than a decade in the making, Carlo, and you know it. We’ve earned it.”

  I’m watching Archer’s face as he struggles to breathe through the pain, blood dripping down his cheek from the side of his swollen eye. His dark hair is wet with sweat, and his naked torso gleams in the light from the setting sun behind him.

  “Let’s see if you win first,” Uncle Carlo sneers and nods at my cousin Shane to untie Archer.

  We’re surrounded by my family, all of them hell-bent on torturing Archer. On keeping us apart.

  But after more than ten years, I’m done being without him.

  While the cousins untie him, Archer’s gaze never leaves mine.

  I love you, he mouths.

  I love you, too, I mouth back.

  Finally, his hands are free, and he pushes to his feet.

  “Rocco,” Uncle Carlo says. “Take care of him.”

  The three gang up on him, but when Carmine and Shane hold his arms so Rocco can punch him, Archer uses the two brothers as leverage to kick up his legs and knock Rocco out.

  My cousin falls in a heap on the floor, unconscious.

  I feel Uncle Carlo shift next to me, and we watch silently as Shane throws a punch. Archer deflects, captures Shane’s hand, and while bending it back until there’s a loud snap, Archer punches the heel of his injured hand into Shane’s nose, sending him falling to the floor, as well.

  “Maybe we underestimated you,” Carmine says, wiping at the sweat dripping from his forehead.

  “In more ways than you realize.” Archer’s voice is hard and gravelly, filled with determination and grit. Hope fills my belly when Carmine moves to punch Archer, but he deflects. Archer is going to win this! We’re going to leave here and be together.

  But Carmine rounds on Archer and tags him from behind. He wraps his arm around Archer’s neck and holds him in a headlock. Both men grunt from the exertion, their skin red. Archer’s face is turning purple. My God, I want to run to him, help him. Carmine could kill him!

  “Don’t.” That’s all Uncle Carlo says.

  And then I watch in fascination as Carmine leans in and whispers something in Archer’s ear.

  We can’t hear what is said, but the next thing I know, Archer grips the arm around his throat with his good hand and pulls down hard, then flings his head back and connects with Carmine’s nose, sending blood spraying everywhere as Carmine falls to the floor.

  Archer stands in the middle of the room, chest heaving, eye swollen shut, and covered in blood. But his eyes are on me as he says, “I win.”

  I wait. I want to beg Uncle Carlo to do the right thing. I know that he’s a good man deep down. I felt the love he had for me when he wrapped me in his arms.

  Uncle Carlo rubs his hand over his chin and watches Archer thoughtfully, ignoring the groans coming from his sons on the floor.

  “Carmine was right, we did underestimate you. I’ll concede that you won.”

  “I’m taking Elena, and we’re leaving. We’re leaving. She won’t ever see you again.”

  “I won’t agree to that,” Uncle Carlo replies. “You know that’s not possible. She can never leave. It’s been a hard lesson to learn.”

  He turns his eyes to me.

  “I’ll allow you to marry, if that’s what she wants.”

  My heart soars. Is this really happening? But then the reality of it hits me right between the eyes.

  “I can’t.” I turn to Archer. “I can’t let you get sucked into this. Maybe we can run and hide again.”

  “We’re done running,” Archer says and hobbles to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “No more hiding. No more. There’s not much I can do for you, Carlo.”

  “You’d be surprised,” my uncle replies with a thin smile. “I’ll approve of this match, with the understanding that if and when I need you, I’ll call on you, and you’ll answer. If you hide from me, we’ll find you. And it won’t end as well as it did for you today.”

  “I told you,” Archer says, “I’m done hiding. But I have a condition of my own.”

  My uncle’s eyes narrow, but he doesn’t say anything as Archer continues.

  “You’ll leave my family alone. They have no part in this, and you’ll never hold them over my head again. My family is as important to me as yours is to you, Carlo.”

  He waits for a heartbeat, and then Uncle Carlo nods once. “Agreed.”

  Without another word, Archer and I walk to the door. I glance back at my cousins on the floor, but Uncle Carlo is already on the phone, calling in the medical team that he keeps on the payroll to help.

  “Where are we going?” I ask once the elevator doors close, and Archer leans heavily on the wall. “My God, you can hardly stand.”

  “Get me home.”

  “I’m going to get you to a hospital, that’s where I’m taking you.”

  “No.” He shakes his head and then grimaces. “Home. I’ll make some calls.”

  “Archer—”

  “For once, just do as you’re told, Elena.”

  I want to yell at him and maybe smack him for having the audacity to speak to me like that, but I can’t argue because he just leans his head on mine and sighs.

  “I love you, babe. Was worried I might not walk out of there.”

  “I love you, too.”

  We’re at Archer’s house in West Seattle, and he’s been in and out of consciousness.

  I don’t know what to do, so I call Anastasia from Archer’s landline.

  “I need your help,” I say immediately and tell her about Archer’s condition. “He won’t let me take him to the hospital. I’m worried his hand is broken, and I think he might have a concussion. What am I going to do?”

  “Sit tight,” she says brusquely. “I’ll be there with a doctor in less than thirty minutes.”

  She hangs up, and I run a washcloth under ice-cold water, then press it to Archer’s forehead. He’s burning up.

  “I called your sister,” I say softly. “I’m so worried. Why won’t you go to the hospital?”

  “Too many questions,” he mutters. “I’ll heal. Had worse.”

  “Yeah, right.” But he’s done what he likely intended and made me smile. “She said she’ll be here in a few with a doctor.”

  “Jase,” he says. “Lia’s brother-in-law. Surgeon.”

  “Good.” I dab at his wounds with the rag. He needs more attention than I can give him here with no supplies.

  He’s just drifted off again when the doorbell rings. I sprint downstairs and fling open the door, relieved to see Anastasia and a man holding a medical bag.

  “Where is he?”

  “In the bedroom.”

  They both step inside, and Jase takes off up the stairs.

  “That’s Jase,” Anastasia says before pulling me in for a massive hug. “He’s a doctor.”

  “Archer told me.” I hug her back, just as fiercely. “Hi.”

  “Oh my God, it’s so good to see you. I was afraid I’d never see you again.” />
  “I know.” I pull back and take her in. “Wow. You’re not a kid anymore.”

  “Neither are you.” She smiles and we walk to the couch, where we sit and hold each other’s hands. “What happened?”

  “So much.” Everything pours out of me. Archer finding me. Falling back in love with him. Getting caught in Bandon and being hauled back here. Everything that happened over the past two days. “I’m so sorry. He’s broken and hurting up there because of me. And that’s the last thing I ever wanted to happen, Stasia. It’s why I broke it off all those years ago because I was afraid of exactly this happening. They could have killed him.”

  “But they didn’t,” she says, covering my hand with her own. “And he’s strong. Besides, now you can be together without hiding.”

  “I don’t know.” I shake my head slowly. “I’ve been thinking about it since we left the apartment. Uncle Carlo said we could be together, but only if Archer agreed to be a part of the family and do whatever needs to be done when Uncle Carlo needs him. I can’t ask that of him. I don’t want him to get swept up in my family. I think it’s best if I make sure Archer’s well, and then I leave again.”

  Anastasia’s eyes are narrowed as she listens, and then she blows out a gusty breath.

  “Have you lost your fucking mind?” she demands. “First of all, if you run again, he’ll just find you. Or I will and beat the snot out of you. Second of all, if you break my brother’s heart again, I’ll still beat the snot out of you.”

  “You’ve become very violent since I last saw you.”

  “You mess with my brother, and you bet your ass, sister. You weren’t there to pick up the pieces after you broke up with him before. I was. It was horrible. And then when he found out why you ended it, and went on a bender, singing songs in my husband’s family’s bar? Yeah, it wasn’t pretty.”

  “He told me. I wish I’d seen the singing part.”

  “No, you don’t. It was embarrassing as hell. Then he was like a man possessed. Whenever he had a spare minute, he was searching for you. He loves you so much he risked his life today to be with you. And you’re ready to walk away from that? Jesus, Elena, I hate to ask just what your standards are in men if this isn’t good enough for you.”