by Haley Ladawn
“I guess we’ll find that out soon when he decides whether he wants to rescue you, or let you die. Either way, I’ll be killing one of my brothers tonight.” He smiled, giving Elisa the faintest glance before stepping over toward Margo. “Go get the camera, babe.”
She kissed him once on the lips, before running up the stairs on the furthest side of the room. I was hoping she would trip and fall, but that didn’t happen.
“If you’re using us to draw them out,” I looked over at Daniel who was staring at Emmet with wide, fearful eyes. “What’s he doing here?”
“Oh, right! Thanks for reminding me, I almost forgot! This is my favorite part…” He waved at Daniel, long enough to get his attention. As soon as he had it, he pulled a black gun from his pocket and shot him right between the eyes. The bullet hit his temple with Earth shattering precision, like he’d done this a hundred times before. “That was supposed to be your mom, Lily, but she’s already dead.”
A shriek escaped my parted lips, one loud enough to wake up Elisa. Her horrified eyes met mine with a glimmer of sadness shining through them. I couldn’t focus on her, emotionally or physically, as my own eyes were clouded with burning tears.
“There’s plenty of more bullets where that came from.” Emmet blew on the gun, putting it back his pocket. His eyes swiped over Elisa, abandoning her tired silhouette quickly, settling on my own heaving body. “Who do you think killed your mother, Lily? You know, most obsessions end in death, right? Elliot killed your mother. You know it, I know it. But what’s worse, Lily? The fact that he killed your mother, or the fact that you’re in love with him?”
Chapter 31: Kill Them with Kindness
I should’ve been more afraid, but something snapped in me after Emmet killed Daniel, leaving his poor body slumped in the seat next to mine. It wasn’t just my wrist that was fractured. It was my sanity too. I had reached the point of no return, knowing that I’d never be the same girl again.
I might as well have been dead, right along with my mother and father.
Emmet held a digital camera in his large hands, focusing the lens on me. I wasn’t in the mood to get my picture taken, but he was standing in front of me like he was the damn paparazzi. Several bright flashes later, he finally moved the camera away from my dirty, raw body.
“You’re not really that photogenic,” he murmured, looking back at the pictures he’d just taken. “I don’t know what my brother sees in you.”
I ignored him, knowing that he only wanted to get a rise out of me.
“Do you think I should send him some nude photos of you?” He grabbed the collar of my shirt roughly, pulling me up to meet his face. “Elliot would like that, wouldn’t he?”
“I’m sure you would like it more, you fucking creep!” I yelled as I jerked back, headbutting him in the forehead. I didn’t care about the repercussions of my actions anymore.
“Fica!” he groaned, clasping his hand to the place I’d just struck him. Before I realized it, his fist came swinging back in my direction, hitting the side of my jaw. He had one powerful right hook, causing my head to fall back from the force of his hit. “Fottiti!”
I turned my head back around to look at him, fearless of what he might do next. Something must have been truly broken inside of me because I didn’t care.
“I should kill you right here and now, mignotta.” He gave me a wry, corrupted smile. “But I look forward to killing you in front of my brother. I wonder if he’ll even try to stop me. I think he’ll just be happy that I’m disposing of you.”
When I failed to reply to him, he went on by saying. “You are trash after all. Your own father didn’t even want you.”
“My father was mentally ill, just like you,” I said through clenched teeth, looking him right in his pale blue eyes. His eyes were dark pools of charm and insanity, capturing me in every way possible.
“I may be crazy, but at least I’m not stupid.” He took a step closer to me, grabbing a strand of my messy hair. He twirled it around his index finger slowly, breathing heavily on my neck to the point where I could smell alcohol on his breath. “You’re falling in love with my brother. You’re falling in love with a man that threatened to kill you. I bet you haven’t even once questioned why he’s been so hot and cold with you.”
Once again, I didn’t say anything.
“Falling in love isn’t what makes you stupid, no, it’s believing that he could ever be in love with you, too.” He let go of my hair, letting it fall against my face softly. “I said that my brother was obsessed with you, not that he was in love with you. He could never be fully in love with you, Lily, because a part of him has always hated you, hated what you made him do.”
“What did I make him do, Emmet?” I asked, gripped by his words. I’d tried to ignore him, but he’d done well enough to get my attention. He had me right where he wanted me. “Tell me.”
“That’s not my story to tell, sweetie.” His lips upturned into a grin that made me sick. “Maybe I’ll let him live long enough to tell you, sì?”
“Or maybe he’ll kill you before you get the chance to kill him.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” He backed away from me, his posture calm and relaxed. “It would do you good to realize that the only thing that’s as strong as love is hate. They’re codependent on each other. You can’t have one without the other. Maybe a part of Elliot could love you, but there will always be a dark part of him that despises you. Much like a part of you despises him.”
My lips remained shut, not because I was biting my tongue, but because he was right for once.
Emmet left soon after he took photos of us. I assumed he went to email Elliot and Everet the photos as some kind of sick proof that he would dispose of us if they didn’t show up. I figured that message would go straight to the trash bin if Elliot read it first.
I didn’t have much faith in him. I didn’t have much faith in anyone. Not even myself.
When I was first with Elliot, I wanted to get away. Then, I wanted to stay. Now, I didn’t know what the fuck I wanted. If he was the one who killed my mother, I wanted him to show his face here. Not so his brother could kill him, but so I could.
If he wasn’t the one who hurt my mother, I never wanted to see him again. If I did see him, I knew it would be the last time I’d ever see him. If I didn’t kill him, his brother was going to, plain and simple.
For whatever fucked up reason, Emmet truly hated his brothers, and I’d seen that kind of hate before. It was the same kind of resentment that my father had for our family. It was the same kind of abhorrence that caused my father to destroy his own family, much like Emmet was planning to do with his.
Connor stood in the corner, cursing like a sailor whose ship hit an iceberg. I think he was beginning to doubt his actions, wondering if two lives were worth the price of one. I used to think everyone’s life was invaluable, but after meeting Emmet and knowing my father, I realized that some people were truly worthless.
“Connor Michael Rhodes,” Elisa grunted, shaking her head in disappointment. “You’re one dumb son of a bitch. You know that, right?”
“He took Gabriel and I fucking panicked.” Connor took a step closer toward us, trying to get a better look at our bruised bodies. His facial features twisted into something grim when he noticed the marks on Elisa’s face. They were deep and gory, obviously needing medical attention. “He said he wasn’t going to hurt you guys! Goddamn it!”
“The bad guy always say that.” Elisa’s lips curled into a rueful smile.
“Once Elliot and Emmet show up, everything is going to be fine. I’ll have Gabriel back, and you two will be let go,” Connor said with full confidence. I couldn’t tell if it was genuine confidence, or if it was confidence from the meth pulsing through his veins.
“Emmet is a fucking psycho. He pulled the trigger on Daniel, like it was nothing and he’ll do it again.”
“They won’t kill him,” Elisa said absentmindedly, breaking up our con
versation. Her voice was soft and delicate, like she was talking in her sleep. “Family is too important to them. It wouldn’t matter if he was the most mentally fucked up person on this planet. They would never kill him. It’s family first and it always has been that way.”
“You are family. We are family.” Connor clenched his teeth, sighing. “You’re just as much their family as you are mine. Either way, Everet won’t let anything happen to you.”
“He has before.” There was an ounce of heartbreak hidden in her words.
“Let me go talk to Emmet and see what he’s planning. I need to find out where Gabriel is,” Connor spoke up, inhaling a deep breath. His eyes were glossed over with hatred, but I knew that hatred was only for himself. “I’ll be back.”
“When people say that… they never come back.” Elisa looked at her little brother one last time with pain in her eyes.
“I’ll be back,” Connor repeated sternly, sounding sure of himself. I knew that was just his exterior presence. He was freaking out on the inside. We all were.
***
Hours passed without word from Connor, causing indefinite silence to swarm in the darkness. Elisa didn’t talk much and I couldn’t blame her. Her brother was gone and there was a chance that he was never coming back. Then, there was the fact that every muscle in her face was probably searing with an unthinkable amount of pain.
“I know right now isn’t the ideal time or place.” She let out a cough and then winced from the discomfort in caused. “But if we’re going to die down here, I’d rather not die as a traitor. I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever done to you. I’m sorry for telling Justin Greenwald that you liked him in the second grade. I’m sorry for ditching you in middle school to sit at the popular table. Most importantly, I’m sorry for ever agreeing to help Elliot get to you. Now, he’ll be the death of you, just like Everet will be the death of me.”
“Like Connor said, my life was doomed from the start.” I let out an ironic laugh, shaking my head in disbelief. “The man who brought me into this world wanted to take me out of it. You could say I’m used to being betrayed.”
“Well, if by some miracle we get out of this, you can sleep better at night knowing that he’s dead.” She replied thoughtfully— genuinely. “Everet told me that your father was killed by someone involved with the mafia years ago. I wanted to tell you sooner, but sometimes the past needs to stay in the past. It can be better that way.”
“Yeah,” I said more to myself than her, thinking about the logistics of the situation. My brother had killed my father. It was as simple as that. “I forgive you.”
This wasn’t just to Elisa. It was to everyone. I even forgave myself.
“Thank you.” Elisa coughed again, but I could see the smile in her eyes. “I can die without feeling like such a bitch now.”
I gave her the faintest smile I could muster. “Do you really believe that Everet isn’t going to come for you?”
She paused, shifting in her seat uncomfortably. Several moments of long silence followed, making me think that she wasn’t going to respond.
“Everet was never my knight in shining armor. He wasn’t my savior, he was my undoing, just like I was his.” Her breathing slowed as she turned her head to face me.
She hesitated, clearing the lump in her little throat. “I don’t want him to save me, Lily, I’m unable to be saved. I just hope that he can save our daughter.”
“You’re—”
“Pregnant,” she finished for me, the sad smile in her eyes growing brighter.
“Does he know?” The words barely left my lips as shock settled into my body, leaving me in a state of paralysis.
“No and now he never will,” she answered forlornly, looking toward the dirty ground. “I wanted it to be a surprise, you know? Like drop little hints, until he realized it for himself. I left a baby’s rattle in his office, and he thought it was a cat toy.”
“You should try a playpen next time,” I said sarcastically, trying to my best to console her. Suddenly, she had a lot more to lose than I did.
“He’ll just think it’s a cage for my cat.” She gave me a pained smile, laughing to herself. “Everet studied to be a chemist in college, but he can’t take a hint for the life of him.”
“Boys are stupid.” I grinned sardonically, although I wasn’t sure how much of my response was sarcastic.
“Don’t be so sexist, fiorella.” I heard a familiar voice say from behind me. “It’s not very nice.”
My heart skipped a beat as the deep, taunting voice flooded through my ears, causing me to cock my head to the side. His slight Italian accent gave me an array of hope, but I knew it could all be a façade.
“Is that you, Elliot?” I raised my eyebrows, teetering on the edge of happiness and sorrow. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the answer.
“Guilty as charged, gattina.” I felt a strong, calloused hand touch mine and then the cold end of a blade brush against my skin. I was on the verge of screaming when the knife slid upwards, freeing me of the restraints on my wrist. “Happy to see me, yes?”
As I stood up on weak knees, I noticed a brawny silhouette standing close to Elliot. I feared that it was Emmet, but the dark hair with reddish hues revealed that it was only my brother. He was bent down next to Elisa, working on the ties that bound her tiny wrists. Within a matter of seconds, she was free herself. Despite the lacerations on her face, she stood tall and unaffected, like the strong woman she tried desperately to be.
“Where’s Everet?” Elisa asked as soon as the ties fell from her body. “Is he okay?”
“If I had to take a guess, I’d say that he’s trying to restrain himself from murdering our little brother in cold blood.” Elliot answered with a sarcastic smirk. “And are any of us ever really okay in this life?”
“Not to overstep my boundaries, but I think we should get the fuck out of here,” Lucas said with a polite smile.
“I’m not leaving without Everet or Connor!” Elisa furrowed her brows that were almost hidden by the dried blood on her face.
I turned away from Elisa, grabbing Elliot by his bicep, so that he would look at me. “How the hell did you get here so fast?”
“I have a private jet, fiorella.”
“Of course, you do.” I ran my fingers through my hair apprehensively. “You can’t carry guns on a regular airplane.”
“Sì.” He nodded, smirking a little. “Do you want to see my guns, gattina?”
“If that’s some lame metaphor for something else, I think I’ll pass.” I smiled sweetly at him, batting my eyelashes sarcastically.
“You’re being very rude tonight, yes?” He ran his finger along my jaw softly, caressing and soothing me at the same time. “Maybe I should leave you here.”
Suddenly, there was a loud noise originating from the floor above us. It sounded like a wrecking ball going through a wall, or an earthquake shattering the foundation of a house. Elliot glanced up, seeming concerned for the first time in several moments.
“I believe that’s my cue to leave.” Elliot looked over his shoulder, like he was expecting someone to be there. Then, he pulled a gun from behind his back, ushering it toward me. “Shoot anything that moves, capisce?”
“What?” I asked incredulously, barely grasping the pistol that had thrown into my hands. “I’m not staying here! You know the point of rescuing someone is to actually rescue them, right?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, noticing my hand clench around the gun out of anger. Elliot noticed it too, but the smirk on his lips remained full and vibrant. He wasn’t afraid of me or the pistol for that matter. “I’m going with you.”
He grabbed my hand roughly, putting the gun to his temple. I gasped as he held my hand there without release. His palm crushed around mine, causing me to jerk back. I was afraid that what happened to Falco was going to happen all over again. My fingers brushed against the trigger, but he didn’t even flinch.
“Shoot me, or shut the fuck up.” He gr
owled as a nerve in his jaw clenched tightly. “You’re not coming with me. You’ve been through enough. Stay down here, like a good little girl.”
“No.”
“What did you just say?” He looked over his shoulder, glaring directly at me.
“I said no!” I folded my arms across my chest, narrowing my eyes at him. “I’ve been down here for hours, dealing with to your brother’s mind games. I will not stay down here for another fucking minute! I reek of dirt and grime, my hair’s a mess, my mental health is highly questionable, I barely have any clothes on, my body hurts, everything fucking hurts.”
I stopped myself, realizing I’d said more than I wanted to.
“So, no. I will not stay down here.” I held the gun up, walking toward the staircase on the far side of the room. I expected Elliot to grab me by the arm, forcing me to stay down there, but he only stopped me once. That was to put his body in front of mine, acting as a shield.
“Luciano take Elisa to safety and don’t you fucking dare let her back in here, or I will kill you where you stand.” Elliot’s eyes skirted back to me. They seemed more apprehensive now than anything else. “You’re fucking crazy, fiorella, I hope you realize that.”
“Isn’t that what you like best about me?”
“It’s one of many things that I like about you.” He brushed a stray tendril of hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear. “If we make it out of this alive, I have many things I want to tell you.”
“Okay, but I have something I want to say first.” I ran my fingers along his scruffy jaw, thinking about how rough the stubble was against my skin. Bringing my face closer to his, I brushed my lips along the corner of his inviting mouth, letting my tongue trace the outline of his plump lips. Then, I moved my mouth to his ear, my breath hot against his flesh. “I may kiss you now, but I’ll kill you later.”
I repeated the words he’d once said to me, only now realizing the true meaning behind them. Emmet was right. He was so fucking right about us.