“What happen-”
“Shh, it’s your uncle on the phone,” I tell her, trying to just ignore the pain in her eyes. I’ve never felt so ashamed. This is the way I take my aggression out. I’ve always gotten into it. It’s not the first time Damon and I have let our anger get the best of us.
“I’m sorry, but it’s undisclosed,” Damon’s body language stiffens, and it grabs my attention. I hold Damon’s gaze, my heart hammering faster.
“What happened?” Bianca asks in a hushed voice, completely ignoring what’s going on behind her. The wooden floor creaks as Damon paces back and forth in the doorway, his hand clenched into a fist at his side.
“It’s your uncle-” I try to answer her.
“I don’t care about him, what happened?” Her voice is stronger, but she’s breaking down in front of me.
Her small hands gently rest on my chest as she tries to get my attention. I wish she’d let it go. It’s over. “It doesn’t matter,” I tell her although my eyes are still on Damon. I need to know what’s going on. I’ve known him all my life, and the way he’s pacing is making me nervous.
“It does matter!” Bianca raises her voice and I finally look down at her, gripping her hips in my hands and staring into those dark eyes of hers that shine with so much concern. I can’t answer her, caught in the desperation of her whispered plea, “It does matter.”
Her words linger in the hot air between us. I’m so fucking sorry I lost it. I let my anger get the better of me. “I’m sorry,” I tell her, trying to give her my all and my full attention, but Damon’s voice raises as he responds, “That’s not an option.”
Bianca turns around, her face etched with worry and confusion. “What happened?” she asks again and then turns to me. “What’s going on?”
“I was stupid,” I point to my jaw, “that’s what that is. Okay?” I struggle to swallow and plead with her to just let it go. “It won’t happen again,” I tell her the words and pray they’re true, but I don’t know for sure.
“You half blood-” Vittoro’s voice echoes through the phone so loud that Damon takes it away from his ear, grimacing before flaring his nostrils and talking over the mafia boss.
“It doesn’t matter what you call us. She’s not fucking leaving here.”
“I’m going to shove your dicks down your fucking throats,” I hear Vittoro scream into the phone before Damon and covers the earpiece.
He’s fucking furious. I have no clue how he found out, or at least I'm assuming he knows now. Bianca backs away from me, the backs of her knees hitting the edge of the couch and she falls easily onto it. As if she’s stunned. But the look on her face tells me everything I need to know, she’s scared.
My hands clench into fists and I’m quick to pull the phone away from Damon’s ear and tip my chin in her direction. The old man’s voice is louder without Damon’s hand over it and that makes Bianca lift her head.
She’s fucking distraught. She pulls her legs up onto the couch and wraps her arms around them, burying her head. Hiding.
“We’re not telling you, I don’t care what you want. Until it’s over, she’s with us and no one else,” Damon speaks into the phone, his body tense and his eyes on Bianca.
Damon takes the phone from his ear and clicks a button on the screen. His eyes move to mine as he says, “We’re both here.”
“Can you hear me, Maddox?” Vittoro’s voice is far more stable than it was only a moment ago.
“I’m here.” I don’t recognize my own voice.
“Where the fuck are you?” he asks. My heart thuds at the lowered anger in his voice. The threat is clearly there.
“We told you-” I stop when he interrupts me. There’s no fucking way that I’m telling him. There’s a rat somewhere, and I’m not giving any information that could lead the war to Bianca. She’s safe, and it’s going to stay that way.
“Plans changed!” Vittoro screams on the other end, cutting me off. I stare straight ahead; I don’t even look over my shoulder when I hear Bianca move behind me.
“Maybe yours did,” I take in a steadying breath, feeling my body tense, every muscle on edge and prepared to fight, but there’s no one here. “But ours haven’t.”
The line is deadly silent. I can faintly hear the sounds of his heavy breathing. “I just realized I don’t trust you fucks.”
“Bianca’s safe with us,” Damon says from across the room. He’s standing by the door still, but now he has a gun in his hand. He needs to calm down, we both do. The threat isn’t physical. At least not yet, and our reactions are only upsetting Bianca. I can hear her faint cries behind me. It fucking shreds me.
“You both need to bring her back to Chicago, now. We have the numbers-”
Vittoro starts to say something, but I talk over him. “There’s no way around this. We aren’t bringing her back. She’s safer here with us, and…” I hesitate a moment. Only a moment, my body heating with anxiety but my chest filling with resolve. “She’s ours now.”
Damon cocks a brow, pausing in his step and looking between the two of us. I turn away from him, my back to Bianca still. I bring the phone closer to my mouth and speak as clearly as possible. “We’re taking responsibility for her, now and when the war’s over.”
I can’t hear a damn thing other than the hot blood rushing in my ears.
“You picked the wrong time to cross me, you dumb fuck.” My heart slams against my chest, listening to the one man I’ve ever feared issue a threat to me. “You touched her?” he asks and his voice cracks at the end.
“She loved it,” I reply and my voice comes out hard and steady although I don’t know how. I can hear Bianca behind me taking in a gasp, and Damon walks quickly to go to her. My body tingles with a numbing anxiety over every inch of my flesh.
“You have twenty-four hours to bring her home.” Vittoro’s voice is the most level it’s been. “Or you’re both dead.”
With that, the line goes dead. It takes me a moment of staring at the dimly lit screen to slowly realize what I’ve done.
“No!” Bianca cries out and then covers her face with her hands. She grips a throw pillow, holding it close to her and looking so young in this moment. Her eyes are puffy and red, her cheeks tearstained. I could fucking kill her uncle.
My heart sinks at the sight of her. It’s already racing to try to climb up my throat and out of my mouth. I just pissed off a man with the power and contacts to destroy me, torture me, kill me -- the power to do whatever he wants to me. My body chills. There’s no way I’d ever be safe. The moment we leave here and go back on the grid, he’ll find us. I know he will. And I just gave him a really good reason to kill me. And Damon.
My eyes slowly climb from where Bianca’s huddled up on the sofa, to Damon. His face isn’t what I expected. His expression isn’t one of fear or anger. It’s one of pride.
We claimed her.
Now she’s ours, and everyone is going to know it.
Chapter 24
Bianca
“Want some coffee, honey bee?” I hear Damon’s deep voice ask from the doorway.
I can’t bring myself to answer, my head between my knees as I sit on the edge of the bed in our shared bedroom. I’ve been antisocial for the past two days, terrified of what Uncle Vit is going to do. He’s coming for us. And there’s nothing that either of them can do about it. They can’t hide forever. Those are Uncle Vit’s words. He used to say them all the time. No one can hide forever. Both Damon and Maddox have been trying to cheer me up, but I’ve been unable to crack so much as a smile. I’ve been unable to think. Unable to sleep.
All I can think about is what's going to happen when we get out of here. If we get out of here. “Honey bee?” Damon repeats, walking over to place a strong hand on my shoulder. I look up at him with bloodshot eyes. I’ve been crying all morning. “What do you want?” I ask. I don’t mean to sound bitchy, but I can’t help it. When they’re around, I feel like they’re clouding my judgment. I don’t want that.
I don’t want to pretend that everything is going to be okay when I know it’s not.
Damon looks at me calmly. He doesn’t get mad at my attitude. If it were Maddox, it would be the other way around. The thought makes my eyes prick again. The two of them are so perfect. Together they're everything I could ever want or need.
“I’m just trying to get your mind off this stuff," Damon tells me, his deep voice soft and soothing. “It’s not healthy, you being worried like this. You need to trust us. We'll protect you. Everything is going to be alright.” He gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze.
Anger tightens my throat. Why is he lying to me? Why is he trying to convince me that everything is fine? He knows what my uncle is capable of. They both do. There’s no happy ending for us. And it's not me that I'm worried about. It's them. I couldn't leave it alone. And now... because of me, they're in danger. I swallow the sob threatening to consume me. This is all my fault.
“You know as well as I do who my uncle is. You know what he’s done to people that have crossed him. How can you expect me not to be upset?”
“Because I trust in myself. I trust in the survival skills I learned in the Army. And I trust Maddox. I don’t care if your uncle was the godfather from here to Italy, we’d still be fine.” His words are so strong and persuasive, and I’m almost convinced.
But the cold hard truth pushes back, and I shake my head at him. He can’t change what’s going to happen with false conviction. No matter how confident he is, he can’t stop a bullet with his name on it.
“So lighten up, will ya?” Damon smiles at me, rubbing my shoulder.
The grimace fades from my face as I look into his eyes. I desperately want to do as he says, and I know he’s only trying to help. But I can’t.
“I just need to be alone for a little while,” I tell him as I nervously pick at my nails, “and then maybe I will feel better about it.” The truth is, I can’t think with either of them around. Damon wants to talk all the time to try to cheer me up, and Maddox wants me around just to watch me. It’s too much. My eyes flick to my purse where my mom's pearls are. “I just need a little space.”
Damon’s grin turns upside down, hurt reflecting in his eyes, his grip softening on my shoulder.
“If that’s what you want.” His tone is strained. I’ve hurt him. And I hate it.
A lump forms in my throat that I have to swallow back, and I nod. “It is.”
Damon stands there for a moment, the silence stretching between us, pushing us apart; his eyes search my face before turning away. I’m haunted by the pained look in his gaze. “If you need anything, you know where to find me.” He pauses as if waiting for a response, but I don’t say anything. I can’t.
With a sigh, he walks from the room. I watch the muscles of his back move against his shirt as he disappears from sight. It breaks my heart to see him walk off like that. But I can’t stop thinking about Uncle Vit and what he's capable of. He’s fucking pissed. And I know all too well what happens when he’s enraged. He’s going to kill Maddox and Damon. There is no questioning that. It’s simply a fact.
And I don't know how to stop it. I wish there was something I could do to convince Uncle Vit. But I already know there’s no way he’ll let either of them live.
He won’t care that I love them. He won’t care that it will rip my heart into pieces. It's a message he has to send.
All he'll care about is getting his revenge for the perceived disrespect.
I push off the bed to get my mother's pearls, my legs feeling heavy and numb. I wish I could go to her. I wish she could just save me. I get about halfway when I hear a ping from my laptop. Uncle Vit. My blood runs cold. I have to check. I have to see if it's him. Maybe I can talk to him. I have to try. No sooner do I bring up the screen, then an email notification pops up. But it's not from my uncle.
To: Bianca Russo
From: Anonymous
Subject: We have your friend
If you want to see your friend Mary again, you will surrender yourself to 210 Westhaven by 10:00 p.m. If you don’t, she’ll be executed. Come alone. If you bring anyone with you, you’ll all die. Don’t question this. Don’t ask those two body guards anything unless you want to see both of them and Mary killed.
Don’t be late either.
Text (485) 932-4729 when you have arrived
Oh. My. God. No, no, no, no! I stare at the words and with horror and disbelief, my heart racing so fast it feels as if it's going to burst. I can’t believe this. Not Mary. I gasp and cover my mouth. My eyes glaze over with tears.
The only two men I've ever loved are going to die fighting for me. Because of me.
And now Mary... No. I shake my head, not wanting to believe it as I grip the laptop tighter, reading over each word slowly. She's as sweet as they come. She doesn't deserve this. She didn't do anything.
My head feels light, and the room spins. Everyone I touch dies.
They don't care that she's innocent. To them, she’s just collateral damage. A chess piece to be used to their advantage and discarded when it is no longer useful. I know all about how the minds of these men work. Uncle Vit is one of them.
No matter what happens, I can’t let Mary die for me.
I have to go to her and save her. Maybe... maybe if I'm gone, they won't fight for me. Damon and Maddox. Maybe I can save them, too.
I push off of the desk and quickly gather my purse, making sure to grab the keys to the Escalade off the dresser. I hesitate for only a moment to grab the gun from the nightstand. My father showed me how to shoot once. I remember it well. It’s been years, but it’s not hard to pull the trigger.
I have to try to fight. It may be useless, but I have to try.
I don’t want anyone to die for me. I’ve fucked things up enough as it is.
All of this is my fault. If I'd just died with my parents... none of this would have happened. I sneak out of the room and into the hall, moving as stealthily as I can. Several times the floorboards creak, and I freeze, thinking for sure I’ll get caught, but eventually I make it to the back door without incident. A cold sweat covers my skin.
I'm leaving them...
I pause when I grab the door handle, doubting myself and this decision. It'd be so easy to just tell them. To rely on them and use them for protection. But doing that puts them in harm's way. Down the hall, I can hear Maddox and Damon talking in the kitchen. About me. I listen for a moment, but I can’t make out exactly what they’re saying. Just my name. Sucking in a deep breath and biting back tears, I open up the door and run outside, my heart pounding like a sledgehammer. I run down the steps, through the yard and around to the side of the cabin where my getaway awaits. My heart is racing so fast as I open the door to the Escalade and climb in.
I can’t believe I’m doing this. I have to save her. Save them.
I put the key in the ignition and bow my head, almost resting it against the steering will. Fuck. They’re going to hear as soon as I turn the key. But that’s not why I’m hesitating to take off. I’m hesitating because it hurts like fuck.
My breathing is ragged as I hold the keys to the ignition. God, it feels like a giant weight is sitting on my chest, trying to crush my heart.
But I have to do it.
Feeling tears sting my eyes, I start the engine and quickly back out, sending plumes of dirt spraying everywhere. I make a U-turn, change gears, and press my foot against the gas, speeding off. I only get a few feet down the road when I see Maddox and Damon running out of the house, screaming and yelling at me to stop. Even from a distance, I can see the pain, hurt and panic on their handsome faces. They’re yelling, pointing and trying to run to catch me. They don’t have a chance. As I go even faster, they eventually give up, stopping to bend over to catch their breaths, their body language defeated. I gulp down the huge lump in my throat. I can almost sense their helplessness, their distress. The tears I’ve been holding back flow down my face like a waterfall as a vise grips my heart and they fade off into t
he distance. I let out a half-cry as I round a bend in the road that leads to the main highway out of the woods, still driving recklessly.
I want to go back. I want to tell that I love them and I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.
I didn't even leave a note. I almost stop the car, thinking that I can go back and explain to them that I have to do this for myself just as much for them.
But I’m able to defeat the urge, holding onto the steering wheel like it’s my lifeline, and heading for the highway that will bring me back to civilization.
I let out a sob as I drive onward like a bat out of hell.
Jesus that was hard. Leaving them like that. But I had to do it. All I’ve done since this all started was cause death. And I refuse to lead them to theirs. I’ll try to come back to them. I make a promise to myself to fight. But I won’t lead them to their deaths in a pitiful attempt to save the only friend I ever had.
I only wish I'd told them that I love them.
Chapter 25
Bianca
My heart's pounding in my chest as I pull the Escalade to a stop in a gravel-filled parking lot that the GPS led me to. I peer out the windshield to get a better look with apprehension, a feeling of dread pressing down on my chest. It’s an old, dilapidated abandoned brick warehouse on the bad side of town. It has broken windows, weeds growing out of the brick and an overall stay-the-fuck-away appearance. I know it pretty well. It’s the kind of place that you would scare little kids with. The kind you’d say is haunted. The ironic thing is that it’s a place where kids used to come after school to buy drugs and to shoot up and get high. I remember even stopping here a few times when I was running with the wrong crowd, but every time we did, I would continue on home.
I pull out my cell and quickly type a text to the number from the email. My hand shakes as I press send. This is it. This is my death. I'm tired of running from it. I'm ready. It's better this way, I can’t lead anyone else to their death if I’m gone.
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