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“Can you give us a ride to the gym?”
“Like fuck––” I hold a finger up to Bishop when she answers the phone, silencing him.
“Hello?” Bishop’s eyes are narrowed.
“Hey, Kiara.” Bish’s eyes widen slightly and his mouth is ajar in shock that I would stoop as low as to call his fiancée, my best friend.
“Car, what’s going on? Are you okay?” My heart melts at her concern.
“I would be better if Bishop didn’t just shoot my boyfriend and try to get him to leave me. Oh and he wants to put him in the bunker and kill him.” Bishop stands before me grinding his teeth, rage is brewing in his dark gaze and it brings a smile to my face.
“Where is he?” she growls. I smile as I drop Vin’s hand and walk to my brother. I hold the phone out to him with a bright smile.
“Kiara would like to speak to you.” He glares down at me as he snatches the phone from me and storms off.
* * *
I’m huddled into Vin’s side waiting for Bishop come back and I’ll admit I’m feeling slightly smug about my trump card. Calling Kiara was the last move I had and I think it paid off. I can tell from how stiff Vin is that his shoulder is causing him some severe discomfort. I’m about to ask him if he wants me to take a look at it when Bishop comes back. His face is a mask of rage and annoyance, I fight to keep the triumphant expression off my face. He stops next to the others and whispers something in King’s ear. As per usual, I can’t decipher King’s expression, the guy has a poker face like no other. He gives Bishop a curt nod before walking away to where their men are huddled at the side of the cabin. Worry gnaws at me when Bish goes to Knight and says something I can’t hear and Knight smiles wickedly before Gage darts his gaze to me when Bishop approaches him next. Gage’s eyes harden as he stands there and listen’s to what B is saying before reluctantly nodding.
“Carlina, a word?” I tense in Vin’s hold. He gives me a reassuring squeeze before I pull away and move toward Bishop. He holds my phone out to me and some of the worry begins to fade when I think all he wants is to return my phone and curse me out about calling Kiara. I reach out to grab my phone, Bishop moves quicker than I can blink. He drops the phone, snags my wrist, spins me around and holds me against him with my back to his chest. I struggle to get free, Vin storms toward us but stops when Knight, King and the other guys surround him with all their guns drawn.
“Bishop, no!” I scream. “If you do this, I will hate you forever. I swear to god I will run and you will never find me again!” I sob as tears cascade down my cheeks. Vin’s gaze is locked onto mine as he stands in the man-made circle with guns trained on him. I know if I shout for him to help me, he will try to fight his way to me even if it cost him his life.
“Look how well that worked out for you the first time, Car. You run and come home withourenemy’s son. You did good, sister, you brought me leverage and now, all we need to do is use your little boy toy to get what we want.” I search Vin’s gaze a moment trying to read what he is thinking, I try to convey to him with my own eyes that I will do everything I can to set him free. My brother is a bastard for doing this. He got his girl and now he doesn’t care who he has to hurt in order to control his own fucking kingdom.
“Let him go. I’ll give you all the information I have. You don’t need him Bishop…” I take a deep breath and mouthI’m sorryto Vin as I speak the next part loud enough for everyone to hear. “Vincent is a nobody. His father never wanted him and didn’t care he faked his own death. If you’re doing this because you think I love him, I don’t.” An ache so deep and raw explodes in my chest as the lie slips so easily from my mouth. “I did what I had to do in order to stay alive. He wanted to use me to get to you. I turned the tables… I tempted him and he fell for it.”
Vincent’s expression remains neutral but his eyes, they burn with… agony. My words have caused him more pain than the bullet he took for me. He has to know that I am only saying this to try and save him from the wrath of my brothers. I love Vin and I want a life with him, but I will sacrifice my own happiness if it means he gets to live and go free.
“See, I would have brought that bullshit about thirty minutes ago except.” I stiffen in Bishop’s hold and I know he felt the shift in me. He whispers the last part for only me to hear. “Your eyes betray you sister, I can see it in the way you subtly shift toward him. You watch his every move and when you couldn’t see him your eyes automatically sought him out. Thing is, he does the same to you except he is willing to die to save you. I’m going to use his love for you to crush him and win this fucking war.” My heart shatters inside my chest.
I watch as the guy’s wrestle Vin to the ground. He fights with everything he has to remain standing but there’s too many of them. Tears trek silently down my cheeks as I watch the man I have fallen so deeply in love with be beaten and treated like a dog, all because of me. Vincent is only here because I asked him to come with me to help find Rook. I did this to us.
I ruined us.
Carlina
Four weeks….
Every day starts the same, I wake to pounding on my bedroom door and refuse to even acknowledge it. I don’t want to see any of them, none of them understand what being back in this godforsaken house is like for me. Being in this room sucks the fucking life out of me. Dark and horrible nightmares assault me every night. I don’t sleep––I can’t. Every time I close my eyes all I see is him and how he destroyed me, tore my innocence from me and made me do despicable things. I’ve never slept without nightmares until… Vin. The thought of him has me fighting back tears and forcing the lump down in my throat. Watching as King and Knight dragged his battered and broken, unconscious body to a waiting car that night they came for me, broke me worse than Tony ever did.
I fought with everything I had and even managed to land a few hits on Bishop and broke free. I made it five steps before Gage was there hauling me against his chest. I fought against him—bit him, punched, slapped and clawed at his skin until the fight left my body and I sagged against him. He held me while I sobbed for my man. I passed out from exhaustion as Gage carried me away from the vehicle that held my whole heart in it.
“Car, can you please… talk to me?” I roll over and hold the pillow over my head to block out Kiara. I know I shouldn’t be mad at her but I am. No one in this fucking house has told me where Vin is or if he’s even alive. I tried for the first four days to beg, plead and downright fight for answers but no one would tell me a thing! The only fucking person who seemed to feel a small amount of guilt was Knight’s girl, Koby. Allison just grabs her daughter and scurries the other way when she sees me, I don’t blame her though. I wouldn’t want my child watching a mad woman lose her shit either.
After the sixth day here, I locked myself in my room and refused to leave it. King, Knight and Gage have all tried to coax me out but I ignore them. Kiara tries daily to get me to talk to her but I can’t. That first day I begged her to help me, to try find out from Bishop where he was keeping Vin but she said she couldn’t and that put a wedge between us. I know she has always loved my brother since we were kids but… a small part of me thought our friendship meant more to her.
* * *
The sun is beginning to set and I still haven’t gotten out of bed, what’s the point?
I don’t want to fucking exist if he isn’t breathing, before Vincent I had nothing, I had my brothers but that wasn’t enough. I was a ghost, no one ever saw me forme. I was a dirty secret that needed to be hidden. But then Vin came along, and he sawme, not the mafia heiress. He saw the real me. He showed me the world and didn’t give a fuck about my last name or where I came from. The man lit a fire inside me that burned so bright and hot, I never in a million years thought my brother would be the one to extinguish the fire inside me and destroy the happiness I finally found. I finally found a man who loved me, adored me and gave me all of him, only for Bishop to rip him away. Tears leak from the corners of my eyes, my chest aches so badly that I can hardly breathe.
“Where are you, baby?” I whisper into the empty room that holds nothing but nightmares for me. A knock sounds at the door but I ignore it. I know it’s Martha bringing me my dinner but I barely eat or drink. I eat a small amount each day only because King said if I didn’t, he would send Bishop up to hold me down while they force fed me. Another knock sounds out but I ignore it. Martha will go away if I keep quiet. I snap my tear-filled gaze to the door when I hear the lock click, my breath hitches as I watch the thing slowly open. A stupid part of me hopes and prays it’s Vin because he escaped my brothers and is coming for me. Hope flees my body when they walk in. I turn to face the window and watch as the sun finally disappears.
“I said I couldn’t help you because at that time I couldn’t.” I keep my back to Kiara and the other two not wanting to hear what they have to say. I hear their footsteps pad toward me but I keep my gaze focused out the window. Kiara sits down next to me on the bed. I eye the other two out of the corner of my eye. Allison looks pissed, I didn’t think the girl had it in her to angry. Koby leans against the wall with her arms crossed over chest, her baby bump visible through the tight black tee she wears. “I had to bide my time and wait, Car. He would have known what I was up to. Look at me!” I slowly turn away from the window to face my so-called best friend, her eyes are filled with sorrow when she finally gazes upon me. She clasps both my hands in hers and squeezes them. “I need you to get in the shower and change as fast as you can.” I scoff as I tear my hands free and face the window again.
“Fuck it, let her reek of shit when she sees her man again, I don’t give a fuck.” I snap my gaze to Koby only to find her vibrant green eyes already on me with a brow raised. “You want someone to coddle you and hold your hand, then look to Ally and Kiara because I don’t do that shit.” I snort, she is fucking perfect for Knight. “Get your ass up and shower because we have a small amount of time before the guys get back and realize Gage was full of shit.” I furrow my brow in confusion, Koby rolls her eyes and pins Kiara with a look. Kiara chuckles, stands and offers me her hand. I stare at before meeting her eyes waiting for an explanation.
