AllFreeNovel
Share Us
At least with Mom, I knew she wanted me alive and well so I could support her. With the jockeying for power that went on within the Devil’s Dozen, the thirteen most powerful criminal kingpins in the world, any of them might be happy to see me fall.
I’d never met with any of the others before. I only knew them by name. Even with the Harvester, he’d never confronted me directly.
But Mom was determined that I was going to fill her shoes one day. Apparently she’d decided it was time to fast-track me up the ladder to a full second-in-command.
I wanted that role even less than I’d wanted to be a foot soldier. The invisible shackles that chained me to this life seemed to tighten around my wrists.
The weight of those bonds dragged at me. I couldn’t help making one last-ditch attempt at changing her mind.
“Mom… You know I’ve never been enthusiastic about the work we do. I’m not sure how good I can be at it when it’s not something I want. Are you sure it wouldn’t be better for you to mentor someone you trust from outside the family, someone who does have a passion for it, to eventually pass the reins on to—”
She held up one finger to silence me. Her voice came out chillingly cool.
“You were born for this, Luciana. Our family is a pillar, and if a key piece falls aside, everyone will be watching for the whole building to collapse. You know better than to even ask that.”
I did, but I hadn’t been able to help it anyway. I swallowed thickly, groping for the right words to convince her, but nothing came to me.
And then she went on, her voice dropping ominously low. “If I hear any further talk about returning to your silly hobby and the company you found there, you can be sure you’ll run to those men of yours and find them ready for their graves.”
Panic shot through my veins. I clamped my mouth shut and shoved my protests deep into the back of my mind.
“Understood,” I said, managing to keep my voice steady. “I won’t let you down.”
Mom let out a faint huff and sank back in her seat again. “I certainly hope you won’t. But we’ll shape you into the woman you were meant to be, one way or another.”
I peered out the window at the tufts of white cloud and kept as much of a mask over my expression as I could. My spirits had sunk lower than I could ever remember, a dark cloud rolling over me.
There really was no way she’d everletme revisit my skating career. Not even as a hobby. For now… I had to give it up, even though the thought made me want to scream and bawl at the same time.
All I could do was accept her demands in silence and thank my lucky stars for what I did still have. The three men I’d fallen for were alive and reasonably well. Mom wasn’t asking me to do any tasks that were especially dangerous and violent… yet.
The only way that I was going to win my freedom was by appeasing her until I had a chance to escape. I just wished I could see a clearer way through to the ending—one that wasn’t drenched in blood.
FOUR
Jasper
I walkedthrough the kitchen and back to the living room with no idea what I was trying to accomplish but desperate to do something. No clues about Lou’s disappearance offered themselves up.
Niko was pawing through the trash bin in case she’d thrown something away that would tip us off, a similar air of desperation rising off him. Rafael had folded his arms over his chest as he surveyed the apartment’s common areas, but I could see the panic behind his air of stern authority.
My teeth gritted of their own accord. The frustration I’d been trying to hold in burst out of me.
“How the fuck could this have happened? Isn’t keeping Lou safe your literaljob?”
Rafael’s gaze jerked to me. “Shut the hell up. If I knew how to find her, I’d be doing it.”
“What, like you managed to protect her so well when you were lying in the same fucking bed as her?” My hands clenched at my sides. “What kind of bodyguard are you?”
He narrowed his eyes. “You were sleeping in that bed too, asshole.”
Niko stepped between us, holding up his hands. “Whoa, whoa. Let’s calm down. We won’t get anywhere if we’re attacking each other.”
I knew he was right, but the tremor that ran through his pacifying voice only pricked at the tension inside me. With an inarticulate growl, I spun away from both of them and marched back to her bedroom.
The worst thing was not knowing if she was in danger… or if she’d decided sticking with us was too risky and left of her own accord. She’d snuck away without disturbing any of us.
I swiveled on my heel inside the room, scanning the bed with its rumpled covers, the suitcase she’d only half unpacked even though we’d been living here for several weeks. My gaze caught on a flash of bright orange half-buried under a hoodie.
