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My brother is bloodthirsty and no doubt will go with Lorenzo when he goes to kill Alberto. The fucker is crazy and just loves death and anarchy.
“The question remains,” Rocco hisses. “Who the fuck killed Raul?”
“I’m telling you, Roc, it has to be Sergei Turgenev,” I say. I thought it was him from the get go, and I’ll be damned if I’m wrong. The new Pakhan has been building his empire little by little, and so far, he’s had every avenue other than the porn industry blocked in Indianapolis. He’s now started to branch out in Kentucky and has become a fucking nightmare for everyone.
“Then it’s time to get this shit sorted,” he grunts, his jaw tight as he looks at the lifeless body of Leo. “It’s time for Niccolò to return to the depths of Hell.”
Niccolò has a dark history with the Bratva. Before Sergei Turgenev took over as head of the Bratva. Before he came along the previous man Aleksei Belyaev was the Pakhan and was a fucking animal who liked young women. One of which was Niccolò’s daughter. She was mixed up in drugs, and in the end, that’s what killed her. For Niccolò, going into the depths of the Bratva to uncover if they’re the ones who killed Raul—a captain for the Famiglia—is going to bring back a lot of heartache, but he’s the only one with the connections to get us that information.
“Andrea,” Rocco calls out, “call the cleaner. Get these two fucks out of here, and make sure the house is spotless. We were never here.”
Andrea smiles. “Yes, boss.”
Walking out of the house, I finally feel relief. Teagan’s safe from these fucking bastards.
No one is going to hurt her. I’ll kill them before they can even try. I won’t allow anyone to harm her in any way, shape or form. My wife is the most important person in my life. I’ll die before I let anything happen to her.
TWENTY-EIGHT
TEAGAN
“Hey,” Jade says once Elio’s gone. My heart is still racing, and I’m sniffling, unable to get rid of the chill that entered my body when those men came into the house. “Let’s get you something to eat.” She reaches for my hand and helps me to my feet. “Are you doing okay?”
I shrug. “I was fine, but being in that closet, the lack of light…” I trail off, unable to say the words.
She nods. “I understand. We all have triggers. Trust me, I get it. I freaked out the first time Rocco and I had sex. The sound of the crinkling of the condom wrapper sent my mind back to that fucking place, and no matter how hard I tried to fight the memories, they just kept coming.”
I glance at her as we walk toward the living room. I guess she does understand. “How did you get past it?” I whisper. “I feel as though I’m stuck in a loop. One minute I’m fine, I’m smiling and happy, ready to get on with my life, and the next I’m back in the clubhouse. I’m dirty and lonely. I’m a mess, Jade, and I don’t think I’ll be able to stop being this way.”
She nods, her eyes filled with knowing. “I’d love to say it goes away. But it doesn’t. It’s always going to be with us, Teagan, but as we get stronger, we’re able to fight through those memories. They don’t become so debilitating.”
I sink down onto the couch and pull the blanket over me. I’m still in Elio’s shirt, and thankfully, it covers most of my body. “But how?” I ask, needing to know the answer to fixing me.
Jade sinks down onto the coach opposite me. “There’s no sure-fire way to get ‘better,’ but you’re doing what’s helping you right now,” she says, using her fingers as quotation marks. “Talking to the doctor seems to be helping. Do you find it to be?”
I nod. “I do, but I feel so weak having to do so.”
She reaches for the blanket that’s used as a throw on the couch and pulls it over her. “Trust me, I get it. You know who I am, Teagan, what I am. Things got tough for me—not as bad as they have for you, but Rocco asked me to speak to someone as I wasn’t sleeping. So I did. It was honestly the best decision for me. I was able to talk about everything that happened without wondering if I’d be pitied or be looked at with sympathy or as though I’m fragile. I was able to purge everything I felt, and it was such a huge relief. The doctor I went to was amazing and helped me work through different techniques of how to fight off the memories.”
I pull the blanket around me tighter. I’d love to be able to fight back the memories. To be able to breathe freely without having to worry that the next minute I’ll be shaking in a ball because my past has once again hit me like a freight train and I can’t stop it.
“How many hurt you?” I ask, wondering if she’ll actually tell me or not. I know she was raped while she was incarcerated, but I’m not sure about the actual details of her attack.
“Five men,” she spits. “Those bastards would hold me down as the other raped me. They knew they couldn’t control me. No matter what they did, I’d always fight back. They needed the others to hold me down so they could do it to me.”
I shake my head. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.
Why do people hurt others? Why would they take everything from us just to feel better about themselves?
“What about you?” she whispers, and I appreciate that she’s being kind and taking the time to speak with me about things others haven’t. “Was it one specific brother or were there others?”
“Others,” I say. “It was mainly Crunk, though. He was the biggest asshole out of them all.”
She shakes her head. “I’m sorry.”
I shrug. “It’s not your fault. If my father had been in any way a good dad, this wouldn’t have happened. But instead, he didn’t want kids and was pissed that he was stuck with me. In his eyes, I was Demon property, and as long as I didn’t leave, I was fair game.”
Her eyes harden. “I don’t give a fuck if he didn’t want kids. He made you. He should have been a man and become a father. Instead, he was a piece of shit. I’m really sorry, Teagan. I hate that they hurt you.”
