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I didn’t say anything as I stared at the floor between us. He wouldn’t get a single answer from me. I didn’t care what he did or how he asked. I wouldn’t make this easy for him.
“How old are you?” he repeated. I didn’t say anything. “How much do you weigh?” Silence. “If you don’t answer my questions, I’ll make you answer them, and you won’t like it. Do you want me to proceed with that option?”
“You can’t leave a mark on me, or you’ll lose your boss too much money. Or did I misunderstand that part of this arrangement?” I spat.
He was in front of me instantly, his fist wound in my hair as he tugged my head back and forced me to stare at him. I screamed, but it didn’t faze him. “Do you know how many things I can do without leaving a mark?” he asked. “And do you know how fast bruises fade?”
“Fuck you,” I snarled.
He held my hair tightly and slammed my face into the pole in front of my face. I screamed out in agony, tears welling in my eyes as he released me, and I collapsed to the floor. I grabbed my face, sobs wracking through my chest as he repeated the same questions. I wouldn’t answer them, though. I didn’t care what he did or what he said, I wouldn’t comply.
I’d escape. I’d find Carlo, and I’d let him come into this house and tear these people apart.
I’d get out. I’d get Bella out. And then we’d end this. We had to.
33
CARLO
I stopped at a red light, and Bella continued holding the gun to my neck. I wondered if she’d pull the trigger once we put the car into park.
“You’re going to the warehouse,” she said. “You have a tracker on your car that Tommy can use to find you, and if he sees that you’re not at the warehouse, it’ll be suspicious.”
“How long?” I asked.
The light turned green, but I didn’t move. Nobody sat in front of or behind me, and Bella pushed the gun into my throat harder. “I don’t want to kill you and drive a blood-soaked car through New York, but I will.”
“How long?” I repeated, my tone quiet.
“I came into this knowing my job, Carlo,” she said, and I swore I could hear a touch of disappointment in her tone. “Your father died, and we needed a way in, so I did what I had to do.”
I clenched my jaw. I didn’t need to know more, but I had to ask. I had to be sure. “You plan on killing Frankie, too?”
“It was always the plan. Now fucking drive.”
I did exactly as she asked. I slammed my foot on the gas pedal and released the wheel just long enough to grab the unsteady gun from her hand. She gasped, but I didn’t hesitate to slam it into the side of her head before grabbing the wheel and correcting it. Bella collapsed into the seat, and I grabbed my phone and dialed Frankie.
He answered immediately. “What?”
“Get to the house.Now.” I’d figure out what she knew, and then I’d rip her limb from fucking limb for being a part of Sierra’s capture.
* * *
I hadBella bound in the basement before anyone else reached the house. Frankie must have called Louis, as he was the first to arrive. When all my brothers stood around the kitchen, I finally told them what I’d learned. I kept a close eye on Frankie, but he didn’t reveal anything. He didn’tsayanything. I expected him to deny my findings, but he didn’t. He just listened. And when we strode into the basement and found her awake, I prayed that Frankie would see reason and understand why I tied her so tightly and why she had a budding bruise across the side of her head.
“Frankie,” she sobbed, her lower lip trembling in a show. “He—he hit me and tied me down here. Losing Sierra must have driven him mad.” Still, Frankie didn’t react. He only looked at her with the same brutally cool eyes. She didn’t drop the act, though. She dropped her head, crying out his name, and his shoulders tightened with each sob. I wondered if he’d turn around with his fists swinging, but he didn’t. He merely stared.
“I’m finding my girl, Frankie. And only she knows where I can find her. I need that information before it’s too late.” He looked over his shoulder at me, and finally I saw the devastating proof of emotion in his eyes. My hard, emotionless brother looked like he was wallowing in denial and devastation. “We’ve always been here for one another. Since the day I was born, you’ve trusted and protected me. Don’t lose your trust in me now, brother.”
He nodded, and I saw a flash of understanding in his eyes. He looked back at Bella and shook his head. “Why are you working against us?” he asked.
“I’m not,” she sobbed.
If I hadn’t been the one with a gun to my neck, I might’ve believed her show of innocence. But I knew what I’d seen, and there was no longer any redemption for her in my eyes. All I could do was consider all the moments in our lives when she’d been there. She’d put on one hell of a show. But she’d never done anything to protect us. She’d never put me or my brothers first.
Sierra was nothing like this woman. She risked her life every day to make sure all of us were safe and alive, and Bella…she’d always just been a presence in our home. Never an active participant.
“You can cut the shit, Bella. I was with you for years, and I know you. Maybe you were putting on an act and trying to hide from me that whole time, but there are some things you can’t hide. Not from a man who fucking loved you.”
