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“Good. Get the car ready.”
At least he was consistent. Wherever my father went, my uncle followed him. He was my father’s enforcer, his muscle. He was probably the one to pull the trigger on Jaime. A sob threatened and I gritted my teeth against it. It wouldn’t only make things worse right now.
My eyes drifted over the room. Everything I worked for, everything I owned, it was all worthless. None of it mattered without Jaime. In a few short weeks, he’d integrated himself into my life and made me love him and now I’d have to live my life without him. I wanted to give up, to curl into myself and just stop living, but I couldn’t. I refused. Jaime wouldn’t want that from me and he’d be so disappointed in me for even thinking it. So I summoned what was left of my courage and slowly reached across the floor to where I’d dropped my phone. My father didn’t notice, his attention on my uncle and my brother as he arrived. I swiped the phone open and started recording before dragging myself towards Jaime.
“Enough, Rebecca. It’s time to go.”
“No. He could still be alive.”
My father growled. “If he is, he won’t be for long. This is what O’Connor gets for screwing with me. I’m going to ship him the pieces one by one and then I’m going to ruin his family. He wants to steal my daughter from me, I’ll steal his whole life from him.”
I glared up at him. “Jaime didn’t do anything to you. You didn’t have to hurt him.”
His lip twitched and he glared at me. “You’re right. I didn’t. You’re to blame for that. You knew you were supposed to come be with Gavin. You decided to flaunt your relationship in front of everyone and embarrass me in front of Gavin’s family. You signed his death warrant, not me.”
A tremble worked its way through my system. He was right, I knew better. I knew I shouldn’t bring Jaime, I knew he’d get hurt. I shouldn’t have agreed to let him come with me. I should’ve protected him better.
My father continued, uncaring of how I felt. “We’re lucky that Gavin’s family is willing to overlook things. We’ve had a long relationship, they are–”
“Gavin almost killed me!” I screeched. “I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with him but I’ll never marry him! Never!”
He didn’t even flinch. “You’ll do your duty. You’re obviously fine, he didn’t actually hurt you. After everything you’ve put him through, I wouldn’t blame him if he did. He’ll be a mafia don one day, he’ll need a strong hand. I already promised to take him under my wing. With his family and mine together, we’ll be unstoppable and the O’Connors will be nothing but dirt beneath our feet.”
Again with the O’Connors. That’s all he cared about. He was obsessed with Liam and I was going to suffer for it. Jaime had to suffer for it. I looked down at him, tears spilling over my cheeks at his pale complexion. Oh Jaime…
“Enough of this. Let’s go. This place is beneath you and it’s time to return home.”
My fingers curled into my palms and when I lifted my gaze to him, I gave him a withering look.
“No.”
His brow furrowed. “What did you say to me?”
“I said no. I’m not going with you. I refuse to be part of your life. I don't care if you disown me or if you make the rest of the family cut me out. I won’t marry Gavin, I won’t come home with you, I won’t be some sort of baby making machine for your mafia empire. No!”
He looked at me for a moment before he actually started laughing. It was cruel and cold and I flinched at the sound of it.
“You think I give a shit what you want? You’re a woman. Your opinions, your wants, they mean nothing to a mafia don. You’re not going to escape this life. You have an excellent bloodline and you’ll do your duty whether you like it or not. I’m tired of chasing after you so after you come home, I’ll be the one handling your punishment. I’ll hand you over to Gavin once you’ve been thoroughly broken and then he’ll use you as he wishes. If he’s a smart man, he won’t be kind about it. There’s no point being soft to women like you. You’ll come to heel with a strong hand and you’ll give him the heirs to continue our family line. Now get up.”
“No!”
He was done arguing with me. He snapped his fingers and sent my brother and uncle after me. I was prepared, I’d already slipped off my heels to give me better purchase, but it wasn’t a long fight. When I popped to my feet and took my brother off guard long enough to punch him, my uncle grabbed me by the hair and punched me in the side. I screamed and clawed at his hand but I couldn’t pry it away and when my brother punched me in the gut it knocked the wind out of me, preventing me from making any noise or fighting them.
My eyes were locked on Jaime as they dragged me towards the door. He was lifeless, all the light and happiness gone, and my heart broke. Tears slipped over my cheeks as I did what little I could to fight them. It was like it didn’t affect them and when I finally lost sight of Jaime, I knew it was over. I’d never get a chance to be happy again.
ChapterThirty-One
The cold airhit me in the face and sucked the breath out of me. They hadn’t bothered to grab me a jacket, I had no shoes on. I was in no way prepared for the cold. Shivers wracked my body almost immediately and my uncle lost his grip on me.
“God damnit. Why is she so damn heavy?”
I tried to scramble away, crying out when he grabbed my hair again. Where was everyone? I lived in a pretty populated building and it wasn’t that late where people wouldn’t be walking in the streets. The only thing that might keep them away was the wind as it whipped through the air and settled under my skin.
Tires screeching caught everyone’s attention and I did my best to look over my shoulder with my hair still clutched in my uncle’s hand.
“Who the fuck is that?”
“O’Connor. Let’s go, we need to get out of here. I’m not looking to get arrested for a firefight in the streets.”
