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“Morning,” I replied, feeling like a robot. Even my voice didn’t sound right.
Dante took a seat next to Lorenzo, and for thirty seconds, we all just stared at each other. They were waiting on me to talk, and I was waiting on my brain to filter it down to my damn mouth. It was awkward as fuck.
Jesus fuckin’ Christ, what the hell was wrong with me?
I inhaled a deep breath, then let it out and clutched onto my thighs to ground me. “I found her.”
Lorenzo shuffled forward on his seat. “You found her?”
“Yeah.” My nostrils flared. “I found Mr. Blue’s niece.”
I let that sit in the air for a few seconds and then opened my mouth to tell them more, but Dante got there first as he asked, “Where is she?”
“The club,” I told him, no hesitation whatsoever. “She’s working there but she…” I paused, thinking back to last night. I’d tried to take her all in when I’d been on top of her, but I had so many things running through my mind that I hadn’t actually realized what was going on. “She’s clearly been taken. She had a bruise under her eye.” My breathing picked up. “I’m not sure he’s feeding them either.” All of that was nothing compared to what I’d done to her.
I was angry at what Gio was doing to her—hurting her—but more than that, I was fuckin’ livid at myself. I was at war, not knowing what to do. Maybe I should confide in Lorenzo and Dante. Maybe I should tell them what I did?
I opened my mouth, about to tell them, but something stopped me. Maybe it was the look in their eyes as they stared at me as only older cousins could to their younger ones. Or maybe it was because I still didn’t want to admit it to myself yet. Lorenzo and Dante were so much more than cousins to me and Rafael. They were our big brothers—our leaders—and the thought of losing their respect over this had me burying that secret deep down.
“We need to get her out of there,” I said instead, pushing up off the sofa. If I didn’t leave soon, it would escape from my mouth without it meaning to. They frowned up at me, probably wondering where I was going, so I explained, “I haven’t slept in forty-eight hours.”
It was the truth, but we all knew I’d gone way longer than that before.
“You good?” Lorenzo asked, standing too. He could sense something was off—he always could. So I shuttered my features, not allowing him to see beyond what I wanted him to.
“Yeah,” I answered, entirely too loud and abrupt. He noticed, I knew he had, but he didn’t say anything. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Everything was a blur as I walked out of his office. They said something about them letting Mr. Blue know and for me to get rest because I need to head back into Gio’s fold. But none of it comprehended as I left the mansion and marched back to my car.
My mind was still a mess as I drove toward my house, but by the time I’d gotten there nearly an hour later, I was calmer. Reasoning setting in the more distance I got.
I’dhadto do what I did to Bailey. If I didn’t, then Gio would have known something was up and my cover would have been blown. And if my cover would have been blown, there was no way she would get out of there.
I was doing it to help her. Hopefully she’d be able to see that one day.
All of this was to get her out of there—and take Gio down of course—but still, she would be free, and it would be because of me.
Finally coming to terms with it, I relaxed back in my seat and took a right turn onto my street.
I was always aware of my surroundings, so I’d spotted the car parked three houses down from my house before I’d even parked in my driveway and pushed out of my own car. There was no doubt in my mind that it was Gio who’d sent them.
I had two options: pretend like I didn’t see them there and go about my business, or go and confront them.
Or maybe… I spun around on the edge of my driveway, tilting my head to the side, then lifting my hand in a silent wave. Gio wasn’t stupid, he knew I’d spot them in an instant. It was yet another test, one that I would have failed if I pretended I didn’t see them. He thought he was smart, but I was the smarter one.
What the hell was up with that man and tests?
A muscle in my jaw ticced as I turned back to my house and walked up the pathway that carried me from my driveway to my front door.
Most people probably wouldn’t have understood why I lived in a family neighborhood—I knew my family didn’t—but it made perfect sense to me. Maybe people in this neighborhood knew I wasn’t a good guy, but they’d never say anything, not with the links I’d built here. If there was someone weird hanging around, Janet across the road would know in an instant—she was the resident nosey neighbor. If I forgot to put the trash out, then Matt from next door would do it for me without a second thought.
It was a giant community.
This entire place was one big disguise for me, but also, I liked living here. I didn’t have to worry about who I lived next door to—a family with two daughters on one side and a single mother on the other. I was at peace here, even if it was a forty-five-minute drive away—when not stuck in traffic—from the Beretta mansion.
It was my peace and quiet. My sanctuary.
Taking one last glance at the car before I went inside, I heard their engine thrum to life and then they were gone.
