AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m so half asleep and so half giddy, I throw open the door without checking first. It’s not Hawk waiting for me. It’s Rocco De Luca with a couple men right behind him. “I told you I’d see you soon.”
I’m about to scream when something sharps stings my neck. I grab at it and realize it was a needle with who knows what inside.
I start to lose my balance and my vision starts to black out. “What did you…give me?” I try to ask.
Rocco laughs. “You’re coming home with me, Brittney Jameson. We’re going to have lots of fun together,” he says as sound disappears and I’m faintly aware of being carried.
It seems I made it out of one nightmare to be thrust straight into one which is much worse. I only thought I was free.
“Iguess you know you’re not Ethan’s father?”I’m replaying those words in my head as I lie in bed alone. It’s morning and I need to be up, but I can’t shake this bad feeling. Could that be true? Did Angelica really tamper with the results somehow?
I don’t know what exactly happened when Brittney went to see Matteo. Only that she admitted to seeing him and he touched her...his lips and hands touched her. But I didn’t give her a chance to explain anything. I get up and start for the shower and move slowly as my muscles are sore from last night’s fight. Matteo certainly gave as good as he got.
I remember the disgust in Brittney’s eyes when I took Matteo down. That’s what she thinks of me. She’s disgusted and maybe she should be. I’m wallowing deep in self-loathing when Wren throws open my door. “We can’t find her!” she exclaims with tears in her eyes.
“Who?” I ask even as I’m sure I know the answer.
“Brittney. As you know, Hart had to go back home last night, and Brittney was set to check out this morning. I went to her hotel to check on her and take her coffee for the road, and when I got there, her car is there and all her stuff, but she’s not. When management let me in, I found a syringe on the floor. Someone took her, Hawk!” she says as she collapses in my arms.
I hug her, but only for a moment. I pull away to grab my phone and find Matteo’s number as the need to find her overcomes rational thought. “Hello?”
“Where is she?” I demand.
“Who?” he asks.
“Brittney. She’s been kidnapped. Wren found a needle in the doorway of her hotel. Her car and all of her stuff is there,” I tell him as fear pounds through my chest.
“Hawk, please tell me you’re joking,” he says with a tone in his voice, making my hair stand.
“I wish I was,” I admit.
“Damn it. It’s Rocco; he took her. The night she came to see me, he did too. He said he’d be seeing her soon. He knew enough about the fight to know she played a big role in it. Ellie…” He trails off.
“What about Angel?” I ask, instant anger flushing my skin at the mention of his sister. He’s always called her Ellie. She was pouring it on thick at the fight saying now we know Ethan is mine, we can try to be a family for him. I told her again, me and her won’t ever happen. But it’s hard to drive the point home when the boy you’ve just learned is your son stands in front of you.
“She’s been with Rocco off and on over the years behind Dad’s back and against his wishes. When Rocco lost the fight to you, he became unworthy of her in Dad’s eyes. I don’t know how much she’s been in contact with him now, but she may have told him the details and twisted things around like she’s done all this time,” he admits.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Well, she lied and said she had a miscarriage and then lied about Ethan being yours,” he says.
“The results came back yesterday before the fight, the first was inconclusive, but the second said I’m the father,” I say, confused.
“Hell, this is such a mess,” he mumbles. “I told Brittney before the fight, Rocco is the father. It’s what she came to me about that night. She told me everything. About how you found out back then Rocco was the father, or so you thought at the time. That you only proposed because you thought the baby was yours as a sense of responsibility, not love. She called me on my bullshit too because I knew about the arranged marriage between Rocco and Ellie and didn’t tell you. So, I decided to find out for myself because of all the lies, after all, I’m her brother and didn’t know about Ethan.”
I drag my hand down my face.
“Anyway, Rocco came that night as Brittney was done pleading her case for you to me. I walked her out because he was being…creepyeven for him. I held her hand to make sure she was behind me, and I walked her to her car and, yes, touched her face and kissed her forehead because I can’t believe how beautiful she is, inside and out. Trust me, I’d have kissed her lips if I thought she’d let me, but she loves you,” he says sincerely.
“Shit, I messed up,” I mutter.
“You think?” he asks sarcastically. “It’s why I baited you. I knew saying you didn’t deserve her would make you mad enough to knock me out. It worked. I realized I could never trap her in a loveless marriage with me if I won and I didn’t want you to be tied to Ellie after learning the truth about Ethan.”
“So how did you learn Rocco is Ethan’s father?” I ask.
“He spit out a piece of gum in my trash and had a drink in my office when he was there. I took both as well as a sample from Ethan. I personally watched the results be processed. Rocco is his dad, Hawk,” Matteo says.
“How do I find him? Where would he take her?” I ask, desperation clawing at my soul.
