by Soraya Naomi
And now I can sense we’re even more mixed up after our fucking. I need to alleviate her doubt because I simply can’t live like this, in a drunk stupor, aching for the one that got away and unable to forget her. She’s still mine.
I hear Adriano talking to Logan in his office as I go through Keano’s internet history and then his emails. Lastly, I check the sent emails in the folder: J, abort mission. Leave the Loop.
Who’s J? Not Tara.
The send address has the name jlane. If he had contact with a third person, that means we’ve overlooked something, or someone, in this case. Quickly, I cross check the email address via various search engines, but it doesn’t match any online profiles. Then I roll to the side to face our own computer and hack City Hall’s system to pull up Keano’s records, accessing the system without difficulty and reading that he grew up in the Loop and has divorced parents and no siblings besides a half sister on his father’s side, yet her name isn’t mentioned. But the second wife of his father is, and her name is a Robin Lane, who’s been deceased for ten years. Typing away furiously, I search for Robin Lane’s records.
While my palms are turning sweaty, I scroll down the screen until I read that Robin’s daughter is named Jordana Lane – bartender girl.
Jordana is Keano and Tara’s third accomplice and is wandering around here somewhere, but I’ve been so fucking irresponsible due to my own damn heartbreak that I completely missed it. Apparently, Jordana didn’t heed Keano’s warning and is playing some game with me. For two weeks, she’s been flirting with me nonstop. I’ll bet she hopes to find out through me what happened with Keano, or she wants to exact revenge. She must know that he most likely is dead since he’s been missing for this long.
“Goddammit!” I surge up, bursting into the office where Adriano and Logan, standing opposite each other, look at me in unison.
“I just discovered that Keano Mathews has a half sister named Jordana Lane, the brunette bartender. She’s working today, and Mary’s inside the club. We have to find Jordana.” I run out of the office and down the stairs to get to the back entrance.
Speeding through the empty hallway, I open the back door and cross the threshold to the windy street, glancing left and right but seeing no Mary, only random pedestrians and cars. Pivoting back around to call Mary’s phone, I freeze in the doorway when I’m confronted with the barrel of a gun and Jordana forces me to the side, into a blind corner for the security camera.
“I have your precious Mary. Come with me quietly if you want to see her.”
I control my temper and merely hold up my palms, so she motions outside the door with her gun, ordering me to precede her.
“Turn left into the alley,” she says, poking the pistol in my back as I round the corner until we stop beside a black station wagon.
When I see Mary lying on the back seat, I panic. “What the fuck did you do!”
“Shut up!” she yells as I open the door and duck inside.
But before I can touch Mary’s body, I’m clocked in the back of my head and collapse, trying to roll over in the cramped area until I feel a cloth being pressed against my mouth. Kicking her off me is useless as I inhale the scent, tumbling backward while my vision goes black.
***
Someone grunts, and gathering the noise is coming from me, I fight for consciousness. It takes a while, but eventually, I’m able to wake up, and when my eyelids fly open, I’m lying on my side on a cold floor.
The toe of a boot hits my stomach, making me grunt again as I gaze around the scant living room, which seems familiar, and after I recognize the pile of clothes on a small bed, the take-out containers, and the faded wooden floor, I realize I’m in Keano’s studio apartment.
“Welcome back,” Jordana spews, staring down at me with her gun dangling from her hand, and I now notice it’s equipped with a silencer.
Immediately, I attempt to get up, but my hands are secured at my back with tape. My head pounds and I struggle to focus, being somewhat drunk still. A yellowish ceiling lamp lights the space from above, and I zero in on Mary sitting on the floor across from me. She’s cuffed to a radiator pipe running down the side of the heater, her wrists secured in front of her as she sags sideways. I scan her for injuries, but her curls obscure her face as her head hangs forward in her unconscious state.
“How the hell did you get us up here?” I wonder aloud.
“A friendly neighbor helped me carry my drunk boyfriend up and I managed to drag you over from the bed. And I had no problem handling her myself; she weighs nothing.”
“What the fuck do you want?” I roar, unable to get on my goddamn feet.
“I want to fucking know where Keano is. He’s been MIA for two weeks, and I know he escaped you that first time.”
“Who the hell is he to you?” I play dumb, racking my brain for a plan of action, but there’s nothing in this apartment except a bed.
She irately gestures her gun at me. “Christ! I’m his sister, and I know everything.” There’s something about the viciousness in Jordana’s eyes that convinces me Mary and I are in serious trouble.
“What do you mean?”
“I think you know Keano and Tara tried to hack into Club 7 and you did something to them. I believe that because of your fucking infatuation with Mary, you hurt my brother! And Tara. But I don’t care about her. She’s no one, just the idiot inventor of our plan.”
Suddenly, the entire puzzle solves itself. Jordana started to work at Club 7 around six months ago, about the same time Mary met Keano. They targeted Mary and me after Tara probably promised them a shitload of money. But Mary and I ruined their plan when we fell for each other.
Out of the blue, Mary’s body twitches as she groans, and Jordana strides to her, stooping low as Mary wakes up, taking in the scene with a gasp. Jordana grips her hair, tugging her head back roughly, bringing a howl of distress from her. A howl that pierces through my soul. She’s in pain with her throat stretched, her breathing harsh.
“Goddammit! This is between you and me,” I protest, leaping onto my knees.
“Don’t move.” Jordana strokes the tip of her gun down Mary’s throat, and Mary shudders in the restraints.
“She became involved when she screwed up our plans. And what the hell is it about her anyway? You throw me away within seconds when you see her.”
“What the fuck do you want?” I snarl, shifting toward Mary and focusing through my drunken haze as the pistol is shoved in her face.
Jordana shouts, “Move back or I swear to god I’ll shoot her. I have nothing to lose. You guys are fucking crazy, because Keano told me you locked him up in some warehouse right before he disappeared again. Tell me what you did to him!”
I instantly come to a halt but remain quiet.
“Stubborn asshole!” Jordana spits, slapping Mary across the face.
Disgust and fury simmer inside me, and on instinct, I inch forward on my knees, attempting to keep my balance with my hands tied to my back but stopping when the gun is cocked and pushed into Mary’s temple. Mary shrieks, looking at me with panic.
“Tell me!” Jordana releases her and charges at me, smashing the butt of the gun against the side of my head and causing an explosion of pain in my brain before I topple sideways.
“Oh, my god!” Mary screams, but then Jordana paces back to her with a clenched fist and hits her cheek so hard that her head flies to the side.
“Ow!” she weeps, and Jordana punches her again.
“Motherfucking bitch! Keano’s dead! And you’re dead too.” I’m fuming, my mood savage as she responds with another smack to Mary’s temple.
Mary’s right eye has already swelled up, but Jordana isn’t done yet. She grabs her by her hair again, yanking her curls and pushing her gun into Mary’s mouth, a thin layer of perspiration shining on Mary’s forehead.
“I swear I’ll torture you to death. You’ll never be safe from me.” I’m unable to breathe, damning her to hell while I try with all my power to
fucking stand up.
“Blood pays with blood, Henry. You murdered my brother, didn’t you?! And still, you have that cocky attitude. You think you’re God’s gift to women and that I probably yearn for you, but I won’t let you get out of here alive. And just to fuck with you, I’ll kill her too.”
Muscles start to bulge in my arms, my wrath that’s yet to be unleashed building. It’s gutting me to see Mary hurt while I’m this weak, probably also due to the drug Jordana gave me to knock me out earlier. And my emotions explode as Mary’s eyes are damp with tears while she struggles for breath, twitching in the restraints from the agony she feels but succeeding in kicking Jordana backward.
“Let her go. Goddammit!” I thunder at the same time, twisting upward with all my power.
Jordana raises her arm as she drops onto her ass with a loud thud, pointing her weapon at Mary while the air thickens with a coiled, savage tension that doesn’t bode well for any of us.
“You fucking bitch!” My desperate shout echoes off the walls when a bullet is fired as I collapse onto Jordana with all my weight, pushing her onto her back. When I’m in this sort of cold rage, nothing can stop me.
With my hands tied, I have no choice but to head-butt her as she fights me. In the meantime, I bellow, “Mary!” needing to know if she’s all right. My tone is unlike it’s ever been before: unsteady, unsure.
Then Jordana manages to escape from under me since I can’t access my full strength, and I look at Mary, shifting to my knees while breathing noisily. Complete shock is written all over her face as she’s doubled over as far as she’s able while being cuffed to the pipe, and to my absolute horror, blood is seeping from her side through her cream dress.
Jordana directs her pistol at me. “You’re next, asshole.”
All I wanted was to protect Mary and I failed. Fury thunders like an unquenchable fire. I begin to shake on my knees, the nightmare cutting through my body while I watch Mary through a blinding fog of tears. With every passing moment, the reality of the situation is growing more horrendous – the bullet hit her and she’s losing massive amounts of blood.
CHAPTER 42
Mary
Dazed and with a dull, burning feeling down my left side, I stare at Henry.
I’ve been shot.
The bullet grazed me, pulling chunks of skin with it, and I’m not sure if it’s lodged in me or not. Slouched against the wall, I open my mouth and try to protest as Jordana stands before Henry, ready to blast him, but he lurches his body sideways, hurling himself against her legs so that she sprawls backward. Only, she bolts up, aiming at Henry’s stomach and firing while he’s lying on the floor, his white dress shirt saturating with crimson.
“No...” I plead in anguish when she discharges another bullet into his stomach.
Seeing Henry broken because he tried his damnedest to help me – regardless of the danger to himself – is slowly killing me.
However, thank god, Henry lets out a violent growl and breaks the tape wrapped around his wrists as he bounds up, staggering but finding his footing as he jumps on Jordana. While they wrestle, she spears her knee into his stomach and he roars his physical pain. Clearly, he’s exhausted, filled with agony as he grunts while I’m cuffed to the radiator and unable to move with a raw throbbing down my side.
As they struggle, Henry slams her arm above her head, causing her to release her grip on the gun and he steals it from the floor. Then, with a thunderous groan, he shoots once, hitting a floorboard, and in the blink of an eye, he pushes the barrel into her forehead and pulls the trigger, gore spraying out as Jordana goes slack.
Dropping the gun, Henry collapses onto his back and I sob in terror. Henry’s abdomen is covered in blood as his soaked dress shirt sticks to his skin.
“Henry,” I implore, yet it comes out whisper-soft because of my own injury.
Sluggishly, he turns his head and crawls to me while I’m struggling for air, a chill biting into my bones.
“M-Mary, stay awake,” he utters weakly as he drags his body in front of me, lying on his back, his head at my hips, but because I’m cuffed, I can’t even touch him as tears pour down my cheeks.
“You too.” I inhale, and a stab of pain courses through me. “W-we need help.”
“My phone’s in my pocket...It’ll be tracked the second the Syndicate finds out we’re both missing. A member will be on the way...” He coughs and I shriek when I notice blood on his lips before his eyes fall closed.
“Henry! St-stay awake.” My voice is shaking and I’m determined to remain conscious to keep him alert as well. “Grab your phone in case they haven’t found out!”
Henry groans, attempting to move, but he’s used up all his strength. He looks up slightly, meeting my eyes, and I weep at the sight of the blood streaks on his face. A devilishly handsome face I’ve loved and hated and pushed away.
“I’m not sure I’ll make it—”
“D-don’t you dare say that,” I beg him, my heart in turmoil while my body is damaged as well.
“Let me say this to you...I need you to know that I love you. This is my version of love, Mary. I take risks and jeopardize everything. I bent over backwards to keep your world unharmed, but I failed. I’m just an idiot when it comes to expressing feelings. And it was never about securing my position after we had sex. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t have done for you. Why didn’t you see that?”
I’m shattered that I can’t even touch and console him. “I do know, Henry. And I love you too, and I’d do all of that for you too,” I admit, finding power in the depths of my soul to speak, even though I’m worn out and suffering.
He tries to grin around a grimace, his voice becoming gentle. “I regret a lot in my life but not meeting you. Even though”—he inhales a deep breath—“you’ve gotten me into some tricky situations.”
“I can’t lose you now, Henry. Don’t leave me,” I cry, sensing that our bond is being broken by an impending death.
“I’m trying,” he replies with a tear rolling down his cheek when his eyes flutter closed.
“Try harder.” I manage to jar him with my knee, and he opens them again.
Staring at his drained posture, I’m swirling in dread at the sight of the pool of blood around his middle, and a need to confess swells inside me.
Sobbing, I say, “Pl-please don’t leave me alone. I’m sorry. Sorry for pushing you away.”
“I know,” he whispers, locking his red-rimmed eyes with mine. “Someday someone will give you the perfect trust and commitment you seem to seek, Mary.”
Then his gaze turns unfocused and his head lolls to the side, and I’m terrified the worst has happened when his entire frame is motionless.
“Henry...No! Henry,” I beg, praying to God that he’s still alive.
Freaked out and petrified, I push against him with my knee, but I have no willpower anymore as I mutter, “H-Henry...”
The silence gives me a bleak prediction, and I cry, ignoring my outer pain since the hole in my heart enlarges each time he doesn’t respond when I murmur his name.
“No...Henry...Henry!” Tears singe my cheeks, and I can’t see a thing through my wailing and the disbelief of my current circumstances.
Then, all of a sudden, it’s as if the temperature has dropped to subzero as I struggle to breathe, every bone in my body stinging. My head feels extremely heavy and I battle to stay awake. Though a new level of fright surfaces when the front door is banged open, yet I can’t concentrate as I see blurs and hear distorted, faraway voices.
“Get the stretchers in here. Now,” someone orders. “Mary?”
Abruptly, there’s a dark shadow right beside me, and I make a sound, but nothing comes out.
“Mary? Dammit! Stay awake, sis.” Carmine’s warm hand touches my cheek.
I hear a bang, and Carmine lifts me up like a doll and I’m laid down on something soft. Lethargically, I gaze around to watch them put Henry on a stretcher.
“I-Is he alive?” I croak
out, catching one man shaking his head, so I bawl, “No!” right before an oxygen mask is placed over my face and I float into unconsciousness where I escape the real world.
In truth, my heart simply can’t cope with losing the man I love.
CHAPTER 43
Mary
I wake up in an unfamiliar pristine white room, lying tucked beneath the softest linens. Turning my head to the window to my right, I note that the sky is still pitch-black, and as I sit up to try to see out the open door, the skin on my side pulls tight. Looking down, I swipe the sheet off me and discover that I’m in a hospital gown, gauze taped to my left side. Fortunately, I don’t feel any pain. Mostly, I’m tired and weary.
What time is it? And what hospital am I?
Memories invade my mind, but all I need to know is what happened to Henry, so I get out of bed, swaying on my legs yet summoning all my strength to walk to the doorway where a guard blocks my path.
“Mary, you’re up.”
“What time is it?” I ask, extremely thirsty.
“Midnight. Go back to bed, and I’ll get your doctor.”
I plead, “No. Where’s Henry?”
“I don’t know.” His brows furrow as a plump nurse enters my room and smiles widely at me.
“Miss Montesi—”
“Tell me where Henry Pierce is!” I repeat, becoming frustrated in all my grief.
The nurse comes up to me, treating me like a fragile child as she places her hands on my shoulders. “I don’t know who that is, but I’ll get your brothers, okay? Stay calm. We gave you a few stitches in your side.”
“I don’t care about that,” I insist, glancing at the guard with teary eyes. “Please tell me. Is he dead?”
The guard sends me a sympathetic look. “I don’t know, Mary. I’ll get Adriano.”
“Hurry,” I mutter after him, emptiness growing inside me as I stare at the doorway while excruciating seconds pass.
