I hated this. I hated everything about this stupid fuckin’ place.
I halted two doors away from my apartment.
Maybe I should leave.
My breaths came easier as the thought occurred to me. Could I leave? I’d be abandoning my plans. I’d have to start over with literally nothing but the clothes on my back. It’d be hard, but it’d be worth it to get away from them.
I slapped my hand on the brickwork, wincing as the sharp edges of it dug into my palms.
No. I wouldn’t leave. I wouldn’t let them push me out. I wouldn’t let them win. I was here to change my life in spite of them. I’d yank myself out from the pits of hell even if it was only for a glimpse of sunshine.
I turned slowly, renewed energy flowing through me. I wasn’t going to be the same Luna they thought I was. I wasn’t going to be the girl who took and took without saying a word. I was done being the nice guy. I was done taking the heat. I was done—
My heart beat wildly as an engine in the otherwise quite night seeped through my ranting thoughts. I knew who it was before I set eyes on the gleaming black SUV.
He was here. But I knew it wasn’t for me. He was here for himself, just like my parents were.
* * *
MATEO
I wasn’t sure why I was here. Maybe it was because my body was working on automatic and I’d headed here after leaving the mansion. Or maybe it was because of a certain blue-eyed girl that I couldn’t get out of my head no matter how much I tried.
It had been two weeks since I’d watched her walk out of my apartment.
Fourteen days since I’d felt her skin against mine.
It was too long to go without our lips fused together, but also not long enough.
She couldn’t see me through the tinted windows, yet if felt like her eyes were burning a path through the bulletproof surface. Her body didn’t move, her muscles locking into place as she watched me.
I had the splatter of blood still on my shirt from earlier, but it wasn’t that stopping me from opening the door and going to her.
No.
It was the thought of where it would lead. If I took a leap, I was afraid I’d crash and break into a thousand pieces. I saw it when I looked into her eyes—the depth I could fall into.
I shook my head, scraping my hand down my face but not looking away from her. Physical distance separated us, but there was so much more than that. It didn’t matter that she could understand me more than anyone else—we’d been raised with addicts, something most people couldn’t identify with. It didn’t matter that when I touched her, something roared to life inside me. It didn’t matter that the kids loved her.
She wasn’t meant to be in my life. She wasn’t meant to be part of the world I’d gladly stepped in when I needed it most. I was trapped, but not like I had been at home. I wanted to be part of the criminal world. I wanted to protect the people I cared about most.
And I refused to let her be one of them.
There was a valley of space between us with no bridge to lead the way.
I knew why I’d come here. I’d come here to prove to myself that I didn’t need her. I’d come to show her that just because I could get to her, didn’t mean I couldn’t stop myself.
I licked my lips, rubbing at my chest as the finality of the situation washed over me. I’d never second-guessed a one-night stand. I’d never given it more thought as soon as they walked out the door. But Luna was different. Which was why I lifted off the brakes, pressed my foot to the accelerator, and drove away, leaving the moments we’d had behind, never to be had again.
CHAPTER 9
LUNA
I could hear the music blasting from the apartment before I’d even made it to the top of the stairs. The thumping beat caused the doors of the other apartments to shake, and I had no doubt the neighbors on either side of us were done with listening to the screaming music. I wasn’t even sure what they were listening to could even be considered music. It was more like a thousand different beats all competing with each other to see which one could be the loudest.
The door to my apartment was ajar, and I cursed at them for letting people in yet again. My rant the other night hadn’t made a bit of difference, if anything, it had made them worse. As if they wanted to prove to me that it didn’t matter what I said, they’d do whatever the hell they wanted to.
Message received. Loud and clear.
I closed my eyes, my palm pressing against the cool surface of the door. I needed to get myself together before I stepped in there. It was becoming too much for me to handle, and each time I walked up the stairs, I just wanted to turn back around and escape the madness.
It felt so much harder now that I didn’t have the distraction of Cardo and Chiara downstairs. I grinned as I thought about their little faces. At least they’d gotten out of their situation. I supposed that was the one good thing about Mateo disappearing on me.
Loud voices echoed past the bass of the music, and I knew that was my signal to head inside. I pushed the door open, jerking back as someone tried to slam it back on me. “What the fuck?”
“Leave,” a man with scars all over his face demanded.
“Not a goddamn chance.” I clicked the door closed behind me. “This is my apartment.”
His lips lifted into a sneer, his body odor getting stronger the longer I stood in the enclosed space of the entrance with him. Jesus. Where the hell did they manage to find these people?
“Hey, Kyle!” he shouted, leering at me. My breath stuttered at the sound of my dad’s name. He blocked my path into the living room and to the stairs. “You didn’t tell me you had a piece of ass living here.”
“Stan,” Dad shouted, rushing from the living room. He looked the most sober I’d seen him since we’d moved here. “Leave her alone.”
“Why?” Stan asked, but he didn’t take his eyes off me. He licked his lips, his rank breath so bad I was sure it’d be green in the air. “You know how we like to share.”
My dad’s gaze flicked between the two of us, but as he tried to move past Stan, someone grabbed him from behind, not letting him through. “Not her.” He stretched his arm out, but it was no use because a second guy wrapped his arm around his neck from behind, effectively locking him in place. “Leave her out of it.”
Stan tilted his head to the side, staring at me with a different kind of interest. “You clean?”
“Damn fuckin’ straight I am.” My nostrils flared. “Now get the hell out of my way.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, a grin spread over his face, showcasing his rotten teeth. “No can do, princess.” He winked, darting forward, and grabbed me around the neck. His dirty fingernails dug into my soft flesh, promising to leave crescent-shaped bruises behind. “Mommy and Daddy dearest owe us.”
“No!” Dad screamed, trying to fight his way through the wall of bodies separating him and us. “I’ll do it. I’ll do it.”
Stan whirled around and whipped his arm out. “Shut the fuck up!” The glint of something shiny coming from his hand had me stumbling back. A gun. He had a gun. “One more word and I’ll put a bullet in your head and take your little prize and make her mine.” He grabbed his crotch, licking his lips so wide he was practically touching his chin with his tongue. “Understood?”
Dad’s stare met mine, sadness echoing in the same blue eyes that we both shared. “Understood,” he croaked out, backing away and letting me see past him. Mom was sitting in her usual spot on the sofa, her head turned forward, ignoring what was happening only feet away from her.
“Now,” Stan said, turning around and letting his arm drop at his side, but he didn’t let go of the gun. “As I was saying…Mommy and Daddy owe us a debt.” He scratched the side of his head with his grubby finger. “And you are gonna pay it.”
I shook my head so hard I felt my brain rattling in my skull. “No.” My breath burned my lungs as I held it, too scared to move a single inch. “No.”
“Yes.” He saunter
ed toward me, pressing his body against mine and trapping me against the door. I should have left when I had the chance. I should have turned around and walked right out, leaving them to deal with the crooks standing in our apartment.
But no. I’d decided to stop taking shit from them, and now I was here, knowing that whatever would happen next would mark a moment in my life I’d never be able to forget.
I dragged in shallow breaths, trying not to take in his acrid scent. “One job.” He paused, pulling his head back enough so he could stare right into my eyes. “And the debt will be paid.”
“What…” I cleared my throat, everything in me begging to look at my dad where I could still sense him out of the corner of my eye, but I knew I couldn’t take my eyes off Stan. “What job?”
“Just a simple thing really.” His lips quirked. “You get something for us out of a car.” He shrugged, the movement causing his gun to trail over my hand. I jumped at the touch, squeaking. He laughed, so loud, and directly in my face I was sure I’d throw up if he didn’t move away asap. My stomach churned, not just at the smell surrounding me, but at the thought of doing this “simple job.”
There was no such thing as simple when it came to men like him. I’d known it the first time I’d had to steal because there had been no food in the house for three days. I’d known it when the local crew got me to sit on the swing set all day during school vacation so that I could work the debt off that Mom and Dad had run up. They said a little girl hanging around the park was less suspicious, and now, I understood what I’d been doing. It wasn’t trash that I was placing in the bin, it was bags of pills or powders. I was a drug runner. They’d used me to cover their asses, but at least we’d had food on our table that summer.
At least back in our old place I knew the dangers I could run into. I knew the people who would let me take care of it and the ones who wouldn’t take anything but cold hard cash as payment. But here, with these men, I had no idea what I was about to face. But what I did know was that I’d go with them. I’d clean up the mess, just like I always did.
“Fine.” I pushed my shoulders back as much as I could, trapped between Stan and the door. “When?”
“Right now.” He stepped back, waving his gun in the air. “You first.” I reached for the door handle but didn’t look away from him. I knew better than to turn my back on people like him. Not that not looking at my face would have stopped him if he wanted to kill me. The fact was, if he wanted me dead, I’d already be lying in a puddle of blood on the floor with at least one bullet in me. “It goes without saying,” Stan continued as I pulled the door open and took a backward step out into the cooling air. The evenings were dropping in temperature now that fall was heading our way. “If you run, I shoot you.”
“Of course.” I paused on the walkway in front of the apartment doors. “Where to?”
“Brown car.” I turned, seeing the brown car in question idling at the curb. I wasn’t sure if it had been there when I’d gotten off the bus, not that it mattered. There was one person in the driver’s seat waiting, his attention focused up at us.
“Let’s do this,” I said, taking a breath and pushing everything else out of my mind. My feet carried me forward, my breaths coming easier the more I moved away from the apartment. I didn’t hesitate as I walked toward the car, pulling open the back door without being told to.
“You done this before, huh?” Stan said, getting into the front seat. The two guys who had held Dad back slipped in on each side of me in the back. I didn’t look at them though, I kept my gaze focused forward on the road ahead as they pulled away from the curb. “Silence.” Stan hummed in the back of his throat. “Smart girl.”
I didn’t answer him. I had no intention of talking to him longer than I had to. Thank God we were only in the car fifteen minutes before they pulled up in front of a row of stores. A laundromat was squeezed in the middle of a corner store and a takeout place. I took in every bit of detail, making sure I knew what I was heading into.
I gripped on to my thighs, my nails digging into the black threadbare jeans I wore. “What’s the—”
“There,” Stan interrupted, not letting me finish. I frowned at him and followed where he pointed on the opposite side of the street.
Turning my head, I tried to figure out what he was saying. There was a restaurant there, but there were only a few cars out there and it didn’t even look like it was open.
“The restaurant?”
“No.” Stan turned in his seat, grinning at me. “The Mercedes parked outside it.”
My heart raced in my chest. I’d do many things, but stealing a car wasn’t one of them. I’d get caught for sure. “I can’t steal it,” I told him, feeling the burning on my cheeks. “I don’t know how.”
“You don’t need to steal the car.” He fished something out of his pocket and placed his gun on his lap. It hung precariously on one of his thighs, and I winced as I imagined it falling to the floor and going off accidentally. Actually, maybe that would be my out. I stared at it, willing it to go off randomly, but a hand grabbing my face had my attention diverting from the shining metal to the man who was clearly the boss of this group. He hung a black fob in front of my face. It swung back and forth. “Take this. Open the trunk. There’ll be a black bag marked with the numbers one-three-nine.” He paused, pinching my face harder in his grasp. “Get the bag. Bring it to us.” I nodded, grinding my teeth when he didn’t let go of my face. “You don’t get the bag; I go back and kill them.”
His threat was loud and clear, not that he needed to say it. It was unspoken, something which I’d learned when I was a kid. My parents’ lives were always used as a threat, and I wondered if it would ever stop. I told myself everything I did was to get out of the life they’d placed me in, but would I truly ever leave? I’d always be dragged back for things like this. I’d always be bailing them out.
He pushed my face away. “Go.” I didn’t get a chance to catch my bearings before I was being hauled out of the back of the car and deposited on the sidewalk. Stan held the fob out of the open window, dropping it into my palm. “We’ll be back in four minutes. Timer is on, princess.”
They sped away from the curb, leaving me all alone with my mission. I could have walked away. I could have run and not looked back. He’d go back to the apartment and get rid of my parents and then I’d be free.
Free of the guilt.
Free of the deadweight holding me back.
But the ache in my chest told me there was no way I’d do it. It didn’t matter what my mom and dad did, they’d brought me into this world. I couldn’t betray that, no matter what they did.
So I took a step off the sidewalk, crossed the street, and headed straight to the Mercedes sitting loud and proud between two other cars. The fob was smooth against my fingers, one button carved into the backside. I clicked it when I was a couple of feet away and the trunk popped open.
My pulse quickened, the fear and adrenaline pushing me forward. I had to be fast, I’d already counted to forty-five in my head which meant I only had three minutes left until they’d be back.
I scanned the parking lot, not seeing a single person. My hand trailed over the top of the trunk and I jerked it up. A light inside illuminated several backpacks. They each had different numbers on them. Shit. What number did he say would be on the bag? I racked my brain, panicking the longer I stared. One, three…shit, shit, shit. What was the last number? One, three…nine! I rummaged for it, and as soon as I spotted the three numbers in the right order, I grabbed it, slammed the trunk shut, and ran back to the sidewalk just in time to see them speeding around the corner.
Their tires squealed as they stopped directly beside me. Stan grinned and held his arms out of the window. I handed him the bag, relief washing through me.
“You did goo—” His eyes widened, his head whipping around to the driver. “Go!” He slammed his hand on the dash and pushed the bag between his legs.
“What the fuck?” I whisper
ed, staring at the license plate as they sped away. The fob was still in my hand, and I turned to look back at the Mercedes, but I didn’t get the chance to take stock of anything because a man was two feet away, heading for me, his hand raised.
Something hard connected with my temple, and even though I was aware of falling, I couldn’t stop myself.
“Call the boss,” a deep voice grunted, right as I was hit in the same spot again, turning everything black.
* * *
MATEO
I lifted the satellite phone off the desk in the command center, cursing silently when I saw Romeo’s name flash across the screen. He knew we were in the middle of a meeting, but what he didn’t know was that Dante had requested it and was currently talking through the speakerphone set in the middle of the table.
“He’s planted devices in my place and in all of the cars,” Dante said as I denied the call from Romeo. I focused back on Lorenzo and Christian who were sitting around the table, listening intently to him. “Mr. Blue said he could hack the devices back and listen in on them.”
“Good.” Lorenzo glanced at me. I was the main contact for Mr. Blue. “Make sure it gets done, Mateo.”
“On it,” I said, gritting my teeth as the satellite phone rang again. “I’ll call him as soon as we finish up here.”
Lorenzo nodded. “Anything else to report?” he asked Dante.
“Nope.” There was shuffling on the line. “I gotta head to a meeting.”
Lorenzo didn’t say another word as he ended the call. Him and his brother hadn’t been on the best of terms since Lorenzo had become boss, but now that Dante was in another state, expanding the business, they seemed to be building bridges. “Christian, get in touch with our contact on the inside here, see if they can find anything else.” He paused as Christian stood. “But be discreet.”
Mateo Caputo: Unseen Underground Page 10
