Hers to Love

by Talia Ellison

  “God, Dylan! Yes, we can do both!” I raised my voice, then took a shuddery breath to get back in control of myself. “It might be the same people who took them. Just do as I said.”

  He dipped his head, and went to take a seat in front of one of the computers.

  “Oswald has been with the Viteris for years,” Marco said. “But he seemed to be in charge, because he was the only one talking and everyone else was just standing behind him. He said that they have all come to the conclusion that Aaron shouldn’t be in charge because Roberto wanted him dead. They believe Aaron was a traitor, and that Roberto had died because of him.”

  “Do they really think Aaron killed Roberto? But if they were so bothered by that, why not act sooner? I thought the opinions were divided, not that everyone agreed.” I wished the ones who didn’t agree had just left, but they liked the power they had when they acted under the Viteris’ name, and who knows what they’d done. Someone could seek retribution against them if they didn’t have a powerful family’s protection. “What changed their minds?”

  “Oswald convinced them to join his cause. I think he’s been plotting this the whole time, but we failed to see it. Everyone was plotting something, so... But they found out about Sebastian, and they only need a Viteri to be able to continue the business as usual.”

  I indicated to Marco to take a seat in one of the chairs and he gingerly sat down. Michael came in with a medical kit.

  “I notified everyone,” he said, and placed the medical kit on one of the desks. He took out a bandage and came over to Marco.

  “Thanks.” I was glad I didn’t have to bandage Marco’s wounds because my hands would probably be shaking too much. “So they chose Sebastian over Aaron.”

  “Yeah, it looks like it,” Marco said. “I don’t think they even know about the will, but they know how things went down between Roberto and Aaron and that was enough for them. We tried to dissipate all the rumors circling around about Aaron, but Oswald could’ve dismissed anything we said as lies. Aaron isn’t very popular among Roberto’s men anyway. And once they found out they had a second choice...”

  “Didn’t Aaron tell them about Sebastian’s involvement with my family?” I was sure that would’ve stopped at least some of them and forced them to think twice about what they were doing. “Why take a stranger over Aaron? They know Aaron, and they can’t all believe Oswald’s lies. Or didn’t Aaron have time to explain?”

  “He managed to say it, but that was when Oswald attacked with that damn dart.” Marco ground his teeth together, and I wasn’t sure if it was from anger or because Michael had hit a tender spot while tending to his injured arm.

  “You think they didn’t believe him?” I pressed my fist to my mouth, biting into my finger. This was bad. Really bad. “What are they going to do to Aaron? Where could they’ve taken him? If they don’t know Roberto officially left Sebastian everything and they want to get rid of...” I couldn’t finish that sentence.

  “No. If they wanted to kill him, they would’ve done it then and there. And turning against Aaron like that would make them look bad in front of everyone. Aaron’s still a Viteri. I don’t know what Oswald made everyone believe, but I think they might try to convince Aaron to sign a deal that he’s stepping down and that Sebastian is the only true heir.” Marco rolled his shoulder and inclined his head to Michael, who had finished dressing his wounds.

  “Was this whole thing Sebastian’s plan? To distract us with Tony so he could do this?” Aaron had been still taking care of his business, but with my brother gone, I didn’t think we’d been able to pay attention to everything.

  “Probably.” Marco groaned. “We have to find Aaron before it’s too late.”

  “Aaron won’t sign anything, and if they need him alive...”

  “Sebastian might not need him alive,” Marco said, his brow wrinkled with worry. “It’s one thing if the guards kill Aaron, but if Sebastian does it... It would be a regular takeover.”

  “Shit.” I slammed my fist onto the desk, ignoring the pain that shot up my hand. “What are we going to do?” My eyes fell on one of the phones that was lying next to the computers. Dylan was still typing something, but there didn’t seem to be anything he could find. “I have Sebastian’s number. I know he won’t tell us if he has Aaron and has other plans, but...”

  “Maybe we can track him.” Dylan turned in his chair.

  “We already tried that,” Marco said. “The number’s untraceable.”

  “Nothing’s untraceable,” Dylan said. “You just need to know how to get to it. Tony has a nice program that could do the work for us. I just need to figure out how to start it. It’s worth a shot. Sebastian probably knows how to block anything coming from the Viteris, but our computers... He shouldn’t know much about that, unless Tony told him, which would be very unlikely.”

  “Okay,” I said, pulling my phone out of the pocket of my jeans. “I just don’t know if this means that Sebastian has Tony too and has been playing us, or are these two separate plans? If other families are on the move too, this might be bigger than just the Viteris’ inheritance thing.”

  Dylan rubbed his nose. “You think Sebastian got in league with other families?”

  I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I dialed the number. “I don’t know.” I was getting really tired of saying that.

  “Hello?” Sebastian said cautiously. “Who’s this?”

  I was surprised he’d picked up at all, considering I was calling from a secret number. “It’s Octavia.”

  “Ferrara? Did you find Tony?” The hopeful note in Sebastian’s voice annoyed me to no end. If he was faking it all...

  “No. Where’s Aaron? We know you convinced Roberto’s men to pick you to lead them and took Aaron to force him to give you what you want and sign over everything to you. Where is he?” We didn’t really know anything, but I wanted to hear Sebastian’s reaction.

  “What?” There was a quick intake of breath on the other end of the line and it didn’t sound fake.

  “Oh, don’t play dumb. You came here to take over. Your man Oswald did his job. Now tell me where Aaron is or...”

  “I did come here to take over because I don’t think Aaron’s the right person to lead the business, and I spoke to some of my late brother’s men, but I don’t know anyone named Oswald. I’ve no idea where Aaron is.”

  “Who did you speak to then? And what did you tell them to do? Kidnap Aaron? Or did you merely suggest they should rebel so that nothing is your fault? Do you think you can just kill Aaron and get everything? Well, think again! If anything happens to Aaron, I’ll be coming for you, and I won’t care about any damn deals or anything.” I was really hoping I was wrong about him.

  “What are you talking about? I wouldn’t kill my nephew unless he forced my hand. I certainly didn’t kidnap him or tell anyone to do that. How can you even...? Ah, yes, that’s what he and my brother would’ve done, isn’t it? I’m not them. Stop accusing me of something I didn’t do. I’ve no time for this. Tony needs me and I’m not going to waste my time arguing about...” Sebastian actually sounded offended.

  But if he had what he wanted, why would he insist on a lie? Did I dare to assume he was telling the truth? Or was he just choosing his words carefully? Dylan waved at me and pointed at the screen of his computer. Sebastian crossed the street and disappeared from view. He was out somewhere in the free zone, and not with Aaron. Or was he still just a distraction?

  “If you didn’t take Aaron, then someone else did, and they say they’re doing it in your name. Any idea who that might be?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not going to tell you all about my plans. For all I know, you’re lying to get information out of me. This conversation’s over.” He ended the call.

  “What did he say?” Dylan asked. “I lost him on the cameras. He’s probably going to lie low for now.”

  “He says he didn’t take Aaron and doesn’t know anything about that.”

  “He’s lyi
ng. He has to be,” Marco said. “What is he claiming his plans are all about? A peaceful takeover? Yeah, right. As if that has ever happened.”

  “But he knows we’re aware of his plans, so if he does something... And if he’s telling the truth and someone else is doing this...” I shook my head. “Watch over Sebastian, but we shouldn’t focus all our attention on him. Maybe he really doesn’t want to kill Aaron and will have someone torture him and get him to sign instead. And if he’s telling the truth... then watching him is useless anyway.”

  “Do you think we’ll find Aaron in time?” Marco looked up at me.

  “We have to.”

  Chapter 11

  A scream cut through the air, and Dylan, Marco, and I looked at each other. We’d been trying to find anything that could help us figure out where Tony and Aaron were, but we’d had very little success. Whoever had taken them knew exactly what they were doing.

  I immediately jumped to my feet, drawing my gun, and raced into the hallway. Dylan and Marco followed me. The scream seemed to have come from one of the rooms... my parents’ bedroom. I burst through the open door and stopped dead in my tracks. Tucking the gun into the holster, I stared at my mom, who was sitting on the bed and crying over a small box. My dad held a piece of paper in his hand, his face was grave.

  “What happened?” Dylan asked as he and Marco finally entered too. Marco was standing close to the door, as if unsure if he was allowed to come in. I inched closer to my parents, my eyes fixed on the box in my mom’s grasp.

  “Vincenzo, you have to do something! We can’t... My poor boy...” my mom choked out. My heart skipped a beat when I saw what was in the box. A finger lay nestled on a small red cushion, and I averted my gaze, bile rising in my throat. Tony’s finger. Someone had sent us my brother’s finger. Oh, God.

  Jason and Michael appeared in the doorway, and Jason scowled as he saw Marco.

  “It’s the Ferlantes,” my father said, waving with the paper. Jason crossed the room and took the paper from my father, frowning at it.

  “What do they want?” I asked. “How did they even get here? They aren’t even from this city.” They weren’t really a crime family; more like a huge and powerful gang led by a few people who called themselves the Ferlantes.

  “They want control over a part of our territory closest to the border,” my father said. “They want to spread their business into our city.”

  “And they’re the only ones big enough to represent a serious threat,” Jason said, handing the paper to Michael. “They must have convinced Aisbella to let them in.”

  “Convinced?” Dylan asked. “You mean blackmailed them or drove them out somehow? Aisbella’s men don’t stand a chance against the Ferlantes, and the only reason they were allowed to continue their business was because the Ferlantes allowed it and weren’t interested in spreading into our city. I guess things have changed.”

  “It doesn’t matter how they got here! We need to get our son back!” my mom said.

  “Why are they asking just for a part of our territory? Why not everything?” Jason’s brow furrowed.

  “It’s a trap, Jason,” my father said. “It makes sense that we wouldn’t give up everything for only one member of our family, and the territory they ask for is insignificant to us. But once we allow them to enter our city and play on our ground, they’re going to be coming for more. In fact, I believe their plan is to attack as soon as we agree to their deal. I doubt they’ll return Tony back to us alive.”

  “What are you saying?” My mom got to her feet, a dazed look in her eyes. “You’re going to do nothing? You’re going to let them kill our son?”

  “No, Eleonora.” My father placed his hands on my mom’s shoulders, rubbing gently. “We’ll get Tony back, but we have to hurry. They gave us a limited time to respond.”

  “It makes sense that it was someone outside the city,” Dylan said. “We wouldn’t be able to track down all their spies and agents. We were focusing on people here and foreigners could’ve gone under our radar.”

  “But now that we know who they are we can find them, right?” I asked. “I mean, you can reach out to your spies and figure out who works for the Ferlantes...”

  “That’ll take too long.” Michael gave me a sad look. “We don’t have that much time.”

  “Do you think they have Aaron too? Would they really try to take on both the Viteris and us?” That was very, very ambitious, and I didn’t know how anyone would think that would work out. Unless they planned to blackmail everyone and get them to sign their crazy deals, then kill them to make sure there would be no retaliation.

  “They’re probably in league with other families and plan to divide our territories among themselves,” my father said.

  “Maybe Sebastian made an agreement with them too?” Michael said. “He could keep most of the Viteris’ territory and give the Ferlantes some.”

  “They think we’re weak after the war, so we won’t risk starting another one,” my father said.

  “Are they right?” Jason asked. “Surely we can take them out. Or strike against their leaders. That note they sent us is already an act of war. We have to respond. With fire.”

  “Their leaders are no doubt protected, and we don’t know yet who is helping them,” my father said. “If everyone joins in against us, possibly the Viteris too, led by Sebastian now that Aaron is...” His eyes flickered to me. “...not here, we don’t stand a chance. We need to find out which families sided with the Ferlantes, and I doubt anyone will reveal it openly.”

  “But finding out all that can take ages!” I said. “We need to find Tony and Aaron now.”

  “I’m aware of that, Princess. You three,” my father looked at Jason, Michael, and Dylan, “come with me to my office. We need to devise a strategy.”

  My brothers nodded.

  “Princess, you stay here with your mother.” My father’s face softened as he placed his hand on my mom’s cheek and wiped away her tears. “Give this to me.” He pried the box with Tony’s finger out of her grasp. Her body rocked with another wave of tears and she slumped onto the bed, covering her face with her hands.

  “Sir!” A guard came running toward us, his face red. He stopped at the door next to Marco, panting hard.

  “What is it?” my father asked.

  “There’s a woman outside the house. She says she wants to speak with you and that it’s urgent,” the guard said.

  “Did she say her name?” my father asked. Why would some woman come here requesting to speak to my father? It had to be some kind of a trap.

  “No, she just says she’s a friend. She’ll only talk to you personally because she’s concerned for her safety.” The guard stepped forward, pulling out a phone, and handed it to my father. “This is her photo.”

  My father grunted. “How am I supposed to know who she is when she’s dressed like that? Tell her to reveal herself.”

  “I already asked, but she refuses. She claims she has important information for you and will meet only with you or a member of your family. She said she’d send you a message, but doesn’t trust any of us... Um, I mean, any of your guards.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” my father said. “How does she expect me to trust her?”

  The guard just shrugged. “She said that if you gave her a phone and spoke with her for a moment, you’d let her in. She’d send one of her own to you, but you’d think it’s a bomb or something, so she’ll be waiting.”

  “Does anyone recognize her?” My father turned the screen toward my brothers and then toward me. The woman was wearing a long black coat, her hair hidden under a black veil, her eyes covered with thick shades.

  “She could be anyone,” Jason said, and for once, I agreed with him. “What does she want?”

  “It definitely sounds like a trap.” Dylan folded his arms. “She claims to have some important information, but she won’t say who she is or what that information is. She wants to lure us out or something.”

  �
�What if she knows where Tony is?” my mom said, hope glistening in her eyes. “You have to talk to her. Send her a walkie-talkie! She can’t hurt us that way.”

  My father seemed to consider it for a moment. “Fine. Give her one of the walkie-talkies, but make sure she can’t use it against us or intercept our conversation. Don’t let her out of your sight or allow her to keep the device. Destroy it right after she uses it.”

  The guard nodded, and headed for the door. Michael went after him, and returned with one of the walkie-talkies. We all waited, and Dylan brought up the camera footage on his phone.

  “Hello?” a female voice said through the speaker. “Anyone listening?”

  “Does she sound familiar?” my mom asked.

  “I don’t know. Yes, and no.” My father said. “The voice is distorted, but I think...”

  “Hello? Come on, Ferrara. Don’t leave me waiting out here. You need me. I helped you before and I can help you now. Oh, and don’t say my name out loud. We don’t know who’s listening or who can intercept this. You can’t trust your guards or anyone. Just let me come inside and I’ll tell you everything. In private. I’d tell you to come outside or meet me somewhere else, but I know you won’t risk that.”

  “Who are you?” my father asked.

  The woman snorted on the other end of the line. “A friend from afar. I met your daughter not that long ago.”

  My father and I looked at each other.

  “Lora Hulsey?” I whispered to him. She was the only woman from afar I’d met recently. What the hell was she doing here?

  “It does sound like her a bit now that that I think about it,” my father said.

  “She helped us against Roberto’s men, but that doesn’t mean she’ll help us now,” Dylan said. “She’ll always do what’s in her best interest.”

  “But why come all the way here like this? And stand out there in the open?” I said. “We could just shoot her, and her guards wouldn’t be able to do a thing.”