Hers to Love

by Talia Ellison

  “No, I’m not afraid of anything.” His eyes met mine. “Fine, then. But if I agree to do this...”

  “We can get Oswald. We’ll stop the Ferlantes and free my brother and Aaron. If you love Tony, you’ll do anything to help him. But of course, if your only wish is to rule, you can leave and deal with the Ferlantes and Ferraras too... Besides, if something happens to Aaron, I’ll send Aaron’s mother and aunt after you too.” Sebastian wouldn’t walk out of here if he was just another power-hungry person who didn’t care about anyone else, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.

  “Aaron’s mother? You know who she is?” Sebastian asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Care to share?”

  “She’s a Hulsey.” That was enough information for Sebastian at the moment.

  “I should’ve known.”

  It was a surprise he hadn’t found out before, but I supposed his brother wouldn’t have let him leave just like that if he knew such an important secret. “So what do you say? I just did you a huge favor by telling you all of this. You should return it.”

  “Do you expect me to sign an official deal with you?”

  “Yes, I do. I want to make sure you don’t hurt Aaron or fail to save him on purpose.”

  “You really love him. Even after you saw...”

  “Rumors and videos can be a lie. They’re without context. You have to really know someone before you can judge them. Just what exactly do you think I believe about you? I don’t know you yet, and if I wanted to, I could label you as a bad guy based on what I’ve seen so far, even though it all might be a pretense.”

  He flinched. “And you think you know him?”

  “Yeah. He almost died while trying to save me from the assassins his father sent after me. If you give him a chance, you can get to know him too, but first we need to get him back.” As I looked into Sebastian’s dark brown eyes, I realized that maybe he’d really thought Aaron was the bad guy here, but Roberto had been far worse and yet Sebastian had helped him, not gone after him. The only reason I was negotiating with this guy and was willing to give him a chance was because he was our best option so far to save Aaron. I’d make a deal with the devil himself if it meant Aaron would be safely back with me.

  “So it’s true,” he said. “I was afraid I might have made a mistake in regards to Aaron, and the more time I spend here, the more it seems that I was wrong about him.”

  “A mistake? Because of the deal you made with my brother and the info you provided to your brother, Aaron’s life was in danger!” I couldn’t stay calm anymore, and I clenched my fists. “Maybe you should be a man and admit you’d prefer Aaron to die. It doesn’t matter. I still need your help. And that video you sent... I don’t know what you intended with that. How can you even keep a straight face and claim you... What? Care about Aaron?”

  Sebastian averted his gaze. “When my spies told me Roberto had doubts about his son’s loyalty, I figured I had nothing to lose if I contacted him. I was in trouble with people from another city, and I offered Roberto proof of Aaron’s betrayal in exchange for his help. I thought Roberto and Aaron were the same, and yes, I was hoping they would both perish in their conflict.”

  “And you couldn’t have figured out Aaron was different? You just had to send that video to my brother to honor your stupid deal.” I glared at him.

  “I shouldn’t have trusted the rumors, but I saw videos of Aaron doing terrible things. Once I put things into motion, there was no way to stop it.” He shook his head. “I sent that video to your brother because I knew it would get to you. I had my doubts about Aaron by then. It was a test to see what would happen.”

  I rolled my eyes. “And the talks about taking over? Don’t tell me you were faking that.”

  “I admit, when Roberto died, I decided to challenge Aaron’s claim. He might not be like his father, but I don’t think he’s a suitable leader, even though, as you said, I have yet to meet him properly. I know you don’t have many reasons to trust me, but I hope I can show you that I’m being serious.”

  “And you’d be just the perfect leader?”

  “No, definitely not perfect, but I believe I can change things for the better.”

  “Right.” I had no idea what that meant or what he planned to do, but I didn’t care right now. We had to find my brother and Aaron. “So I guess that means you’ll help me?”

  “Yes, I will.” He got to his feet and extended his hand to me. I took it and he shook my hand. “We have a deal,” he said.

  “Good. We don’t have much time, so we have to act immediately.”

  “There’s one problem with your plan, though. The Ferlantes have kidnapped Aaron because they think he’s the heir and can hand over everything to them. So if I announce I’m the rightful heir, and if Oswald or any other spy contacts the Ferlantes, they’ll just kill Aaron.”

  Well, now I was a bit surer Sebastian wasn’t necessarily a bad guy. A bad guy or a spy probably wouldn’t have mentioned that, because why would he? He’d want Aaron dead, and there was always a risk the Ferlantes would come after him anyway, so he hadn’t said that out of concern for himself.

  “We thought of that,” I said. “You’ll have to give me permission to let my family’s men surround the house. We’ll block any lines or connections and devices that can be used to contact anyone, and no one gets out of that place, okay? That’s crucial.”

  He nodded. “Let’s go then.”

  “Wait. I’ll notify my brothers to make sure everything’s fine first.” I opened the door and called Marco, who was in the hallway with Sebastian’s guard. “Get me my phone.”

  Marco immediately went to grab my phone, and Sebastian’s guard approached and peeked through the door. “Sir? Everything alright?”

  “Yes,” Sebastian said, and the guard stepped away. Marco came running with the phone, and I typed a quick message, then closed the door. We needed to make sure the Ferlantes hadn’t already tried to get inside the Viteris’ residence or set up a trap somewhere.

  “Are you sure Oswald or any of the Ferlantes’ spies will come? How do you know Oswald took Aaron? Who saw him? If he’s aware you know about it and can connect him to the Ferlantes, he won’t want to come.”

  “It was someone they think is dead. Some of them were too sloppy and wanted to get out of there before anyone tried to stop them. Don’t worry. The Ferlantes didn’t make it clear they have Aaron, and I’ve no proof. Not that the Viteris’ men would ever believe anything I say or even talk to me. The rest of the Viteris’ men probably believe you have Aaron, and the Ferlantes want them to keep believing that. If they want to keep that a secret, Oswald will rush to talk to you or try to fool you into thinking this benefits you so you wouldn’t reveal anything. He might even promise to get Tony back to you, but don’t listen to him. You can’t trust them.”

  “I know.”

  “Okay.” I glanced down at my phone. “We’re ready.”

  Chapter 15

  “Are you sure he’s not playing us?” Dylan asked as he and I were crouched behind one of the black SUVs parked right outside the Viteris’ residence. Sebastian had called the highest ranking Viteris’ men and invited them over for an important announcement. The rest of my brothers and my family’s men were around here too, and we’d come with Sebastian so we’d be allowed entry into the territory and wouldn’t cause anyone to panic or attack us.

  Since we’d been with Sebastian when we entered the Viteris’ area, everyone presumed we were his men, and they couldn’t have seen our faces through the tinted glass of our SUVs. And since there was no one currently in charge, and they were probably assuming Sebastian would be their new leader, they hadn’t bothered searching the SUVs or hadn’t wanted to offend Sebastian by doing so. They were probably more divided than united on the matter of leadership, so they were kind of easy targets. Sebastian had immediately dismissed any guards who had been there who we didn’t trust.

  Other crime families and gangs were busy
watching the Ferlantes or allying with them, so they didn’t have time to go after the Viteris, and those who might want to expand into a new area didn’t dare do anything until the Ferlantes made their move. I was sure now more than ever that Oswald or another Ferlante spy would have to come here to hear what was going on. If Sebastian suddenly showed up with men no one knew anything about, including where they’d come from—we’d been careful not to be seen leaving my family’s area—he might represent a potential threat for the Ferlantes that they hadn’t counted on.

  “I guess we’re going to find out, but I believe him. For now.” All I wanted was to find out where my brother and Aaron were so we could rescue them. My hand tightened on my gun.

  “What if they kill him despite the precautions?” Dylan asked. “If they all sided with the Ferlantes, and it’s not just Oswald and one or two more, we could have a huge problem. The Ferlantes could’ve offered everyone something through Oswald, even if they don’t have any intentions of fulfilling their promises.”

  “Marco chose a few men he’s almost a hundred percent sure aren’t with the Ferlantes. They’ll protect Sebastian at all costs. Sebastian’s a Viteri after all.” Marco would remain hidden until Sebastian finished making his announcement so Oswald wouldn’t realize he was still alive too soon. Although, I doubted Oswald would immediately assume Marco had gone to my family or that we’d been able to connect him to the Ferlantes, who had no idea Lora was helping us too.

  “How can he be sure? If Roberto didn’t know and he was meticulous when...”

  I raised my finger to shush him, because I was starting to lose my focus. “Some of them had family members kidnapped or killed by the Ferlantes in the past. That’s the main reason why they joined another powerful crime family. Just to be strong enough to protect the rest of their family from their enemies. Isn’t that why some joined us too?”

  “Yeah, but... I want to find Tony. That’s all.” Dylan sighed. “I hope he’s hanging on. God, I can’t even imagine what he’s going through.”

  A lump formed in my throat and I moved away a little from Dylan so I could catch my breath and get him to stop talking. Aaron and Tony would be fine. They had to be, and we were going to get those sons of bitches who had taken them.

  I wished Marco or any of the loyal guards could alert me if anything had gone wrong, but we’d had to block all cell phone signals or any other transmission methods, because we couldn’t afford for the Ferlantes to find out Sebastian was taking over. Sure, if they figured it out somehow, maybe they would check first to see if they could use Aaron to get what they wanted from Sebastian.

  But if they knew for how long Sebastian hadn’t been here, then they would probably assume he wasn’t interested in saving Aaron’s life and wasn’t ready to give up everything for him. Not to mention that Sebastian would be a new menace they’d want to deal with as soon as possible, so they wouldn’t have time to worry about Aaron too. Since their spy had used Sebastian to get what the Ferlantes wanted, that meant they didn’t consider Sebastian to be a threat at all.

  “Shit. The door’s opening!” Dylan said, and I peered above the car. Two men ran outside, and one of them veered toward the bushes.

  “They’re trying to get away! Go!” I yelled to Dylan, and rushed after the guy who had gone toward the bushes, because he was closer to me. Where the hell was everyone else?

  I heard shots being fired on the other end of the house. More people were trying to run away, maybe not only the Ferlantes’ spies. They couldn’t all be spies, right? Maybe they were just surprised by this turn of events or thought having been in contact with the Ferlante spy without knowing would be hard to prove, so they didn’t want to get killed by association.

  I raced after the guy, the cold night air whipping against my face. My gun was raised, and I aimed after the guy, who was zigzagging forward, but I couldn’t risk shooting at him because I didn’t want to kill him. Not until I figured out who he was. The guy glanced over his shoulder at me as he ran, and a little jolt of recognition surged through me. I’d seen that face on a photo and started at it for long enough to have it cut into my memory.

  Oswald. He was getting away. Fuck.

  “Stop or I’ll shoot!” I yelled. The guards had made sure no one had been armed when they went to meet with Sebastian and the weapons were supposed to be hidden. And unless Oswald had somehow found them and had had time to grab a weapon for himself, the only thing he could do was try to outrun me.

  Oswald didn’t even slow down, just raced right toward the fence that surrounded the property. We should’ve picked another one of the Viteris’ residences, not this one in a less populated part of the city. There was a house and an apartment building just down the street where Oswald could hide if he made it over the fence. I could get him before he climbed over. I had to.

  Hopefully someone else would realize where I had gone and would come to help me catch this guy. I ran faster, despite the protest of my muscles. As Oswald reached the fence, I pointed my gun at it, at a spot just far enough away not to accidentally hit him. I hoped I could at least slow him down or distract him. I fired, and Oswald ducked.

  When I was about to reach him, I realized what he was doing. There was a hole in the wire fence. I mumbled another curse under my breath. We totally should’ve picked a different residence. One with an electric fence, a wall, or something. But Sebastian had insisted it be here because the rooms were more secure, and this wasn’t one of the places Aaron frequently used. Besides, it was close enough and still in the city, so everyone, including any spies, had been able to come here quickly and hadn’t worried about having to travel far into a possible trap.

  Oswald squeezed through the hole, which someone must have made recently, because I was sure the guards checked the fence regularly. Oswald had known exactly where to go. Did he have an escape plan for each one of the Viteris’ residences? Was someone else out here too? Someone who was waiting a bit farther away, ready to pick Oswald up? Shit.

  I pushed myself through the hole, scraping my arms, but I didn’t care. Pulling the trigger again, I aimed at Oswald’s feet. He jumped out of the way, still running. If I didn’t catch him soon, I’d have to shoot him and hope he wouldn’t end up dead, but he was moving too much, and I didn’t want to waste any more bullets while trying to slow him down.

  “Octavia!” Dylan yelled from somewhere behind me. “Oswald?”

  “Over here! He’s getting away!” I really hoped my brother could call for reinforcements. They should’ve finished capturing the rest of the guys by now. I had a feeling Oswald had tricked the others by giving them a fake escape plan in case things went wrong without telling them why they needed one, so they’d all rushed to one side of the house, and my brothers and everyone else had been forced to go in that direction to be able to contain them. We’d formed what we’d thought was a tight ring around the house, but Oswald had still managed to slip through. Well, Dylan and I had seen him, but he was running way too fast for me. I was already panting hard.

  The sound of screeching tires filled the air, and I knew I didn’t have much time. Oswald definitely had an escape plan. He was too important to the Ferlantes, especially now that he was supposed to warn them about the change in the Viteris’ leadership. A car came into view as it cut across the grass and mud, and stopped right in front of Oswald.

  I dashed toward him, gritting my teeth. Rising my gun, I fired at his legs, and this time I hit his right leg. He stumbled, reaching for the wound, and tried to drag himself to the open door of the muddy white car in front of him. I wasn’t going to let him do that. Aiming at the tires, I fired twice, then holstered the gun and dove for Oswald before he could get into the car.

  We rolled onto the ground and he grunted, trying to free himself of my grasp. My fingers closed around the bleeding wound on his leg, and I squeezed so hard that he cried out. I heard the door of the car opening, which meant the driver was probably coming out to help Oswald, and I had to assume he had
a gun.

  While Oswald was clutching his injured leg and moaning in pain, I grabbed my gun and drew it up. Just as the driver rounded the car, I shot at him, getting him in the shoulder. More shots rang out, and the driver toppled to the ground.

  “I thought you said you checked everything!” I heard Dylan yell as the sounds of multiple feet rushing toward us echoed in the silence.

  “We did, but one guy in a car in the parking lot of a nearby restaurant didn’t draw our attention. We couldn’t have checked everyone,” an unknown male voice said.

  I climbed on top of Oswald, catching his wrists and pinning him to the ground. He thrashed and tried to head-butt me, but I moved away. Dylan and the rest of the men with him surrounded us, and I pushed myself off Oswald. They immediately tied him and hauled him up, which made him curse and shout loudly.

  “Take him,” Dylan ordered, and then he was checking me up and down. “You okay, sis?”

  “Yeah.” I wiped the sweat off my forehead. “How did he get through? Where was everyone? I thought you and I were the last line, just in case something went wrong. What if more of them escaped?”

  “No, they’re all accounted for. Don’t worry. No one got out of there, and all the communication devices are still down and will stay that way because we can’t let anyone contact the Ferlantes. We don’t know who else might be working for them. They all rushed at the same time through the same door and then spread in all directions. It was a bit overwhelming. I almost think they thought someone would be waiting for them there.”

  “Are we suspecting our own men now too?”