Hers to Love

by Talia Ellison

  Lora’s shoulders relaxed a little, probably because she thought that if Yvette hadn’t been seen with the Ferlantes, then it meant she was safe somewhere and wouldn’t be in danger once my father attacked. “I’ll be looking for my sister, yes, but I want to help too. The Ferlantes need to be punished for what they’ve done to my sister and my nephew. If some of my family’s men are still protecting the Ferlantes, I have to deal with that too. They knew my sister wasn’t of sound mind and still decided to side with the Ferlantes without consulting with me. They have to answer for that. And I need to make sure my sister isn’t hiding somewhere with them. Just because your spies didn’t see her doesn’t mean she’s not there.”

  Aaron’s hand tensed in mine, and I knew he was still having a hard time accepting Lora as his aunt and listening to her speak about his mother. I gently caressed his fingers, giving him a small smile when he looked at me.

  “Alright then,” my father said and turned to Sebastian. “What do you say?”

  “I’ll help too. I don’t want the Ferlantes to return and challenge me either, and I want everyone to think twice before attempting something similar. Wiping out the Ferlantes’ leaders would send a powerful message to our enemies.”

  “Indeed,” my father said. “Then we have an agreement. You’ll receive full information on the plan soon.”

  “There’s one more thing,” Sebastian said. “You still have Oswald in your custody. I’d like to ask you to hand him over to me. I want to deal with him personally. He was a traitor to my family and I’d like his execution to serve as a warning to anyone who dares to spy on or betray us.”

  “It’ll be done.” My father inclined his head. “We should start the preparations. We don’t have time to waste. If no one has anything else to add, this meeting’s over.”

  Everyone rose to their feet, and Sebastian started toward Aaron and me.

  “I’d like you to be present for Oswald’s execution,” Sebastian said to Aaron. “I want everyone to know that you’re still a Viteri, and I hope we can discuss the future of our family once this is all over.”

  Aaron nodded. “I want to do it myself. Oswald betrayed me.”

  Sebastian seemed to think about it for a moment. “Okay. Are you coming with us today or...?” His gaze briefly fell on me.

  “Yes,” Aaron said, and a frown line creased my brow.

  “See you later then.” Sebastian flashed us a smile, then strode away. The room was already empty since everyone had gone to prepare, and I turned toward Aaron, placing my hand on his chest.

  “There are enough people going after the Ferlantes. You don’t have to go too. You’ve been through a lot already and I’d like you to stay with me.” I gave him a pleading look. “We can look for Yvette together while everyone’s gone.”

  “I want to go,” he said. “Those people tortured me and your brother and tried to lure you into a trap with that video. If they escape, they might come after you, and I won’t let that happen.” His hand closed over mine and guided it to his heart. “I’ll do everything to get back to you. I promise. There’s nothing that can keep me apart from you.”

  I closed my eyes for a moment and exhaled. “Fine. Go.” He wouldn’t be in much danger because there weren’t that many Ferlantes left, and everyone was coming to help, so I didn’t think anyone would dare to help the Ferlantes and risk the wrath of three families. “Just stay safe. I’ll be really, really mad if something happens to you.” I pulled him in for a long, toe-curling kiss.

  “Thank you,” he said, his eyes and face smiling. I pressed myself against him, wrapping my arms tightly around him, and we just stood there for a moment. When it was time to let him go, I kissed him again, and hoped he would keep his promise.

  ***

  When I entered the computer room at my family’s house, I spotted Tony at one of the computers, his eyes glued to the screen. As if he could feel me standing behind him, he turned his head and groaned.

  “Aren’t you all supposed to be hunting those jerks?” He scowled. “I thought I could get a few minutes without someone telling me I should wait to...”

  “I didn’t come here to stop you. If you’re ready to be here, then you’re the only one who gets to decide.” I came over to him and took a seat in the chair next to his. “What are you doing? I wanted to see the plans for the attack on the Ferlantes and check if there’s anything that can help us figure out where Yvette Hulsey could be.”

  “Oh.” Tony blinked at me in surprise. “Mom and Dad didn’t want me back to work so soon, but I can’t help it. This is the only thing that keeps my mind off everything that happened. I can pull up the plans for you.” His typing was a tiny bit slower, but not much. “There you go.”

  “Thanks.” I focused on the map on the screen. “The Ferlantes got out of town. Someone must have let them pass through.”

  “Not necessarily. Not many escaped our first attack, so a smaller group blends in easier. They were doing everything not to draw attention.” Tony clicked on a few images that showed people with shades and hats. “It should be easy to get them, though. That area’s kind of in the middle of nowhere, almost like a free zone. Dad already contacted Ben, who has a stash house there, to ask for permission to enter his territory. Ben wasn’t happy, but he agreed. Probably didn’t want Dad and everyone to rain down on him too.”

  “And you’re sure it’s not a trap?”

  Tony bobbed his head. “Our spies saw them with their own eyes. They’re there. That area isn’t very good for any kind of tunnels or any underground constructions, because they could collapse easily. And they wouldn’t have where to hide an army even if they wanted to.”

  “And if Ben alerts them?”

  “He wouldn’t dare.”

  “If you say so.” I studied the map again. “Can you zoom that out? Dad said there’s no sign of Yvette anywhere, so let’s say she panicked during the attack and escaped on her own. Where could she have gone? I think she left the house with the Ferlantes, but they either lost her somewhere or she ran off on her own.” If she was out there somewhere, she might be in danger. Someone could figure out her identity and take her.

  “I don’t know. The search of the surveillance footage from all over the city has already been done, and her face doesn’t show up on any cameras, but an alert will be sounded in case she pops up somewhere.”

  “Okay, great. Try other cities too. If she got on a bus, a train, or something, she could be anywhere.”

  Tony concentrated on his task, and I could only watch as text and images changed on the screen. I didn’t think many were searching outside this area. Lora’s men had probably been looking for Yvette in her city because they were hoping she would come home. My father’s men had been primarily looking for the Ferlantes, so once they’d found them, they had started planning how to attack. None of them had had time to consider where Yvette had gone, or maybe they were hoping she was still with the Ferlantes somehow.

  An hour or so later, a red alert blinked on the screen, and I straightened my back, giving Tony a questioning look.

  “I’ve got her.” Tony said with a winning smile on his face.

  Chapter 22

  “Did you have to bring that here?” My mom wrinkled her nose.

  My father, my brothers, and Aaron had returned, and we were all standing in the foyer of my family’s home. Jason was holding a bag, and something red dripped onto the floor from it as I made my way toward Aaron. It took me a moment to realize why my mom was keeping her distance and standing near the stairs.

  “Jason, get that out of here,” my father said calmly. “We’ll need it later.”

  Jason strode back toward the door, leaving a trail of blood drops behind him.

  I pulled Aaron to me, burying my fingers into his hair, and kissed him with an almost bruising force. It didn’t look like he had sustained any injuries, which made me really happy. “Was that what I think it was?” I let go of him and eyed the blood on the floor. Our maid was goi
ng to love that.

  “The Ferlantes are no more,” Aaron said. “Their heads will serve as a warning to the others. Your father will have a meeting with all the crime families around here.”

  I made a face. “I’m just glad everyone’s okay. Where’s Marco?” I assumed he’d been with Aaron the whole time.

  “He’s outside. Sebastian and Lora are fine too. We didn’t find Yvette.” He bowed his head.

  “Come with me. I need to show you something.” Taking Aaron’s hand, I led him to the computer room. I took another look around the room when I realized Tony wasn’t there. He must have gone off to rest or maybe to talk to Sebastian.

  “What’s that?” Aaron tensed as he saw Yvette’s image on one of the screens.

  “Tony found your mother,” I said. “She’s in the Norwoods’ area.”

  “What’s she doing there? How did she even get there? Did she seek the Norwoods’ protection?”

  “Whoa, slow down.” I glanced at the screen to see if Lora had replied to the message Tony had sent to her over a secure channel. We knew she wouldn’t be coming here with my family and that she’d want to know all the info we’d found as soon as possible.

  The inbox was empty, so either Lora had immediately reached out to someone to get her sister back or she hadn’t had the time to receive our message. Aaron and I settled in the chairs in front of the computers. “I don’t know what she’s doing, but Tony thinks she took a bus there, maybe without even knowing or thinking where she was going.”

  “We can’t contact the Norwoods.” Aaron’s brow furrowed with worry. “They’re known as one of the most ruthless and dangerous families in the whole country. Their territory is too far away from here, and we’d have trouble sneaking in, because they have eyes and ears everywhere. We... I mean the Viteris... don’t have much information about them because my father always thought it would take them a lot of time and effort to come all the way here to disrupt our business, so he wasn’t too concerned about them. Does your family know anything?”

  “Not really. Like you said, they’re too far away. We didn’t really have any contacts with them.” I shrugged.

  “Does Lora know? We have a huge problem.” Aaron pulled out his phone and tapped the screen. “There’s a reason no one has any info about them. They kill anyone connected to another crime family who comes into their territory without their consent, and even if they give permission, they can recall it at any time they please.”

  “They shouldn’t know about her. She’s alone. They can’t monitor every single person who comes into their area, unless they were watching her before she got there. Would they do that? Since she wasn’t the one leading the Hulsey business, maybe they won’t recognize her.” I tried to run the face recognition system to see if any other cameras had caught her, but it didn’t work. Tony must have hacked into the camera system, and I didn’t know how to replicate what he’d done.

  “If they have a face recognition system that can alert them of her presence and track her like your brother did...”

  “Wouldn’t they have found her already then? Tony thinks she’s been there for a few days.” Although, we didn’t know how their systems worked. If it took them a few days to locate her...

  “Maybe they’re getting to her already.” Aaron’s jaw was clenched as he stared at his phone. “Now I have to contact Sebastian to see if he can get someone to check if there’s something I can do to get to her. In the past, I always had to ask my father for permission, and now Sebastian.”

  “Weren’t you supposed to talk to him about it? Maybe he can give you back what belonged to you before your father died? I know it wasn’t all of your family’s business, but one part was yours, right?”

  “We didn’t have time to talk. I wanted to see you first. We planned to do that tomorrow.” He ran his hand over his face. “But if Yvette’s in danger, I can’t just sit here or negotiate terms with Sebastian. I need to find her.”

  “I know. If there’s anything I can do, or if my family can help, tell me.” I didn’t have many ideas on how to get to Yvette. “Could you pay someone to get her? Someone not involved with any crime family?”

  “I wouldn’t trust anyone with her life like that.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” His shoulders drooped. “I need to find out if there’s something the Norwoods want. Maybe they would be willing to negotiate to let us in for an hour or two.”

  “Maybe I could go find her,” I said. “Everyone around here found out about me only recently, so the Norwoods might not know about me. Besides, I could disguise myself so that no one can recognize my face.”

  “No. Absolutely not.” His eyes met mine. “If they find out you’re there or something goes wrong, they’ll kill you. Even if you get out of there with Yvette, they might send someone after all of us to retaliate or they could kidnap you so they could punish you for trespassing. We would have to constantly watch over our shoulders, and if any of what I’ve heard about them is true, we don’t want to mess with them.”

  That was too risky then. “Is there anything else we can try?”

  “I don’t know.” Aaron stood up, his fingers curling into fists. “I need to go.”

  “Go where?” I got to my feet too.

  He shook his head. “To find Sebastian or see if I can get any of my acquaintances to help me without Sebastian having to tell them it’s okay to do it.”

  “They’re not going to help you. They can’t,” I said. “Wait here. You texted Sebastian, right?”

  “Yeah, but he’s not responding.”

  “He will. Just stay here for a few more minutes. When Sebastian gives an okay, you can contact whoever you want. But if you do it before Sebastian has time to allow it, then everyone could think you’re trying to go behind his back.”

  “I know.” He groaned. “I just hate being powerless to do anything. You see now why I don’t really want to give up everything unless I really have to? If it was a choice between a life with you and being in charge of everything, I’d pick you in a heartbeat. But if I don’t have to choose... I want both. I want to be able to protect those I care about.”

  “I know.” I wound my arms around his neck and drew him close. He bent his head, burying his nose in my hair, and inhaled. His body gradually started to relax, as if I were his security blanket, and when we touched, he couldn’t help but to melt into my embrace. “Five more minutes,” I said. “And if Sebastian doesn’t respond, we’re going to look for him, okay?”

  He nodded.

  “Good.” Just as I said it, his phone vibrated, and he grabbed it and pulled away from me.

  “Sebastian replied. He’s nearby and wants to see me in ten.”

  “Great. Then we should go together. Just let me get my coat.” I had a feeling my brother was with Sebastian. They must have wanted to meet without the watchful eyes of our family. As Aaron and I headed for the door, I interlaced my fingers with his. A small smile quirked his lips. We would get his mother back. I just knew it. We were stronger together.

  ***

  Sebastian had told us to meet him at a small restaurant that was still in my family’s area. When Aaron and I reached the parking lot, my mouth went slack. The restaurant seemed to be guarded by both the Viteris’ and my family’s guards. Marco was a little behind Aaron and me, keeping watch over us, although I hoped we wouldn’t really need a bodyguard here.

  “Let me guess. They rented or bought this whole place,” I said as we neared the door, eyeing the guards, but they didn’t speak or show any reaction to us.

  “Probably.” Aaron opened the door for me, and I entered a luminous space that was brimming with noise. Marco stayed outside, gesturing to Aaron that he would be right there in front of the door. Small groups of men were sitting at the tables and laughing, eating, and drinking. Some were my family’s men and some were the Viteris’, and while they were still mostly hanging out exclusively with those who belonged to the same f
amily, it was surprising to see them acting so carefree around each other. Or maybe they were just pretending.

  “I didn’t expect this,” I said, trying to spot Sebastian in the crowd.

  “We all fought together, so they’re tolerating each other for this victory party,” Aaron said. “I’m sure some aren’t here. Mainly those who lost someone in the wars we fought against each other.”

  “Makes sense.” I craned my neck. The first person I recognized was my brother. “Tony’s here.”

  “With Sebastian,” Aaron said, and we made our way to their table. My brother was sitting next to Sebastian and they were chatting about something, their faces alight with happiness.

  “Hey,” I said. “I hope we’re not disturbing your meal.”

  My brother’s head jerked back and he looked up at me, as if he hadn’t expected to see me here. “Octavia? What are you doing here? Came to celebrate?”

  “No, we came to talk business with your boyfriend,” I said.

  “Take a seat,” Sebastian mumbled, still chewing on a fry. “Do you want something to drink or eat?”

  “No,” I said. “Maybe later.”

  The waitress had already started toward us, but Aaron waved her off.

  “Business?” Tony turned to Sebastian, his face growing serious. “You said this was our night.”

  Sebastian picked up his beer and took a sip. “Yeah, but we can’t ignore other things. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I didn’t want to spoil the evening too soon. I’ll make it up to you later. I promise.” He winked, and my brother bit his bottom lip, his cheeks reddening.

  “We can’t go on like this,” Aaron said. “I’m sure you’re liking your new position, but Yvette ended up in the Norwoods’ area and I can’t do anything about it without my... your men. We need to make inquires and send the right people to assess the situation, or attempt to contact the Norwoods.”

  Sebastian glanced around us, but our table was far enough from the others, and the men were all busy laughing about something and weren’t paying any attention to us. “Look, I’m going to need help with this whole leadership thing anyway. I can gather people for a war, but I don’t know who to use for certain tasks or how to maintain control over everything. Not everyone’s fond of me. I’m a stranger to them, and my relationship with Tony is making everything more difficult.” He looked at my brother and reached out for his hand. “Not that I regret any of that.”