by Soraya Naomi
“Well, nothing until I decide what to do.” Then I look at Mary. “I was kind of hoping that you could help out with Adam for a few days?”
Henry shakes his head faintly, knowing it isn’t wise for Mary to get involved too; but they need me to keep my mouth shut as well.
“You two don’t do anything without discussing it with me, or else I won’t lift a finger,” he states in an imposing way.
Unmistakably, the Syndicate men have rubbed off on him. Mary merely nods before he steps out.
Finally, she redoes the buttons on her top and answers my earlier question, “I can help. Your house is going to be swamped for Cam and Adriano’s party anyway.”
“Shit, I forget about that.”
Adriano has planned an extravagant party for Cam. We’re celebrating all the holidays she missed while she was in a coma: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Valentine’s Day.
“Can you watch Adam during the day tomorrow and Friday?” Again, I set Adam on his behind when he kneels up on the sofa, almost toppling forward.
“Sure. But what about Saturday? We’ll all be at the party—wait, I know a girl that usually babysits my cousins. I’ll call her.”
“Where’s she going to babysit him?” I say. “Not in my pool house. The party’s in the main house. It’ll be too dangerous with that many people around.”
Mary sighs and answers, “It might be your lucky day. I moved out of my parents’ apartment last week and have my own now. She can watch him there.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you.”
“No problem. But Henry is right. You have to make a decision fast.”
“Yeah, I should,” I agree.
I could have never foreseen I’d be contemplating the future of a three-year-old at twenty-one. In spite of this, my brain is also working overtime, repeatedly thinking about how I could’ve been so wrong about Logan and wondering what exactly he’s doing now.
CHAPTER 36
Logan
“No, Rosa!” I yell as she darts out of Mykhail’s apartment with Adam.
Cursing, I swipe the headboard to erase my fingerprints before going after her, stashing my gun in the back waistband of my pants and pocketing Mykhail’s wallet and the small towel I used to clean up. Sprinting out of the room into the hall, I halt, dead in my tracks, when I run straight into the barrel of a gun. James’s furious eyes force me backward slowly. He’s flanked by two soldiers who are also aiming a weapon at me.
“What the fuck is this?” I bark, absolutely astounded.
“Take his gun,” James orders.
The soldiers seize my upper arms and one steals my weapon from my slacks.
“Let me go! I’m your Capo,” I roar and struggle, receiving a blow in the stomach and doubling over when the breath is knocked out of me. And without warning, my head is yanked back by my hair.
“Be careful, I don’t want any wounds on his face and neck,” James states, lowering his arm and glancing at Mykhail disdainfully.
“Did you kill him?” I snarl.
His eyebrows lift slightly. “Yes.”
“Why? Who ordered you?”
James scalds me with an incredulous look. “Are you stupid? No one ordered me. I had to take matters into my own hands.”
“You’re fucking out of line, James.” Anger sidles over my skin.
“Shut up and listen to me carefully. I had to sit back quietly and watch for months while you wrapped my daughter around your finger.” Pure contempt drips from him.
James is a shrewd performer, because I haven’t suspected once that he knew about Rosa and me. “Are you fucking kidding me? This is about Rosa?”
“My daughter is not a plaything for the men,” he bellows. “I know what kind of man you are.”
“You don’t know me at all. I’m not playing with her.”
He leans forward, gritting his teeth. “I’ve seen pictures on her phone, stronzo.” Asshole.
Fuck, she has multiple racy pictures of us together.
“You come from the outside and think you can bed my daughter and cast her away?”
“You don’t even know what’s going on between us.”
“Neither does she. She’s too young. And I didn’t resign the position of boss to have her become more involved in Syndicate business. I retired to live a more quiet life. I promised Alessa.”
“Alessa?” That’s why she set Rosa up with Dominic. “Her mother is more obsessed with Rosa finding a traditional Italian than she is about her daughter’s happiness.” Uselessly, I attempt to wrench free from my two captors.
James’s lips flattens into a thin line. “Alessa has worked for twenty-one years to keep Rosalia away from the organization, successfully. Until I discovered she’s been assisting Mykhail. And to top it all off, I find out she’s constantly sneaking around with you. You’ve been helping her, haven’t you? She’s too innocent and impulsive for this life! Within months, you’ve fully immersed her in what her mother and I’ve wanted to protect her from.”
Christ, we’ve been so irresponsible to be together while we knew there was a good chance her parents would oppose. I just didn’t expect James would go mad.
“I didn’t help her hide Mykhail,” I counter. “I just learned about her involvement with him this morning, James! Get your facts straight. You and Alessa treat her like she’s a teenager while she’s actually an independent woman. What the hell is the problem if we want to be together? Adriano is with one of your daughters too.”
“Cam is seven years older than Rosa. I only accepted Adriano because Cam and I have a precarious relationship and all I wanted was to retire, so it worked in my favor. But don’t forget, Logan, that I was the boss for a long time. I can make anyone disappear; I still have connections.”
“But you’re not the boss anymore. And I’m head Capo. I outrank you. Don’t threaten me,” I throw back.
His voice is filled with outrage. “I’m telling you this once: stay away from Rosalia, and let her assume you killed Mykhail.”
Does he know Adam lived here? Apparently not.
I try to twist free, gasping when James digs his fingers into my throat. “You’re betraying your Syndicate. You killed Mykhail without having questioned him, without Adriano’s permission. You are out of order. Don’t you fucking dare come between Rosa and me and make demands without knowing the entire story. Do you know that I love her? She’s not just any girl to me.”
“Shut up about love.” His comment reeks of derision. “Rosalia being with a member will get her killed someday soon. I know how this goddamn life works. I will not lose my wife and daughter because I couldn’t handle a CIA agent.” He cups my chin forcefully, pressing his Smith & Wesson against my temple. “You forget that this little set-up was perfect. She thinks you slaughtered poor Mykhail.”
“I’ll tell her the truth. You can’t intimidate me.”
A sardonic twitch appears at the corner of his mouth. “I knew you’d be difficult to persuade. But I’ll inform Adriano that you killed Mykhail. Who do you think he’ll believe? Me or you?”
“Then tell him,” I bluff.
“I also anticipated that smug reply, so don’t worry, I have more to convince you. Do you know how Nana has been doing today?”
I jerk my chin out of his hand and violently attempt to wrestle free again. “What the fuck have you done with her?”
James gives me a blow to the ribs, and I gulp for air.
“Nothing. But my guard is with your grandmother now.” He shows me his phone screen with Nana lying in her bed and today’s newspaper next to her head as she sleeps.
I clench my jaw, finally holding still.
“One wrong move from you, and I’ll execute her. I want this relationship with my daughter to stop right now. Don’t even consider double-crossing me. I’ll be watching you like a hawk.” In a flash, he snags my phone from my pocket and replaces it with another. “Here’s your new phone. It’s actually one you provided us, equipped with Zeus software.
It’s impossible to disable the location, and I can track or block any messages you try to send or calls you try to make. I’ll be instructing you from now on, until I’m convinced that you’ve cut all ties with Rosalia, and a guard will be with you.”
“Are you going to watch me twenty-four seven?”
“If necessary.”
My old phone vibrates in his hand, making James grunt. I see Rosa flashing across the screen.
James demands, “What the hell have you done with her that she’s so infatuated with you? You better discourage her.”
“She’ll never believe it!”
However, in this moment, I realize I must oblige. I’m screwed either way. The Syndicate will take James’s word over mine. This is a James I didn’t know existed. I underestimated his protectiveness over Rosa since he accepted Cam and Adriano. For now, I need to pacify him until I can ensure Nana is safe. Then I’ll need to conjure a plan to contact Rosa without James knowing. He can’t monitor me around the clock. In addition, he forgets who I am – an agent. I have connections as well. Reassessing the situation quickly, I keep quiet.
The men don’t release me as James goes to the front door. I’m heaved out of the apartment and into the back of his SUV with a gun pointed at my head.
The guard speeds like a maniac through the darkening streets of the Loop, and it seems we’re heading for Club 7, but I’m too concerned about my grandmother to care and just want James to let me go so I can check on her.
James occupies the passenger seat and addresses me without bothering to turn around, “You make Rosalia believe what she already suspects; that you ended Mykhail and don’t want to be with her, understood? She’s at the club now.”
“What kind of fucking father are you? You want me to break her heart because you’ve decided that I’m not a good match for her? She’s an adult and makes her own choices.”
“Which are foolish choices. In the long run, she’ll understand that.”
“You were boss for too long. You think you can play God.”
“I don’t have any patience for you anymore. I’m done with watching this play out while you and she get closer.”
Fury bleeds through my veins.
***
At the club, James propels me inside through the back entrance and thrusts a girl in front of me.
How many minions does James have? At least two guards and one girl are more loyal to him than they are to Adriano and me, and they’ll be dealt with later.
“Rosalia’s coming and you’ve forced me to take drastic measures. She’ll hate you if she sees you with another woman, so take her downstairs to the third room, and don’t even think about trying to outsmart me; I’ll be spying on you from the adjacent room.”
“Is this a joke?” I retort, my throat burning.
“Don’t play dumb. You’re a master at being someone else. Break it off or the last thing Nana sees will be a bullet.”
I want to leap forward, but he brings his phone to his ear. “Want to take that risk?”
A low growl escapes me before I storm into the club with the woman in tow. One of James’s guards scrutinizes me continuously – my hands are tied.
My heart pounds in my chest when I spot Rosa, scanning the place with an anxious look on her face. Her caramel eyes are swollen with anguish, and her pain affects me more than my own. Without time to think, I charge downstairs with the woman, toward the designated room, and of course, Rosa trails me.
Inside the room, I play my part flawlessly. My mind is in overdrive about how to give her a message, but it’s impossible to risk it with these thin walls and James right next door.
I lie to her while my soul fractures with every disappointed glance she sends me. We argue as she rants. She spews her emotions, and I study her, yet her words aren’t resonating with me until she mentions Adam, whisper-soft. Thank God she’s quiet enough that there’s no way James could hear it. He can’t discover she has Adam; I need to buy her time to figure out how she’s going to protect him. So I school my expression and simply lash out in the hopes that she’ll get out of the room. After my callous words, she takes the last ray of light in my life with her when she leaves.
In these first seconds of complete stillness, I lose it. Outraged, I whirl around when James and a guard enter.
James commands arrogantly, “Now you avoid her.”
“You son of a bitch! You’re messing with lives because you’re too damn selfish to see that she’s a grown up!”
“You don’t know my daughter like I do. You’re the forbidden bad boy but not a man to protect her for life. Don’t think I believe for a second that you love her.”
I lunge at him. “Well, fucking believe it!”
We topple to the ground, and I smash a fist into his cheek. The guard lifts me off him, hooking his arms around mine from behind and pulling me straight up.
James slackens his jaw calmly and raises his fist. Then my head snaps backward from the force of his punch before the guard lets go of me, and I drop to the floor on my hands and knees, wiping the thin trickle of blood from the corner of my mouth.
James tugs my hair, forcing me to look up at him. “Your other option is that I tell Adriano how you killed Mykhail, and then I’ll still murder you and your Nana. Get it fucking together, or I’ll stop being compassionate. And remember that I know your every move. Furthermore, Rosalia’s phone is being monitored, and any contact you initiate with her will be blocked.” He releases me harshly, taking a handkerchief from the inside of his jacket and swiping his hands before he exits.
I sit back against the wall. My emotions are in a clutter as irritation blisters inside me. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt hopeless or stifled.
Grimacing, I rise and lift my dress shirt to see my torso is turning black and blue. Disregarding the pain, I decide to rapidly do damage control. I need to get my grandmother away from that nursing home.
***
Outside Club 7, I take a cab, examining my new phone and discovering that everything’s being tracked. Rosa’s number and all her contact information are blocked, and when I send an e-mail to her, it gets returned to my inbox. This device is indeed one I gave them with Zeus programmed on it, and I don’t know how to disable it. I grip the phone in aggravation as the cab pulls up to the curb of the nursing home on this horrendous evening.
Rushing inside, I burst into Nana’s room where a nurse I don’t recognize is standing beside her bed.
“Who are you?” I stop opposite the brunette.
“I’m new on the night shift, sir.”
My eyes narrow before I scan Nana sleeping without a scratch on her. “I’m transferring her to another home.”
“I don’t think so, Logan,” the nurse counters unexpectedly.
My gaze shoots up and I snatch my gun from my pants just as she points her Glock between my eyes.
She cocks her head with all ten fingers wrapped around the black handle. “You’re to obey Syndicate orders, Mr. Wade. Nana will stay here until James is satisfied.”
“You fucking bitch,” I hiss.
When Nana stirs, we both look down at her, then back at each other. She raises a brow, waiting for me to lower my aim. Having no other options, I drop my arms.
She stands down too, hiding her gun behind her hip when another nurse comes in and announces, “Sir, visiting hours are over.”
Christ! I have to leave. “Yeah, I’m going.” I peer at Nana, silently promising that I’ll be back soon.
Once I’m in the cab again, I head back to the penthouse while another vehicle trails me without bothering to hide it. Rubbing my temples, I contemplate how to resolve this situation while avoiding endangering Nana or Rosa any further.
I grab my phone and change the settings, hoping to overwrite the Zeus software before I send a message to Henry.
Logan: We need to talk.
When I reach my residential tower, another fucking guard is at the front entrance. Brushing past him, I open the doo
r and slam it in his face. These guards have probably been promised a promotion from James, and they’re still loyal to him due to the fact that he was their boss for a long time, but I’m head Capo. Once I’ve discovered a way to get revenge, I’ll slaughter both of them.
My phone beeps as I tiredly ascend in the elevator and enter my penthouse apartment, which is still not fully furnished. Instead of Henry, James has answered.
James: Don’t think Henry can help you. I know everything you do.
My message to Henry got intercepted as well. Infuriated, I fling the phone across the living room, against the floor-to-ceiling windows, and it clanks to the floor but doesn’t break. This situation is a huge disaster of which the circumstances have spiraled out of control within a few hours. Approaching the window, I lean my arm against the cool glass surface and rest my forehead on my clenched hand, glaring at the Chicago red-gold night lights.
The one woman’s heart I never wanted to destroy has now been shattered by her own father. Knowing that Rosa’s out there believing that everything between us was a lie is something I’m incapable of surviving. Losing Rosa isn’t an option for me; that’s the simple fucking truth.
The entire evening my mind churns with possible solutions.
***
Unfortunately, a resolution seems further away with each day that passes, and I’m obliged to live under surveillance twenty-four-seven. I visit the club every night for almost a week, though Rosa’s never there – my two guards are. Still, work continues as usual. James pretends everything’s fine when we have our meetings, and I receive assignments outside of the Loop and hurry back to Nana to confirm she’s unharmed for six consecutive days.
I have to live in the apartment where curtains that Rosa ordered are delivered and hung. And I miss her with every fiber in my being, worrying about what she and Adam are doing, her absence hitting me hard.
Until Saturday, the first chance I get to talk with Rosa in secret. Yet it doesn’t go as planned. In fact, it paves an even more destructive path. It unleashes the brute inside me that’s being controlled by James.
CHAPTER 37
