by Bethany-Kris
Evelina kept one eye on her friend and one on the guests of the New Year party behind her.
“Good. So he’s fine.” Lily sighed loudly. “Um … Tommas, Riley. Their bunch, mostly … No, no Joel. Not yet.”
Lily said a quick goodbye and something else that sounded a hell of a lot like I love you. There was only one man Lily would say those words to. Damian.
Turning back to her friend, Evelina asked, “He just had to run out and get something you forgot, huh?”
Lily eyed the people behind Evelina. “Something happened.”
Evelina’s heart dropped. “Something bad?”
“Yeah, sort of. I mean, he’s okay, but it was still bad.”
“What was it?”
“Theo—”
Someone grabbed Evelina’s arm and pulled, interrupting her conversation with Lily.
Theo, what?
Theo, what?
It was all Evelina could think about as she turned to meet Tommas’ severe expression.
“Eve, we have guests. Be polite. Even if they make it hard.”
Tommas’ dark words in Evelina’s ear didn’t feel all that hopeful. A shiver climbed down her spine as she spun on her heel to see Joel walk in with Abriella at his side, and Chloe Belli on the other.
Great.
All Evelina really wanted to do was question the hell out of Lily until she got information on Theo. Wasn’t he invited to the party? She had a cell phone number he’d given her to text or call if she needed something, but her phone was in Tommas’ office with her clutch and coat.
“Let’s go say hi,” Tommas said, tugging Evelina along the club’s floor. “It looks like your father is making his way to do that as well.”
“Everybody was checked for guns at the door, right?” Evelina asked.
She was only half-joking.
Tommas shrugged. “In this life, people’s loyalties only go as far as their pockets are deep. Even my people.”
“Great.”
“Worry not. I don’t think Joel showed up for any other reason than to defy Riley. Just his presence is enough to piss off the boss.”
“I never understood why Riley gave him a high position. He hates Joel.”
“Because Riley wanted no more fighting and your brother knocked up Joel’s sister,” Tommas said simply. “It was shame all the way around the board. Bloodshed was a guarantee if Riley didn’t do something to settle Joel’s demands. This was the best choice until he could handle it further.”
Evelina stopped walking, and jerked her elbow out of Tommas’ grasp. “What in the hell does that mean?”
Tommas blinked down at her. “Pardon?”
“What was Riley going to do to handle Joel?”
“I—”
“Don’t say that you don’t know, Tommas.”
All of Evelina’s suspicions about her father came bubbling right back up with a vengeance. The shooting and her car, the marriage with Tommas and now, taking Joel off the guest list to the party just to anger the man.
Evelina squared her shoulders, determined to get some answers once and for all. “Has my father been purposely causing problems on the off-chance that Joel would be blamed, and he could take the man out without anyone making a fuss?”
And in turn, Evelina realized, Theo was the man taking all the blame instead of Joel.
Was that what had happened?
Evelina shoved her finger into Tommas’ chest. “Is my father trying to make a reason to kill Joel, or has he been doing things that would cause Joel to put himself in a position to be killed? Is Theo the sacrifice people like you and my father were willing to make, whether it be by Joel going after him, or Theo becoming another casualty to blame, just to get what you wanted in the end?”
Tommas’ jaw clenched briefly. “Not entirely.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. It either is or it isn’t, Tommas.”
“Yes, it does make sense. And some of us have been trying to fix the by-products of the mess, Eve, but Riley makes it terribly fucking hard to do when he’s got his own agenda. Unfortunately, his agenda is not what he’s been telling everybody else. Or at least not me. I’m trying. That is all that I can tell you. I am trying.”
“Trying to do what?” she asked quietly.
“Trying to keep some people from being a goddamned sacrifice.”
Theo.
“Now,” Tommas added harshly, “smile for these people and do what you’re good at, Evelina.”
Evelina forced herself not to smack Tommas. “Go to hell.”
“Surprise, sweetheart. I’ve been there for a while. Women like you don’t make it any fucking easier.”
“I suppose you have your own reasons for wanting Joel gone, don’t you?” Evelina asked as she tossed a pointed look in Abriella Trentini’s direction.
“I did,” Tommas said. “Now, let’s go.”
Angrier and more confused than ever, Evelina let Tommas lead her the rest of the way across the floor to where they could greet the unwanted newcomers. Riley had made it to Joel and Abriella a few seconds before Tommas and Evelina did.
“Joel,” Riley said, smiling falsely. “I’m surprised to see you here. I’m pretty sure Tommas was directed to remove your name from the guest list for this party after recent events. The last thing we need is another Trentini temper tantrum.”
“I didn’t get the memo until I was on my way here, Boss,” Joel replied. “I figured my sister and I were already dressed up and coming, why not enjoy the evening with the rest of you. I’m sure we can put away the issues for an evening, can’t we?”
Evelina tossed Abriella a wary look. Abriella didn’t even act like Evelina existed. She also didn’t give Tommas a passing look, either. That, however, wasn’t anything new.
“Tommas?” Riley asked.
“I did what you wanted,” Tommas said.
“What I wanted—”
“I passed the info along, Riley.”
Riley’s gaze narrowed in Tommas’ direction. “Late, I see.”
What had Evelina missed?
Tommas nodded politely at Joel. “Enjoy the evening, like you said. If there are any issues, I’ll have you removed. Sound good to you?”
Joel flicked his old friend with a dismissive glance. “Sounds fine.”
“Good.”
Joel nodded at Abriella, and the two sauntered off into the crowd without a backward glance. They weren’t gone more than five seconds before Riley rounded on Tommas.
“What in the hell was that?” Riley barked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tommas murmured.
Evelina moved aside a couple of inches away from Tommas. She didn’t like the way her father looked right then. Like he was ready to blow any fucking second. She’d seen that look on him one too many times and had been privy to the mess it could create.
“Was DeLuca put back on the list like I demanded?” Riley asked.
“Yes,” Tommas answered.
“And Joel was only made aware of that on his way over here then?”
Tommas shrugged. “I can’t say for sure. All I know is that my message about Joel’s removal was passed along. The rest is your mess to handle, Boss. Not mine.”
“The whole point was for blame—”
“Your point. Mine is not the same.”
Riley’s teeth clenched. “I see.”
What game was Tommas playing?
“You!”
The hissed, angry word was all Evelina heard before Tommas was shoved roughly from her side. She caught the shriek of surprise in her throat before it escaped, but barely. Damian grabbed Tommas by the jacket collar and practically dragged the man into the dark hallway.
On his way in, Damian pointed a finger at Evelina and growled, “You stay the fuck out here.”
Evelina nodded, but she couldn’t promise anything.
A few seconds later, she heard a hard thump like a body had hit a wall. Evelina poked her head around the corner only to find Tommas
pinned against the wall and Damian glaring at his cousin.
“Where have you been?” Tommas asked.
“Getting Theo the hell out of town before someone tried to take another pound from him.”
All the fight in Tommas seemed to leave at that statement. “He went after Theo.”
“What the fuck did you do?” Damian asked. “You’re so crazy over that girl that you’re doing stupid shit, aren’t you?”
Tommas rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Damian—”
Damian shoved Tommas into the wall again. “Answers or nothing, man. I’ll find it out either way. You know it’s the goddamn truth.”
“I trusted the wrong person.”
For a brief moment, Damian seemed to relax. “I know the feeling.”
“I tried to fix it, D.”
“Did you?”
“Tonight I tried. But mostly, I didn’t know what in the hell Riley had planned. I thought something here maybe and I could keep an eye out and stop it. The whole musical chairs on the guest list was supposed to look like a favored thing for Riley between Theo and Joel.”
“Bell,” Damian spat.
Tommas’ brow furrowed. “Who?”
“Belli—Bell. Mean something to you now?”
“Like the Belli family?”
“Yes, asshole. Them.”
“Chloe is Joel’s girl. I mean, if you want to call her that,” Tommas said. “But mostly he just uses her to fuck whenever he feels the need. And, you know …”
“No, enlighten me.”
“I’ve seen her around Riley the last couple of months, too.”
Evelina’s heart was leaping into her throat as she took all this information in. Her suspicious about her father were being confirmed right before her eyes. What was she going to do now?
“I was doing what Riley wanted,” Tommas said quietly. “I was letting him think he was using me in the whole back and forth between Joel and me. I didn’t care, D.”
“Because you knew between the two of you, it would be you who came out on top.”
“Yeah.”
“And then you’d get Abriella.”
Tommas sagged against the wall.
“I couldn’t let Theo take the blame for it, though, not after I found out about …” Tommas trailed off with a wince. “Anyway, I couldn’t let him be someone’s scapegoat just in hopes that Riley would get what he wanted. I figured if Riley wanted Joel gone bad enough, he’d find a way to make it work.”
“But the blame still kept being put on Theo.”
Tommas nodded. “Yeah.”
“Who burned the car?” Damian asked.
“Riley.”
“Who tried to shoot it up the day Theo was with Eve?”
“Me,” Tommas said so softly that Evelina strained to hear.
Evelina felt sick to her stomach. There was so much more involved than she had realized. She trusted no one except the man who apparently wasn’t even in the city anymore if Damian’s earlier words about getting Theo out had any truth to them.
“Did Riley get you to do the car job?” Damian asked.
“No. That was all me. Riley already had the seed planted in his mind to get rid of Joel. I simply thought messing around his family would push Riley into it early. Instead, Theo got blamed and it all snowballed from there.”
“Theo thinks it was Joel who went after him tonight,” Damian said.
“Riley probably wants everyone to think that. I know he took a trip down to Theo’s territory yesterday with someone. It might have been Bell. I’m sorry, man,” Tommas said. “My goal had nothing to do with Theo, but all the shit happening in the streets with Theo’s crew only let the blame go straight to him first before anyone else. Joel grabbed onto that. I don’t know why, but he held onto that like he was trying to find a reason to go at Theo.”
Damian cleared his throat. “You know why. I told you why.”
“Joel killed Dino.”
“Theo knows it was Joel,” Damian said. “And given the very public statement Theo made at the dinner where he told Joel that unlike Dino, he would see Joel coming tells me that maybe Joel didn’t want it getting out. It makes sense that Joel would try to find a reason to get rid of an enemy. But Riley, that’s where I’m lost.”
“Don’t be,” Tommas muttered heavily. “Theo was the easy target. When the blame went Theo’s way from Joel’s side of things, Riley didn’t mind feeding it. It was the simplest, quickest way for Riley to start something that would take Joel out.”
“But Theo—”
“Was the casualty that Riley didn’t mind losing in all this. You remember how close Ben was to Riley, D. Theo and Riley have bad blood from way back when Theo was a kid.”
Damian stiffened. “I hadn’t considered that.”
“You should have. You knew Ben beat the shit out of Theo and Dino whenever he got the fucking chance, and Riley was just one of the men who helped at times. Riley nearly killed Theo once with a metal chair and Ben just stood back and let the man do it. Bad, bad blood, Damian.”
Evelina disappeared around the corner. Her back hit the wall hard and she sunk down to her backside.
Abuse.
Theo had been abused. By his uncle. Likely by Evelina’s father. The more she thought about Theo’s issues with the dark, the nightmares he talked about, and his strange quirks, the more it made sense.
She couldn’t breathe and an ache began to spread in her heart. Now, more than ever, she wished she could talk to Theo.
A few minutes later, Damian and Tommas exited the hallway. Neither man looked like they were any worse for wear after their conversation. Evelina was already standing back up and waiting for Tommas.
“Eve,” he said.
Tommas offered his hand.
Evelina refused to take it.
Damian chuckled. “You’ve spent too much time with Theo if you’re forgetting your place, Eve.”
Her gaze cut to Damian. “Excuse me?”
“Theo is the rule breaker, right?” Damian flashed his white teeth in a smile. “You can only be so close to someone before their habits start bleeding over onto you.”
Evelina finally understood what he was saying. Damian knew about her and Theo.
“He’s okay,” Damian said. “Theo, I mean. He’s safe.”
“Thank you.”
Evelina had needed to hear that more than Damian could possibly understand.
Tommas shot Damian a look that Evelina couldn’t decipher.
“What?” she asked.
“In five minutes,” Tommas said, “we’re all going to pretend like Theo isn’t okay.”
“Why?”
Damian shoved his hands in his pocket. “Someone wanted him dead tonight. We want that person to believe Theo is.”
“My father, you mean.”
Tommas chuckled. “You listened to everything, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Evelina admitted.
“I’m sorry, Eve,” Tommas said. “About the car shooting and what followed. I’m sorry.”
“No, I don’t think you are.”
Five minutes later, Evelina watched the crowd of guests in the club begin to whisper as word of an accident and a shooting involving Theo DeLuca began to travel around. No one seemed to have the whole story. No one knew any real facts. One thing was the same all the way around the board.
Theo was dead.
“Why can’t I go home with my brother?” Evelina asked.
Tommas put his car in park and cut the engine. He watched Damian park his own vehicle and then help his wife out of the car. “There might be trouble after tonight, Eve. It was your father’s main goal in this entire thing. I want you to be somewhere safe. Despite what you may think about me and what I did, there was a reason that not a single bullet of mine hit you or Theo.”
Evelina refused to grace that with a response.
“Damian and Lily have a safe home in DeLuca territory,” Tommas said.
“My brother
’s wedding is in a few days.”
“You’ll attend with Damian and Lily.”
“I really don’t like you right now,” Evelina said quietly.
“You don’t have to. You simply have to trust me to correct this.”
“From what I understand, you nearly got Theo killed tonight.”
“Your father, not me,” Tommas replied just as fast. “Damian is waiting. I’ll have a bag brought to you tomorrow. I’m sure Alessa knows where your things are for the wedding.”
Evelina didn’t need to be told again. She got out of the car and slammed it much harder than necessary. She hadn’t even made it to the front step and Tommas was already backing out of the gates.
“Lily went inside already,” Damian informed. “She’s tired.”
“And worried,” Evelina said.
So was she.
Terribly so.
An emptiness had settled in her heart and she hadn’t expected that at all. She hadn’t quite realized it until Theo was gone, but she wished he was there. It wasn’t safe for him to be there now.
“Yes, I imagine you are, too,” Damian murmured.
Evelina wouldn’t meet the man’s gaze. “How do you know anything?”
“Theo told me.”
Well, then …
“You should know,” Damian added, giving Evelina a small smile, “that I think he cares about you a great deal, even if he doesn’t want to admit it.”
“Why is that?”
“Because Theo doesn’t get involved with things that could bring him trouble, despite what he makes it look like. He’s a smart man. Very smart.”
“Messing around with me isn’t smart at all.”
“No,” Damian agreed. “And if he’s willing to take that risk, my guess is that he’s wondering what might come of it. Do you wonder?”
“With my father alive, not at all.”
Damian frowned. “And what if he wasn’t alive?”
“He is, so your question doesn’t matter.”
“My question is hypothetical, Eve.”
“I don’t deal in delusions,” she said, walking past him to go inside.
In her heart, the truth was screaming much louder than her words.
She wondered all the time now.
“Hey,” Damian said, poking his head into the living room.
