by L A Cotton
“You don’t. One hour. The clock is ticking.” He hung up, and a text message came straight through.
“Forward those to me,” Nicco said, pulling out his cell. “Tommy, yeah, I’m about to forward you some coordinates. Pull everything you can find about the location. I also want to know everything you can find on Dominic Cabrioles.”
“What are you thinking, Nicco?” My father’s brows knitted.
“We need to know what we’re walking into. We also need allies.”
“Cabrioles will never betray his boss.” Lucino huffed as if the idea was preposterous.
“Everyone has a price, Luc. We have less than an hour to find out Dominic’s.”
Chapter 27
Caitlin
“Please, let her go,” I said for the twentieth time. After being dragged into this room and discovering that it wasn’t Zander who had taken us at all, it was the man who had raised me for the best part of eight years, I’d been forced to sit here and talk.
Of course, Massimo Lombardi didn’t talk in the conventional sense. He preferred to gloat. And for thirty minutes, I’d been made to sit here while he filled in the missing pieces about how he found me hiding in Providence.
I should have known she would sell me out. But she was my mother and I’d left her.
I’d left and never looked back.
That kind of guilt, it did something to you. Festered inside of you like poison. In hindsight, I should have used a burner phone or called from a pay phone. But she was my mom. The woman who had given birth to me. Part of me was just a scared child still, desperate for the attention and love of her mother.
And it had cost me dearly.
“So, you see, firefly.” The nickname made me shudder. “This presented itself as an opportunity too good to miss.”
Massimo sat back in his chair, steepling his fingers.
“You need to let her go,” I said again, glancing at Arabella who was curled up on a worn leather couch. She sniffled and I mouthed, “Be strong.”
“Let her go?” Massimo chuckled darkly. “And why, pray tell, would I do that? She is worth more to me than you.”
Ouch.
His words cut deep, but he wasn’t wrong.
“When the Marchetti find out what you’ve done, how do you think they’ll react?”
He leaned forward, palms flat on the desk. There was an entire table between us, yet it still wasn’t enough. Fear raced down my spine, the familiar bitter scent of his breath like a punch to the stomach.
My fingers curled into the arm of the chair, nails gouging the wood as I desperately tried to maintain some semblance of control. If I fell apart, Bella had no one.
And she was the important one here, the one who deserved to walk out of this alive.
I had to be strong—for her.
“I think, firefly.” His lips twisted. “They’ll give me whatever I desire.”
“She’s just a kid.” My voice cracked. “She doesn’t deserve this. I’ll do whatever you want. Please just let her go.”
Massimo’s brow lifted with curiosity, and he dragged a hand down his face. “Was life that hard with me, no? I gave you and your momma everything. I made sure she had her fix, I made sure you had nice things. And all I asked in return was that you helped me keep my associates… happy.”
My eyes shuttered, memories I’d fought hard to contain rushing to the surface.
When they opened again, I locked eyes with him, the man I’d spent four years running from, and inhaled a sharp breath.
“I was just a child and you made… you made me—”
“I remember it well, firefly. So young and supple and pretty.”
Bile washed in my stomach at the affection in his tone, the longing.
“There have been others of course, but none as good as you.”
Massimo Lombardi was a sick man. He treated his girls—his dancers and prostitutes—like dogs. Usually, he got them hooked on meth or crack, and then he made them do his bidding.
I guess I should have been grateful he’d never forced drugs on me. But I was special, he’d said. And besides, he had other leverage to use against me.
“Where is my mom, Massimo?” I changed tack.
“You know Liv.” He waved his hand through the air. “She’ll be out somewhere trying to score her next high.”
She was alive.
Thank God, she was alive.
I’d always suspected that when I fled, she would fall apart, or that Massimo would kill her. It’s why eventually, I’d caved and called her. I’d needed to know she was safe. I’d needed to know she was still alive. When she stopped answering a couple of months ago, I feared the worst.
She’s alive.
I hadn’t realized how much I needed to know that until this moment. She was my family—the only family I had. No matter how hard things had been between us, I didn’t wish her dead.
Massimo checked his wristwatch and tapped the table. “It’s time.”
“Time?” I cried. “Time for what?”
“Secure Erin,” he ordered one of his men.
“No, no!” I yelled, leaping up to my feet. But a rough hand snaked around my neck and clamped down over my mouth. I could hear Bella crying out behind me and then everything went quiet.
Massimo lifted his cell phone to his ear and with his eyes locked on mine he said, “Mr. Bellatoni? I believe I have something that belongs to you.”
Matteo.
My heart almost burst out of my chest. I didn’t want this; I didn’t ever want this.
Oh God.
What had I done?
“She’s fine,” Massimo said. “They both are. But they’re remaining so will depend on your actions over the next hour. I’m going to text you coordinates. You are to come with Niccolò and no one else.”
Another long pause while he listened.
“You don’t. One hour. The clock is ticking.” Massimo hung up, and then typed something out on a text message.
“It’s done. Lock them back up until I say it’s time.”
“I-I don’t understand,” Bella said as we sat huddled in the small room again. It was dark and stuffy, the air heavy with fear.
“Who is he?”
“Massimo Lombardi was… is my mom’s boyfriend.”
“So he’s like what, your stepdad?”
“I guess you could say that. Although they never married, and we didn’t live together in the traditional sense.” I wrung my hands in my lap, my stomach a tight ball of nerves.
“He’s…”
“A monster.” My eyes shuttered as eight years of bad memories flooded my mind.
“What happened?”
“You don’t want to know,” I breathed.
“This… this is what haunts you,” Bella said.
“He’s why I ran, yes.”
“Tell me. I want to understand.”
“Why?” I searched for her in the darkness, but Bella found me, her hand twining with mine.
“Because I think my brother loves you, Cait—I mean, Erin.”
“You can call me Cait. I left Erin behind when I left New Haven. And don’t you see, this is why I held back. Because I knew. Deep down, I knew I would never truly escape my past. But I never wanted to put you in harm’s way, Bella. I never thought—”
“Shh.” She shifted closer, laying her head on my arm. “We’re your family now. And I know my brother and cousins will do whatever they need to do to get us back safely. Both of us.”
It was the nicest thing she could have said to me, even if it was but a fantasy.
There was no happy ending for me in all of this. Now he’d found me again, Massimo would never give me up. And I wouldn’t risk Bella or Matteo or any of their family getting hurt… for me.
Not anymore than they had been already.
“Can I ask you something?” she whispered, and I smiled. Bella had the innocence of youth. She might have been raised in the Marchetti family, but she was still young and
idealistic.
“Sure,” I sighed, too exhausted to argue.
“Do you love my brother?”
“I barely know him.”
The lie wrapped around my heart like thorns, shredding me wide open. Because while I didn’t know his favorite color, band, or food, I knew Matteo’s soul. I knew his heart and his loyalty and devotion to his family.
I knew all the things that mattered.
The things about a person you could fall in love with.
“Your brother is a very easy person to love, Bella.”
“That isn’t really an answer,” she mumbled.
“Well, it’s all I have right now.”
Silence enveloped us. This was always the worst part, the waiting. The calm before the inevitable storm. When Massimo would demand I performed for his associates, there was always that moment before I went on where I would silently pray for someone to come and take me away.
Of course, no one ever came. And, like a puppet on strings, I was forced to dance at his will. I guess in some ways, I was lucky he never let any of them touch me. In those few minutes, I was able to completely detach myself and get lost in the music.
Dancing was my salvation then. But eventually, Zander stole that from me. Two men. Both obsessed with me in their own ways, using the thing I loved most in the world against me.
“Caitlin?” Bella’s voice pulled me back to the moment.
“Yes?”
“I’m scared.”
“Bella?” I whispered.
“Yeah?”
“I am too.”
I don’t know how much time passed before anyone came back for us. We dozed in and out of sleep, too cold and uncomfortable and scared to really succumb to oblivion. My arm was stiff from Bella’s weight, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her to move. She needed me, and I would do everything I could to make her feel as safe as possible.
When the door handle finally rattled, part of me was relieved that this would all soon be over. I only hoped that Bella, Matteo, and their family got to walk away without any casualties.
But I knew Massimo and although he was a monster, he didn’t like unnecessary risk, and hurting Bella would rain down a whole heap of destruction on his empire.
Light poured into the room, and two men entered, dragging us to our feet.
“Caitlin,” Bella shrieked as one guy carried her from the room, kicking and screaming.
“It’ll be okay,” I called after them. “It’ll be okay, Bella.”
The guy smirked at me, and I narrowed my eyes.
“What?” I snapped.
“I can see why Massimo was upset when he lost you.” His eyes brazenly checked out my body. I had to swallow my repulsion. I knew men like this, and they didn’t care to be emasculated.
“He didn’t lose me, asshole. I left.”
“Well, he found you now, and I think we both know he isn’t going to let you go again.”
My stomach sank.
Of course I knew that.
But it didn’t make it any easier to hear.
He yanked me from the room, shoving me down the opposite hall, away from the office where I’d seen Massimo.
“Where are you taking me?” I said, fear bleeding into my voice.
“It’s showtime, sweetheart,” he chuckled darkly, shouldering open another door. This one led to a vast space, some kind of abandoned storage warehouse.
Bella was already tied to a chair, her big eyes pleading with me to do something.
“It’s okay,” I mouthed.
I had to believe it would all be okay.
Matteo and his family were smart. After all, you didn’t get to be one of the biggest crime families in New England without some intelligence. So long as they got Bella out safe and unharmed, I could live with that.
I had to. Because I’d known all along there was no happy ending for me.
I just hadn’t expected it to end like this.
Chapter 28
Matteo
The coordinates were for an abandoned warehouse on the state border separating Rhode Island and Connecticut. Nicco and I rode in his Range Rover, tailed by Lucino, Enzo, and my father. Stefan had remained at the club with Zander and a couple of our guys. Another SUV was trailing behind with the rest of our men in it.
Lombardi had requested that only Nicco and I show up, but it didn’t mean we would come unprepared.
“How are you holding up?” Nicco asked me.
“How do you think?”
Everything I thought about Caitlin was a lie.
It wasn’t even her name, for fuck’s sake. And yet, I’d known—I’d known she was hiding something. I’d never expected this though.
So much made sense now, even if nothing seemed to make much sense at all.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Yeah, me too.” I stared out of the window, watching the scenery roll by. The GPS indicated we were almost there. There was nothing around for miles but a desolate stretch of land and a series of derelict warehouses.
“Lovely,” I murmured as Nicco drove through the busted open security gates.
We pulled over at the first warehouse and the other two vehicles followed.
“Remember the plan,” Nicco said, checking his pistol.
“You don’t have to worry about me.” I just wanted this over with.
We climbed out of the Range Rover and made our way back to my father’s vehicle. He already had the window lowered.
“You good?” he asked. I nodded. “Save her, Son. Bring my daughter home.”
“I will.” The words were raw against my throat.
“Stay here,” Nicco ordered. “We’ll signal if we’re in trouble.”
Until Bella was in safe hands, we couldn’t risk open gunfire. Not that we hoped it would come to that.
Lombardi was a monster, but he wasn’t blood thirsty. He ran New Haven with an iron fist through fear, not mindless killing. Besides, if he didn’t honor his word, Uncle Al knew what to do.
“Jay, you’re with us.” Nicco beckoned for him to follow us back to the Range Rover. He’d joined us at Nicco’s insistence. Bella knew Jay; if me and Nic couldn’t get out of there, he could get her to safety.
“As soon as we negotiate Bella’s release, you move. Don’t stop for anyone or anything. You get her to my car, and you drive.”
“Got it, Mr. Marchetti.”
“Please, it’s Nicco.” He gave Jay a sharp nod.
We climbed back in the Range Rover and Nicco put it into drive. “You’ll wait outside the building. Once Lombardi gives us the green light, I’ll text you.”
“Got it. I still think we should consider placing two more men—”
“No. He’ll be watching. We already risked enough by bringing two more cars.”
But my father wouldn’t stay behind, and we needed backup nearby, just in case things went south.
The coordinates led us to the furthest warehouse. There was a single black SUV parked outside, with one armed guard by the door.
“We need to be cool,” Nicco said to me. “Follow my lead. No matter what happens in there, I need you to keep your head. Capisci?”
I nodded, too wound up to speak.
So much could go wrong. And my sister was in there. Caitlin too.
Her name isn’t Caitlin.
I shut the little voice down. None of that mattered right now. All that mattered was getting them out in one piece.
The rest could wait.
“Okay,” Nicco said, checking his gun. “Let’s go.”
Jay climbed out and opened Nicco’s door. I rounded the hood and met them, and the three of us approached the armed guard together.
“Stop right there,” the man called, his pistol trained right on Nicco.
Jay inched forward, ready to shield him, but Nicco threw out his arm and stepped forward. “Lombardi requested a meeting with us,” he said calmly.
“He specified two of you.”
“Jay i
s going to wait right out here. He’s my cousin’s bodyguard. She trusts him and I want someone she’s familiar with waiting for her.”
“You stay right there,” the guy ordered, shifting his pistol to Jay.
“No problem, amico.” Jay held up his hands and took a step back.
I didn’t like the idea of leaving Jay alone with this asshole, but it wasn’t like we had a choice. Lombardi held all the cards. Or at least, he thought he did.
“Wait for my signal,” Nicco said to him, and Jay nodded, not taking his eyes off our less than friendly greeter.
“I need to check you for weapons.”
“Hang on a—”
“Matt, it’s fine.”
Like hell it was.
But sure enough, Nicco let the guy pat him down and remove his gun.
“Your turn, sweetheart.” He smirked.
I hesitated, but Nicco urged me to comply. “Fine,” I hissed, unclipping it from its sheath and handing it over.
“Inside. Follow the hall.”
“I don’t like this,” I said, following Nicco inside.
“Lombardi is protecting himself. He knows he’s playing with fire taking Bella. If I were him, I would have demanded the same.”
“Or he’s one very brave coglione,” I murmured.
We walked the long hall in thick silence. My heart beat against my chest like a runaway train, blood pounding in my ears.
Eventually, we reached another door. Nicco opened it and stepped inside the large room.
“Ah, Mr. Marchetti, Mr. Bellatoni, you made it.”
My eyes landed on Massimo Lombardi sitting in a chair, smoking a cigar. Over in the corner of the room, Bella and Caitlin were seated on a bench, their wrists bound and mouths duct taped. They were guarded by two guys.
Anger swelled inside me so rapidly, I struggled to catch my breath.
“Easy,” Nicco whispered, keeping his eyes on Lombardi. “I don’t appreciate your method of business, Mr. Lombardi.”
“I needed to capture your attention. It was an opportunity too good to pass up. I’m sure you can appreciate that.” Lombardi snapped his fingers, and two chairs were brought in for us. “Please, sit.”
We did, the air rippling with tension. I surveyed the room again. Including the two men guarding the girls, I counted three more men. One standing directly behind Massimo, and two over by another door.
