by Mia Knight
No one who knew the Roman’s reputation would be able to imagine them gathered in a kitchen at three in the morning arguing while drinking tea and eating warm almond cookies like a normal family. The appliances in the kitchen changed, but the feeling of belonging and warmth hadn’t. Gavin rummaged in the fridge for milk as Raul and Luciana began to shout at one another.
“Gavin’s searching for Uncle Manny and Vinny’s killer, Luci. This is serious shit. And after, he’s going to step down,” Raul said.
Luciana’s eyes popped. “Step down? And who’s going to take—Angel? You? No!”
Angel’s expression softened. “You know I’ve been wanting to do my own thing for a while now.”
“B-but,” Luciana’s eyes filled with tears, “it’s so sudden! When are you leaving?”
“Tonight.”
As a tear slipped down her cheek, Angel pushed off the wall and hugged her. He whispered in her ear as she cried. If anyone paid a high price for being a Roman besides Roque, it was Luciana. She had been twelve when her parents were murdered and witnessed the whole thing. Her brothers were understandably overprotective and her life was much more restricted than Lyla’s.
Gavin was forcefully reminded of Nora as she watched Angel console his sister. How would he react when Nora wanted to go off on her own? Would he refuse or accompany her? What if she wanted to go to college in another city? It sent a chill down his spine. He shook away the disturbing thought. He would deal with it when the time came... or lock Nora in the basement until she saw things his way.
“When can I visit?” Luciana asked as she wiped away her tears.
“As soon as it’s over,” Gavin assured her.
“You promise?”
“Yes. I’ll send for you and then you can meet my wife and daughter.”
“You have a daughter?” Luciana marched towards him and thumped his chest with surprising force. “And you haven’t sent me pictures? What the hell is wrong with you?”
Gavin didn’t know how to react. He noticed Raul hiding a grin behind his teacup. Dainty bastard.
“I’ve been busy killing people,” he said.
“That’s not a good excuse,” Luciana snapped and put her hands on hips. “Your daughter’s the first of the new generation. She needs to know her extended family.”
Her words warmed him. This is why he came. For too long he had gone without family, without support. He isolated himself after Vinny and his father’s death instead of reaching out. Just being in the Roman household with his cousins made him feel as if he had an army around him. Their support gave him hope that this nightmare would be over soon.
A maid wearing a uniform that looked as if she worked in a high-end resort walked into the kitchen and inclined her head.
“Your bag’s are ready, Mr. Roman,” she said.
“Thank you.” Angel went to his suitcase and opened it up to reveal an impeccable packing job. Angel ruined it by rummaging through until he found jeans, a white shirt and leather jacket. While he changed in the middle of the kitchen Gavin answered Luciana’s questions about Lyla and Nora.
His phone rang. When he saw Z’s name, he picked up immediately. “News?”
“Boss,” Z hesitated and then finished in a rush, “something went down at your place.”
All the warm feelings in his chest were doused by icy dread.
“I noticed a disturbance on the surveillance cameras and tried to call Blade, but his phone had a busy signal. I tried several guards and no one picked up. I just got the cameras back online. I think there was an attack at the front gate. Looks like something rammed into it and there’s a fire on the south side of the property the men are putting out. I don’t see any dead bodies. I can see men on the property, but I can’t get through to anyone. I can only watch the live feed and try to figure out what’s going on,” Z said in a rush.
Even as he opened his mouth to ask about Lyla, Z launched into another hurried explanation.
“I checked the house cameras. The rooms are empty. I don’t see your wife, Blade, the baby, nothing. I tried to review the footage, but it’s been fucked with. I don’t know what happened. All phones are out of order. Your wife’s watch isn’t working either. I can’t track her. I’m trying to get in touch with the guys and bring everything back online.”
“Let me know what you got as soon as you have it,” he rapped out and hung up.
He pulled up the surveillance cameras on his phone and flipped from angle to angle, his heart accelerating with every empty room he saw. If there was a hit on the house, Blade would have gotten Lyla out. That was a safety precaution after his father’s house had been infiltrated. Blade would take her to a safe house and stay there until he made contact.
Gavin called Lyla’s phone and received a busy signal. Same with Blade. Knowing he left Lyla open to another attack made him feel like a worthless bastard. If he hadn’t left to kill Huskin, he would be there right now, not on the other side of the continent.
“Gavin?” Luciana asked tentatively.
He looked up and saw his cousins watching. “There was a hit at the house. Someone fucked with the cameras and no one can call in or out. Blade and my wife are gone.”
Luci shoved Angel. “Go on. Get out of here.” She launched herself at Gavin and gave him a fierce hug before she pulled back, green eyes narrowed. “Make this motherfucker pay, Gavin. Kill him slowly.”
He kissed her and turned to Raul who clapped him on the back.
“Anything you need, Gavin, you call,” Raul said and hugged his brother. “Give the Vegas underworld our love, brother.”
Angel showed his teeth. “Of course.”
“And let us know when this fucker’s buried. We’ll pull out our best wine and toast Uncle Manny and Vinny.”
Gavin walked out of the townhouse, chilled to the bone. He was thousands of miles away while his wife once again went through hell. She had to be alive. He wouldn’t allow himself to think of any other outcome. Any hint of an attack would prompt Blade to get her the fuck out. He had to believe that or go insane.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Lyla
Lyla sat up, mouth open on a soundless scream and thrashed wildly. Something heavy thudded to the ground, jolting her out of nightmare. The only sound in the room was her harsh breathing. There was enough moonlight coming through the bedroom window to see that she was safe at home. It was just a dream.
Lyla flopped back on the pillows and bit back a sob. The nightmare was a mix of new and old horrors. She relived Manny being tortured by Sadist and felt the knife dig into her skin at the same time that she heard Nora scream, which jolted her awake.
She fumbled for the lamp and realized that’s what she knocked to the floor. She slipped her gun into the back of her leggings and tiptoed into the nursery. The sound of Nora’s even breathing made her weak with relief. She stood there for several minutes before she went down the hall to Carmen’s room. She slipped beneath the covers, her back to Carmen who lay flat on her back. Lyla took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.
“Lyla?” Carmen rolled over and tossed an arm over her waist and felt the gun. “You okay?”
“Bad dream.”
Carmen grunted. “Must have been a bad one.”
Even now, she could recall the sound of crunching bone and the ominous silence when Manny stopped screaming. She shuddered. “It was.”
Carmen squeezed her. “It’ll be okay.”
How many times had Carmen said that since Manny was murdered? When would it be okay? She was so tired of being afraid. Sadist dominated her real life and her dreams. It was unbearable. If she had a crack at Sadist, she wouldn’t hesitate. No matter how much she built him up in her mind, he could bleed and therefore die. She had to remember that.
Her body begged for sleep, but her mind wouldn’t cooperate. She tried the breathing technique, but after fifteen minutes she gave into her body’s compulsion to move. Lyla threw back the covers and Carmen moaned.
“Sorry. I’m going to get something from the kitchen.”
“What time is it?” Carmen asked hoarsely.
Lyla glanced at the clock. “Midnight.”
“I’ll come too.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know, bitch, but you need me.”
Carmen slipped into a silk Chinese robe with a dragon on each breast. She belted it with a yawn and slipped into two fluffy pink clouds that masqueraded as house slippers. Carmen carried her phone and checked on Nora through the video monitor as they passed.
“What was the dream about?” Carmen asked as they started downstairs.
“Same old.”
“Sadist?”
“Yeah.”
“The only way you can exorcise that fuck is to watch him die. Maybe Gavin can mount his head on the wall after. Then you can throw darts at him anytime you want.”
Lyla paused in the entrance of the kitchen, dumbstruck by the imagery. “That does hold some appeal. Damn, I’m going to the dark side.”
“You never had a choice. Besides, it’s better on the dark side. You do what you want and don’t have to spend your time feeling guilty. You want something? Go get it. No if, ands or buts. Besides, knowing Sadist is dead would make me feel better.” Carmen dug around in the cupboards and came up with cocoa packets and a bag of colorful marshmallows. “Maybe after he’s dead I’ll know what to do next.”
Lyla tossed a kettle popcorn packet in the microwave and tried to shrug off the images that clung to her memory. How did her mind conjure up Sadist’s voice so perfectly? That mocking, sweet voice that should have belonged to a nice man, but instead belonged to a monster.
Carmen handed her a cup with a mound of heart and star marshmallows.
“I think I need some cocoa with my marshmallows,” Lyla said dryly.
“You have to eat the marshmallows to get to the cocoa,” Carmen said and popped one into her mouth. “Come on, they’re good for you.”
“I’m going to tell Nora not to believe a thing you say.”
Lyla ate a green marshmallow. She felt as if she were thirteen again. Who knew that she would be married to a crime lord, have a child with him and still be eating popcorn and marshmallows with Carmen as if they were still innocent preteens?
“It’s good, right?” Carmen asked.
“Yes. This is how I should end all shitty days.” Lyla shook popcorn into a bowl. “I’m so sick of this. I want all of this to be over. I want Gavin home, I want Sadist dead, I want Jonathan alive.”
“Two out of three isn’t bad.”
Lyla glared at her. “I need all three.”
“You can handle two out of three.”
“Jonathan has to live.”
“Girl,” Carmen drawled, “just take what you can get. Before you saw Jonathan at the casino, you totally forgot he existed.”
“Yes, but I believed he was in Maine, doing his thing. It’s a different story if my psycho husband murders him!”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell him you had a kid.”
Lyla flinched. Carmen had been there when she made her last call to Jonathan. Hearing the devastation in his voice brought tears to her eyes. She kept hurting him and didn’t know how to stop. “I thought I told him!”
“Well, you didn’t,” Carmen said heartlessly.
“Every time I see him, I’m in a state of shock. Fucking give me a break. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Carmen munched on marshmallows. “Who knew your life would become a soap opera? A love triangle, a psychotic murderer and a husband who worships the ground you walk on.”
“Gavin doesn’t worship the ground I walk on.” If I didn’t love you so much, I’d kill you. She hadn’t been able to get his words out of her head.
“Gavin would do anything for you.” When Lyla opened her mouth, Carmen waved her hands. “If Jonathan was an asshole, Gavin killing him would be so romantic!”
“But he’s not an asshole!”
Carmen sighed theatrically and ate a pink marshmallow. “I know. So sad.”
“Every time I think Gavin and I are on the same page, he does something to make me question if our lives will always be like this.”
“Sorry to break it to you, babe, but once a crime lord, always a crime lord. Even if Gavin gets out of the underworld, which is debatable, he’ll never really be out. You know that.”
Blade walked into the kitchen and glared at them. “What are you two doing up?”
“You want popcorn?” Carmen extended the popcorn bowl, which had marshmallows in it too.
Blade’s lip curled. “No.”
“Your loss,” Carmen said and munched away.
“Have you heard from Gavin?” Lyla asked.
“No,” Blade said.
She called Gavin after she spoke to Jonathan. Even if he was mad, she wanted to hear his voice. He didn’t pick up. What had she expected?
“Do you know if he’s in Las Vegas?” she asked.
Blade gave her a direct look. “I don’t keep tabs on the boss.”
“Would you tell me if you knew he went to Maine?”
“No.”
She glared at him. “If Gavin told you to kill Jonathan, would you?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
“Why?” she demanded.
“Because whatever it takes for Gavin to do his job is worth it,” Blade said.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Blade’s phone rang before he could answer. He glanced at the screen, frowned and said, “What?” He listened for a moment and glanced at Lyla.
Her heart skipped. “What?”
“Your dad’s here,” Blade said.
It took her a second to register. “Now?”
“Yes. He’s at the gate. He’s been beaten pretty badly.”
She didn’t give a fuck. “I don’t want to see him.” Whoever beat him had a good reason, she was sure. The last time she saw her father was the day of Carmen’s father’s funeral. She threatened to shoot her father if she heard him slander Manny in the future. Seeing her father so wasn’t what she needed right now.
“He says he needs to talk to you. It’s urgent,” Blade said.
“You know how I feel about him,” Lyla snapped. She had been avoiding her parents months before Nora was born. How dare her father show up here out of the blue? Of course Gavin wasn’t here to kick her father’s ass.
“I know he’s a bastard, but he says it’s an emergency.”
“A money emergency,” Lyla sneered.
“I want to be sure,” Blade said and gave orders to allow her father on the property.
She should have taken sleeping pills. Blade would have had a hell of a time trying to wake her up for this awful confrontation. Just the thought of having to face her father made her stomach churn with anger, hurt and dread. For most of her life she played the obedient daughter even after she moved out of her family home. A large portion of the allowance Gavin granted her, she gave to her father to support his gambling habit. Gavin blackmailed her into leaving Jonathan by threatening to kill her father who stole half a million while in his employ. Sacrificing her life for her father made no difference to him. It wasn’t until she had been nearly killed and witnessed Manny’s murder that her attitude towards her father changed. Life was too short to spend it around someone who didn’t love or respect you.
Blade walked out of the kitchen. Lyla made herself busy to buy time. Carmen skipped out of the kitchen with the popcorn bowl in the crook of one arm. She was wide awake now and thrived on drama, unlike her.
“Where is she?”
Her father’s shout stoked the maelstrom of emotions in her. This was her house, not his. He didn’t think she might be asleep at midnight or that she might be exhausted because she had a four month old? No, he arrived in the middle of the night, beat up and shouting. Yes, that was Pat Dalton.
Lyla stalked out of the kitchen. Her father had, indeed, been severely beaten. It wasn’t the first time she had seen him in this state. Gavin had the honors of dealing out a much deserved punishment, which made no impact on her father. Lyla didn’t feel an iota of sympathy since she was sure this was a warning from a loan shark.
Pat Dalton looked as if he walked through a slaughterhouse. His clothes, which she belatedly realized were originally a beige pajama set, had been tie dyed with bloody splatters. His face was swollen and battered, but his injuries didn’t match the amount of blood saturating his clothes since he was standing without assistance. His crucifix, which he shouldn’t be allowed to wear was covered in crusty red flakes. She stopped several feet away and caught a whiff of the metallic stench that clung to him.
“What do you want?” she asked, not in the mood for his shit.
His muddy brown eyes, normally filled with disdain or jealousy now held an enraged terror that grasped her attention more effectively than a shout. A premonition caused her to glance around the room, but her mother was nowhere to be found.
A sense of urgency grabbed her by the throat. “What happened? Where is she?”
“She’s gone.”
“What do you mean, gone?” Panic slammed into her with the force of a freight train. “Where is she? Whose blood is this?”
Hands encrusted with rivulets of dried blood flexed at his sides. “They took her.”
Lyla’s world rocked on its axis.
“Who took her?” Blade barked in a no nonsense tone that made Pat jerk.
He ran trembling hands over his chest as if to make sure he was still intact. “I-I was sleeping. I woke up when these men pulled me out of bed. They were wearing masks and began to beat me. I could hear Beatrice screaming. There were at least four men. One of them hit me here.” He touched his temple where he had a lump the size of a golf ball. “I must have passed out. When I woke up, the house was ransacked and she was gone.”
“You owe someone?” Blade barked.
Before Pat could answer, Lyla lunged for him. Blade yanked her backwards and wrapped an arm around her.
“Lyla, get a hold of yourself!”
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