Manacled Hearts: an Age Gap Mafia Romance (The Sanctum Syndicate Book 3)

CHAPTER 33

Either Finnigan talked to everyone, or they truly don’t care, because the moment I return to the terrace, no one even bats an eyelid. They notice me returning but no one focuses on me, their conversations carrying on.

“Evie!” Maya jumps on the sofa next me, grabbing onto my forearm as she lands on her knees, a great big smile on her lips.

“Yes, pretty girl.”

“Can I sleep here again tonight?” she asks, grinning from ear to ear.

“Darling, I think we should give them a break tonight.”

“Pleeease. I already asked them.” She squeezes my arm and throws the best puppy eyes she can pull off.

“She did, indeed.” Annika startles me, appearing to my left. “It’s honestly fine. No bother at all.”

“It’s not quite fair to you, Ronan… or Vincent,” I whisper to her.

“We’re not here for much longer, and we all enjoy her company. From what I heard, you’ve had your hands full for a while now. You deserve a little break.”

“It’s not like that, I don’t need a break,” I say, feeling bad that she thinks she needs to do this for me.

Then her eyes flash somewhere beyond me before returning to mine. I don’t know what or who she looked at, but from the heat searing the back of my neck, I can only guess.

“I understand, trust me, but you can still enjoy one,” she answers.

“Please, Evie. It’s been so fun with Aaro around. And Annika has been teaching me to paint!” Maya squeals.

“Is that right?” I turn to my sister, pleasantly surprised at her words.

“Yes! Wait here, I’ll go grab them and I’ll show you.” She jumps off the sofa and runs away.

I watch her run inside the house, shaking my head and laughing at the girl.

“Look at that energy at this time of night. Are you sure you want to deal with more of that?” I ask Annika.

“It’s honestly nothing. Mamaw June has been staying here for safety reasons too, so please, don’t worry.” She starts moving away, then stops and cocks her head. “So it’s a yes, then.”

I snort, shaking my head. “You’re a saint, you know. Thank you.”

She smiles and walks away. I’m going to miss Annika. Her presence here has had an incredible impact on me because it allowed me the space, the time to find out more about myself.

A moment later, my phone that I left on the sofa vibrates, and I fumble for it, noticing text notifications when I pick it up. I know no one here, who texts me? Oh, maybe it’s Raven?

I open the notifications just as Maya jumps back on the sofa and I hear the faint rustling of paper being laid on my lap. Only, my gaze can’t focus on anything else but the words screaming at me from the screen of my phone.

Missed me?

Tell your precious Sanctum about this and I will pull your sister’s guts out while she still breathes. But I’ll make sure you watch me rip into her first.

What the hell is this? Panic threads through my veins as Maya speaks words I can’t hear, excitedly pushing colorful papers in my line of sight.

“Look! It’s the forest.” She shows me a thick piece of paper covered in various shades of green.

But I’m numb, struggling to pick the dominating emotion ripping through my soul, because I cannot possibly show my fear right now. I feign enthusiasm as my gaze drifts back to my phone and photos appear on the screen. A few dozens of them load, one by one, and as I catch the first few, a chill runs down my spine.

“Evie, are you looking?” I turn back to Maya, the very subject of the photo gallery currently loading on my screen, forcing my staggering breaths to level out as I gush about my sister’s works of art.

“I told you! I’m pretty good.” She jumps up and down. “Oh, Aaro’s calling for me. I’ll put these away.”

I nod, squeezing her little body to mine. “You’re my little genius. I love you, sweet girl.”

She frowns for a split second, before kissing my cheek. “I love you, too.”

Then she’s off as quickly as she came, and I rise from the sofa, walking inside the house as calmly as I could muster at this moment. When I’m out of view, I rush into a guest bedroom, and close the door behind me, unlocking my phone for a better look.

There she is… my sweet sister… under fucking surveillance.

Frankie B has been watching her. Dozens of candid photos of her pop up one after the other. On the beach, in a store, in the back of a car. All in public. Some in front of our apartment building. I’m in there too, Annika, Mamaw June, but neither of us are the focus. Only Maya is. Every muscle shakes beneath my flesh and I drop down to my knees as I scroll through the images of the vulnerable girl lit up on my phone. The one I’m supposed to protect, shield from assholes like him. The words from that text run in a loop in my head, the nonchalant violence bringing bile up my throat.

Another text comes, like the son-of-a-bitch knew I read his messages.

Midnight, tonight. Dalton Pier. You may not see me, but I will see you every step of the way. And if you’re not alone, it won’t be just your precious little sister who will suffer.

I stare at my phone in pure disbelief, chest spasming as air fight’s to reach my lungs through the staggered breaths I manage. The slither of light creeping through the cracked door blurs before my eyes, but there are no tears brimming them. Only despair. It shatters through the chaos twisting my heart, and the beats bring nothing but pain. It’s relentless in its assault, gripping my memories in a sharp vice, and dragging them forward to my present.

I’m back in that dark room of the warehouse, my cheek pressed against the cold, concrete floor as muffled cries of children sound far beyond these walls. But I’m losing them. As poison fills my veins their cries turn too maddening, liquid sounds too distant for their notes to affect me. Except for one—a silent wail from a girl who shares our mother’s eyes. Its absence affects me. I know she won’t be crying. And she’ll be waiting for the sister who will never rescue her, who will lie half unconscious on this stained floor, as the man with a lisp and tar-laced voice takes his pleasure from her pain.

The texture of the concrete scrapes the tips of my fingers as I try to drag myself away from him. I’m questioning my reality.

Maybe I was never saved.

Maybe I’m still lying on that floor. Maybe his dick is still ripping my ass. Maybe I dissociated and made up the last few months of my life.

Maybe Finnigan doesn’t even exist.

I’m questioning how deep this panic goes. Which is the lie? The reality?

Laughter somewhere far away cracks the pain and a slither of light breaks through. There is so much effortless joy in that melodic sound, brimming with innocence. Familiar. With aching hands I grip the concrete beneath them harder, trying to drag myself toward that laughter and find out who it belongs to. A visceral need inside of me is screaming of its importance. I have to find out.

Then it comes again, not closer to me, but louder either way. It sounds… small. A tiny voice. Slightly high pitched. A little comical too. Joy blooms in the pit of my stomach. So familiar. The concrete scratches my palms, but I’m pulling away further. Frankie is losing his grip on me. Only, Bartiste appears in my periphery.

You might have to share this one.

His words bring a silent cry to my chest and tears fill my eyes as I struggle to move further away, but I’m not going anywhere. Then the laughter splits the darkness and fills it with colorful light that calls for me—Maya.

I blink frantically as air fills my lungs with vicious force, and fall forward on my hands, heaving. I’m alone, inside the dark, guest bedroom, the door cracked to the dimly lit hallway, and my sister’s laughter filters through from somewhere in the distance.

I’m safe.

But she isn’t.

My instincts aren’t screaming at me, no matter how hard I listen, and I don’t know what I should do. The Sanctum can help me. Finnigan can help me. But if what Frankie said is true, that he will see me coming, and considering the surveillance photos he sent me, it’s highly likely, then I will be risking Maya’s life. How can we protect her if we didn’t even know we were being watched?

What if I ask for help… and she will pay for it?

What if I do nothing… and they’ll take her from me?

On my phone screen the time seems to scream at me in that bright white—nine forty-eight p.m. I have plenty of time to make a decision, though there’s too much time for me to fail to act normal and not get away with it. Maya will get what she asked for and stay here. At least for tonight, Annika and Ronan will watch her.

What about the other nights that will follow? Without me…

Oh, god. I cannot fathom not being part of her life, her growing up without me. Would these people take her in if I’m not here? Would they keep her safe or put her in the system? They wouldn’t, would they? No. I can trust them. But I’ll leave a note just in case, or maybe I’ll text before I meet with Frankie and ask them to take care of her.

Yes. That feels right.

Fuck!No, it doesn’t!

None of this is right, but I don’t have a choice.

I wrap a strand of my hair around my fingers, nervously rolling it as I force myself not to visualize what consequences I’m going to face. Surrendering myself to Frankie is a terrible idea. Mentally I haven’t escaped him yet, but I’m also not trapped in his clutches like I used to be. This will physically bring me right back there. He’ll destroy me.

Picking up my phone I go back to his message and the photos of my sister—if I don’t do this… he’ll destroy her. There is no other way, no other choice.

I push myself back up to my feet and walk over to the window, then slowly pull the blind up, revealing the moonlight touching the tops of the trees.

Will I ever see this again if I make this choice? Will I see the outside?

Will I be alive for it?

No!

I cannot think like that. Plan—I need a plan. Finn will want to take me back to the apartment tonight. How am I going to sneak out? There are so many variables, the man has security everywhere in that building, Katya lives there too, people have started knowing me there. However, before they even come into play, it’s Finn I have to worry about. There’s no way I can sneak out without him hearing, noticing, or searching for me, and I have a feeling he won’t be asleep in time for me to leave.

I’ll have to sneak out from here. Even with Vincent’s cameras or the men patrolling the vicinity and the rest of his forest-covered land, it’s not the same as an apartment building. So I tell them I would like to stay tonight with Maya too.

The peculiarity of this situation dawns on me—I’m planning my demise. In my gut I know that this will be my end, because there is no way I will allow a man like Frankie B to own me. No one can own me. I will find a way to escape him, even if it will mean my end.

Now, I just have to act normal in front of the others for another hour and a half.

Deep in my chest a stabbing pain cracks everything I managed to build in the last few months, the shield I formed around the visceral emotions I allowed myself to feel for Finnigan. I love the others too, but Finnigan… what he built inside of me happened gradually. It has a foundation and serrated claws embedded in the edges of my heart, one by one until he became fully seated there. Part of me.

He isn’t wrapped around my heart, he is part of it. Right next to my smart, silly little sister.

And I’m about to rip my own heart out and abandon them both.

* * *

I counted twelve more breaths after my decision was made, each of them on the rhythm of my slow, dragging steps, but I haven’t changed my mind. It’s time to walk out of this room so I don’t arouse suspicion. Just as I grip the doorknob, steps sound on the other side, on the corridor, and I freeze.

“He’s with a woman.” That’s Carter’s calm, leveled voice.

“With a woman?!” Finnigan exclaims.

“That’s what I said, yes.”

“You can’t possibly imply that Frankie is currently on a date. That’s not what you’re telling me, right?!”

They found him!Pure excitement grips my chest, spilling into goosebumps over my skin, and I cover my mouth to keep from crying out.

“That, or he plans on taking her. It’s irrelevant,” Carter answers, nonchalant.

“Let’s go get him then.” Maddox.

They’re all here, but they’re still walking and their voices are starting to lose volume. They must be going into the office at the end of the hallway.

“How many men did he have with him?” Finnigan asks.

“Cameras showed three.”

“Three?! Fucking hell, the man is bold. His confidence is ridiculous if he thinks three is enough to protect him. Why the fuck is he feeling so untouchable?” Finn curses.

“The old Dalton Pier isn’t exactly populated, as you know. The beach is too close to the industrial area, so he probably thinks he has plenty of privacy there, and it’s easy to see someone coming,” Carter answers.

Dalton Pier, where he told me to meet him.

Confidence blooms in my veins at the image of the bastard walking calmly on the dark beach, hand in hand with his date. Though, I believe in the victim theory much more. This is a curveball. But I can catch it. I have to catch it, because this is so much better than the alternative. The result might be the same, and I will probably still end up in his clutches, but… what if I don’t? I’ll have the element of surprise on my side.

A door closes and snaps me back into the present. Slowly, I open this one to find the corridor empty, and muffled voices coming from Vincent’s office. I sneak to the door and listen.

“For what he did to Evelyn he will pay tonight.”

“What if it’s a trap?” someone asks.

It must be!

It would be perfect timing, taking The Sanctum out before my meeting with him. That way, no one would come to my rescue. And if it isn’t a trap, I’m still not willing to take the risk.

I’m rushing in the opposite direction before the decision made it into my consciousness. There will be no trap. I refuse to allow these men to fall into one because of me. Even if I have doubts. it is because Frankie just seems like the type of man to have far too much confidence for his own good, I will not risk Finnigan and his Sanctum. I won’t risk anyone.

The house is still quiet, voices and laughter only filtering from outside, everyone huddled around the fire pit. My sister too. She’s cuddled up on a chair, laughter all gone as she lays there half asleep watching the flame with Aaro. It almost hurts that she looks so at home. So settled.

I want to scream for her, yell my love, but they can’t know what I’m about to do. Passing through all of Vincent’s security will be hard enough. But they’re all distracted now, maybe they won’t notice. Or at least not yet, and I’ll have a head start.

My bag is still by the front door, and I open it to double check all is still there. Between my wallet, tissue pack, snacks, and random crap, there are two weapons I received as a gift for my protection. Hopefully all this training will mean something and I won’t be as vulnerable as last time. I grab the bag and head to the closest room that has windows toward the front, because I know the front door triggers the security system and alerts them. The windows won’t. Maybe it’s because there is physically no way to open them from the outside, I don’t know anything beyond the fact that whenever I’ve seen someone open a window, nothing has been triggered.

Slowly, I close the door behind me, and head straight to the window, unlatching it. My heart is in my throat as I slowly turn the handle and push it open, listening for the repercussions. None come. So I open it wider, and climb over, dropping outside the house.

I don’t waste any time, swing my bag over my shoulder, and bolt through the trees, right at the edge of the road that leads back to the main street. I know there’s security patrolling around here, so I stay in the shadows of the trees and run. There is no burn in my lungs, no strain in my muscles, only tension inside of me, questioning my actions tonight. But all I can think about is Maya. My sweet Maya threatened by this revolting asshole. The reservations, insecurities, the fear I had is slowly being replaced by rage. Pure, untapped rage for the man who took so much from me.

I refuse to let him take more.

I have been living in fear that he could be anywhere, lurking, watching, ready to ruin everything for me all over again. So I didn’t quite live. His photos are confirmation that he was indeed out there, watching us.

Stopping for a moment, I pull my phone out and book a ride to meet me at the end of this road, beyond the last security camera Vincent has installed here, then I run again. I don’t have long before the guys will set off too.

If not for the risk they would fall in a trap, I would let them deal with it. But I refuse to allow anyone to get hurt because of me. And Frankie isn’t expecting me so early.

By the time I reach the main road and see the ride waiting for me, the soles of my feet burn from the uneven forest floor, but the adrenaline is keeping me from caring. The older driver gives me a reluctant look when he double checks the destination, but I don’t dwell on whatever train of thought he’s going through. I have my own to deal with. And currently, my brain is working on a plan for how to go through three men and reach Frankie B.

Fire rushes through my veins, fueling the anger and fear that mixed in a dangerous concoction and are breathing new life into me. My past is about to meet my present, and I pray that the anger will dominate the fear in the end.

I wonder if these men were one of the ones who were with him that night… if they were the ones holding me down when Frankie was sticking the needle in my arm? When he pulled my jeans down. Were they the ones who watched? Who laughed? Who cheered him on?

My skin prickles with nerves as the car approaches the destination. There is no going back.

Tonight will end in destruction… and it’s likely to be mine.