Never Say Never (Vitale Brothers Book 4)

Chapter 21

I staredat the side of Paul”s face as he weaved through traffic. His eyes flickered up to the rearview mirror before he focused on the road again. My gaze was drawn to one fleck of blood that he had missed on his cheek. It stood out, stark red and pulsing as if to show me that all those red flags were right. This was a man that killed with impunity. Who smiled as he bashed a man”s head in.

A fucking Vitale.

”Please stop staring at me,” Paul said, his hands gripping the steering wheel tighter.

I didn”t say a word as I clenched my hands into tight fists. Deep down, I had known something wasn”t right, but the reality was that I”d prayed I was wrong. Having sex with Paul, letting him into my head, had ruined my perceptions. I was always able to see right through people, but he clouded my vision. No, he straight up fucking blinded me.

”York, stop,” he said.

”Daddy, what”s wrong?” Nyra whispered.

Paul glanced my way but I couldn”t take my eyes off him. I”d never been particularly violent with the exception of a few horrible events in my life, but I wanted to smash his face into the steering wheel until it was his blood decorating my body. My hands tightened more, nails sinking into the soft tissue until I felt pinpricks of pain racing up my arms.

”Mr. Washington, where are we going?” Shelly asked, her voice shaky.

I should have called someone from the agency. Who can I trust with my girls” lives though? If my best agent is a Vitale, who else is right there underneath me ready to kill us? Where the fuck else can I go?

”Where are you taking us?” I asked finally.

”Somewhere safe. Protected.”

”My place was protected.”

”Not like this,” Paul answered.

”Daddy,” Navy called. ”What happened to those men?”

”Enough!” I snapped. ”Everyone be quiet.”

Her trembling bottom lip snapped me back to reality. I let the wildness bleed from me as I became who she needed, who they both needed. That was all that really mattered. It was my fault this was happening. I had decided to go after these demons, and to fuck a Vitale on top of that. Their fear and distress were because of me.

I was a horrible fucking father.

”It”s okay,” Paul said softly as he glanced back at them. ”We”re almost there, and guess what? I”ll be right there with you guys, okay? I know this is scary, but it”s going to be all right. Remember how your daddy fights bad guys?”

They nodded.

”Well, those bad guys want to hurt him, so we have to keep him safe. Can you two do that with me? Can you be brave and protect your daddy with me?”

”Yes,” Navy answered with Nyra nodding along.

”Thank you,” Paul said, sighing with relief. ”Everything will be fine, you have my word.”

His blue eyes flickered my way, and I started staring at him all over again. Who was this man? He said all the right things, he looked as if he actually gave a damn, and yet I knew what he was. A Vitale. Trash. A criminal who didn”t give a damn about who he hurt or who he killed. Had he killed? My mind wouldn”t stop racing. How many things had gone wrong with raids, investigations... informants?

It was as if someone had pulled the curtains back and my rational brain was working again. My eyes were open and I could see. I had questions, ones that couldn”t be answered in this car with tiny ears. But they burned a hole in my mind.

”York, I swear to god,” Paul whispered.

”Something like you believes in god?”

Paul winced. ”I just saved your life.”

”I would rather you let me die. At least I wouldn”t feel... this.”

If I had gone to an early grave, I wouldn”t have to face the fact that despite all of my anger and fear, was another emotion that was ripping me into tiny little shreds. Betrayal. Paul had ripped my heart from my chest, showed it to me, and then stomped on it with fucking glee. He”d made me believe I was crazy. Had made me think he had feelings and emotions like a normal person and I was in the wrong for ever questioning his loyalty. Now, I could see I”d been gaslit and manipulated into oblivion.

For years, I”d just wanted to feel something. To know what it was like to truly be in love. Now? I never wanted to feel anything ever again. If I came out the other side of this, I would dedicate myself to work, my daughters, and an existence that was quiet, but filled with the knowledge that no one would ever make me feel like this again.

”Where are we going?” I asked again. ”Sure it”s safe? Or is that a trap?”

Paul’s eyes flashed to me, full of hurt and wet with tears. His eyes were wide as if he couldn”t believe I would ever ask something like that. When he turned back to the road, his lips parted, but no words came out. That wasn”t exactly reassuring to me. Right now, he could be driving us all to our deaths. It made sense, right? What other way to clean up an entire mess and move on to greener pastures than to get rid of us all in one fell swoop? Maybe he was being a good little soldier and these had been his instructions all along. Was every touch a lie? Every word a manipulation? Every moan a knife stabbed into my chest?

”Please, York,” he whispered. ”Don”t do this.”

”Do what?” I snapped.

I shut my mouth when I noticed the girl”s distress. They kept glancing between me and Paul. Even though they were young, they were intelligent. They knew something was wrong. I had to push it down, act like I hadn’t been manipulated and gaslit into this while Paul was able to be hurt. And I was not allowed to be livid.

”Girls, where are your phones?” I asked.

”Paul made us leave them,” Navy whispered.

”Shelly?”

”Same thing,” she muttered. ”I”m sorry, Mr. Washington. I thought it was what you wanted.”

”It”s fine,” I said.

We rode in silence as I stared straight ahead, but I kept every muscle in my body wound tight. If Paul tried anything, I was ready to send him to an early grave. Between him and my daughters, they would always win out. They were more important to me than my own life.

The girls stood justinside of the lobby of the highrise that Paul brought us to. I had to keep an eye on them and told Shelly just that. She stayed with them, talking to them. Whatever she was saying seemed to soothe them, and they were clinging to her. Paul and I sat in the car uncomfortably.

”I”m sorry, York.”

”Cut the shit,” I snapped. ”What the fuck is going on?”

”It”s a long story,” he muttered. ”One I”ve been trapped inside of for years. Trust me, this wasn”t something I wanted either.”

”You certainly pursued it.”

He shifted uncomfortably. ”I had a car accident years ago,” he said, rushing ahead. ”Everyone thought I was dead. My family saw an opportunity and took it. They made me ‘die’ and I became someone else. Paul Gallo. Everything I did, entering the academy, learning, solving cases, that was all me. I worked hard like everyone else. Brought in criminals. Fixed things.”

I scoffed. ”You want a pat on the back, you fucking animal?”

Paul sucked in a deep breath. ”I know that you”re angry?—”

”You have no fucking idea what I am.”

”Okay, okay,” he said, holding up his hands. ”This wasn”t my idea. My family wanted me to do it. You protect your family, right? Look what you do for the girls.”

”I don”t commit murder.”

He raised a brow. ”You wouldn”t kill for them?”

I stared at him. The look on Paul”s face seemed to say exactly. I wanted to wrap my hands around his throat and strangle the life out of him. Huh, seemed he was right. I did have it in me to murder someone.

”You liked bashing that man”s brains in,” I said, disgust dripping into my voice. ”I watched you smile.”

”We all have our issues.”

”Understatement of the goddamn year,” I growled.

”York.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. ”I know you hate my family, and trust me, the feeling is definitely mutual. But if I tell them to keep you safe, they will.”

”Where the fuck are we?”

”My brother owns this penthouse. Most of it is filled with people who work for us.”

”Soldiers.”

”Yeah.” Paul sighed.

”You brought me and my girls to a mobster”s home?” I asked in disbelief. ”Are you fucking high? I”m getting my daughters.”

Paul”s hand shot out and grabbed my arm. ”Don”t,” he said. ”I can keep you safe here. This is the only place I could think of where eyes will be on us twenty-four-seven. We”re safe here, despite your prejudices.”

My prejudices. I wanted to laugh and spit in his face at the same time. Who the fuck did he think he was? I wasn”t against the Vitales on some bullshit whim. Everything they had done, I”d seen. And I was sure that was all surface level. The true horrors of their crimes would always be hidden. They were good at that.

”Give me my phone.”

”I needed to destroy it,” Paul said.

”Yeah? And I need to explain why I”ll be gone before I end up being implicated with your bullshit. You saving my life means shit if I end up behind bars because someone thinks I”m out here helping the Vitales.”

Reluctantly, Paul handed me a burner. I thought about calling someone on the team and letting them know what was going on, but it was impossible. Paul was staring fire at the side of my face, and even if he wasn”t, I didn”t know who else was behind this. Someone had been digging, exposing things that had been hidden for a long time. How else had they realized he was a Vitale? No, this shit was bad. I couldn”t rely on anyone. Paul was a criminal, but I felt that stirring in my gut. He would at least keep the girls safe.

Even if he ended up killing me.

I knew how his kind were. They didn”t give a damn about life, but from what I”d read about the Vitales, they didn”t murder children. Anyone else was a target, but they had lines that they didn”t cross. I could only pray that was true and I wasn”t about to walk into an empty apartment where each of us would catch a bullet in the back of the head before being deposited in some dumpster somewhere.

A shiver worked through my body, setting my nerves on fire. I quickly typed out my email letting them know that because of the car bomb, I needed to stay with my daughters. It wasn”t as if the option hadn”t been offered to me, but I meant what I said about not stopping until these people were done. They certainly wouldn”t give up until someone stopped them.

”Here,” I said, slamming the phone into Paul”s outstretched hand. I grabbed the door handle. ”Let”s go.”

Paul yanked me back. ”I know I owe you so many explanations.”

”You don”t owe me shit,” I snapped. ”I get it. You were sent to seduce your boss and learn all his secrets, right? Tell me, Paul, did you kill Marianna and her husband?”

Paul flinched. ”It wasn”t like that!” He paused and slowly removed his hand from me. ”She was a rat.”

I shoved myself out of the car, desperately trying to suck in a fresh breath of air as the wave of nausea hit me so hard, I had to double over with my hands on my knees. The urge to vomit consumed me, but I forced myself to calm down. Paul grabbed my shoulders. I punched him in the stomach. He grunted, doubling over as he tried to breathe.

”Don”t ever fucking touch me again,” I whispered in his ear. ”I detest you.”