Chapter 12
I t’s dark when we roll up to an isolated home on a remote property just outside Butte, Montana. There isn’t a damn thing out here for miles, and I can’t help but think that’s on purpose. It’s too dark to take in anything beyond the immediate vicinity, and that alone is enough to tell me the isolation is intentional.
The house is large and one story, built primarily from stone. I can make out the dark outline of a building a short walk away, and dread washes over me at what it might be used for.
This place gives me the creeps—like something straight out of a horror movie, the kind with a haunted house and a dismembered body buried in the backyard.
Luca slams his door a little harder than necessary, stomping past me as I stretch, finally standing with my feet on solid ground. The back of the SUV pops open. Jax and Luca grab a few bags each, but Luca doesn’t waste time with pleasantries and heads straight for the house.
I raise an eyebrow, watching him storm off. “What’s got his bazooka bent out of shape?” I mutter, more to myself, though I’m sure the other two hear it.
“He just wants to figure out how we were located so quickly,” Enzo responds, his voice low as he takes my book bag before I can protest. “Luca’s planted dozens of false trails by now to throw them off. Someone got lucky, that’s all.”
“Three hits came after us today, Peach,” Jax adds, his eyes narrowing, the usual playful spark gone. “We need answers, or you’re not safe. Even here.”
I glance around, the wind biting at my skin, the cold of the late night seeping through the remnants of the shot-up SUV. “And where exactly is ‘here’?” I ask, gesturing to the mountains in the distance. It’s a lot of wide-open space, with nothing but the house, a fancy-looking barn, and a fence stretching on for miles. There’s no way this place is an innocent retreat. The mafia doesn’t own places like this for fun.
“This is one of my properties,” Enzo answers, but I can tell by his eyes he’s withholding more.
My temper flares. “Okay, and?” I cross my arms over my chest, the chill in the air making my teeth chatter. “Do I need to play Twenty Questions every damn time? Stop fucking lying to me by hiding shit.”
Enzo steps closer, his towering frame blocking the dim moonlight. “This is a house for Cleaners and Fixers,” he says, his voice quieter now but edged with something I can’t quite place. “Members of my family handle associates here who need to be bled dry for information or who’ve fucked up and get a visit from The Undertaker.” He gestures toward Jax, then points to the barn. “That’s where it happens. Bodies disappear here, Delaney. Does that answer it for you?”
I stand there, frozen, trying to process what he’s saying. He just bluntly told me this is a mafia torture and disposal site. His family runs this operation. A dark, uncomfortable chill runs down my spine, but more than that, he just pisses me off.
Aren’t I supposed to be leading a mafia dynasty by Friday? And they still want to pretend I can’t handle the truth about everything. Well, fuck them.
I let out a short laugh. “Jesus Christ, you could’ve just said you kill people here and dump them in a mineshaft,” I mutter, snatching my bag back from him and marching toward the house. “Dramatic-ass men.”
Luca emerges from the house just then, locking eyes with me. His jaw tightens as he notices the bag in my hand. Without warning, he steps up to me, his face hard. “Give me that fucking bag.”
“Bite my ass,” I snarl, holding it out of his reach. But he doesn’t care for my response. Without missing a beat, Luca rips the bag from my grasp and spills its contents onto the wooden porch like a kid’s Halloween haul.
“What the hell?” I gasp, my stomach sinking as I watch my stuff scatter. Something heavy thuds as it hits the ground, and I stop breathing for a moment. The laptop. The fucking laptop.
Luca picks it up and glares at me like I’ve personally planted a homing beacon in his asshole. “This. They tracked us with this. Way to almost get us fucking killed, Delaney.”
“Luc,” Jax’s tone is a warning, but Luca doesn’t give a shit.
He’s pissed, and I knew he’d find any reason to take it out on me. Hell, he’s acted like he can’t stand being in my presence most of the time since they abducted me.
My anger flares, and I turn on him, my voice rising in pitch. “I didn’t ask to be kidnapped, Luca. If you recall, I was thrown into the car by a caveman after you blew up my fucking house. This is all I have left of my life, you dick.”
Luca doesn’t back down. “You ran, Delaney. In the middle of a goddamn shootout. You just left, like you were on your way to pick up fucking groceries while we risked our lives trying to get you out of there.”
“Excuse me for not being the perfect captive and making your abduction easier,” I snap, my voice shaking. “Perhaps call first next time.”
Luca nearly snarls at me like an angry dog. “You have no fucking idea what we’ve done to keep you safe.”
“Because you all treat me like I’m a porcelain doll about to fucking shatter. Well, I’m not.” My voice echoes into the night as the shadows of the large mountains witness our meltdown. “News flash, big boy.” I lower my tone and step up to him. It’s not as intimidating as it should be since I’m about seven inches shorter and have to look up—but he gets the point. “I survived all three of you assholes making me look like a fool once, and I’m not aiming for a second time around.”
He flinches at my words, but I keep going. I’m too wound up now to stop.
“I was just a cherry to pop, right? That’s a pretty good notch for your bedpost, isn’t it? Some top-tier bragging rights you got to deflower the Caputo heiress? Because you knew who I was, didn’t you?”
“Enough,” Enzo growls. His eyes, hard as steel, flick between Luca and me. The atmosphere thickens with tension, and I brace myself for more.
“I’m not on your payroll anymore, Mr. Vincenzi, but thank you for testing out how tight my pussy was and then throwing me to the curb. Is that why you went through so many assistants? Once they were dripping with your cum, you had no use for them anymore?”
Enzo’s expression falters for a second, but something cracks behind his cold exterior. His eyes darken, his fists clenching at his sides. The silence between us is thick and suffocating.
“And you,” I snap, turning to Jax, whose shock is plain on his face. We may have apologized for what happened after he got arrested, but we didn’t even scratch the surface of everything before that. “Did you set your sights on making the mafia princess your old lady so you could have the empire when good ol’ Pops kicked the bucket?”
Jax’s voice is quiet but razor-sharp. “That’s not true, Peach.” His words hang in the air, but there’s something in his gaze—something that tells me he’s not innocent either. There’s always been something, lurking in the shadows, that he’s never admitted.
There is something else going on with each of them that I’m not privy to yet and I have a feeling it revolves around me. I can’t decide if they are keeping it from me to protect me or if they are just cowards.
I snort a humorless laugh. “That’s what I thought.” I look between them, my anger simmering. “The three of you have lied to me since the day you met me, fucked me, and then tossed me. So, forgive me for not bending over and accepting your cocks like a good little cum dumpster when you show up out of the blue.”
I spin away from them, heading for the house. My chest is tight, my hands shaking as I storm past Luca. “You showed up at my door, turned my life upside down, and I’m allowed to have feelings about it. You want the rest of this trip to go easier? Stop acting like I’m a fucking child who doesn’t understand what the grown-ups are saying.”
“Delaney,” Enzo barks.
But I don’t stop. I slam the door behind me, needing space. Needing a moment to breathe. I walk through the dark house with a scowl burning on my face and shut myself in the first bedroom I find.
I stand at the window, my arms crossed over my chest, staring at the full moon. Though we’re in the middle of nowhere, it’s not as dark outside as I expected. I catch movement in my peripheral vision.
Enzo is following Luca, trying to get him to acknowledge him. Luca opens the passenger door of the SUV, grabs something, and then slams the door, finally turning around to face Enzo.
I can’t hear their argument, but it’s clear they’re bickering. Enzo throws his arms wide, gesturing angrily, while Luca dramatically rolls his eyes. I watch for a moment, noticing the heat between them slowly dissipating. Luca leans against the SUV, his head falling back against it as he gazes up at the moon—the same one I’ve been staring at.
Enzo steps forward and brackets Luca’s hips with his strong hands. The tension drains from Luca’s body, his posture softening as he gives in to whatever Enzo is saying.
With a hand on Luca’s throat, Enzo pulls his gaze toward him. Their foreheads rest together for a moment before Enzo kisses him. It’s slow, lingering—an intimate kiss where their lips remain still for a beat before they part, deepening their embrace.
Luca pulls Enzo closer by the waistband of his pants, pressing their bodies together, while Enzo holds Luca’s face in his hands. They kiss again, but this time it’s softer, more private. After a moment, they break apart, resting their foreheads together once more before slowly separating.
The sound of knuckles tapping on the door pulls me back, and I instinctively close the curtains, turning away from the two men I’m inexplicably drawn to.
“Yeah?” I call out, my voice thick with sorrow.
It’s Jax, peeking his head in cautiously before opening the door wider. He stands in the doorway with the ivory weekend bag they brought for me.
“I thought you’d want your stuff for a shower and some clean clothes,” he says.
The sadness in his eyes makes something in my chest tighten, cracking through the ice I’ve built around myself. I bite my lip, looking down at the floor for a moment before I take a deep breath and step toward him.
“Thanks.” My fingers wrap around the brown leather handle, but he doesn’t let go. I look at him, and I know what he wants. Damn it, I hate this part. I hate the vulnerability.
I want to pull away, to shut myself off completely, but I can’t. I realize that, without them, I wouldn’t have survived today. Death may not even be the worst thing that could have happened. What if the man who grabbed me had taken me? God knows what he would’ve done then.
A chill runs up my arm, and I shiver at the thought.
Jax gently runs a warm hand up my arm before cupping my face. I lean into his touch for a moment before he turns my face toward his.
“I’ll tell you the truth if you want it, Peach,” he says, his voice serious, almost sorrowful. “Just be ready to hate me once you hear it.”