Chapter Thirty-One
Kieran
I had questions. Lots of fucking questions. Like how long had Fox known of Wren’s ridiculous attempt to go after Alessandro with Luca alone? And why the hell hadn’t he told me about it? And what the fuck was he doing in the fucking woods all this time leaving Tomás unprotected after he promised, promised , that he’d keep him safe?
My body vibrated in anger and my best friend felt it.
“We were dropped into the field on fucking horseback, individually,” Fox explained. “I searched for Tomás and the others but only found a few of Ashton’s idiots. Until I came across Wren, hiding for shit. I knew he was up to something when I caught him with the son of Satan. Then I followed him to the SUV and cornered him. He spilled his plan of going after Alessandro. He’d stolen the tag from Graham and … uh, we saw some of it.”
Tomás took my hand in his and squeezed. His knuckles busted. Blood under his fingernails and … I pulled his hand toward me and looked at the brand. Blood had dried on it, the skin lifted. The wedge in my throat didn’t allow me to speak.
Tomás turned to look at Fox. “What’s in it?”
Fox cupped his mouth without answering.
“Alessandro recorded them,” Luca answered for him. His voice deep and without inflection. “Twelve girls and one boy.”
Tomás’s grip on my hand slackened and I squeezed, hoping I was giving him some of my strength.
Luca went on. “He video recorded them during their first meeting. Most under the age of ten. Then every year after, a snippet as they grew. He trained them. What to wear, how to talk. Those that had natural talent in the arts, he kept. Those that didn’t, he returned. Most of those that stayed under his tutelage went on to prestigious institutions and a smaller number became successful, living the dream he gave them.”
“You make him sound like a fucking saint,” Wren snapped.
“They are his mask.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Wren asked.
I knew what it meant. Evil always wore a mask.
Luca went on ignoring Wren’s question. “He dated some of the girls he mentored after they came of age.”
“He molded them as he saw fit,” Wren said with disgust.
“But he never hurt the girls,” Luca said. “Only the boy.”
Tomás’s voice rose in pitch, and he dragged air through his lungs. “What boy?”
The SUV suddenly felt stifling. Until Luca answered. “When Alessandro learned that Maddox Brennan was engaged to Carl Casera, he became enraged and ordered the boy to be brought to him. The boy refused, only to be drugged and forced into submission.”
Another drag of air ripped through the car.
“Luca, stop,” Wren said, choked on words he couldn’t say.
Luca ignored Wren and continued. “Alessandro was furious. The boy had fought him, and no one had ever fought him. He chained the boy.”
“Luca—” Fox warned.
“The boy cried. Told him to stop.”
“Shut up!” Wren snapped.
“Alessandro didn’t stop.”
Tomás’s chest rose and fell with every sharp inhalation of breath he took. His eyes grew wide, distant, his face paled. “Stop the car,” he whispered.
He didn’t give Luca a chance to pull over when he lunged over Fox’s lap and attacked the door. I didn’t know who screamed, I didn’t know who ordered Luca to stop the fucking car. Fox managed to stop Tomás from jumping out before the car made a full stop. When Luca finally pulled over onto the side of the road and stopped, they both fell out.
Tomás jumped over Fox, stumbling as he rushed to the trees flanking the road. Then he turned to us as we gathered outside to catch him should he fall. But Tomás was already falling and there was nothing we could do to stop him. He needed to land on his own.
His eyes swept back and forth between us. “Who!” he yelled. “Who was the boy?”
I wanted to hug him, bring him into me, but I didn’t want to force him to run. And he was seconds from doing just that. “Look at me, baby. Look at me.”
His eyes landed on mine.
I took a step closer. Then another. He didn’t back away. “Listen, we’re here to set this right. They’re here to help us. The sonofabitch will never hurt you again.”
He cocked his head. Thick tears fell down his face. “Who?”
It was Wren who took a step closer and broke the silence. “It was you, Tomás. The boy was you.”
Tomás sucked in a sob, and I rushed to him just as he collapsed. I rocked him in my arms the way my mom used to rock me whenever I got hurt in the playground and when she couldn’t, my grandmother would hold me. The memory so elusive, I’d forgotten how it had felt to be loved.
Until now.
We all let Tomás push out what he needed in order to continue. The thought of him seeing the fucker again, being used as bait while we tried to end Alessandro had everything inside of me screaming to head back. Fuck it. Protect him.
But Tomás needed this more than he needed protection. I understood this too. We all did. After a few minutes, Tomás pushed away from me, wiped his eyes, and nodded. “We should go. I’m okay. I’ll be okay.”
He didn’t look at anyone as he climbed back into the SUV.
Luca and I passed a look. We knew what waited for us in those woods.
The remainder of the drive was met with silence. The next stop we made was a mile outside our destination. Luca pulled the SUV over and we all got out. He met us at the liftgate where he pulled up the cover to reveal guns. Lots of guns.
“How the fuck did you get this through security at the school?”
Luca shrugged. Lips tight.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Fox said.
“You will encounter two on foot and two in lookouts with the best angle to the cabin,” Luca said and pulled out two goggles with wired tracking.
“You tracked them?”
“They wear a tracker, yes. I leave nothing to chance. If you can strike in silence, it would be better, but,” he shrugged. He knew the deal. Sometimes plans were for shit.
He grabbed Tomás who flinched at his touch. “Don’t touch him,” I snapped.
Luca glared. “I will not hurt my brother,” Luca said. “It is forbidden. You fail,” he cocked his head to Tomás, “he dies.”
Tomás swallowed. I cupped his face. “Hey, listen to me. You’re going to be fine.” It was trash words that meant shit. So would the ‘I love you’ that I wanted to say. This wasn’t the time or place for it. I leaned my forehead against his. “Okay, maybe I don’t know if we’re going to make it through this. But I’m going to fucking try my hardest to get back to you.” I lifted my eyes to his. They were so warm brown, trusting. They were soft and home. I pressed my lips to his in a slow kiss quickly feeling his hands wrap around me and deepening the kiss. I missed this. Just us. We weren’t alone, but I didn’t give a fuck. He was all that mattered.
The kiss eased up on its own and he nodded.
“I need you to do the same.” Because I knew he was the martyr. He’d put himself at risk to help someone else. “I need you to promise me on your brother’s life. On Nick, that you will do everything in your power to survive.”
He nodded. “I promise.”
“Remember, I’m coming for you.”
I zip tied his wrists in front of him and shoved a folded blade into his boot. I kissed him again. A kiss full of promises I intended to keep.
Luca cleared his throat. Time to go.
A quick flash of anger lifted through me, and I swung a tight fist at Luca. It connected with the side of his face. The zip of pain up my arm was fucking worth it. His head snapped back at the impact before he slowly turned back to me. I hadn’t made the fucker bleed. Too bad. “That’s for touching him. He’s mine. And if anything happens to him…” I didn’t have to finish that statement.
Luca smirked but the madness remained in his eyes.
It took every ounce of effort in my body to step away from the car. Tomás gave me a small smile that wrenched through my heart. Luca climbed inside with my whole world, and I did nothing but watch as the SUV trailed slowly up the road.
Wren and Fox stood at my side. “Please tell me I didn’t make the biggest mistake of my life,” I whispered.
“We haven’t made enough mistakes yet to quantify this one,” Wren answered.
I turned to him. “That really doesn’t help.”
“No,” Fox added. “But blowing shit up will.”
I smirked. He wasn’t wrong.