Chapter Thirty-Two
Tomás
Luca still wore the face paint, but it didn’t look as creepy as the first time I’d seen him with it. Instead, it seemed like armor. He pulled onto the empty road, leaving Kieran, Fox, and Wren behind.
I filled my lungs with oxygen, still tasting Kieran on my lips. The I love you burrowed inside my chest. Those words didn’t hold enough weight to convey how I felt for Kieran Brennan. The reason why I had to survive this. For him. For us.
I had to fight for us.
We reached the narrow-wooded path that led to the already lit cabin. It was a two-story structure. Too elegant to be inside such a wild scenery. It stuck out. Didn’t belong. Luca stopped the car. A man peeled out of the shadows garbed in black, even his face hidden. But not the assault rifle in his hand. He didn’t even lift it to Luca as if he knew it had been Luca arriving.
“Luca,” I said.
“Shut up,” he said.
“Thank you. If it doesn’t work out tonight, I just … I want to say it isn’t your fault. And maybe, one day, we both won’t need our masks anymore.”
He dragged his eyes to the rearview mirror and speared me with a look that made my skin crawl. “Shut up. Got it,” I mumbled.
He got out of the car and yanked me out. I stumbled. Wanted to call him a jerk but bit my tongue. Without a glance at the guard, Luca led me to the door and shoved me inside harder than necessary. I tripped and the bright light made me flinch. It took some time for my eyes to adjust.
Enzo was there.
Like when I saw him last night in the restroom, he looked well put together. As if no time had passed. Except time had passed. And a lot of in-betweens.
He looked at me with the familiar adoration he’d always had, then dragged his eyes to Luca behind me with such distaste I felt the hatred like a breathing, living thing warped by time. Alessandro Mancini despised Luca. A small part of me felt bad for Luca. I knew what it felt like to have a brother who couldn’t love you back. Miguel was dead. “Luca, you look ridiculous. What did I tell you about wearing that shit in front of me. Go clean up before I shoot you myself.”
Luca squeezed my arm, leaving behind a bruise, I’m sure. Then he released me and started for the stairs.
“Luca,” Enzo said clearly irritated.
Luca slowly turned. The paint hid the small muscle spasms on his face. His eyes revealed nothing. “Cut these. We won’t be needing this.” He gestured to my restraints. Then he gave me a slow look. “You are a mess,” he said, cupping my face. I preferred the dirt on my body than his soft touch. “You took the collar. I didn’t think you would.”
“He took it to save a friend,” Luca said, almost as if defending me. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, or a thing at all, but I would’ve preferred if Luca shut the fuck up.
Enzo bit his bottom lip. Something he did when he became upset. The strike against Luca’s face was sharp and fast. I felt the air ripple from the movement before I heard the loud smack. Luca’s head whipped to the side, but he didn’t fall. Instead, he turned back to Enzo, his eyes dilated, blood on his chin from his split lip. “Tell me you killed this friend.”
“No trace will ever be found.”
Enzo gave Luca a curt nod.
Luca pulled out his blade and for a moment, I thought he was going to stab Enzo in the neck with it. He didn’t. Instead, he freed my hands. I rubbed my raw, tender skin at my wrist and watched Luca sprint up the stairs.
“Come, we should talk.” Enzo gestured to the pristine living room. Everything about Enzo was perfect. From the way he moved, spoke, lived. The way he gave you the attention you needed. I could see why Maddox had fallen for it. I had fallen for it too. It made me sick.
I stopped. “I don’t want to dirty anything,” I said, because I knew it would put him at ease. I needed to be the boy he wanted. Not the one I’d turned into. I had to wear the mask. Not let him see the real me. Just like Luca.
Enzo spread a blanket on the chaise. “There. The blanket is easier to clean. Please.” He motioned to the chair with that same smile that had once put me at ease. Now all I felt was dread. Not even fear. I couldn’t fear him anymore.
I sat.
He took the sofa across from me and stared at me. Scrutinizing every inch of me, from my dirty boots, my pants, my shirt. His slow perusal made me hyperaware of the slow tick of time. His eyes landed on my neck and the corner of his lips lifted. “You do look good in my collar.”
My stomach revolted. How had I ever thought Enzo loved me like a son? How had I missed the insanity just underneath the surface? I’d been so desperate for someone to care for me, I had imagined everything I felt for him. He wasn’t my knight in shining armor. He hadn’t rescued me from my mother. He simply became my captor. He had been biding his time to show me who he really was.
“Why?” I blurted.
Enzo lifted his drink to his lips, tasting it slowly. “I never hurt them. I gave them things, experiences, treasures they would take with them always.”
I swallowed the bile in my throat. “Why did you hurt me ?”
“You fought me.”
“Bullshit. You drugged me.”
He shook his head. “That wasn’t me. That was your mother.”
I clamped my mouth shut. He was right. It had been my mother who drugged me. The reminder of her hatred still hurt like a throb behind my heart. She was dead now. She’d never be able to hurt me again. “You killed her.”
“I should’ve killed her sooner for what she did to you.”
Luca walked in saving me from the emotion threatening to take over me. He’d washed off the paint and changed into a new shirt. Rummaging in the kitchen, he came back with glasses and a bottle of bourbon. He poured me a full glass.
Enzo didn’t seem to mind.
I didn’t reach for it. “Drink,” Luca ordered.
“No, thank you. I don’t plan on being drugged this time,” I glared at Enzo.
His suspiciousness lifted and he smirked. “There you are,” he said. “I love that fire underneath.” He leaned forward and put his glass on the table in front of him. “It’s why I just couldn’t wait until you came of age.”
“You’re sick.”
He cocked his head. “You have quite a dirty mind, young man. I don’t have to force myself on anyone. As a matter of fact, you should thank me for protecting you from the monster that was your mother. I paid her—them—good money for you.”
Daniel and Dad. I swallowed the bile in my throat.
“And you thrived,” he said, with pride. “You were my best pupil. You could’ve gone far in theatre but chose the gang life.”
“I chose my family.”
“Who discarded you in the first place.”
“Fuck you!” It was true. All of it was true.
Luca watched me like a snake. His body so still. I wondered if he set me up. If it was wrong to trust him.
Fight to survive, Tomás.
I’d never thought about why I fought. For la Sagrada Sangre, for Dad, Daniel. I fought because it was something that had been embedded inside me. I fought when I felt wronged. When an internal part of me, a good part—I hoped—woke up and demanded that I do something.
I played the only card I had. “Is that why you married Maddox? Because he reminded you of me.”
Enzo chuckled. “ You remind me of him ,” he corrected, confirming what I already knew to be true. Enzo had chosen me because of Maddox.
“He’s going to kill you when he finds out you hurt me.”
Enzo sipped his drink, cold eyes on me. Yeah. He knew . “It won’t be hard to convince him you were the aggressor.”
I snorted. After what Luca had done to me, after he made me realize that I really hadn’t wanted Enzo, Enzo had lost his power over me. I didn’t feel guilty anymore. I felt pissed. Violated. “Yeah, keep telling yourself those lies.”
“But Maddox will never learn of it. Not if you want to keep your precious Kieran breathing.”
The mention of Kieran drew fire into my veins. “You can’t touch him.”
“No, but I know he killed Cillian. I have proof. Just a whisper and I wouldn’t have to touch him.”
For me. Kieran had risked everything for me.
Enzo leaned forward. “I told you no one will ever have you. You are mine .”
I launched myself at Enzo, picking up the bottle of liquor, intending to smash it over his head. I didn’t even come close when Luca slammed into me. Enzo got to his feet laughing as Luca cursed at me for being a fool while slamming me into the floor until I stopped fighting.
“Should I bind him?” he asked Enzo.
“No, sit him down.”
Luca was stronger than I thought. He hauled me to my feet and forced my ass into the chair again. This time, he stood next to me, facing the floor-to-ceiling windows too. I didn’t look out the window for fear that Enzo would catch me, would see something in my expression that would suggest a threat. Keiran was out there. He said he’d come for me, and I trusted him.
I spat a glob of blood on the floor next to Luca’s feet, my cheek burning as it swelled. I kept my eyes glued on Enzo. The bourbon had splashed on the white rug, tainting the whole place the way it should be. Enzo took it all in. But he sat back in the sofa as if he didn’t care.
As a kid, I’d never noticed the nuances in his body language, the way his eyes hardened, the way the area around his mouth dipped into an almost-there scowl. The fucker looked more insane than Luca, just hid it well. “You’re a murdering pedophile. A freak. You think Maddox won’t eventually see through you?” Luca squeezed my shoulder in warning.
Shut up, idiot.
I didn’t shut up.
“He doesn’t even love you. He’s in love with … Carl.”
That broke something inside Enzo. I thought he’d launch himself at me, but his eyes grew dark. His features tightened. This was worse. “Maddox would never return to Carl. I made sure of that.”
“What did you do?” I asked because I knew the arrogant prick wanted to tell me and I needed to stall for time.
Kieran, please come for me.
“I paid one of his students to agree to a certain procedure that made her pregnant with Carl’s son. Trust is the most important part of a relationship. Betrayal will never be forgiven.” He cocked his head, something I once thought made him look endearing. I’d been so damn wrong. “And Maddox believes Carl broke that trust. They will never get back together. And Maddox will remain mine.”
“And me?” Because I had to ask.
“The marriage with Maddox makes you my son and you will act as such, or I will rip away everything you’ve ever cared for.” A darkness spread throughout his expression. “And no one will ever touch you again.”
The implication was clear. I’d be in a prison of his making. I’d die, eventually. Or I’d snap, unable to keep the secret of my past buried, and Enzo would kill everyone I ever loved. The dark thoughts swirling through my mind almost pulled me under. But then I felt Luca squeeze me again. A gentler touch. Something reassuring that grounded me.
Fight, Tomás. I had to fight.
“You’re a sick coward .” His left eye twitched. “You go for the most vulnerable. The only reason Maddox agreed to marry you was to protect Imogen from your insanity.”
I almost heard Luca sigh at my stupidity. Okay, maybe his squeeze wasn’t meant for me to go off on Enzo. Too bad. My words had set Enzo off like a bell. He slowly got to his feet, but his expression screamed violence.
“Stand him up,” he told Luca who forced me to my feet. Enzo cupped my face. “Take his tongue. He has no use for it.”
I spat into his face. “Maddox will kill you when he finds out what you did.”
That gave him pause. I had no fucking clue what I was doing. Wanting to see Enzo turn into the monster he was or stall for time. Enzo’s phone rang, he ignored it, wiping his face with a grimace. “And how will he find out?”
The buzzing again.
“Your hubris will be your downfall.” I tsked. “You recorded us, and Jack had a video of all your pretty little girls.” My heart felt wedged to my throat. “And me. And my boys have it.” Not a lie. He saw it in my smile. Because fuck him, I smiled too. “And your threat against Kieran means nothing because Tristan loves him, and he will burn the world for him.” I didn’t exactly know if Tristan loved Kieran or not, but it hit a nerve because Enzo blanched. “They’re going to give that video to Maddox. See what Maddox does when he finds out what a sick monster you truly are.”
The strike across my face came quick and hard. I fell on one knee, dug into the boot, and drew out the blade Kieran had shoved there. Enzo grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me into his chest. My cheek burned. The phone buzzed and Enzo snarled at Luca. “Would you fucking get that?”
Luca started to move near the window to the phone on the table when I caught movement just outside. I bright flash of light near the largest tree in front of the property.
Before I knew what I was doing, I shoved the blade straight through Enzo’s forearm. Enzo squealed like a bitch, a satisfying sound. Luca spun to me, a feral look on his face. I launched myself on him, dropping us to the floor as the world exploded around us. I cupped his head, trying to protect him from the debris raining around us. Heat pulsed through my clothes, singed my exposed skin. The ceiling collapsed, thundering around us. After a few long minutes of waiting to be impaled or squashed, the rumbling settled, leaving my ears ringing. The ground shifted under me. It took me a few more seconds to realize that it was Luca. His eyes on me. “Are you okay!” I screamed in his face, because of the fucking ringing. He shoved me away and I rolled off willingly.
I blinked the dryness out of my eyes and took in the scene. Enzo had been in front of me, his back to the window when it exploded. He’d been knocked into the far wall and was unconscious. Not dead if the rise and fall of his chest was any indication.
Fox entered through the smoke first, his gun trained on Luca. Luca snarled from where he sat on the floor but didn’t move. Fox didn’t look like he was playing around. For a moment, I thought he was going to shoot Luca.
“Jesus fucking H. I thought you said you knew what you were doing?” Wren’s voice filled the space.
Fox shrugged. “Can I shoot him?” He indicated to Luca.
“No,” I coughed into my hand. “Fuck. You almost killed me.”
Kieran walked through the smoke behind Wren. Only his eyes visible. Blood on his clothes, carrying an assault rifle. And the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen. He came for me. Yeah, Fox might’ve killed me with that explosion, but Kieran came for me. It had all worked out in the end. A jolt of emotion lifted me to my feet, and I launched myself into his awaiting arms. “I love you,” I whispered into his ear. His hold on me tightened. “In case I hadn’t mentioned it before.”
I had. Many times. And I loved him now like I loved him when I first said the words.
Maybe more.
Definitely more.
I turned to Fox. “But why the fuck did you blow the window? You could’ve used the front door.”
“No comms to communicate with tweedled dee and tweedled dum and Fox had explosives,” Kieran answered.
Fox shrugged. “What?” Fox said. “I told you I had it covered.” He turned to Luca. “What are we going to do with him?”
“Let him go,” I found myself saying.
“Tomás, he’s wired to protect Alessandro.”
As soon as Kieran said Alessandro’s name, Luca snarled at him. A dog. That’s what Alessandro called him. A dog. And at the moment, that’s what Luca looked like. A dog defending his master.
Without thinking, I crouched next to Luca. Fox pressed the barrel of the gun to the side of his head. “Don’t fucking touch him,” he growled.
Kieran had his own gun trained on him too.
I ran my hand along Fox’s muddied boots. “What the fuck are you doing?”
I didn’t answer. I slathered the mud on Luca’s face. “What’s your name?” I asked him. Luca’s breathing deepened. A shadow crossed his eyes. His body stiffened. “Come on, Luca. This is you. This is the real you.” The version that helped us had been the painted Luca. I hoped I wasn’t wrong, and he wasn’t just psycho. “What’s your name?” After a few seconds his eyes met mine. They were a confusing array of gold, brown, and amber.
“Death,” he whispered. I tried to help him up, but his body melted into the floor. His eyes moved to someone over my shoulder, and he smirked. The mud cracking against his face. “Beautiful Death,” he whispered just as he closed his eyes.
I got to my feet. The world around me sluggish, the smoke thicker than it should be. I blinked slowly. Kieran’s hand fell from my waist, and he fell. Fox followed. Wren stood in front of me wearing a gas mask. My knees buckled but he caught me.
“I’m sorry,” Wren said. “Tell them I’m sorry.”
It’s the last I heard when I knocked the fuck out.