Chapter Forty
Chloe
“They’re the mafia, Bruce!” I spat as one of his goons yanked me by the arm, dragging me back toward the car that had brought me here.
Every step away from Malia felt like a knife twisting deeper in my gut.
I didn’t want to leave her here. I tried—God, I tried everything—but he had the upper hand, and he knew it.
“You’re going to get everyone killed! Including yourself! ”
He only smirked.
“What are they offering you?” I demanded, jerking against the iron grip on my arm. “What could possibly be worth that kind of risk?”
He still said nothing, and I recalled that smug silence used to be worse than any threat.
I could only imagine they’d either offered money or something really beneficial for his business. Whatever it was, it had to be something big. Because no sane man would go poking the hornet’s nest that was Zane Santino’s empire unless he thought he could win something.
“So, here’s what’s going to happen,” Bruce finally spoke, grabbing my wrist with cold fingers, forcing my palm open and pressing a phone into it.
“You’ll use this burner to keep me updated on whatever’s happening in that house.
I want to know when shipments are coming in, what they contain, and who’s moving them.
If something big’s about to go down, I better hear it from you first. Got it? ”
I clenched the phone in my hand and it didn’t feel like a phone; it felt like a live bomb.
“You picked the wrong person,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t know anything about Zane’s business. He doesn’t trust me enough to involve me in it, and he’s already suspicious of me because of your setup.”
“You’re living in the man’s house, Chloe. Make him trust you.”
I flinched as he leaned in and his breath touched my cheek.
“You’ve learnt all the tricks in the book. Play it right, and it’ll be impossible for him not to feel something for you.”
He kept talking while I just stared at him, stunned by the suggestion.
“And what do I gain from this? When will you let my sister go? You can’t expect me to do this for the rest of my life or just until I get caught.”
“See? Smart.” He patted my head. “You know how to grab an opportunity when you see one. Just like me.”
I bit my tongue so hard I tasted blood. I hated him!
“Three shipments. That’s all we need,” he said almost innocently, finally stepping back. “You give me details on three of Zane’s shipments, the big ones, and you and your sister can walk free.”
“Just three shipments?”
Of course he wasn’t telling me everything. But it was clear they were aiming for Zane’s business, his weaponry, most likely. Just as Zane had predicted, the Red Scorpions were building an army and they needed Zane’s guns.
Bruce had always been a monster, but with greed fueling him and the right allies by his side, he’d transformed into something far worse.
And being caught in the crossfire between Zane and him felt like the worst kind of nightmare.
Bruce placed a hand over his chest, “You have my word.”
His word meant horseshit to me. But he was right about one thing… if there was a chance to gain my freedom and get Malia out of this, I would always take it.
If we survived this, we’d finally be free, one way or another. And it was the only thing I could rely on for now.
My grip tightened around the burner. “What’s going to happen to her while I’m gone? How do I know she’s okay?”
“She’ll be working at the bar in your place. Safe and sound.” He tilted his head. “But if you screw up, if you try anything funny… She pays the price.”
I pictured Malia again in the line-up, her eyes swollen, the way she’d clung to me and bile rose hot in my mouth.
“You say one word to anyone; you don’t get a sister to go back to.
You both get a hole in the chest and it will be Zane Santino who will put it there.
You screw this up and you get nothing. Don’t forget that.
” he added, stepping closer. “And I’ll know, Chloe.
Remember, I already broke into that house once. ”
“The message, the bricks, it was an inside job,” I said, the words ripping out of me. “Who’s helping you?”
I asked, but he was already turning away, leaving me standing there in the cold with the question hanging. Could it be Ivar? Andy? One of Zane’s low-ranked men? Maybe a gardener Bruce had managed to sneak inside?
The possibilities were endless, and the only thing I knew for sure was that I wasn’t safe in that house anymore and now I had to return to it.
My breath formed faint clouds in the frosty air.
For a long moment, all I could do was stare at the building where I’d left my baby sister behind to fend for herself.
And all I could do was hope Bruce would keep his word and pray the other girls would help her the way they had once helped me.
Because I had to go back, not knowing what I’d find when I got there, not knowing if someone had noticed I was gone or how the hell I’d explain it.
I didn’t think I was likely to succeed but I had to try.
As I drove back, my mind raced in a chaotic mess of thoughts I couldn’t control. Each breath heavier than the last. It felt as if I was drowning, gasping for air that refused to come.
I was forced to do worse all my life. This time I only had to give information, simple words, yet it felt like Bruce had handed me a gun instead of a phone.
It should be logical. I had to protect my sister. Nothing else should matter.
…But then there was Zane.
The knot in my stomach tightened as I thought of him.
I’d tried to kill him once, but now, after all the time we’d spent together, betrayal tasted bitter, and it stung in a way I hadn’t expected.
The road blurred through my tears, and I felt like I was splitting in two. How many times can one person break?
My hands trembled as I gripped the steering wheel, forcing myself to breathe through the suffocating feeling in my chest. How could I look Zane in the eyes, knowing I was helping his enemy? How could I live with myself if I followed through?
It seemed impossible to stop it now no matter what I did. There was no right choice, no clear path. The only thing that I could do was try to at least get my sister out of it.
When the estate came into view, I pulled the car off the main road, weaving through the trees wherever I could squeeze the car until I arrived back at the same spot the car was parked when I left the house.
I turned off the headlights and just stared at the fence wall on the other side, looking too tall for me to climb in again.
Now what?
I hadn’t thought about this at all, maybe because part of me hadn’t thought I’d be coming back.
A million ideas ran through my head. I could use Jane’s phone to call Clarisse and beg her to open the gate without telling Zane. She liked me; she might be willing to help or maybe I could…
A knock on the window nearly made me jump out of my skin.
My head turned to find a man with a balaclava covering his face and dressed in black, but not the same polished style Zane’s men wore. My pulse spiked. He knew exactly where I would be. Did Bruce send him to get the car or something?
He stared at me for a long minute and then just walked towards the fence wall. I hesitated before stepping out of the car and following him reluctantly.
When we reached the wall, he knelt, hands together, silently gesturing for me to use them as a step.
I swallowed hard, legs trembling as I pressed my feet against his hands. He adjusted himself beneath me, and at the same time I jumped his hands pushed me upward. I whimpered, biting my tongue to keep the sound in as my fingers clawed the edge of the wall and I swung my legs over.
I looked down at the man already walking back toward the car, slowly slipping into the darkness, before I dropped down the other side, landing silently in the grass.
That bastard really thought about every detail.
I put the bricks back in place and I crawled between the bushes, keeping low. Everything looked the same as when I left—quiet, undisturbed—no cars in the driveway, and no distress. Nothing to suggest they’d noticed I was gone… yet.
Almost there.
I slipped through the front door cautiously. The door closed behind me, but the only sound I could hear was the pounding heartbeat in my ears. Everything felt surreal and it wasn’t over yet.
I pulled Jane’s phone from my pocket and darted into Zane’s office before running into anyone and shoved it beneath the closest armchair inside, making it look like she’d just dropped it, hoping it would erase any trace or suspicion of what had happened tonight.
Back in the hallway, I pressed myself against the wall wanting so badly to stop and scream, but the faint noises drifting from the kitchen pulled my attention.
I didn’t know what time it was, how long I’d been out, or what I was about to walk into, but there was no avoiding it now.
Clarisse was there, standing at the stove, cooking, as she usually was.
She whipped around at the sound of my footsteps, her calm, soft smile catching me completely off guard.
“Chloe, darling,” she greeted warmly. “I was just finishing up here before checking on you.”
She thought I’d been in my bedroom. Of course. I’d spent so much time locked away there that no one noticed I’d been gone for hours. They probably just assumed I was holed up again.
“Where’s Zane?” I asked reluctantly, hoping my voice didn’t give away the nervousness bubbling just beneath my skin.
“He won’t be back until later,” she replied, moving her attention back to the stove. “He told me not to wait for him to serve dinner.”
Relief washed over me, and I let my body sink into the stool.
I still couldn’t believe I’d managed to leave Zane’s house without anyone noticing.
But as that relief settled, another thought crept in.
If Zane hadn’t returned, something was really happening and I couldn’t help but wonder if Bruce or his new associates had arranged some sort of distraction outside to divert attention. Something that would keep Zane out of the house and give Bruce the time he needed to get to me.
It was a possibility, knowing how cunning Bruce was.
Whatever it was, I was glad that they had been so busy with everything else that no one was truly paying attention to me at that moment.
Zane trusted me. He trusted that I wouldn’t do anything stupid.
But the weights were balancing unevenly on the scale now. Malia was innocent and she hadn’t chosen this life, hadn’t done anything to deserve being caught in this crossfire.
She had been placed at a disadvantage simply because she had me for a sister and I got involved with the wrong man.
Zane, on the other hand, had chosen this long ago. He had built his life around crime, power, and danger. He’d forged it with his own hands, knowing full well the consequences of it.
I shouldn’t feel bad for trying to protect my family the only way I could.
If it meant saving Malia from the same life I had or worse… I didn’t care if Zane lost a few guns.