7. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
Giana
“ T his is beautiful,” Sophia breathed, the sunlight glinting off the golden frame, the glass casting a reflecting gleam onto the ceiling as she lifted it closer to her face.
I couldn’t help the grin that curled on my lips as I glanced at Kellan across the counter. Had it only been a few weeks since I strolled in here, looking for a job, finding my future in the process?
His sable eyes shone as they met mine. This man, strong, loving, immovable, my rock forever and always.
“Thank you,” Kellan murmured, his gaze never leaving mine. “I had a stunning subject.”
Warmth flooded my cheeks, my heart fluttering like I was still that girl in the sketch, like the years apart and the trauma never happened.
“I swear, if you two keep looking at each other like that, I’m going to barf all over this counter.” Sophia’s face twisted in disgust as she set the frame down and took a step back.
“Get used to it.” I stuck my tongue out at her and linked her arm in mine, leading her over to the plush chairs in the waiting area.
Kellan rolled his eyes before glancing back down at his paperwork. He’d pushed his appointments for the last few weeks, knowing he had to give the plan his full attention. But when he announced that he’d opened his schedule back up for one or two clients a day, I knew I had to join him.
Sophia took one of the books off the side table and started leafing through it. “Maybe I should get a tattoo.”
“Not anytime soon.” Kellan chuckled and scrubbed a hand over his face. He’d already had his first client of the morning and was taking a break before his afternoon appointment showed up. “My clients are already pissed. I had to bump them all for a few weeks, but if you have something you really want, I can do it back at the house.”
“That’s a little weird, isn’t it?” She wrinkled her nose as she glanced up from the book. “Where would you do it? At the kitchen table?”
“Kellan has a studio in the other building,” I explained, pulling down the edge of my leather jacket to reveal the Dara knot on my bicep. “That’s where he did this.”
She’d seen the tattoo last week, but she seemed to look at it with a new appreciation now.
“Ooh, how intimate.” She waggled her eyebrows, but her grin fell a shadow just passed over her. “On second thought, maybe I’ll just wait and get on your books here.”
“We didn’t have sex there.” I gasped incredulously and nudged her.
“I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.” She winked, keeping her voice low.
I couldn’t help my smile as I looked over my shoulder at Kellan. He was hunched over his books, his brow pinched in concentration. We’d both been so busy the last two weeks, we hadn’t had a chance to be intimate.
“Probably,” I murmured, unable to dispel the image of Kellan pulling aside my panties and plunging his fingers into my soaked core to help with the pain as he gave me my next tattoo.
My thoughts seeming to summon his attention, Kellan glanced up, his eyes locking with mine as though a magnetic force pulled us together.
Yeah, that needed to happen as soon as possible.
We’d been lying low the last two weeks while the guys started with the first part of their plan. The Devil’s Demons were two steps ahead of the Barones so far, and we’d been able to head them off before any of their shakedowns of the local businesses.
I loved having Sophia with us and knowing she was safe, but I had to admit, she was a bit of a cockblocker. We’d spent the time catching up, and I’d even taught her a few moves in the gym, so she could defend herself. Merrick kept up with my training, too, and the moves were becoming as easy as breathing now. My fitness classes had been nothing compared to the workouts he’d been putting me through, but I was progressing, and that was all that mattered.
I might’ve killed Mike, but it had taken far too long for my comfort. If I was going to be an asset to the guys and take my own revenge, I wouldn’t let them serve up our enemies on a platter. I was the predator now, and I’d hunt for my own dinner.
“Get a room.” Sophia groaned, snapping me from my thoughts. I hadn’t even realized I’d been transfixed by his sable eyes, sinking so far into him that the rest of the world faded away.
“How long do you have before your next client?”
“Another hour,” Kellan answered, reluctantly pulling his gaze from mine to check the time. “But I have to call—”
“But nothing,” I declared and pushed up from my seat.
“Oh, this should be good,” Sophia said, excitedly hopping up beside me.
“We need to get lunch, and I can help schedule the appointments when we get back.”
“Yes, lunch, please,” Sophia chimed in.
“Are you sure?” Kellan frowned down at the cluster of sticky notes covering his books. “It’s a bit of a mess.”
“I can handle it.” I chuckled, crooking a finger in invitation. His eyes lit up at the silent command, but he hesitated.
Fine . I patted my jacket pocket, where I’d safely zipped the money Francine had given me. “I also want to go see Francine.”
It had been my safety net, my reassurance that I could make it out. The kind act of an older woman having to care for a child when she should be retired, giving what she could to help another woman in need—or the child who had often visited her shop, doing my homework with my friends while I put off having to sit around the decrepit diner for a few more hours.
His features slackened at that, and he nodded. “Let’s go.”
Sophia placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a tight smile. I’d told her everything, of course, and she knew how much I needed to both thank my savior and return the cash to her.
I still wanted to make my own money and not be reliant on the guys. I knew they weren’t like Tommaso—they wouldn’t financially abuse me like he had—but I still couldn’t shake the need to be independent. It had been hardwired into me from a young age, when I first knew I had to get away from Pam and Greg.
I zipped up the leather jacket to just below my breasts, checking to make sure nothing was visible before we went out into public. It wasn’t my skin I was worried about, though—it was the gun holstered beneath that I’d become accustomed to carrying with me. There was no way I was walking around without a weapon again.
Kellan grabbed his own from behind the counter and strapped on his holster before concealing it beneath his jacket draped on the stool behind him.
“Sophia,” I started, but she cut me off.
“I know.” She smiled weakly, concern clouding her eyes. “If anything happens, get down and stay close.”
“And don’t let anyone take you—you scream ‘fire’ at the top of your lungs and do anything you can to get away.” A shiver of unease skittered up my spine, but I squared my shoulders, not letting the memory of waking up at Tommaso’s house replay through my mind.
I shifted my arm, letting the bulge hidden beneath reassure me as Kellan took the lead.
T here still weren’t many places to eat, other than my parent’s diner, so we chose to get a few sandwiches from the local bakery and eat them while giving Sophia a tour of the town. Memories flashed through my mind of the last time I walked down the main street, desperation clinging to my skin like a cold sweat. Before, I’d been met with fear and polite dismissal at many of these places, but now it was like the town had been reborn. The same people who’d cowered now greeted us with warm, wide grins, obviously knowing what the Devil’s Demons were trying to do for them.
We stayed far away from the few stores still loyal to the Barones, not wanting to tempt fate. It wasn’t likely that they’d do something in broad daylight for everyone to see or record to use against them, but if they got us inside, I had no doubt they’d think the Barones would offer them a steep reward.
My pulse skittered as we neared the ice cream shop.
Pausing, I used the excuse of eating the rest of my sandwich to cover up the nerves vibrating through me like electricity. The last time I’d seen Francine, she’d not only helped me by giving me what she could, but she set me on the path to find Kellan, which was probably the only reason I was alive right now.
Guilt twisted my stomach as I willed myself to keep walking, each step feeling like a leaden weight was dragging at my back. She’d helped me, but she’d also seen me at my lowest, at my most vulnerable. I knew, deep down, that she wouldn’t care, wouldn’t judge me, but I’d hid behind a mask for so long that letting her see those broken pieces was something I hadn’t allowed anyone, other than the guys, to see.
Kellan grasped the handle and pulled the door open, gesturing Sophia in first before his eyes met mine. “It’s okay,” he murmured, a soft, reassuring smile pulling at his lips, like he had read every thought that had just crossed my mind.
He knew. These men knew me better than I knew myself. Merrick and Kellan knew my need for independence, and Spade was like another facet of my soul, the same color, just a different shade. And Kellan had seen me that day, knew what the bruise had looked like free of makeup.
I paused in the doorway, my gaze still locked on his as I swept a hand over my cheek, where that now healed mark had lain. My skin was smooth, and the brush of my fingertips tickled the skin beneath, rather than sending a throbbing pang through it.
Kellan wrapped his fingers around mine, his touch light, delicate, as though he were handling fine china while he drew my hand away. I was so transfixed by the reverence and concern in his eyes that I couldn’t bite back my startled gasp when he leaned forward, brushing his lips over the spot in a light caress that sent a shiver of desire curling up my spine.
“This is what I’ve had to deal with all day,” Sophia said on a groan, and I stepped back, the sudden spark of her teasing tone reminding me that we weren’t alone.
Apparently, we’d gathered an audience in the few moments we’d stood in the doorway. Sophia was leaning against the counter, a conspiratorial grin curling her lips as she glanced at the older woman beside her.
Francine looked almost the same as when I’d seen her last, the lines crinkling around her eyes betraying the years of laughs and happy memories she’d shared with her family and friends. Her rounded shoulders were a result of the ice cream store she put her blood, sweat, and tears into making a profitable business for her family and to create a place for kids like we’d been, who didn’t have a place until they carved one out for themselves.
The only difference was the joy that lit up her eyes as she watched Kellan and me, the cunning gleam behind them reminding me that she knew exactly what she’d been doing all those weeks ago.
Heat flamed in my cheeks as we entered the store. Kellan wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side, letting me soak in his comforting warmth. I swear this man’s touch was like a drug, one I was looking forward to exploring more thoroughly after all these years.
“I’d heard you found each other, but it’s good to see it with my own eyes,” Francine said with a sly grin. Before I could get a word out, she was already across the small shop floor, wrapping her arms around Kellan and me in a tight embrace.
“Thank you,” I breathed and squeezed her back, the words seeming too trivial for what she’d done.
“Hush.” She squeezed my side, and I jumped at the sharp pain, a high-pitched squeak escaping my lips. “There’s no need to thank me.”
“There is,” Kellan murmured, earning himself a poke in the side, too, judging by the way he flinched.
Francine glared in warning as she released us. “I just did what any decent person would do. It’s not my fault there aren’t many decent people left around here.”
She propped her hands on her hips, pinning us with a menacing look that, despite her size, would bring a grown man to a halt.
“I don’t want to hear another word of it, but what I do want to hear about is what the hell has happened since you walked out of my shop.”
W e gathered into one of the cushioned booths with cups of ice cream in front of us that Francine had insisted upon.
She wagged one of her curled fingers at Kellan as he returned from locking the front door and flipping the sign to Closed . “Now, don’t skip a single detail.”
So, we didn’t. I explained what had happened at every store that afternoon weeks ago until I turned up at Kellan’s shop and he heard my voice from the back room.
Francine’s eyes lit up as I told her how they tried to keep me from leaving, but she sighed in disappointment when I described running away.
“I sent you to them for a reason.”
“You did,” I agreed, taking a bite of my chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. “But you didn’t tell me why you sent me there or that you were even sending me to him in the first place—no offense, Kel. I didn’t know you two were badass gang leaders back then.” I paused, giving Kellan a contrite smile.
“None taken.” He chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist while he scooped a spoonful of his strawberry cheesecake ice cream and held it out for me. I eagerly took the bite, loving the way his jaw tightened as my mouth wrapped around his spoon.
He remembered how much I always wanted a bite from his and Merrick’s cups.
I nearly jumped out of my seat when Sophia cleared her throat, guilt creeping around my chest as I looked back at the two women, but they were only smiling back at us.
I really couldn’t be blamed for getting lost in this perfect man’s gorgeous eyes.
The smiles vanished, though, as we continued, explaining the engagement party and then the night I was taken. We spared her the gory details, but I could tell by the understanding on her face that she knew they hadn’t just let us walk out of there.
“I never liked that man.” She scowled. “Even when he was a boy, I knew he was bad news.”
Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I nodded. I’d gotten everything out by talking to my friends and writing my story down in the journals. Though I would carry the trauma of the last six years with me for the rest of my life, it wasn’t something I could dwell on right now, not if we all wanted to survive this.
“I wonder.” Francine tapped her chin, her eyes going distant. “Have you ever met his brother?”
“Lorenzo?” I frowned. “A few times, but he never stuck around.”
“I’ve heard some whispers from the other business owners that he’s been looking for a way to get out.”
“Out of what?” Kellan asked, disbelief sharpening his gaze. “We’ve been watching him, and he seems just as entrenched with the organization as his brother.”
“I just know that I’ve heard he’s trying to turn things around.” Francine shrugged. “It might be something to look into, is all.”
There was that calculating glint in her eyes again, and I had the feeling she knew more than she was letting on.
“Thanks, Francine. I’ll look into it.” Kellan nodded with a tight smile. I’d have to let him know there might be more to this than Francine was letting on.
“Thank you for sending those boys around.” Francine reached forward and clasped Kellan’s hand in hers. “I’ve never liked giving money to those men, and times are even tougher now than they were before.”
My heart sank, the blood draining from my face as I reached for my pocket and pulled out the money. My hands shook as I slid the money in front of her, the guilt of taking her money settling on my shoulders again at the reminder.
She had her grandson to take care of, and I—
“Giana,” she barked, turning an incredulous glare on me.
“I’m sorry—”
“Don’t you say another word.” She cut me off, her curled fingers grasping mine in her tight grip, a ferocity gleaming in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. “I gave you that money out of my free will, knowing it would at least get you out of town and give you some semblance of safety. I wish I could’ve done more for you, dear. I lived with that guilt every day until I heard you were safe with them.”
She nodded at Kellan, and he held me tighter.
“I can make more money, but you, dear, cannot have a new life. Your life matters, Giana, to more people than you know. To people you haven’t even met yet, and most importantly, to yourself.” There was such vehemence in her tone, such unquestioning reverence, that I couldn’t say anything.
Her words sank in as reality came crashing down on me. I’d been so deep in my own world, just trying to survive one day at a time, I hadn’t realized how truly close to death I’d come. Any day, he could’ve snapped, could’ve landed one blow too many, and I would’ve taken my last breath. I was strong for getting out, for seizing my life and demanding more from it—for choosing to live and not get sucked back into the vacuous hole I’d been trapped in for six years.
Sophia clasped my other hand, her sapphire eyes brimming with tears. I blinked away the fog, only for tears to roll down my cheeks. New understanding crossed her features, like she hadn’t realized it had been that bad. Hadn’t realized that I’d carried that low of a self-worth for so long and hid the true threat from even my own eyes. Of course, she hadn’t known. I’d never told her, never communicated it in those words.
I bit down on my lower lip to keep it from wobbling and turned back to Francine. Some of the intensity had faded from her expression, as though she read the acceptance and understanding as it blossomed in my mind.
I was worthy, worthy of love from myself, worthy of kindness and compassion. But most of all . . . I was worthy of revenge for all the Barones had done, not only to me but the people I loved.
“You give them hell, girl.” Francine shook my hand, as if she could see the fire burning brightly in my eyes as intensely as I could feel the flames flickering to life in my chest. “You make sure they regret ever thinking they could control you or make you feel like your life wasn’t worth living.”
I would.
Our group was quiet as we strolled back to the tattoo shop, a renewed warmth in my chest, one that urged me to fight, to be part of the fray.
“Shit, are those cops?” Sophia exclaimed, pointing toward the shop. I didn’t know how I hadn’t seen them before, but there they were, blue-and-red-flashing lights blinking, barely visible in the bright afternoon sun.
One of the officers rolled out a long line of vibrant yellow crime scene tape across the sidewalk as a few of the shop owners gathered to peer over it. Kellan and I exchanged a glance before we broke into a run, though I kept my pace slower so Sophia could keep up.
This could be a trap, after all.
My breaths were ragged by the time we got to the yellow tape and slipped under it, glass cracking under my wedges. It was littered all over the sidewalk.
“Hey, you can’t—” The officers’ protests were drowned out as I looked up at the shop, the flash of a camera turning my vision hazy for a moment while I blinked away the spots of light.
There, in the center of the shop, lay a body. Gunshot wounds protruded from the man’s chest, the wounds old, judging by the soaked T-shirt. There was a puddle of blood surrounding him, the crimson spreading on the hardwood floor as the last of his life’s blood drained from his fatal injuries. Cuts covered his body from the glass, but the blood wasn’t smeared. I could only imagine he’d been shot elsewhere and dumped here as a message, the blood having drained from his wounds from the jostling of his body as he was heaved through the window.
It wasn’t the fact that a dead person had obviously been thrown into Kellan’s shop, destroying the place that’d brought him peace—the way he kept his artist calm while drowning in the sea of the crime life he never wanted—that kept me frozen in place, despite Kellan’s warm palms on my face trying to pry my gaze away. No, it was because I knew that man.
He was from another life. His life had been spared once before, but now it seemed Tommaso had called in the life debt I’d barely been able to barter for. He couldn’t get to my guys, he couldn’t get to Sophia, so he’d gone for my compassion, my guilt. He’d seen it when I’d quivered against him as he held a hand to my mouth to stop my screams.
Ryan’s leg was still in a cast from where Tommaso’s men had bashed it to pieces with a tire iron weeks ago.
He thought this would break me. That I’d come running back to him in fear that he’d do this to someone I loved next. But he underestimated me. I saw this for what it was. A loss of control.
We were getting under his skin, and I wouldn’t tarnish Ryan’s memory by giving in to Tommaso this time.