Chapter 11
Julia
The words sit in my throat like broken glass. But Mikey is looking at me like the truth won't scare him away. And Kai… Kai looks ready to kill a man for breathing wrong near me.
So I inhale and let it out.
“Like I said… My father wasn’t always like this.” My fingers tremble in my lap as I twist the edges of my hoodie. “He used to be strict, yeah, but not cruel or violent. Not the man everyone fears now.”
Mikey shifts closer to me, so our knees are touching, and honestly, it helps steady me.
“When my mom died, something snapped in him. He lost whatever humanity he had left.” I let a small, humorless laugh escape me. “And he decided he needed to tighten his grip on everything. The casinos, the city, and me.”
Kai moves his hand to my thigh and gently squeezes and nods at me. “Keep going, we are right here with you,” he murmurs.
I swallow and nod.
“When I was twelve, he started sending his men to ‘correct’ me. To make sure I didn’t embarrass him.” My voice cracks. “The man at the bar tonight, Reyes, dragged me out of a family meeting by my hair because I didn't say ‘yes, sir’ fast enough.”
I can hear Mikey grinding his molars.
“That was the first time,” I whisper. “After that… any mistake was an excuse for Reyes. Sitting wrong, talking wrong, laughing.” My throat tightens. “Trying to leave the house without an escort.”
Kai inhales sharply. “He hit you.”
“Sometimes.” I shrug, “Sometimes he would force himself on me. Said it ‘taught discipline’, sometimes he would let other people do it.”
A tear slid down my cheek before I could stop it.
“I tried running away once when I was sixteen.” I laugh softly, but even to my own ears it sounds hollow. “I didn’t even make it two blocks. He had men watching every exit of the property.”
Kai mutters something violent under his breath, but lets me continue.
“When I turned eighteen, my father loosened the leash. A little. Let me move into my own apartment on the condition that I still answer to him and Reyes. Still checked in. I still went to events and dinner, and still acted like his perfect little daughter.”
My voice breaks. “But every time I disobeyed, even in the smallest way… something bad happened. A threat, a warning, a broken window. Anything to remind me that I still belonged to him, and he would send Reyes to punish me.”
Mikey’s hand finds mine without hesitation.
“Julia,” he whispers. I can hear the anger in his voice that he is barely containing. “Why didn't you go to the police?”
I shake my head instantly. “You can't go to the police about someone like him. They either work for him or fear him. And if they don't…” My stomach twists. “He makes them disappear.”
Heavy silence falls around the room.
Kai runs his thumb over the inside of my thigh, slow and steady. “So you’ve been living like this… Alone… In the same city as him?”
“Yes.” I swallow hard. “I’ve been saving money to leave Chicago for good. I almost had enough, but I needed time, and I needed him to think I was compliant so he wouldn’t notice.”
Mikey’s eyes close for a second, like the thought physically hurts him.
“And tonight,” I finish quietly, “when I saw those men… I realized he might already know I’m planning something. That’s why I panicked. Because if he thinks I’m pulling away… if he thinks someone else has influence over me… he is going to go straight for them.”
My breath catches. “And now he is going to come after you two.”
Mikey’s fingers tighten around mine immediately, “Let him. I’m not afraid of him.”
Kai leans forward, eyes dark and steady. “You’re not alone anymore, little dove. Not even for one second of your life, ever again.”
Terror rips through my chest. “I don’t want him ruining your careers,” I whisper. “Your lives.”
Kai shakes his head slowly. “He’d have to survive us first.”
Mikey nods, sliding an arm around my shoulders and pulling me against him.
“And I’m not letting you go,” he murmurs. “Not back to him. Not back to the fear. You are staying here tonight.”
My heart stutters. “Here?”
“With us,” Kai says simply.
My lips part, but I can't get any sound to come out.
“We’ll keep you safe,” Mikey whispers, brushing a tear from my cheek. “You don't have to run anymore.”
And for the first time in years, the weight in my chest loosens just a little bit. Just enough to breathe… to hope…