Chapter 23
Savvy
Roman won’t talk to me. Or look at me. And Tony isn’t answering his phone.
My stomach is in knots when we arrive back at the house. One of Gabriel’s men comes down the front steps carrying a box. Then another man and another box.
“Wait.” I rush toward the second man, recognizing my keyboard sticking out of the box. Roman grabs my arm and holds me back.
“What’s going on?” I demand. “Why are they taking my stuff?”
“Gabriel’s orders.” Roman lets me go when the last man passes through the front door.
I bolt up the stairs and straight to my room. It’s empty. They took everything. Every printer, every computer, all of my notary tools, everything.
I jam my hands into my hair, biting onto my lip as my heart rate climbs. My throat closes in as I try to take slow breaths.
Grabbing my phone, I try to get a hold of Tony again. Still no answer. I try Cassie and she answers on the first ring.
“Finally!” I yell into the phone, staring at the empty table where my main computer setup had been only an hour ago.
“Sav.” My heart sinks just by her tone.
“What?” I open the top drawer in the desk Gabriel had brought in here for me. Empty.
“Tony went ahead with his bonehead plan. He tried to cheat at the poker tables.” She pauses. A heavy sigh comes through. “They caught him.”
“How do you know that? You’re in St. Louis. How do you know?”
“A guy I play with sometimes was there. He recognized Tony and called me.” She sighs again. “Did you give him the paystubs?”
“No!” I immediately shout. “Of course I didn’t.”
“I’m not sure how he did it, then, but he had a lot of cash on him,” she says. “What did Gabriel tell you?”
“Tell me? He told me to go home. And when I got here, his guys had boxed up my computers and printers; they took everything.” When I spin around again, Roman stands in the doorway. A dark shadow casts over his expression.
I can’t tell if he’s looking at me with pity, or if he’s trying not to kill me. With these Valenti men it could go either way.
“Tony’s not answering my calls, did he call you?” I ask her but the look on Roman’s face answers for her.
“They took him, Sav. I don’t know what happened after that.”
“He thinks I helped Tony.” I stare at Roman while I say, “I didn’t. I swear I did not help him. I haven’t spoken to him since the diner.”
“I know, hun. He must have found someone else, or maybe he stole the cash,” she says. I’ve never lied to Cassie, and she’s never lied to me. “Can you call Gabriel?”
“I can try, but I don’t think he’ll take my call. If he thinks I had something to do with this…” I let the words trail off because I don’t want to think about what he could do.
But even though I know he’s capable of monstrous things, somewhere deep down I know he wouldn’t do them to me.
“Savvy.” Roman drops my name like a grenade into the room. “We need to go.”
“What did he say? Go? Go where?” Cassie says from her end of the call.
I’ve seen the look on Roman’s face enough times to know what it means. My stomach flips, and the same heaviness wraps around my heart like when I was a kid.
“I don’t know, Cassie. I’ll call you.”
“If he touches you, I’ll kill him myself!” she yells. Roman’s eyebrow raises. I’m pretty sure the men downstairs heard her threat.
“He’s not going to hurt me.” I try out the statement while looking at Roman and wait for a small nod of agreement. “I will call you as soon as I can. If you hear from Tony, you call me, got it?”
“Got it,” she says, but there’s no hope in those words.
After I end the call and drop my hand to my side, I roll my shoulders back. “What now?” I ask Roman.
“You need to pack.”
I clench my jaw and squeeze my toes inside my shoes to keep the familiar panic from rising at hearing those words.
He steps back into the hallway, giving me room to pass him, then follows me to Gabriel’s room. As I pass through the sitting area, I sense him behind me.
“I can do this on my own,” I say when I enter the bedroom.
“Gabriel’s orders.” He lifts a shoulder then gestures to the open suitcases on the bed. “Those should be enough if you need another, I’ll have someone bring it up.”
I glance at them. The two suitcases alone are worth more than anything I own. It’s a step up from the cloth bags I used to move around from foster home to foster home, but the sentiment is the same.
I’ve been deemed unworthy of this place and need to move on.
A lightning strike of pain hits my chest, and I have to close my eyes to breathe through it. It’s taken me so long to get past those disgusting thoughts, but here I am doing it again.
I’m packing bags that will follow me to the next place. I’ll try again. A fresh start. Only the same thing will happen there, too.
“You don’t need to watch me, Roman. I’m not going to steal his cufflinks,” I mutter as I gather up my panties from the top drawer.
“Gabriel’s order,” he says again, but softer this time. When I glance over at him, he doesn’t hold my gaze.
“Right.” I check my phone, hoping Cassie has sent a message that she heard from Tony. There’s nothing.
I tap on Gabriel’s number, briefly reading the last text thread. Playful teasing about getting to the dinner on time, or there’d be consequences.
“Sav,” Roman softens his voice, but the demand is there. Hurry the fuck up and get out.
“Yeah.” I drop my phone onto the bed. “I just need to change.”
I grab a pair of dark jeans and a black sweatshirt before heading to the bathroom to change.
At least Gabriel didn’t order his brother to watch this part.
I hang the dress up in the closet along with the other clothes Gabriel bought for me.
If I’m leaving here, I’m doing it with only the items I brought with me.
“Just one bag?” Roman steps inside and glances at the closet. His jaw sets when he sees how full it is, but he doesn’t comment on it.
After I slip into my shoes, I pocket my phone and pull my hair back into a ponytail. I find my wallet as I empty the clutch I used for the dinner and tuck it into my back pocket.
“Okay, I guess I’m ready.” I grab the suitcase, but Roman’s quick and brushes my hand away. I don’t bother thanking him.
Several of Gabriel’s men hover in the foyer. None of them meet my eye.
“What are you standing around here for? Go,” Roman snaps at them when he makes his way down with my bag. They frown but disperse without comment.
Damien stands at the SUV idling in front of the house. His hands are folded in front of him, and a blank expression settles on his face as he stares blankly in front of him. My guard goes up. Maybe I’m not being taken home.
Maybe I’m being taken to my grave.
I try to get Damien to look me in the eye, but he won’t.
Roman takes my suitcase to the back of the car, then calls Damien over to talk to him. I climb into the back of the SUV, staring out the window at the beautiful house in front of me. I’d started thinking of this place as home. I’d let myself pretend there was a future here.
A future with him.
What an idiot I was.
Damien climbs into the driver’s seat and slams the door. Roman takes the passenger seat.
My mouth dries. It doesn’t take two mammoths of men to drive me across town to my apartment.
As we pull away from the house, Roman gets texts and he busies himself with his phone.
Damien makes a turn, then another, and I realize we’re not going toward my apartment.
“Where are you taking me?” I demand, but Damien stays silent. “Roman.”
He twists around to look at me. “Somewhere safe.”
“What the hell does that mean? I want to know where we’re going.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just sit tight,” he says.
“Roman, tell me where you’re taking me. And do not tell me it’s Gabriel’s orders to keep it from me.” I dig my nails into my palm.
His brow raises. “I told you. We’re going somewhere where you’ll be safe.”
I sink back into my seat. If Gabriel thinks I helped Tony, he’d be pissed. But he’d deal with me himself.
Wouldn’t he?
Or have I gotten everything about my recent life wrong and he’s been playing me for an idiot the whole time. All of the you belong to mes were nothing more than a way to get into my panties.
And I fell for it.
Damien rolls to a stop at a red light. A large group of people cross in front of the car.
I won’t allow anyone to dictate my future. Not anymore. Never again.
Making sure I have my phone and my wallet, I throw open the door and jump out.
“Savannah!” Roman’s bellow follows me, but I break into a run.
“Savannah!”
A few people turn their heads, but no one stops me. I pump my legs, sprinting faster than I ever have as I break through a crowd.
I keep running, using alleys and gangways to navigate away from the main streets. There’re no bootsteps behind me, and I don’t hear anyone bellowing my name, but I keep running. Just because I don’t hear him, doesn’t mean Roman isn’t behind me.
My lungs burn. I’m gasping for breath when I finally come to a stop, running into a corner bar. Music blasts me in the face when I open the door. It’s dark aside from the neon lights outlining the ceiling tiles and the band playing on a small stage.
I hurry further inside, tucking myself into the corner of the bar between two couples so I can watch the door. If Roman finds me, I can probably get out the back.
The door opens. A man walks in with a woman under his arm, and they head to the high table where another couple waves them over.
I let myself breathe. My heart slows to a more human pace, and I sink onto the barstool.
A second later, a finger taps my shoulder.
“Hey, Sav.”