13
Logan
“Oh, aren’t we staying here?”
Everest looks at me in surprise as I slide behind the steering wheel, after having shoved Lia into the passenger seat.
“No.”
“What the hell were you guys doing then? I’ve been waiting for you for nearly an hour. Aurora’s getting really fussy…”
“Shut up.”
I slam the key in the ignition, pulling out of the vagrant lot by the warehouse.
“Whatever. So why the hell aren’t we staying where Carmelo told us to stay?”
I shrug. “It was only a suggestion. And I changed my mind.”
I glance at Lia, who’s been acting unusually withdrawn ever since we left the warehouse. I have no idea why she’s so quiet, now of all times. Or why I suddenly miss the bratty sound of her voice.
“Why did you change your mind?” grumbles Everest.
I click my tongue in impatience, but I guess I do owe him a little more explanation than I’ve given him so far.
I can’t fault him for being so annoyed. He’s had a tough life, and it’s only gotten worse for him since we started working for the Moretti Family.
He doesn’t have it in him to end a guy, but he sure spends a lot of time pretending he does.
I can only imagine how he must feel about being given the role of a nanny.
But the thing is, he’s a good nanny, and I don’t know what I’d do without him. I have enough with Lia in my hands. I draw the line at hurting kids, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to look at hers. To be reminded every second of her heartlessness.
“I changed my mind,” I say at last, “because the place wasn’t fit for a kid.”
I at once regret my words when Lia glances at me in apparent surprise.
But I ignore her, turning my focus to the road.
“I mean, it is a warehouse,” says Everest. “What the hell did you expect?”
“I changed my mind,” I repeat through gritted teeth, and luckily, Everest doesn’t insist.
“Well, Damien called while you guys were doing—I don’t know what. He’s with Coltello right now. The don and his son are with the Syndicate in Idaho, and travel plans haven’t changed.”
I scoff as I merge onto the highway. “Moretti would be better off keeping his hold on this state instead of going off to conquer new places. His kid can’t even keep Oakley under control.”
“Yeah, well.” Everest leans back, cracking his knuckles. “It’s not like they’re going to just give up their claim to the Syndicate. He didn’t marry Anna for no reason. It should go to him, not some second cousin three times removed or whatever.”
“Well, Anna’s dead. She has been for three years. If Arsenio Moretti wasn’t so busy chasing control of some midwestern bunch of rednecks, maybe Tito and Stefano would still be alive.”
“Yup,” agrees Everest. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always felt bad about the way Anna Moretti died…”
I can hear the disgust in his voice, and it’s a struggle to keep my own bile in my throat when I remember how the don’s wife met her end.
We weren’t in the family back then, but everyone in Oakley was talking about it.
The force of the explosion had ripped much of her skin right off her, and she was found without eyes.
The coroner had concluded it was a terrible car accident.
“But yeah,” he concludes. “Why the hell is he trying to get control of the Syndicate? Terrible timing, man. What do you think?”
“It’s not like I’m best friends with the don, dude. He doesn’t keep me in the loop, you know? Damien probably has all that information. But he’s with Coltello right now.”
“Fine. So what did Damien want?”
“Well, Coltello is very focused on figuring out who got to Stefano and Tito. I guess as the underboss, he’s probably shitting his pants right now, thinking he might be next. So they’re hunting for the snake. But Damien said he could switch places with you if you want. If it’s too hard for you.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lia tense. I guess she doesn’t like Damien very much. I can’t exactly blame her. Some sadistic urge in me makes me want to accept Damien’s offer, but I can’t bring myself to do it.
I want her fucking ruined. And I want to be the one to ruin her.
I’ve been repeating some version of those words ever since I stared into Lia’s terrified eyes when I found her on the side of the road.
I hadn’t wanted to go after her. I was pissed at Damien for volunteering me.
But when I saw her, shivering and crying by the road, it made me happier than I’d been in a very long time.
I’d really love to slam her against the hood of the car and take her. Claim her and leave her gasping. Show her who owns her. Make her regret having fucked and married the first guy who wasn’t me.
It’s a good thing we’re not alone. I can just tell I’m teetering at the edge of a precipice, and if I continue down that road, she won’t be the only one paying anymore.
“I’m fine for now,” I mutter, and get annoyed at seeing Lia’s shoulders relax. I don’t want my words to relax her.
“Okay. So where are we going?” asks Everest.
“I don’t know. Away from this shithole of a place. To some other shithole of a place. I don’t fucking know.”
“We could go to Arsenio Moretti’s villa. It’s only an hour away,” says Everest. “Carmelo said we could stay there.”
Again she tenses, which makes me more open to the suggestion, even though my initial reaction was to refuse.
“The don isn’t there,” Everest reminds me.
“I don’t care if he is or not.”
“Right. I just mean, you don’t have to worry. They’re not expecting her back yet.”
“Why the fuck would that make me worry? I wish I could hand her back. I want to get her off my hands.”
“Oh. Sure.” He doesn’t sound like he believes me, but when I slam my hand against the steering wheel, making Lia jump, he clears his throat hastily.
“Right. Right. Well, the Morettis aren’t there. Just a few guys to hold down the fort. We can just sit tight and wait. It’ll be more comfortable than the warehouse, that’s for sure.”
“Fine.” Sighing, I take the exit toward the sprawling forest that surrounds the twin cities of Astley and Oakley, past the Astley mountains.
My stomach is clenching with nerves by the time we’ve left the main roads and are driving down the narrow, bumpy country road that leads into the heart of the forest. The trees are so thick that the sun is all but blotted out.
It’s hard to know if it’s morning or night, and I always get an eerie sensation when I’m out here.
Luckily, I don’t go to the villa all that often.
Carmelo Moretti lives out in Oakley and I answer to him mostly, not his father.
Though sometimes it feels like he’s the one answering to me.
I can tell it makes him fucking pissed, and he takes out his sadistic rage on those weaker than him.
It doesn’t surprise me that he beats Lia.
The thought makes the bile rush to my throat again. I find myself actually thanking him for having insulted Everest, because I don’t think I could have held it together much longer, and it gave me an excuse for blowing a fuse.
We reach the thick walls that surround the place, and Everest gets out of the car to input the code. Moments later, the doors swing open, and we pull into a large courtyard.
I unbuckle my seatbelt, go around to the other door, and grab Lia by the arm.
She doesn’t protest this time when I yank her up while Everest gets Aurora.
The villa seems to have an oppressive effect on her.
She stumbles after me, the little squeak that slips out of her throat the only sign that she’s struggling to keep up.
Everest was right: the place is almost deserted. The Moretti family has gone to Idaho, and their thugs are out trying to figure out who’s responsible for killing Stefano and Tito.
One of the few guys we pass hails me as we enter the sprawling villa.
“Ehi, Logan! Got Carmelo’s puttana, huh?”
My grip tightens around Lia’s wrist, and she bites down on a yelp.
“Yeah, Armando. We’re gonna stay for a night or so, until he tells us where to bring her.”
“Fine. You can take your usual rooms. And you should probably lock her in the cell.”
I grit my teeth, already regretting having brought her here. “Not sure that’s a good idea. I need to keep an eye on her.”
“Nothing safer than the cell,” he says, winking at me. “We can all take turns watching her, you know?”
I do know. And if you try anything like that, you’ll be dead before you hit the ground. “Not sure Carmelo would like that.”
He lets out a loud guffaw. “Well, you got it all wrong. Carmelo would love that. And he’d love it even better if we filmed it. He’ll send it to the whole family. He’ll play it over and over again while she gets eaten by the dogs.”
I look at Lia out of the corner of my eye, but she’s staring resolutely ahead, her face pasty white.
“How about the kid?” I say at last. “What should I do with her?”
“Well, I think Carmelo wants to keep it,” says Armando. “His progeny and all that. So just keep it alive, ehi, Logan?”
He tosses me three sets of keys, two for the rooms, the third for the cell. Then he wanders off, chatting with another guy who’s just walked toward us.
This time, Lia doesn’t try to keep up as I lead her into the large house. She falls to her knees, and after dragging her that way for a few feet, I stop, my body tense with anger.
“You’d better get up,” I growl at her.
She merely shakes her head.
“Get up.” I force her to her feet. “I can’t help you if you don’t help yourself.”
She lets out a dry laugh. “Didn’t realize you were trying to help me.”
Everest stops behind us, carrying a cheerful Aurora. The kid has no idea what’s going on, and the dissonance of it makes my skin crawl.
“You’re not taking her to the cell, are you?” he questions.
“Shut up. Come on, Lia. Stand up.”
She shakes her head again. “I’m tired.”
“You’re tired,” I repeat in disbelief. “You just spent the day sitting around on your ass in a room and sitting around on your ass in the car, but you’re tired? Get the fuck up.”