Chapter Twenty-Three
Haley
My hands twisted together as I paced back and forth in front of my best friend.
The warrior mother.
Gwen Davenport was the strongest woman I’d ever known. She had a heart of gold wrapped in barbed wire, much like the bat her lover used to kill mafia bosses.
“Hals, sit down. You are making me nervous.”
I found my head shaking. “I've been laying in a bed for the last three weeks, G,” I simply said, looking at her.
We were in the briefing room, one of the smaller ones that had a table for six and a whiteboard on the far wall. Gwen was leaning against the table, her hands braced at her hips, watching me with her ocean eyes.
She looked so good, which I was thankful for. She tried too hard to keep it together when Kay was taken, and the last thing that I wanted was for my stupidity to push her over the edge.
It pushed James over the edge.
I came home to a different man.
No, you didn’t. He is the real James. The one without the mask.
“I want you to tell me what happened, Haley,” she requested, her voice hesitant.
I blew out a puff of air. “Well, that’s what I want to tell you, but I need you to keep an open mind, G.”
Her brows came together in suspicion, but she nodded reluctantly.
I turned to face her fully, my hands grasping the end of the oversized T shirt. My mind wanted to drift back to an hour ago, when James pulled me off his length, laid me down on the metal interrogation table and then proceeded to kiss me. Every. Single. Bruise. And. Wound.
All while he whispered how much he loved me into my skin.
But I couldn’t do that.
Right now, I needed to convince my best friend that the man she'd hated for the last five years was actually a decent human being.
That he saved me from the actual monsters.
“Gwen. I know Collin hurt you…” I trailed off, knowing I shouldn’t have started like that. But in my defense, I'd a long ass day. She remained silent, but the fury shined brightly behind her eyes.
“Those men who chased after me…they were the evil ones, Gwen. I don’t remember much, just the pain.
One of the men killed the man on the ferry.
Jer told me that was a safe point, but I was the reason he was killed.
I know for certain that I managed to get free.
Because I ran to the man. I remember his blood on my hands… ”
She shifted her weight, a single tear rolling down from her eye. Her hand wiped it away quickly as she tried to remain strong for me.
“One of them kicked me in this hip,” I explained, pulling down the side of my pants for her to see the yellowed bruise. A pained, regret-filled expression masked her pretty features.
“I was knocked out after that, and I don’t know how I got there. But I woke up chained up to the ceiling in some basement. I was naked.”
Gwen’s hand flew to her mouth.
“I heard voices…but one stood out among the rest. It was Collin, G. They took me to Collin. You should have seen the look on his face when he saw me. He was surprised, and then he looked pissed. Everything is a little foggy for a bit after that. I remember hearing screams, and then Collin asked me for permission.”
“Permission?” she questioned, her palm dropping to her chest.
I nodded. “He told me he couldn’t help me unless I said yes to him.”
She looked away, letting out a soft sigh. I closed the space between us, taking both of her hands in mine. I didn’t speak until she looked back at me.
“Collin saved me.”
My beautiful friend was shocked, but even more confused. Not that I could blame her.
A man like Collin?
The most wanted man in the country, aside from Ray Romano? Saving me?
Hell, if I was in her position, I wouldn’t believe it either.
“I know you hate him—”
“I don’t hate him, Hals.” Her admission rocked me to my very core.
“What?” I breathed, staggering back a bit.
She stood to her full height and wrapped her arms around herself, bringing her gaze back to the small window. It was a cloudy day today, and I wished for rain. I had always loved the rain.
“I hate myself for trusting him so easily.”
“Gwen-”
“I was vulnerable, and he took advantage of that. I was young and na?ve. He hurt me terribly, but I think my anger for him was actually hatred for myself.”
“Gwen, we've all made mistakes,” I reminded her gently. Who was I to judge?
“I know that, but I still don’t believe Collin is good. He has been working for the fucking devil this whole time. Don't you honestly think that if he cared about us, he would've gotten out?”
Time for the big guns.
“Gwen. I don’t think Collin is loyal to Ray Romano.”
Her curls swung over her shoulder as she snapped her head back at me. “What did you just say to me?”
I told her everything.
When I was done, I held my breath waiting for the push back from her. Instead, she sighed and began playing with her curls, twisting one around her finger.
“She loves him, doesn’t she?”
I nodded.
“Leave it to Kay to fall for the villain,” she muttered, a soft laugh escaping her lips as she shook her head.
I smirked. “One of us had to. Honestly, I thought it would be you.”
Her mouth gaped open.
I shrugged. “You were always attracted to the bad boys, Gwen.”
“Am I not a bad boy, Red?”
My eyes closed at the sound of Dean’s voice as Gwen started to laugh.
“He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” I laughed. Eventually, Dean joined in too.
“Something funny, princess?”
My eyes flew open to find James staring down at me. His dark locks were somewhat tamed now, and he’d put on a fresh shirt, wrinkle free. My soul beamed, and my heart skipped a beat. His dark eyes were tamed, appearing calmer with a hint of amusement.
James’ hand came to my shoulder as he walked around me. “Have you seen the news?”
Gwen and I shook our heads. My eyes went to Dean, who was leaning his shoulder against the far wall. I heard the click of a button, and a drop screen came down in front of the white board. The lights were cut off, and suddenly, the news was on. The headline at the bottom of the screen read:
SMALL ISLAND OFF THE COAST OF ITALY UP IN FLAMES.
There was an aerial view of the island, black smoke rising high into the air, foliage burning to a crisp as multiple boats surrounded the piece of land. Gwen and I looked to our men.
“Dean…what is that? Is….” She trailed off when she saw the look on his face, the light from the screen only giving us a glimpse of him.
“That’s where I was kept. That’s Romano’s island.”
Holy shit.
“That’s not all,” James murmured, turning the channel. Once my eyes were back on the screen, they landed on the devil himself entering a high-end restaurant somewhere in California with Collin at his side.
The footage was live.
Gwen and I shared a look.
“Looks like our hitman has been busy,” my agent drawled.
“Him having dinner with Romano isn’t anything new,” Gwen stated, keeping her eyes on me as we held an entirely different conversation.
When I told her everything about Gwen, I also told her Kay assured me she would be with Collin at all times.
If he was with Romano, where the fuck was Kay?
“You’re right, but blowing up his master’s private island is,” Dean countered.
“You think Collin did that?” Gwen asked, shocked, pointing to the screen.
“We don’t think,” James said.
“We know,” Dean finished.
“Oh, fuck me,” I breathed. He was really doing it.
In the next moment, I felt multiple pairs of eyes on me.
Dean watched me, tilting his head slightly.
I didn’t need to look at James to know that his dark eyes were burning into me.
My best friend was looking at me too, uncertainty raining down on her as her shoulders sagged, her head shaking slightly in disbelief.
She was like me now. We were caught in the middle of a war between the people we'd love the most.
“Hals.”
My chest caved in at the sound of Jer’s voice. It was the first time he’d addressed me by my nickname since the night of my kidnapping. This wasn’t the time for a faintheart. I needed to persevere.
For Kay.
For Collin.
For our broken family.
While Kay fought for Collin, I would fight to make this family whole again. I stood on shaky legs, my hip flaring, annoying pain I ordered my brain to ignore as I turned to face the conflicted man standing in the doorway.
Jeremy Jones, prince of the underground, was staring at me like I was the enemy—because he and I both knew I was about to stand up for the villain.
“You got something you wanna share with the class?” he asked, his voice low, his shoulders tight with pent up anger.
I gestured to the seats around the small table.
“Take a seat, Jer. In fact, everyone take a seat.”
Here went nothing.
This is for you Kay.