Chapter Forty-Three - Elise #2
“Moreno would take you expecting a negotiation, and after Dad refused, our brothers would force him to go in, guns blazing, to save you. We were all too young when Mom was taken, but we’re not kids anymore.
The fight would take out our father, brothers, and Moreno, leaving me to pick up the pieces,” he says with an easy grin.
“At first, everything was going perfectly. Dad was pissed, Moreno was overconfident, and I was so sure I had it all figured out. That is until you found out about my compromised loyalties.”
“Betrayal,” I mutter under my breath.
“My plan still could’ve worked. Dad would attack, but Moreno would kill you before you got the chance to spill my secret to anyone else.”
I shouldn’t be surprised by his easy acceptance of my death, but I am.
“But then, Dad started dragging his feet, which is when I learned that he and Logan met up with Moreno without telling anyone else.”
“Dad was going along with the negotiations,” I fill in.
He nods. “I hadn’t been expecting that. When we all confronted him, he told us that he was planning an extraction, and the negotiations were for show to buy time.
To his credit, it was a smart move, but it screwed up my plan.
If Dad set you free, you’d tell him about me, and I wouldn’t get the fight I needed to take him out.
I needed something that would tip off Moreno as well as piss him off enough to force Dad into aggression. ”
The realization comes with bile crawling up my throat.
“The note was from you,” I breathe. “Nate never worked for Dad. You had him plant the note in hopes Joshua would find it.”
Mason shrugs. “Dad would never be stupid enough to leave evidence of his plan in enemy territory. After a few days, I was worried it wouldn’t work, but then I got the call that Moreno found it. I’m not sure I could’ve asked for a better reaction.”
I’m momentarily grateful that my hands are bound so Mason can’t see them shaking. I wonder if he has any idea what that note cost me.
“I was so sure that Dad would be ready to fight then. But the next thing I know, he calls us into his office to tell us you’re dead.”
“Which you should’ve expected if you knew he’d done the same to Mom,” I snap.
“And I did. I planned to expose our father for the selfish asshole that he is, but words weren’t going to be enough.
I needed proof that Dad gave Moreno the order to do it.
They’d turn on him and then come for you, which still would’ve accomplished my goal.
The only problem was that Moreno stopped talking to me. ”
I remember Joshua telling me that he cut off communication with Mason.
“I thought my plan couldn’t get any more screwed up. You knew my secret. Dad gave you up with no traceable evidence. Our brothers believe wholeheartedly that you were dead, and Moreno wouldn’t talk to me.”
He smiles so wide and genuine that it sends shudders through my body. “That’s when I started hearing rumors so crazy that I didn’t believe them at first.”
I narrow my eyes at him because I know exactly where this is going.
“My sister let Joshua Moreno seduce her.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I bite.
“Oh yes, I’m sure it was such a beautiful love story. The cruel captor and the helpless prisoner. What a tale to tell your kids one day,” he deadpans.
I open my mouth to tell him off, but his raised hand silences me.
“Now that was enough to save my plan. Suddenly, I had bait that would lure both families here. Though Dad didn’t want to fight Moreno for you, he did want revenge which is how I got him to agree to let me fly out here to do some reconnaissance, and what do you know? I found our lost sister.”
Mason checks his phone. “Our family is set to land any minute now, and they’ll be on their way here. Of course, you won’t be waiting for them when they get here, but your boyfriend and his men will be stationed at the packing warehouse, ready to greet them with gunfire.”
There’s a pounding in my ears with the growing realization that things are so much worse than I thought.
“Joshua won’t fire,” I assure him. “He wouldn’t attack our family without reason.”
A knock interrupts my defense, and Mason calls the visitor in.
Nate opens the door and pushes Ryder inside. My heart squeezes at the hollow look in his eyes.
He’s shoved into the chair beside mine.
“Welcome back, Ryder,” Mason says. “How is she?”
Ryder’s answering glare is chilling.
Nate takes his place beside the desk, standing at attention as my brother clears his throat.
“You’re right, Elise. Moreno won’t come here ready to attack Dad unless he has a sufficient reason.” Mason looks between Ryder and me, a cruel smile playing on his lips. “That’s where you two come in.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.
Instead of answering, Mason steps around the desk, holding his hand out to Ryder, who digs into his pocket and hands over a black flash drive.
“What the hell is that?”
Mason holds up the small device. “This is every file on Moreno’s database. It’s his shipment plans, employment records, safe codes, and an inventory of every weapon and substance he has, along with their location.”
My breath catches.
If that flash drive holds everything that Mason claims, it would destroy Joshua.
I’m careful to maintain my bravado. “And how exactly is this supposed to convince Joshua to murder our family?”
Mason’s lip quirks upward. “I think Moreno will be more than trigger-happy when he finds out his fiancée and best friend—who have been sleeping together behind his back for weeks—are going to give the flash drive to Dad unless he brings a million dollars here.”
“Joshua won’t believe it,” I say with more confidence than I feel.
“I agree. A written confession won’t be enough to sell it. That’s why you two are going to seal the deal and convince him on camera that the affair is real. You’ll tell him that unless he brings the money here tonight, you’re handing the information over to Dad.”
“And why would we do that?”
Mason’s smile spreads into a demented grimace as he nods to Ryder. “Because if you don’t, it’ll be his daughter who pays the price.”
My cheeks burn with rage. “How could you threaten his child after what Dad did to yours?”
It’s a low blow, but it catches him off guard.
My brother moves in front of me once again, crouching down until we’re at eye level. “I’m going to give you a chance to do the right thing here, Elise.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that we can work together. You’re more capable than all our brothers combined, and together, we could make them pay for what they’ve done. All you need to do is say yes.”
There’s no way this is happening.
He’s asking me to turn my back on my family, on Joshua, and for what? Power? Revenge?
“And if I don’t?”
Mason’s jaw ticks, but he doesn’t look surprised. “If you’re not with me, you’re against me. Sister or not, you’ll be as dead to me as the rest of our family.”
Goosebumps rise on my arms from his ice-cold threats, and I know he means every word.
But we both know my answer before I open my mouth.
“I can’t,” I say in a whisper.
Mason’s hands tighten into fists at his sides, and I momentarily wonder if he’s going to hit me, but he stands and makes his way around his desk.
“Well, now that lines have been drawn.” He reaches into a drawer, pulls out a video camera, and sets it on the desk. “Let’s get to business.”