Chapter Twenty-Nine
Pacino
My house is further away from town than most, and I curse being so isolated. If I lived closer to town, maybe I would’ve noticed something off. Something wrong. Had more time to react.
Driving through the broken gate, I curse my brother. I fucking hate him, and when I get my hands on him, I’m going to break his goddamn neck.
He fucked up doing this to me a second time.
Right now, I need to check on Scotty. Make sure he’s alive, and, if he is, find out what happened. He may be my only chance of getting to her before it’s too late.
My heart races as I nearly drop my bike and run up the front steps of my house. Smoke fills the air as the sounds of motorcycles follow me, and I have to fight through thick smoke to punch in the security code to stop the blaring.
“Thank God,” Scotty groans. “That was driving me nuts.”
I run into the kitchen to see the oven as the source of the smoke while Scotty lies on the ground halfway underneath the table.
“What happened?” I ask as Capone grabs a towel and removes whatever was in the oven.
“Your brother took her. I’m sorry, Pacino. I tried. But there were three guys with him. And your brother hit me with something.”
Pulling him up, I see the blood behind his ear, and I want to punch a hole through my wall. This is why I hate my fucking family.
“Did he say anything?”
“Just that he wouldn’t kill me if Phoebe went willingly. I told her not to. I hoped she’d run, but she played it safe. Then it was lights out, man. I’m sorry.”
That explains why she didn’t try to get away. It was too easy for Ryan. Anyone who has met Phoebe, even in passing, knows she’s more concerned for others than herself. And my brother fucking exploited that.
Zep grabs a chair and yanks the smoke detector from the ceiling. My world spins, and I head to my office to pull up my other cameras. Maybe they said something. Something I can use to find her.
Capone and Jethro follow me, and I see red as I pull up the footage.
“He’s got guts. I’ll give him that,” Capone says. “Not that it’ll save him.”
Ryan turns to the camera after shoving Phoebe inside, smiles, and waves before he gets in behind her. He’d planned this for a while. What I thought was reckless and poorly thought out was actually strategic. He knew I’d be distracted long enough to take Phoebe.
“Go back,” Capone says. “Right before the door closes.”
I do, and I crack my neck. Her hands get zip tied, and a hood is thrown over her head. Wherever they’re taking her, they don’t want her to see.
“That’s good, right? It means that they plan to let her go if they don’t want her to see where they’re going,” Jethro says.
Swallowing, I push the panic down. “No. They don’t want her to know where she is. To have any idea where to go if she manages to break free.”
“They won’t let her go. Not alive,” Capone says. “They plan to kill her.”
“Won’t that backfire? That would ensure you don’t do what they want.”
“She’s a message. They’re going to wait to kill her until Pacino can watch it. Just like last time.”
Closing my eyes, I try to think. Breathe. Figure out how to outsmart my family. How to save Phoebe.
“Last time?” Jethro asks.
“They killed the last woman I loved,” I say, trying to think.
“He got in the way, and that’s how he got his scars. His own brother fucking slashed him as he killed Joanna.”
I open my eyes to find Jethro gaping at me. “What?”
“Yeah, and now they’re going to do the same thing to Phoebe,” I say, my voice shaking. “She’s been through enough. She doesn’t need this.”
“We’ll figure it out. We just have to find out where they took her,” Capone says. “Not only do we have a club backing us, we know them. We know them better than they think, and that’s our advantage.”
Pulling out my phone, I put it on speaker. Two rings are all it takes before Ryan’s voice fills the room. “Well, hello, big brother.”
“Where the fuck is she?”
“It took you a lot longer than I thought it would considering we set off your security system. I expected you to be racing after me like those old Westerns you used to love. Except it’d be a motorcycle, not a horse.”
He’s baiting me. The only people who know how to get under your skin better than those who care about you are family members you fucking hate.
“Where is she?”
“I guess she doesn’t mean that much to you after all. Not that it really surprises me. She’s nothing like Joanna. Does she know about Jo? Does it bother her? I mean, even I wanted to fuck Jo. But Phoebe? Even her name is… ugh.”
“Where. The. Fuck. Is. She?”
I’m trying my best to stay in control. I really am. But between Ryan and Father, I’m not sure who can bring the monster out better.
I just want my girl back. I need her to be okay.
“We’re almost home.”
Home? “You took her to Vegas?”
“I told you, Father wants to talk with you. Don’t worry. We’re taking really good care of your fucking ray of sunshine. See you soon.”
Click.
Motherfucker.
Capone’s hand on my shoulder’s the only thing keeping me from spiraling in a full-blown panic.
Memories of what Father and Ryan did to Joanna fill my head.
The way they had her tied up and slashed her with knives.
How jumping in front of her did nothing to stop them, and I fought them enough to get her down and hold her in my arms as she moaned and took her last breath.
Except now, it’s not Joanna I see. It’s Phoebe. My blonde beauty who has been through more than anyone deserves. She didn’t come from the life like I did. Like Joanna did. This isn’t her fault.
“Pacino, don’t—”
“They’re going to kill her just like Jo, Capone. We both know it.”
“Who’s Jo?” Zep asks as he leads the others, including Scotty, into the office.
I can’t say it. I can’t tell them what they did. Because all I can see right now is Phoebe. Blood staining her pale, perfect skin. Splatters of blood matching the smattering freckles she has over her nose.
This can’t be happening. I can’t go through this again.
Capone gives a recount of what happened, sharing my past for the first time with everyone. And it all makes sense to them now. The reason I hate people. Why I never shared my past. Where my scars came from.
To their credit, they look ready for murder. And if I wasn’t so scared for Phoebe, I’d appreciate it.
“That’s where the scar came from? You tried to step in and save your girl?”
Standing, I lift my shirt to show the rest of it. The slash from my left shoulder to my right pec. “It did nothing. Ryan didn’t even flinch. Not until I knocked him out.”
“She died in Pacino’s arms,” Capone says. “He got her down and held her as she passed.”
“She came from the life. She at least understood the risks of what we come from. Phoebe doesn’t deserve this. It’s just to get to me.”
My hands shake as I stare at the paused image of her on the screen with a hood over her head.
“Don’t hate me for asking this, but how is your family still alive?” Kannon asks. “You didn’t kill them?”
“Or Joanna’s family didn’t?” Penn adds.
I shake my head. “The commission didn’t allow it.”
“The what?” Jethro asks.
“The commission oversees the major families. Keeps order. They dictate what can and cannot be done. They didn’t find retaliation beneficial, so her father, John, and I were told to fuck off, basically. Deal with it and move on.”
“Benito’s always been a wild card, but things have changed. The commission might be willing to allow revenge now,” Capone says. “My brother says they’re not particularly happy with your father.”
I glare at him. “You think I’m going to check with them? They don’t own me anymore. I don’t report to those motherfuckers.”
“But John could get his revenge. Let’s give him a call and haul ass to Vegas. He can talk to the commission, and if they say no, fuck it. Like you said, we don’t report to them anymore.”
The idea of talking to Joanna’s dad makes me anxious. I told him I wouldn’t stand in his way if he defied orders and took out my father. As long as he took Ryan with him. The only person off-limits was my middle brother, Tanner.
Tanner tipped me off about what they planned to do to Jo. Told me where to go. Gave me the last moments of her life. And he’s the only family member I’d consider talking to if it didn’t mean Father and Ryan would get involved.
“I’ll call,” Capone says, seeing the hesitation. “I’ll catch up. I know the way.”
All I can do is nod and head out to my bike with everyone else following. I need to get Phoebe back. And when I do, I’m never letting her go again.