Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Rayna
Not all Morettis are pompous pricks, apparently. Leon has been obviously welcoming and kind, but Elio was the real surprise.
I noticed him first thing in the morning, recognizing his face instantly, but refused to engage without prompting.
I didn’t expect the man to address me, let alone privately speak to me about our shared connection.
Yet, that’s exactly what he did. He sat right by my side on the plane, leaned in and started talking like we were old friends.
We couldn’t say much with listening ears surrounding us from every angle, but the fact that he came to me at all made me feel better about the entire situation.
See, I may not be able to recognize names and notable faces the way Yordan can, but I know Elio.
He’s the reason I could never fully dislike the Moretti name.
Yes, I’d heard good things about the family as a whole, but I knew better.
They weren’t all as wonderful as the world made them out to be.
Elio is the only one who’s shown me tangible proof of his morality.
Since sharing a few words with him, I officially feel like I have an ally on the inside now, even if I’m certain that he isn’t perfect. I don’t know him well enough to fully judge his personality—only what I’ve seen of his character. I do know that he’s not a bossy asshole like Apollo, at least.
Besides, there are plenty of things I’m keeping from Elio myself, and I think he knows that. Evidently, he still cares enough about the hidden link we share to assure me that I’m safe with his family. I’m simply going to have to take his word for it, for now.
Nothing bad will happen to either of you, I’ll make sure of it.
Pretty promises aren’t always kept, but so far, Elio hasn’t lied to me.
More importantly, he’s never lied to her.
When our flight lands, our new ally insists on sticking by Yordan’s and my side as we’re ushered to leave with Apollo. The brothers share clipped words, and not much else.
Apollo narrows his eyes at Elio. “Why are you coming with us?”
His lips spread into a responding smirk. “Why not?”
Elio calls us his fast friends, and takes the passenger seat after opening the back door of the shiny vehicle for us.
Apollo looks like he wants to batter his brother for keeping his cards so close to his chest, but he doesn’t put up a fight.
He won’t argue with him in front of strangers.
So he accepts whatever silent deal is happening beneath his nose, and ignores it. For now.
The four of us are huddled into a big black SUV right from the airstrip, and we begin a smooth ride toward a small city.
“Here,” Apollo says from the driver’s seat. He extends an arm back to Yordan, passing him a sleek package without taking his eyes off the road.
“What’s this?” my brother asks, peaking inside the white plastic box.
“Phones, for both of you,” Apollo answers. “My brother, Remo, set them up and deactivated your old ones. All of your old information should be there. Contacts, music, photos.”
He says all of this like it’s the most normal thing in the world. Like a phone is a french fry or something even less significant to him. It probably is. The Moretti family has billions of dollars, a smart phone is probably a fraction of a penny to him. A drop in the ocean.
“Remo was on the plane with us,” I say, suspiciously taking the silver iPhone that Yordan passes to me. It has a clear protective case and a shatter-proof screen already installed. “How exactly did he manage this?”
“Who cares?” Yordan chuckles. “This is sweet, thank you, Apollo.”
“You’re welcome.”
Oh, so he’s just going to ignore me?
My eye twitches, something that Elio seems to catch.
“Remo’s good with all things technology, hacking included. I told him what we needed and he did it all remotely. He had one of our local guys grab two new phones and give him the serial numbers, IPs and all that shit. It was a piece of cake.”
“So, he can just access our phones whenever he wants?”
“He can access the fucking Pentagon if he wants,” Apollo replies with a scoff. “He won’t snoop through your information. Relax.”
Relax?
I’m going to kill him.
“Remo is a good guy,” Elio adds, glaring at his moody older brother. “He won’t overstep.”
Mollified for now, I drop the skeptical attitude and sigh.
“We’ll pay you back for the phones.”
Apollo’s eyes snap to the rearview mirror, meeting my gaze. “No, you won’t.”
“I don’t need your charity,” I grit out.
Yordan snorts. “I’m totally cool with the charity.”
“Good, because I’m not taking money from either of you.”
You know what? Fine.
“Whatever.” I sniff. “Waste your money for all I care. Spend all of it. Go nuts. I’m done arguing with you.”
“Somehow, I doubt that,” he replies dryly.
I refuse to engage any farther. He’s going to give me a migraine.
Only fifteen more minutes of awkward silence pass before we arrive at a fresh and modern-looking building. It’s the size of a typical hotel, maybe five to seven stories tall, white as snow, with blacked out windows you can’t see through. It’s sort of boxy and plain, but in a sleek way.
A swift elevator ride takes us to the top floor, and the grumpy Moretti heir leads us to our final destination.
During our trip up, I found noticeable cameras all over this building and the hallway we’re currently standing in.
I told myself I was going to protest at every turn of this process, and already he’s stumping me.
There’s no way I can complain about the safety of this place without him calling bullshit immediately.
“You’ll be staying here for now,” Apollo says, swinging open a secure oak door. He needed to punch in a code and use a key to unlock it.
The bastard thinks of everything.
“Holy shit,” Yordan whispers, brushing past me to get a closer look.
I reluctantly step inside and freeze. Everything about this place screams new and expensive.
High ceilings, wide open space, dark and polished wood floors, and walls that look freshly painted.
There’s moody art decorating several hanging frames, and furniture filling the area like it was customized perfectly for it.
Big, soft couches, solid wood tables, chairs, and more. And the kitchen…Isus Khristos, the kitchen. Shiny stainless steel appliances, endless counter space, stone backsplash, and a spotless gas stove.
“This is all for us?” my brother asks, his lips breaking into a smile bigger than I’ve seen on his face in years.
Apollo grunts and nods in confirmation. “Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, bulletproof windows, the works. Everything is furnished, including your bedrooms. The wifi is secure and should already be on your new phones, Remo made sure of it.”
My brother whips out his device to check. “You fucking rock.”
“Language, Yordan!”
He doesn’t even roll his eyes at me, too happy to let me bring his mood down.
“I helped as well,” Elio tells him, chuckling.
“You barely helped.”
“I talked to Remo for you.”
“You both fucking rock,” Yordan says, attempting to appease them.
Before I can chastise him, Apollo changes the topic. “If you’re hungry, there’s food in the refridg—”
My patience cracks, and I jump in, interrupting. “Why is there already food in the fridge? Did you kick someone out of here to put us up?”
Apollo lifts a brow. “No one has lived in this particular apartment for years. The fridge has food in it, because I made sure of it. The pantry is full as well, I had it stocked.”
“And what if you got a bunch of food we won’t eat?”
Elio laughs. “There’s food a sixteen-year-old boy won’t eat?”
Traitor.
“Sixteen-year-old man,” Yordan corrects. “And no, I’ll eat anything. Especially if it’s free.”
Apollo nods his head to their interaction as if to say see. “On the off chance there’s food you won’t eat, it can be donated.”
Scowling at his smug attitude, I fold my arms over my chest. “If you’re expecting a thank you, you can shove it. I didn’t ask for any of this. You kidnapped us.”
Yordan snorts, scrolling through his new phone. He’s made himself right at home, sitting on the couch with Elio without a care in the world. “Thank you for kidnapping us and stocking our fridge, Apollo.”
He doesn’t catch the glare I send him, or the smirk that paints Apollo’s face in response. “You’re welcome, Yordan.”
My eye twitches. “Yordan, give us a minute.”
He groans, head falling back. “We just got here and you’re already kicking me out?”
“Elio, take Yordan downstairs to get a drink.”
My neck flushes red. Angry red. “You’re sending him to a bar?”
“It’s a café,” Apollo replies dully.
“I don’t exactly have café money, bro,” Yordan tells Elio, standing up to follow him.
Right before the pair passes us, Apollo pulls something from his pocket. Between two fingers he holds up a black card, extending it to Yordan. “Buy whatever you want.”
“Those are dangerous words,” my brother tells him, hesitantly accepting the offering.
“I doubt it,” Apollo tells him, tilting his head.
Elio leads Yordan back to the elevator and as soon as the doors in the hallway ding shut, I start in on Apollo.
“Cut the shit,” I demand, distrust and discomfort fuming in my chest. “Why are you doing this? What the hell do you want from us?”
“Oh, we’re doing this again, are we?”
“Doing this?” I demand. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“The thing you do where you lash out at me for doing something entirely selfless because you don’t trust anyone or anything.” Apollo tilts his head. “Aside from Elio apparently, since you just let him leave alone with Yordan without a single protest.”
“Elio didn’t kidnap us.”
“By that logic, he didn’t stop you from being kidnapped either.”
“Don’t act like you’re not the leader of your siblings, he couldn’t have stopped you even if he wanted to.”
Apollo smiles at that.
“God!” I groan, clutching the sides of my head in frustration. “You’re going to make me rip out my hair. Must you be so arrogant?”
“Who’s going to tell me not to be?”
I’m actually going insane. There’s no possible way a man this smug exists and I’ve somehow become indebted to him. This is a horrible dream and I just need to wake up.
“Why are you pinching yourself?”
I look down, finding two fingers squeezing my forearm. I release the reddening skin and frown. “I’m trying to wake up from this fucking nightmare.”
“And you think I’m frustrating,” Apollo huffs. “You’re utterly baffling, Rayna. I free you from your abuser, and you accuse me of turning Yordan into a murderer. I provide you shelter, food, phones, and you call me arrogant.”
“I didn’t ask you to do any of this!” I shout, hands thrown up in frustration. “I was fine before you came along. I had everything under control.”
“Your black eye says otherwise.”
“At least I knew what to expect from the man who did this,” I gesture to my face, voice cracking.
“I don’t know you, and I don’t trust you.
You could be worse than him, don’t you know that?
You could be biding your time and waiting until I lower my guard just to show me.
I have to protect Yordan. How can you not see that? ”
Apollo blows out a breath. “What do you want me to do to prove my intentions? I handled Abramo, I gave you this place, what exactly do you think I’m going to do?”
“I don’t know!” I croak.
“Look,” he says calmly. “This place is yours. Yours and Yordan’s.
No one else will have access to it. You’ll have the keys and you can change your code.
It’s not like I’m going to be here looming over your shoulder every second of the day.
That’s going to have to be enough for now, because I don’t know what else to tell you. ”
Leave it to him to make me feel unreasonable and reassured all at the same time.
“You’ll knock when you come by? You won’t just let yourself in?”
“Yes. This isn’t my house, Rayna.”
Biting my lip, I look down at my feet. “You’re not just going to abandon Yordan, are you? You know he likes you.”
“I thought you’d try to keep me as far away from him as possible,” Apollo replies in disbelief.
Looking up at him, my head shakes. “It’s too late for that.
He’s already obsessed with your family. I would drive him to resent me by keeping him away from you all.
You have to keep him safe, Apollo. I know you mobsters seem to think teenage boys are men, but he’s still my little brother.
He’s still only been alive for sixteen years. You can’t let him be hurt.”
He breathes out slowly, nodding. “He’ll be safe.”
“You better not be lying to me.”
Before either of us can say another word, I hear the door swing open.
“Look what I brought you,” Yordan sings, returning to the apartment and effectively cutting the tension swiftly. He twirls a creamy pink drink in a plastic to-go cup, smiling wide. “They have your favorite tea and coconut milk. You’re welcome.”
“Thank you,” I say softly, accepting the offering.
Yordan grins, kissing the top of my head and leaving my side to hand Apollo back his card.
Apollo doesn’t accept it. “That’s yours.”
“Dude, no way,” Yordan says, shaking his head. “I’m not keeping your credit card. I’m cool with gifts and all… but that’s a lot.”
“It’s for both of you. You’ll need plenty of things in the next few days. Your bedrooms have basic toiletries and essential clothes already, but not enough. Request what you like from the shopping app on your phone, and the items will arrive the next day.”
Apollo looks at me, expecting a fight, but I’m too tired to argue.
“Spend some actual money, will you? I don’t want to come back here and see that you barely have any stuff. I won’t be happy.”
Yordan hesitates. “What if I max it out?”
Elio laughs hard, throwing his head back.
Apollo only smiles.
“If you manage to max that card out, I’ll be genuinely impressed.”
Chuckling, my brother accepts the card, sliding it into Leon’s sweatpants pocket. “I’m torn between trying to be humble and allowing my competitive nature to take that as a challenge.”
“Take it as a challenge,” Elio advises with a conspiratorial grin. “But be warned, it’ll take some wild purchases to actually make Apollo’s pockets hurt. If you want to go car shopping, take me with you.”
“Absolutely not.”
Yordan huffs. “I don’t think a car is in my future anytime soon, bro.”
Apollo mutters under his breath, and I swear it sounds like, “Don’t be too sure.”
He’s going to drive me to the brink of insanity, and I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to stop it.