Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
Sable
Tell him the truth and he’ll understand. That was the only way to make this right.
“I am choosing you.” The desperation in my voice startled me. It wasn’t just our relationship I had to fight for. I had to save my brother’s life. “I’ll always choose you.”
“Don’t lie to me.” Milo zipped and buttoned his pants as if he would be able to walk out on me in a storm. “What the fuck are we doing in the woods in a cabin owned by Bello?”
“You were right when you said Chance was working with him.” I had to put it all out there. It was never my intention to lie to Milo. “He did bring him information about you.”
“What part did you play in that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did this set-up start on New Year’s Eve? Was I the mark from the beginning? ”
“What are you talking about?” That accident really rattled his brain. If we weren’t stuck out here, I would have insisted he go to the hospital. “I didn’t set you up. I could never do that to you.”
“From where I’m standing, it looks like you, Chance, and Bello were in on this from the beginning.”
“You’re confused.” That had to be it. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Don’t gaslight me.”
“You think Chance sold drugs in your club in order for us to meet? Do you think I was playing you the night I came to you and begged you for help? There’s no way we could have made all of that fall into place.”
“Your brother is too stupid to be the mastermind of any of this. Bello isn’t that much smarter, but it isn’t a stretch to think that he put you in my path to gain information.”
I moved toward Milo, but his agitated voice stopped me from coming closer.
“Don’t,” he said. “I’m too angry for you to be near me.”
“You would never hurt me.”
Not even the untamed glint in his eyes could make me doubt that he would lash out at me. Uncertainty surrounded me most of my life, but if there was one person I could trust, it was Milo.
“I never thought you would hurt me, but here we are.”
“I didn’t betray you.” I ran my hand through my wild curls, desperate to get him to listen to me.
“When I left your office, Chance grabbed me and threw me into your car. I didn’t have any intention of leaving the dealership, but he was terrified over what he had done and he kept saying we had to run. ”
“Did it occur to you to call me? I would have intercepted you before you got to the tunnel. ”
“And what would you have done with my brother? You made it clear in your office what would happen if you confirmed what he did.”
Could I talk a killer out of doing what he did best?
“Once he explained to me what he had done, I knew I couldn’t call you.
” I sat on the stone hearth, absorbing the heat from what was left of the smoldering fire.
“When we got here, I didn’t have any cell service.
Chance insisted he had to take the SUV away from here.
I didn’t want him to leave, but he couldn’t be reasoned with. ”
“You don’t know where he is?” Milo glanced around the cabin. “He left you here in the middle of nowhere. Do you know how dangerous that is? What if Bello showed up or another one of my enemies?”
“I wasn’t thinking about that, I just wanted to…”
“Protect Chance.” He picked up his wrinkled shirt and shook it out before putting it on. The bloodstains from his head had turned brown on his usually crisp collar. “I don’t know why I’m surprised.”
“He’s scared. He’s not thinking, so I have to fix this for him.”
“How are you going to do that?” He stood in front of me, his chest heaving and every muscle in his glorious body stretched against his olive skin. “The last time you tried to save him, you came to me. What are you going to do now?”
“Before you got here, I was going to help him run, and then I was going to come back to you because I did choose you. As much as it would have broken my heart, I was going to let Chance go. That’s the only way he’s going to grow up. You were right this whole time. I can’t keep saving him.”
“You don’t even believe what you’re saying.” He crouched down in front of me. “How am I supposed to? ”
“I wanted him to have a fresh start.”
“How were you going to give that to him?”
“I…” Glancing down at my bracelet, a pang of guilt settled inside my soul. “I was going to figure it out.”
“As long as Chance keeps screwing up, you’re going to bail him out.” Milo closed his eyes and shook his head. “He is a detriment to me and my family. I’ve spared him for you, but I can’t keep doing that.”
“How am I supposed to respond when you threaten to murder my brother?” There had to be a way out of this. “Would you stand by and let someone threaten Marchello?”
“That’s not the same.” When he stood from the floor, his unsteady footing caused him to stumble forward.
“He’s your brother and you wouldn’t want to see someone kill him.”
“I’d kill them first.” He pressed his hand against the fireplace. “This is different.”
“Are you okay?” I got up from the hearth and took his hand. “You need to sit.”
“I got up too fast.”
He didn’t stop me when I guided him to the couch and made him sit.
“I don’t want to fight with you,” he said. “I need to get rid of this headache.” He leaned his head against the back of the couch. “Maybe if I just close my eyes for a few minutes.”
“Milo.” I sat down next to him and gently shook his shoulder. “What can I do for you?”
“I asked for your loyalty, but you couldn’t give it to me.”
“No,” I whispered. “I didn’t do anything to betray you. I was never working with Chance or Bello. I would never do that to you. ”
“You don’t understand how any of this works.” He turned his head and stared at me with a vacant look. Cold and distant. Is that the concussion or something else? “That could get us killed. I can’t take that risk. Not after what happened to my mother.”
“What?”
“She was murdered.”
“I know.” I inched closer to him and put my arm around him. “You don’t have to talk about that now.”
“She knew how to stand by my father’s side,” he said. “But a lot of good that did her. Our enemies found a way to destroy her, and they made sure we never found out who was responsible.”
“Chance isn’t a threat.”
“Yes!” His body went rigid against mine. “He’s working with my enemies. He may have put you in the path of one of the most vile men I’ve ever encountered.”
“Bello?”
“Diego.” He rubbed his temple. “Bello is a fucking roach. A low-level player, but he is useful to someone like Diego, especially when he has someone who has access to me.”
“Chance didn’t know what he was doing.”
“Stop!”
His demand came out in a roar, causing me to scoot to the other end of the couch.
“Your brother aligned himself with my enemy, and he knew exactly what he was doing. He overheard information about where I would be and he leaked it to Bello.”
“Chance was wrong. That’s why I want to send him away.” I fidgeted with my hands because what I was about to do next was a big ask, but it was the only way there could be a shot for us. “I know Chance did something he shouldn’t have, but he wanted to protect me.”
“Sable.”
“It was misguided and dumb, and I understand why you want to kill him, but I think he needs to get out of the city and get a real job away from men like Bello. He has to learn that your lifestyle won’t work for him. He isn’t you.”
“What are you asking me to do?”
“Don’t hurt him.” I pulled my knees into my chest. “Send him away. Set him up someplace where he’ll be safe. If you do that, then you and I can be together. He can’t come between us. He can’t screw up your business.”
“And if I don’t fund your little plan? Then what?”
“You know you hold all the cards.” I fought back the tears that filled my eyes. “But you said you loved me. If that’s true…”
“Don’t do that.” He held out his hand for me. “Don’t make me weak.”
“You’re not weak.” I crawled into his lap. “I’ll learn your way of life. I’ll show you I can stand by your side. I’ll be loyal to you. I’ll love you forever.”
The brutal killer inside him softened before my eyes as he caressed my cheek.
“I’d go to the depths of hell for you.” He threaded his fingers through my hair. “You stepped up for me the night I asked for your help with the police. You never even asked me if I was guilty.”
“You do what you have to do when it comes to your business.” He had already given Chance a pass, but I needed him to do it one last time. “I want a life with you.”
“You’d be willing to let me send your brother away knowing that I won’t let him come back? I can’t have him anywhere near my business. He can’t be in contact with anyone involved with me.”
“Including me?” I traced my fingers along the bandage over his cut, pondering the finality of his proposal.
“I can’t risk him betraying me again.”
“Do you promise you’ll let him live?”
“I won’t kill him,” he said. “Unless he gives me a reason. I mean it, Sable. I’ll do this for you, but if he comes for my family or if he aligns himself with my enemies again, there will be nowhere for him to run.”
“Thank you.” I pushed my lips against his, relaxing for the first time since Chance pulled me into the SUV.
“This is the only time I’m ever going to allow you to ask me to go against my family,” he said. “If your brother fucks up and you intervene, I won’t ever be able to forgive you.”
“I won’t let him come between us anymore.” My lips trembled against his. “I promise.”
“Chance could have gotten my men killed that night on the pier. I could’ve been shot instead of being grazed by a bullet. Your brother is a danger to all of us. The fact that he doesn’t know what he’s doing by putting his trust in Bello and Medina is an inevitable death sentence.”
“But if you send him away, you’ll be helping him. I’ll never forget that.”
“I’m doing it for you, not him.”
“I love you.” I wrapped my arms around his neck when he ran his lips along mine and slipped his tongue into my mouth.
It was as if time had stopped, locking us in a moment of utter bliss. Milo showed me his true self by choosing to help Chance. Our love could get us through anything. I would find a way to prove myself to him.
Muffled voices and the sound of creaking on the front porch shattered our peace faster than a rock through a window. Milo scooted me off the couch and grabbed his gun off the table.
“Stay behind me.” Milo pointed his gun at the door.
“Wait!” I reached for his arm, succumbing to the sheer panic that barreled through me. “It could be Chance.”
“You better hope not, because if he brought Bello or Diego with him, I won’t spare anyone.”