26. Anya
CHAPTER 26
ANYA
C onor puts his hand on my arm just as I’m about to pull the door handle and let myself out of his car. I can’t get away from his toxic cloud fast enough, and the longer I sit here, the more it chokes me.
“Remember what I told you, Anya. You’ll get my call tomorrow morning. If you pull a fast one before that, your uncle is dead.” His lips curl up into an evil smile. “Eyes and ears. Don’t forget.”
I pull my arm away from him, my throat so tight I can barely breathe. “I heard what you said, you fucking lunatic,” I hiss. “Don’t ever touch me again or you’ll lose that hand.”
He chuckles. “Such a badass. I like that fire in you. I’m gonna have to figure out a way for us to work together again. I need someone like you on my crew. Face of an angel and tongue of a viper.” His hand grazes the top of my thigh. “I’d like to see what else you can do with that tongue, too.”
His touch scorches my skin and not in the good way. “I said take your fucking hands off.” I grab his hand and sink my teeth into the flesh as hard as I can until he yelps and yanks it away from me.
“You stupid bitch.” His blue eyes darken. “I’ll kill you if you ever try something like that again.”
I narrow my eyes. “Bring it on, asshole. I’m good at one thing. Killing. So try me.” I shove the car door open and stomp into the hotel, not looking back once. I keep my teeth gritted because the gravity of the situation I’ve stepped into is dragging me into the pits of hell.
I’ve always teetered on the brink, but always managed to steady myself before plunging into the fiery depths.
Tonight, though, I’m consumed in flames, and there’s no lifeline dangling over me.
I’m on my own.
Either I figure out how to pull myself out or I perish.
Those are the alternatives.
My shoulders quake as I hurry through the casino and I hear someone call my name.
Dammit.
This is not a good time at all for a little girl talk!
“Anya!” Dottie says, waving me over. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost. Are you okay, dear?”
I gasp for breath and shake my head. “No,” I whisper. “I’m not.”
“You’re so pale. Do you need anything?” She takes a tentative step forward as if she’s contemplating her next move, and then she wraps her arms around me.
And it feels so nice and warm and comforting.
My life is none of those things, so I bask in the novelty of it all, knowing that I need to have a very difficult conversation in the next few minutes.
I can use all of the comfort I can get since I am on the verge of being alone again.
More loss.
More devastation.
I honestly don’t know how much more I can take.
The lies, deceit, and misery — my God, it’s killing me, slowly and tormentingly.
I breathe Dottie in, the scent of her flowery perfume filling my lungs. She rubs a hand down my back and I hug her.
The last real hug I had was the day Maks was killed.
I’d had a bad day and I remember him gathering me in for a big bear hug.
My brother always watched over me and made me feel protected.
I haven’t had that in so long.
But somehow Dottie knew exactly what I needed before going to find Dante.
I pull away, a smile on my face. “Thank you,” I murmur, giving her hands a squeeze. “I needed that.”
“Of course, dear,” she says with a smile. “I’ll be around if you need another. I’m a grandma. It’s our specialty.”
I blink back tears and give her a little wave as I hurry toward the private elevator bank. I stab his number onto my phone screen and let out a relieved breath when he answers. “Dante, thank God. Are you upstairs? I really need to talk to you.”
“Yeah, I’m at my apartment.”
I furrow my brow. “You sound tense.”
“You could say that.”
I bite down on my lower lip. Weird. “Okay, well, I’ll be right up.”
He hangs up without another word and I run a hand through my hair. After a few agonizing minutes, I knock on his door. When he opens it, I’m not prepared for the scene in front of me.
Lots of glaring, accusatory eyes.
Deadly looking men I’ve never seen before.
A shudder runs through me and I stare at Dante.
My heart sinks into my gut when I see the same threatening look in his eyes. He grabs me, slams the door closed, and then backs me against the wall. His hand is around my throat, but I can see the conflict in his heavy gaze.
That may be the lifeline I’ve been looking for.
“Who the fuck are you?” he growls, tightening his grip on me.
“You k-know who I a-am,’ I sputter. “You know better than anyone.”
His fingers graze the Band-Aid and he tears it off as everyone watches. I wince, the pain nothing compared to the fear of what he’s about to do with his new discovery, my five-pointed star tattoo. “I knew it,” he hisses. “It is you. You’re the woman who killed Vigo at Tatiana. I tried to deny it to myself, but then I saw you tonight at Artiste with Boris and Conor and I knew it was the truth. I tried to ignore it and missed the signs,” he says in a choked voice. “You betrayed me. You betrayed all of us!”
I nod. “I did. And I’m so sorry. But I didn’t know the full story, I swear!”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Matteo yells, stomping toward her. “We brought you into our home, let you take care of our baby, and all along, you were plotting against us with one of our biggest enemies!”
“Dante, Matteo, please, I know it looks bad, but you have to believe me when I tell you they duped me! They sent me out here to work as your brother’s au pair so that I could get information for them. They told me you had a hand in killing my brother to get me out here. They knew I’d do anything to avenge his murder. But it was bullshit,” I whisper. “I found out tonight it was just a lie to get me to do their dirty work. I know now that you didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“Your brother?” Dante asks.
“His name was Maks. Frankie Amante shot him.”
“Fuck,” Dante mutters. “That asshole uncle of yours has had a grudge against us since that night.”
“Yes, and then he hooked up with Conor because he had a grudge too. He wants to destroy you,” I say in a low voice. “And he is prepared to pay any price to do it.”
“Where the hell are they now?” Matteo asks.
“I don’t know. Conor dropped me off here and I didn’t bother to ask if he had hotel accommodations,” I say with a roll of my eyes. “He just said he’d call me with instructions tomorrow.” I look from Dante to Matteo and back again. “He wouldn’t tell me what he’s after, but I think I know. I think he wants Aisling.”
Matteo slams a fist against the wall and turns to Dante. “Where the fuck is Patrick? He went looking for the girls. I want them all back here as soon as possible. And we need to get in touch with security. I want them planted at every entrance and exit!”
Dante nods. “I’ll make the calls. I just need a second alone with her.” He pulls me by the arm and drags me into his bedroom, forcing my back to the wall. His lips are pressed into a tight line, his eyes heavy with a mix of rage, dejection, and pain.
“I let myself fall for you,” he hisses. “And you deceived me and my family. You opened us up to dangers you can’t even possibly imagine.”
“I know, and that’s why I came straight here, to help fix what I’ve done. I didn’t know about any of it, even Conor’s involvement, until I met him tonight. My uncle kept me in the dark for days. He ignored my calls and texts. He could have been dead for all I knew. And now Conor has him tied up somewhere, threatening to kill him if I don’t do what he wants. Not that there is any guarantee he won’t be dead by morning, whether or not I follow through.”
Dante fists his hair and stomps across the room. “I want to hurt you so badly right now,” he hisses. “For putting my family in jeopardy like this.”
“I deserve it,” I say in an unwavering voice. “And I wouldn’t blame you.”
He storms back over to me, his forehead practically pressed against mine. He drags his fingers down the front of my dress. “I can separate myself from emotions, Anya. How I felt about you a few hours ago won’t stop me from putting a bullet in your brain if I find out you’re playing us right now.”
I nod, a large lump lodged in my throat. “I didn’t once think when this all started that they’d ever hurt Aisling,” I say in a low voice once we’re alone. “I swear to you.”
“Your word doesn’t mean shit right now,” Dante grunts.
“I know, but I can help. Please believe me. We can stop him!”
“You said Conor has your uncle held hostage. Are you prepared for what might happen if you cross him?”
I swallow hard. “I care about my uncle, but I want to do the right thing. I have to. I can’t sit by and let you and your family get hurt. This is on me, and I’ll make it right. Please just give me that chance.”
He stares at me for a long minute. “One chance. We take him out and walk away from each other forever. Because you’re a fucking liar and I have no room in my life for someone like you.”
An icy sensation snakes around my heart and squeezes, but I won’t let him see me cringe.
Or cower.
“Okay,” I rasp.
He kicks open the bedroom door and stalks over to his brother and the two new guys I don’t recognize. They huddle together and I rub my hands up and down my arms.
A heavy fist knocks on the door and Dante pulls it open. “Goddamn, Patty!”
My breath hitches. I recognize him as the other guy from Tatiana. That night, he was sharp, sleek, and sophisticated in his suit.
Right now, he’s a hot fucking mess. His dark blonde hair is hanging in his face, his shirt is rumpled, and his face is a mess of panic. But it’s the body he’s carrying that makes my blood run cold.
Aunt Maura.
Her face is white, her hands hanging limply at her sides.
“Patrick, where the fuck did you find her?” Matteo yells. “She had the baby!”
“I found her lying next to the stroller right outside the pool deck.” Patrick lays her on the couch and listens to her chest. “She’s breathing, thank God. Conor isn’t a complete maniac. At least he didn’t kill her.”
“Where the fuck are Heaven and Aisling?” Matteo screams at Patrick, grabbing him by the shirt and shoving him to the floor.
“I looked everywhere for them!” Patrick shouts back, fisting his hair. “I couldn’t find them. Not a fucking trace!”
Matteo pulls out his phone and dials a number…Heaven’s, I guess. But after a minute of her not answering, he hangs up. His eyes flash with alarm and he flips around toward me. “He’s here, isn’t he?” Matteo creeps in my direction, speeding up as he approaches. “You fucking did this! You let him in!” He grabs my dress, his grip tight. My hands fly up to his, clutching them before they can wind themselves around my throat. “He has my wife and daughter right now!”
“Matteo, let me help you find him. We will find the girls, I promise!”
“Because you’ve been so honest up till now? Why the fuck should I trust you?”
“You need me,” I say in an even voice. “You may hate me and want to kill me, but you need the backup.”
His Adam’s apple bobs up and down in his throat, and the vein in his forehead throbs, his face bright red.
“Look, if he’s here, we can find him. Lock the place down. They won’t be able to get out. We can stop him, but we need to move now, okay?”
Matteo pulls out his phone and stabs some numbers onto the screen. “Yeah, it’s me. Code red. Heaven and Aisling.” He clicks to end the call. “I never fucking trusted you,” he mutters, raking a hand through his hair. “You’re lucky I don’t kill you right now.”
I’m already painfully aware that I have zero allies in this apartment.
“I need a gun,” I say. “We’re going to sweep the place. All of us. Dante, what do you have?”
He walks back into his bedroom and comes out a minute later with an array of weapons. I grab a Glock 19 and check to make sure it’s loaded.
“How’s this gonna work?” Dante asks.
“We need to split up,” Matteo says, grabbing his own gun from the waistband of his pants. He walks toward the door and pulls it open just as a piercing sound erupts into the air.
The fire alarm.
Sonofabitch!
“He knows we’re locking everything down. This is his only way out,” Matteo growls. He points to the guys I don’t recognize. “Kaz, Alek, get down to the lobby. Keep an eye out for him, and call if you see Heaven or the baby.” They head out, leaving me, Dante, and Patrick with Matteo.
“Patty, stay here with Maura. You two, come with me.” Matteo runs out of the apartment and heads down the hallway to the stairwell since the elevators aren’t running.
“Where are we going?” Dante asks.
“Basement,” Matteo says abruptly. “He wouldn’t be dumb enough to try and escape through the front entrance.”
A ringtone pierces the air and Matteo grabs his phone.
“Heaven!” His brow furrows, his jaw tightening with each passing second. I can hear her tearful voice on the other end of the line. “You’re where?” He puts the call on speaker, his face draining of color as Conor’s sadistic laugh shatters the tense silence.
“You heard her, bro. We’re on the roof. All three of us. I didn’t want to take any chances that Anya would foil my plans, so I decided to speed things up a little bit. She was having a weak moment when I dropped her off and I felt like maybe morality was grabbing her by the tits. Now I’m here and it’s about time we settled all of the bad blood between us, don’t you think?”
“What do you want, Conor?” he says, his fingertips turning white because he’s squeezing the phone so hard.
“I want what you took from me,” he growls. “What you both took. For the past year, you’ve made threats against all of my associates, telling them if they work with us, they’ll be dead to you. You’ve destroyed everything, Villani. You and Heaven. And you deserve to be punished. So I’m gonna do just that. And my niece is going to help me.”
“Don’t you fucking touch her!” Matteo screams.
“Then you’d better get up here fast. We’re dangerously close to the edge, Matteo. One little slip, and I shatter your life the way you did mine. But I want you to be here to witness it. I want to hear you beg for their lives, to promise you’ll give me everything I want, to make me whole.” He chuckles again. “Because that’s how this story ends. Happily for me, not so much for you.”