Chapter 7 - Wyatt
When the lock clicks, soft and final, the sound carries down the hall. Then, and only then, I let my body give in, and I stop moving.
Everything catches up with me at once as I brace a hand against the wall and let my head drop. I pull in deep, slow breaths through my nose, trying to force my thoughts back into place. But everything in my head feels like a mess.
The condo’s silent now, but it’s heavier than it is calming.
My pulse is still too fast, and my shoulders are pinched tight enough to brace for another ambush. But there isn’t one. I’ve had my fair share of unwanted excitement tonight.
No matter what she thinks of me, Elena is safe and secure in the spare room. She’s alive and furious, but the first part is the most important.
I married her.
The notion sinks in fully now, undeniable and crushing. It was 100% my decision, yet it still turns my stomach to consider it now, after the fact.
She isn’t the problem. My instinct to protect her isn’t either. The problem lies in what it means to be married to a Lukov, and all the unavoidable shit that will come with it.
Pushing off the wall, I reach the living room and pace the length of it, running a hand through my hair hard enough to piss myself off even more. The adrenaline has started to fade, leaving behind the kind of exhaustion I dread most. It’s the kind that stalls progress.
But it’s entirely my fault. Well, partially Vito’s for even bringing her to my attention, but still.
I got ahead of myself, and that’s the truth of it. I let the urge to take revenge get ahead of me, and my confidence took the wheel to a dangerous degree.
Vito was supposed to die tonight. That had been my one goal.
I wanted him afraid in those final moments, and I wanted to take from him what he tried to take from me.
But when he offered me Elena, I didn’t think.
I reacted, and I bit off more than I ever should’ve attempted to chew. Just like I did years ago.
Instead of slowing down and reassessing when I realized the Grimaldis were after her, I doubled down. I went nuclear without stopping to consider the fallout.
I tied her to me. I married a goddamn Lukov.
Scoffing, I drop myself onto one of the sofas, leaning against the backrest while I close my eyes and finally give my body a break.
I spent years erasing my name, my past, and any paper trail I had. I became a ghost on purpose, and tried to linger as nothing more than a rumor, and a problem nobody could pin down long enough to kill.
And in one night, I managed to risk it all.
The very name rams against my skull again and again, while the irony feels like it should be funny, if it weren’t so potentially catastrophic.
Despite trying to blend into the background, I’ve managed to throw myself in the middle of the ring, with the biggest target imaginable on my back.
The Lukovs will see this as a hostile, aggressive move, and even potential humiliation if they can’t control the narrative soon enough.
The Balakins, who still think I’m dead, will question who took Elena out of the equation, and will want my head if they realize I’m indeed alive.
The Grimaldis gave me a show of force when they tried to take her, and since they already hate me, they’ll use this as an excuse to take me down.
They’ll be furious that I took her, and murderous when they realize I’ve married her.
I might as well stand in the middle of the Strip and start waving my arms to get their attention.
This is pressure I didn’t want, and certainly didn’t plan for. I wanted leverage and the chance to do something right, not raw exposure.
And yet, with my eyes closed, I keep seeing that image of Elena bound to the damn chair in that warehouse. I want to be heartless about it, but the fear and fury in her eyes stop me in my tracks.
Lily looked like that once…I’m sure of it.
While trapped in a different room, surrounded by different men, all while feeling the same helpless rage. That’s what pushed me over the edge. Not strategy, and not calculation. Just instinct.
I know I may seem no different from Vito in Elena’s eyes, but thinking about Lily makes me want to be better. To give Elena the care she deserves—the care my sister deserves.
It’s the same instinct that got me in trouble all those years ago, and the same trouble I’m still trying to make up for. It feels like a never-ending cycle at this point, and I can’t keep letting it haunt me.
“Idiot,” I mutter to myself, already reaching for my phone. The clock reads two in the morning, but I shove the detail aside.
Unlocking it, my thumb hovers over the screen for a beat before I decide to follow through, hitting the only pinned contact I have.
Patch.
The call almost goes to voicemail before he picks up, sounding groggy and gruff from sleep. “You alive?”
“Barely,” I reply, rubbing at my temples.
“Alive enough to call this late…was it that bad?”
“Worse.”
Patch exhales slowly, and I can picture him sitting back in bed, forcing his focus to sharpen as he manages easily. He has a way of listening and dissecting things down to the finest detail. It’s partly why I trust him, not only with business affairs, but also to keep me grounded.
“Start talking.”
I let a beat settle between us before I finally come out with it. “I married Elena Lukov.”
Silence fills the blanks, and I can practically hear the gears turning in his head.
“You did what?”
“I married her. As in, legally.”
There’s another pocket of quiet before he scoffs in quiet disbelief. “You don’t like associating with anyone…you’ve been allergic to any kind of attachment for years.”
I force out a breath. “I know.”
“And now you’re connected to one of the most volatile families in the entire state.”
“I know.”
“You did all of this sober?”
“Unfortunately.”
Patch sighs. “How in God’s name did you possibly get yourself tangled up with Elena Lukov? She’s a popular socialite…how did you not know it was her?”
“You know I don’t care about that kind of thing. Not when it doesn’t involve me directly, at least,” I mutter, running an exasperated hand through my hair. “I couldn’t tell Elena from any popular brat in this city. I fucked up, I know.”
“What happened to handling Vito?”
“I was moments away from doing exactly that, but he bargained with me. She was strapped to a chair, and he was going to sell her to the Grimaldis. Or the Balakins…whichever paid more,” I tell him, jaw tight just from thinking about it. “Even if I should’ve, I couldn’t just leave her there.”
“So the bastard’s still breathing?”
“Unfortunately…again.”
Patch takes another long, deep breath, and I know he’s already considering every angle like usual.
I feel like an idiot for even having to admit all of this, but before I can try to further defend myself, he hums.
“You did fuck up, but maybe not in the way you think you did.”
Pausing, my brows furrow instinctively. “Enlighten me.”
“You’re looking at this like you were handed the blade…but you were given the handle. You can use it if you play your cards right.”
My fingers subtly adjust on the phone, and I find myself leaning forward as he captures my attention. “Explain.”
“Well, you have Elena. She’s alive, protected, and under your name. Every major family wants her for leverage, alliances, and control. But right now, you’re the one holding the card they all want.”
“She’s not a card,” I say automatically before absently stroking my jaw. “But, isn’t that a bad thing in my position?”
“It could be, but only if you don’t work this right.
Whether you like it or not, she’s an important piece.
The only difference is, you didn’t take her to hurt her, so don’t go running in circles worrying about morals like you tend to do,” Patch says, making far more sense than he has any right to.
“You’re not using her. You just took her out of circulation, and as a byproduct, the ball is in your court. ”
The words sink in, warring with my lingering doubts. Glancing toward the hallway where Elena is locked away, likely still angry and plotting my death, I sigh.
This could either be exactly the leg-up I need, or the biggest goddamn mistake of my entire life.
“And, ergo, you’re in control.”
Closing my eyes, I try to imagine that outcome becoming reality. Control.
That’s what I lost tonight. At least, what I thought I lost. But in Patch’s thinking, maybe it’s the opposite.
“The Lukovs aren’t known for asking questions first…how do I know this won’t blow up in my face?” I ask, still guarded against the idea. “And the others?”
Patch huffs out a vaguely amused breath. “You’re definitely on their shit-lists now, or at least, whenever they all find out on their own time. Now I guess you’ll have to resurface a bit sooner than anticipated.”
“That wasn’t the plan.”
“Plans change,” he says casually, and I’m sure it’s accompanied by a shrug. “Especially when you make unexpected moves.”
He’s right. God, he knows exactly what he’s talking about.
I have been looking at this all wrong, only seeing the dangers and threats, not the opportunities right in front of me.
Elena isn’t just a liability. She’s proof of influence, and if I don’t let this crush me, she could be important in more ways than one.
“What about Lily?” I ask, not recognizing my own voice for a moment. “You think she’ll make it out of this?”
Patch’s tone shifts, turning into something more understanding. He knows my sister is the foundation of everything, and he has never once questioned it. “If the Lukovs are smart, then this might be the fastest way to get her back.”
My heart clenches painfully at the thought, and I force myself to swallow.
I didn’t just take Elena to screw over Vito or the Grimaldis. I did it because I couldn’t watch another woman be traded like an object, measured by the profit she might bring them. Because I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else sitting in the same chair as my sister.
And now, I’m supposed to use Elena myself to make all of this worth it. Not for monetary gain, but as a means of getting my sister back.
The idea of leveraging her very life sits wrong and heavy in my gut.
“She didn’t ask for this,” I murmur, tasting notes of defeat in my words.
“Neither did Lily.”
That does it, pushing me into a position I can’t come back from.
Squeezing my eyes shut, the old but familiar ache blooms in my chest all over again, reminding me of everything I’ve done up to this point. Every alias, every detail, and every drop of blood I’ve spilled…all for one thing.
All to rescue Lily.
With another deep breath, I open my eyes again, feeling as resolve settles where that panic and concern had been.
“I won’t hurt her. Regardless of how this ends, Elena won’t be a casualty.”
“And she doesn’t need to be. Not if you leverage her for Lily. A sister for a sister,” Patch says simply, pointing out what I should’ve seen all along.
When I took Elena, I had no idea what I was going to do with her. After visiting my lawyer, that question only grew bigger. But now, I have something to work with. Somehow, some way, I need to get in contact with the Lukovs. First, I need to brace myself and prepare for any kind of blowback.
Aware that Patch is right, I also know that I have to play this my way, just like I have from the start. And I can’t let Elena see how much she reminds me of the one thing I can’t afford to lose.
“I need intel,” I say, absently tapping the arm of the couch. “On the Lukovs, the Balakins, and the Grimaldis. I need to know how they’re reacting to this.”
“You know me. I’m already pulling the threads,” Patch murmurs, letting go of a hushed yawn from his end. “Focus on keeping her alive, in line, and under the radar.”
“Done and done.”
“Good,” he says, letting a contemplative silence hang between us. “And don’t forget…you didn’t screw yourself into oblivion tonight. You moved the right pieces in the game.”
Then, the line drops, and I exhale. Setting the phone down, I sit in that heavy quiet, left alone to bear the lingering thoughts and the city’s hum beyond the windows.
Despite how broken my plan felt after tonight, now I know it just needs restructuring. There’s nothing wrong with a couple of revisions.
Still, even with renewed determination to make this work, my mind drifts to Elena and how she’ll hate enduring this. She’ll hate knowing I’m leveraging her just like all the others in our world do.
But this is the only way forward. I have to do it for Lily, and for the endgame I’ve been risking my life for.
As much as she might hate me, Elena Lukov will walk away from this safe and alive, and I will get my sister back.