Chapter 16 #2
“From that day on, I was the perfect soldier. When he said shoot, I shot without question or hesitation. I became everything he ever wanted. A fucking monster just like him. But monsters aren’t often loyal, and it wasn’t long before I was the face of the family.
I was the one they whispered about.” A smile curls his lips, and the gleam in his eye is more monster than man.
“A sick twist of fate left his health deteriorating two years later, and he had no choice but to step down. The day he named me his successor, he threw a party. All the families came, not just from our branch, but from around the world. A truce for one night to appoint new leaders is an age-old tradition, and he was all about those.”
A frown pulls at his lips as he shoots a glance at Jade before looking away almost just as quickly.
“The only exception was the Russians. Nobody had seen the head of their family in ages. Rumor had spread that his daughter had been taken, but nobody knew for sure. Mikhail delegated his responsibilities to his brother, Ivan. It wasn’t something that often happened, but I didn’t really care.
It didn’t concern me. I wouldn't have been there if I hadn’t been required to be.
It wasn’t until later, when I heard Ivan and my father talking, that I started putting the pieces together. ”
We hang on his every word. No longer only interested in knowing Jade’s part in all of this, though it was still something I was curious about.
We might not trust him, but that doesn’t make us heartless.
We all know how unfair life is, and I can only imagine how brutal it is for families in the mafia.
The odds of a happily ever after are rare, but I hope for one for his little sister, regardless.
“Ivan spoke of the price he got for Emma. He joked that it wasn’t the best price he ever got, but it wasn’t bad for her age.
” Elio’s eyes light with rage, and I can’t help but feel it as well.
The need to do something, hurt someone, as my mind pictures Jade in the same situation.
She doesn’t remember her life as a child before being in the rings, but if I had to guess, it’s probably not far off from what Elio’s sister went through.
“They’d sold her, my seven-year-old sister. I didn’t have to ask to know what that meant. You only sell children in one way in the businesses he dealt in. It was all I could think about, poor Emma in trafficking rings.”
His words aren’t a shock, not really. Women and children are sold into a life of sex, fear, and abuse daily, but that doesn’t make them any less disgusting.
“He was so proud of himself, sharing drinks with my father as they laughed about it. I walked up and put a bullet between my father’s eyes, right there in front of every other family.”
A wicked smile curves his lips as he relives the memory, and I look around to find the rest of us equally happy to hear it. Elio taking down his father might not have gotten his sister back, but he deserved it, and none of us has a problem dealing out punishments that are earned.
His smile dims though, and I see the wear of years of living like he has and what it’s done to him.
“It felt great, but it did nothing to help me get her back. I put out men all over the place and found that most trades ended up in America, which is how I ended up in New York. It didn’t matter what I did though, I couldn’t find her.
Money wasn’t an issue, so I bought my way into auctions.
Used connections I’d made over the years, even so, I was no closer to finding her.
” He pauses for a moment as if to gather himself, and I fear the worst for him.
“I was ready to give up, convinced she must be dead. Then, one night, I got a call from a police officer in Rockford, Illinois. He told me they had a girl named Emma who had requested I be contacted when they found her after a successful raid of a local trafficking ring, alone and afraid at the hands of monsters just like our father.”
His eyes cut to Jade, and the pieces all fall into place.
“That’s the debt,” Kratos says, his words full of awe as he looks at Jade, and I feel it, too.
Jade’s life is more than just a series of unfortunate events. It’s enough that most people would have given up a long time ago. I’ve seen people crack under far less pressure than she’s been under. Grown men at that, not children.
But not Jade. No, she took it all in stride and made something of herself.
She took those who had nobody and gave them hope, gave them safety, and took the hits so that they wouldn’t have to.
She likes to call herself a monster. Spencer calls her a demon, but I’m not sure those names actually apply.
Jade fancies herself the villain, but from where I’m standing, I think she might just be the hero.
I bet there are a bunch of girls and families out there who would agree.
One of them being Elio.
When he first came in here, I thought he was trying to hit on her, but now all I see is admiration shining in his eyes. Jade gave him back the one thing in the world that he didn’t think he could have, something no amount of money and power could get him.
“Yes, and I’m forever in her debt. Nothing I can do will ever repay her for returning my sister to me, for taking care of her.”
Jade waves him off. “Well, with any luck, this will be the last time I have to call on you. Besides, I only did what I had to do while we were there. Don’t let her make you believe I’m a saint, Elio,” she chuckles, and I hear how uncomfortable she is from his praise.
“Bullshit!” Trent’s voice rings out around the room, and we all turn to look at him.
His eyes are hard, and his jaw set as he looks at Jade, and her brows rise in surprise.
She’s not used to Trent as anything other than the golden boy, but I can see the old him shining through right now.
He’s furious. It’s been a long time since he’s been this close to the edge.
I wonder what she’ll think of this side of him?
Who am I kidding? She’ll probably love it. She was made for us after all.
“Most people don’t do what you did. Wouldn’t do it for their own family, let alone a stranger. You put your life and body on the line for these girls. Strangers that you don’t know, and sure as hell didn’t owe anything.”
Jade looks like she wants to argue. I can see it on her face, but Trent doesn’t give her a chance as he keeps going.
“Do you have any idea how many calls I’ve responded to of people being hit by a car, shot, beaten, robbed? Do you know how many people just stand around and watch or pull out their phones to record?”
Trent stands, walking over to her, unwilling to back down or let her brush this off.
“I’m serious, Jade. The first time I saw you was because my team missed you when we swept the building.
” He slams his hand against his chest, hard.
“I fought against the guys going in for another look, even as Charlotte screamed you were in there! I let my pride get in the way of the reason I took this job to begin with. I didn’t want to be wrong in front of them, didn’t want them to have a reason to report that I failed.
Even though I hated having to report to them, I was willing to leave someone innocent behind to save my ass,” Trent says in a rush, desperately trying to get her to understand.
“I’m not innocent,” Jade says, clearly missing the point.
“You were!” Trent snaps back. “You started out just as innocent as every other little girl, every bit as scared and alone,” he tells her, and I watch as she flinches away from his words.
Heaving a sigh, he lets go of his anger before trying again.
“The point is, you do everything you can for the people who can’t, and you don’t have to.
You don’t owe the world a single fucking thing, yet you do it anyway.
I never wanted to be a part of this life, and after my dad was killed, I wrote off gangs because, to me, they were all the same.
” He stands before her, the look in his eyes soft despite the heavy topic they’re arguing about.
“I was wrong…”
He trails off, his eyes searching hers for a moment before he leans in, pressing a kiss to her forehead that makes her lip pull up and her cheeks burn a beautiful pink color.
“So tell me what you need. I’m here.” He hesitates for a moment before standing up straighter and squaring his shoulders. “We’re here, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do to stop us from helping you.”
The smile on Jade’s face pulls at something in my chest, but I push it down for now.
Trent has been in and out of this for a while, but he’s never wanted to do more than he had to.
His words touched something in her, in all of us, and he’s not wrong.
There isn’t anything that can stop us from helping our girl get the revenge she deserves and shutting this shit down once and for all.