Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
FRANCESCA
This isn’t the first time I’ve stared down the barrel of a gun that was pointed at me, but this is the first time I’ve known the person holding the weapon.
And I know him. Intimately.
I’ve had nightmares of my past coming back to haunt me, but never have I ever imagined Jax coming to Savannah. Especially to the shipyard in the middle of the night while an order is being received.
It’s always been my past, Rhett, coming to me while at school.
I have imagined all the ways he would find out about my family’s businesses and the things I’ve done in my past, but none of those scenarios involved Rhett and Jax meeting here at the shipyard.
“Surprise.” He whispers and glares at me as he bares his teeth and forms a twisted snarl.
The moonlight is peeking through the clouds, casting shadows onto his face, making him look more like a villain than I ever imagined. He looks different from the last time I saw him.
More dangerous.
A bit unhinged, like he’s ready for revenge. But revenge for what?
Did he think we were more serious than we were? Did he hope for a future with me? Only for me to rip out his heart?
He was the one that wanted no strings attached.
I should have known his bad boy persona was the true side of him.
I glance around to see if anyone has noticed our presence and decided to listen in on our conversation. They haven’t. I’m still standing here with a gun wielding lunatic.
“Uh, yeah, Jax, this is a surprise. What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
How does he know about the shipyard? I’ve never told him anything about my family or my life here in Savannah.
He presses the tip of the barrel to my cheek. The cool metal is a stark difference from the heat of my skin.
“Mandy told me you moved and where you were. How could you just move without saying goodbye?”
“We weren’t together, Jax, and we haven’t spoken in months. Besides, it was the end of the semester. We were going to go our own separate ways, anyway.”
“Well, I missed you.” He drags the gun down my neck, resting it on my breast just under the seam of my shirt.
“You had so much time to say something. Why here? Why now?” Especially the here part.
He shakes his head. “Do you know I’ve been following you? For years? Watching and documenting your every move. Listening in on your phone calls.”
Why? I was just a normal college graduate student. I went to class and then came home. It’s not like my life was exciting or anything. It was quite boring, actually.
“I don’t get it. Why would you follow me like a stalker and listen to my phone calls?”
I need to stay calm and focused, or I might not get a chance to walk away from him.
He could just be bluffing about the phone calls. Normal people can’t tap into phones. Believe me, I tried years ago.
Unless he bugged my apartment with Mandy.
Oh God. Is she in on this, too?
He lets out a loud cackle. It’s jarring and foreign in the quiet night air.
“Wow, you really are a stupid cunt. I’m not really a graduate student at the university. I just rented an apartment close by to get closer to you. I never attended classes or events unless you invited me, and my name isn’t Jax Brown. It’s Jax Rossi.”
I let out a soft gasp as my mind flips through dozens of memories all related to the Rossi family.
The other mafia family in the city.
The family that killed my mother.
The family that made Dad, Joey, and me flee from New York.
“I don’t know what you think you know, but my family has suffered enough at the hands of your family.”
I step closer to Jax, not caring that the gun is pressing deeper into the flesh of my chest before continuing.
“My mother is dead because of your family. My brother and I had to grow up without a mom. My father is a widower. And one day, I hope you experience the pain that we have. I hope you and your family get fucked by karma.”
I quickly blink the tears away so he can’t see the hurt I still feel every single day. Mom should be alive right now. She should have been there to teach me things that only a mom can.
But she was taken from me. From us. By this heartless family.
He leans his head back, pulling the gun away from me as he lets out a loud laugh like a banshee.
“Is that what your father told you? Is that how he justified moving from New York City to Savannah, Georgia? Francesca, your mother isn’t dead.”
My brain freezes for a moment as I sway on my feet, suddenly feeling light-headed.
I shake my head. “I saw the remnants of the accident. I read the newspaper articles. Hell, I attended her funeral. How dare you try to trick me?”
“I’m not trying to trick you or open new wounds. Your mother is alive and has been the whole time. She’s been shacked up with my father in New York since the day of the accident.”
My stomach tightens and the acidic taste of bile coats my tongue. It feels like I’ve been sucker punched in my gut.
What?
How?
Why?
I lean against the building, needing the coolness of the stone to keep me from overheating. “This has to be a mistake. My mother died. We buried her.”
He scoffs. “No, you buried an empty casket. Just like she and my father planned right after your birth.”
Has Jax been a part of this from the beginning? Was the plan always for him to come to me and seduce me?
Then what? Kill me? Kidnap me?
And why now? Why not five years ago? Or ten?
“No.” I murmur as the edges of my vision start to fade to black.
There’s no way Mom would plan something so heinous. Something so vile. Would she?
She wasn’t the most hands on and loving, but she would cook us our favorite meal the night before our birthdays. She would drink cappuccinos with Dad every single morning.
That doesn’t sound like the woman he’s making her out to be. The one that orchestrated her fake death. The one shacked up with our family’s biggest rival.
Jax raises the gun to my chest. A soft click fills the air as he cocks it.
I hold up my hands. “Wait, if my mom is alive and in New York with your father, why are you here? Why aren’t you in New York living your life?”
“To finish out the plan.”
“What plan?” I ask to keep the conversation going. If I want a chance to fight to stay alive, then I need to catch him off guard.
“To kill your family. ”
“We aren’t a threat to your family down here. If Mom wants to forget about us, then so be it, but the least she can do after tricking us is to let us try to be happy without her.”
“Well, then, let’s call this a personal vendetta. Me against your family.”
“What do you have against my family? You were also a child when the accident happened and we moved away. What did my family ever do to you?”
“Are you really this fucking stupid or just na?ve?”
“Well, let’s see. I have no fucking clue what you are talking about. My brother and father keep me at an arm’s distance at all times, and have my whole life. I had to sneak here just to find out what was going on, so yeah, I guess I’m just na?ve.”
My blood pounds through my veins as anger builds in my chest.
All of this was avoidable, if my father and brother trusted me enough to be involved.
“I guess you’re going to die in the dark because I’m running out of time and patience.”
With the conversation over, there’s only one tactic left to try, and that’s begging. “Please, Jax, don’t do this.”
“I have no choice.”
“Yes, you do. We all have a choice. You don’t have to continue my mother’s plans. You don’t have to resort to violence, especially since I never did anything to hurt you.”
I see the change in his eyes as his hardened expression softens. He glances behind him as if he’s considering walking away.
This is my opportunity. My one chance at escaping.
I let out a loud, blood-curdling scream, and I swing my arm and straighten my hand to chop his wrist.
The gun falls to the ground as he lets out a yelp. “Fucking bitch!”
I kick the gun away in the direction of the front gate. I push past him, knocking him into the side of the building, as I run toward my freedom. My family.
But I’m not quick enough.
He wraps his hand around my arm and pulls me back toward him.
I punch, kick, and fight as hard as I can because I refuse to die without putting up a fight. I have too much to lose to give up now.
If Mom is really still alive, then I have to see it with my own eyes. I need answers. I need to know the truth.
Digging my nails into Jax’s arms, he yells out in pain and lets go of my arm.
Time seems to slow as I sprint toward the front of the building. My lungs ache, needing more air than I can breathe in.
I just need to make it to the back of the building where they are unloading the shipment, then I’ll be safe.
Jax barrels into me from behind, knocking me to the hard ground .
I try to catch myself as I fall, but his weight pushes me down faster. The concrete cuts the skin of my knees as tiny pebbles dig into the palms of my hands.
“Fuck.” I groan as the pain from the fall and the stinging from the cuts spread throughout my body.
Jax wraps his hand around my wrist and drags me toward the front gate.
“Help!” I yell as I thrash around the ground like a fish out of water. Maybe someone will hear me.
No one besides the crew working to unload the shipment is here, but they aren’t being nosy, so hopefully my yells are heard over the beeping of the forklift.
I yell over and over as I pray for someone, anyone, to come rescue me. I’ll even deal with the lectures and disapproving looks from Dad and Joey if I can make it out of this alive.
The concrete cuts my legs as Jax tugs on my arms. My muscles burn as I continue to fight and kick, but his grip on my wrist only tightens.
Tires squeal behind me as Jax drags me past the front of the building.
This was all a setup to kidnap me. But why? What do they want with me?
I just moved back to town, and I don’t know what my family has been up to for the past two years, so I can’t answer any questions regarding any of the businesses.
And even if I did know something, I’m not going to betray my family by revealing our secrets. Jax has to know this. So what do they want with me ?
“Jax, please. Don’t do anything you’re going to regret.” I beg once again, hoping this time he comes to his senses.
My family might be pissed at me for following them, but their anger will be tenfold toward Jax.
The explosion of a gunshot echoes off the building.
I freeze and hold my breath.
Did Jax somehow pick up the gun as he was dragging me?
Did he shoot me?
I wait for the pain to seep into my brain, but it doesn’t come. Instead, Jax collapses to the ground, landing on top of my leg. He wraps both hands around his bleeding leg as he lets out a long, pain-filled groan.
Pushing him away, I breathe a sigh of relief. Someone has come to my rescue, but Jax is still capable of hurting me.
I jump to my feet and sprint toward the shadows. Toward the back of the building. Toward my family.
Something slams into my back, tackling me to the ground before strong arms wrap around me and lift me up.
I try to wriggle my way out of their grasp, but it’s pointless. They are much stronger than me.
I scream out, hoping my rescuer can get to me, but in my heart, I know they won’t.
The man lifts my entire body off the ground and tosses me into a van as if I’m as light as a feather.
Tires squeal as the van takes me from my safety.