Chapter 19 Jamie
JAMIE
Ikept my face buried in Reign’s neck as he walked out of there, my mind feeling fuzzy.
I couldn’t focus on a single thought.
Not when there seemed to be so much going on, and my mind seemed to be spinning out of control until… until… until…
“Just breathe, baby. I need you to breathe. You’re on the verge of a panic attack.”
Was that what was happening?
I tried to breathe. I really did. But the air… it would not come in. My nails dug into Reign’s skin, and I pulled back to look at him, shaking my head.
I couldn’t breathe. I was going to die.
“You’re not going to die,” Reign said fiercely.
I didn’t realize I had said that part out loud.
I shook my head.
We had just made it outside the warehouse.
Reign let out a soft curse and moved over to the building, sitting on the ground with his back against the wall and me on his lap.
His arms banded tightly around me, and still, that wasn’t enough.
I needed to be closer to him because, right now, it felt like I was floating adrift, moving away from this world with nothing to help tether me back to reality.
I buried my face in his chest, closed my eyes, and counted his heartbeats.
“That’s right. Focus on me and just breathe, baby. Don’t think about anything else. I’m right here, and everything is going to be okay. Good girl,” he said.
I listened to his words.
Everything was going to be okay. He was here.
I was going to be okay.
It took a while, but I could feel my heart slowing down once more, could feel the air coming into my lungs a little easier.
And my mind didn’t feel like it was spinning out of control anymore.
I pulled my face back when I felt a little better. I couldn’t see much of him in the dark, but feeling his solid form was enough. I pressed my hand on his chest. He placed his own hand on top of mine, keeping it there. I focused on the warmth.
“Okay?” he asked.
I started to nod before I realized he couldn’t see me. “Yes,” I whispered, afraid my voice might break if I tried to make it go any higher.
He cupped my cheek. “I know this isn’t the best time, and I want to give you more time to calm down, but we have to go, okay, baby? Let me take you back to your—to my place.”
I blinked. I almost forgot my place had been broken into. And the body…
Tito shot his companion when he realized the leg wound had done nothing but slow him down. I didn’t witness that, but I vaguely heard him say something about that when he brought me back to the warehouse.
He would be dead by now… on my apartment floor.
“The body—”
“Don’t worry about it,” Reign interrupted. “Do you think you can get up now? Your brother is coming, and I really don’t think you want to explain to him all that’s going on, do you?”
That was right. He had said something about Caine.
How did he know Caine?
And how did he know Caine was my brother?
And when?
Had he known who I was from the very beginning?
Oh God.
“Come on, baby. I need you to hold on, just hold on a little longer for me, okay? We’ll talk when we get back to my place, okay?”
Did I even want to go back to his place with him?
He knew who I was. He knew I had lied to him.
And it wasn’t like I had forgotten that Reign Mahankov was a dangerous man.
But Caine was coming. And the way Reign was cupping my cheek, holding onto me, being so damn gentle… he wouldn’t hurt me, would he?
I didn’t know.
But I must be stupid because I found myself nodding in agreement.
“Good,” he said, his voice rough. Then he was standing up with me in his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck and moved my face closer to his skin, just needing that contact to keep myself grounded, even for just a small moment in time.
He had parked pretty far away from the warehouse.
But still, he kept me in his arms and showed no signs of tiring.
He set me down on my feet by the passenger side of his car and opened the door for me.
I looked at the seat, and then at him, only to find his expression closed off.
My finger twitched with the urge to reach out and touch his face, if only to get any reaction from him, but I resisted.
Instead, I climbed into his car and looked out the window as he closed the door behind me.
He moved to the driver’s side quickly and got in, starting the car and turning on the heat for me. I hadn’t even realized I was cold until I felt the warm air. It wasn’t like Tito had given me a chance to grab my jacket. I wiggled my toes, remembering my bare feet. I didn’t even have shoes with me.
We drove to his place in silence. For once, it wasn’t because we both felt comfortable with it. This was because we had too much on our minds. And I was still reeling from everything that had happened, trying to keep Tito’s face out of my thoughts.
He was going to kill me.
I knew it the moment he had tied me up.
But he was going to toy with me first. He was going to let his men…
I was going to be sick.
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath.
“We’re almost home,” Reign said, speaking to me the same way one would to a scared child.
Why was he treating me this way?
He should hate me for playing him.
I should hate him for lying to me.
I couldn’t believe how stupid I was because all the signs showing he knew who I was had been there. He never asked questions that would have made me talk more about my family and their business. I never asked him any questions about his job, and he never felt the need to share it with me.
I should have questioned just how easily everything went for us.
I didn’t. At the time, I was just thanking my lucky stars that my plan seemed to be falling into place so seamlessly for me.
I felt so stupid.
He drove into the underground garage of his apartment building and pulled into his assigned spot. I looked at his parking number, 1125, not really moving. He shut the engine off before turning to me.
“Should we go up?”
I didn’t have a lot of options, did I?
I had no wallet, no shoes, no jacket, and no phone.
I didn’t want to go back to my apartment—I couldn’t. And I couldn’t call Caine or Dad because Caine was working with the Mahankov, and I had a feeling Dad didn’t know.
What the fuck was going on?
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I mutely nodded and opened the door, getting out. Reign was there beside me before I could take another step. In his hand was one of his jackets he must have taken from his car because he hadn’t been wearing one tonight, despite the cold temperature.
I let him wrap it around me, and I didn’t protest when he lifted me up into his arms.
“I can walk, you know,” I said.
His eyes moved down my legs, stopping at my feet. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”
I blinked, looking away from him when I felt my eyes burn. He still sounded the same.
Still the same man I was finding myself falling for. I didn’t look at him again on our way up to his building. I realized while we were on the elevator that this would be my first time at his place.
How strange.
It felt like I had known him for a long time now, but really, that wasn’t the case at all.
How could that be?
He set me down on the couch once we got inside the apartment, and I looked around his place. It carried the same professional decorating scheme as my place.
We really were two sides of the same coin.
Both of our families were made men from two of the biggest crime organizations on the East Coast. Perhaps that had taught us not to make any sort of personal attachment to material things, like our apartments.
My heart ached.
And I was hit with a yearning so strong just for a home.
Not a place to stay in or to sleep in, but a home.
I rubbed my chest, something that Reign didn’t miss.
He bent down in front of me, bracing his hands on either side of my legs. He looked so earnest when he asked, “Are you feeling okay? Did that fucker hurt you?”
His hands started to roam over my body, as if looking for any injuries I might have. I shook my head and took a half step back. “No. He…”
My jaw was still sore from where he hit me to knock me out, but besides that and a few bruises I got when they carried me up to the upper level of that warehouse, I wasn’t hurt.
“You came just in time.”
His eyes assessed me, as if he was trying to figure out if I was lying or not.
“When did you know?” I asked him, not wanting to spend any more time on my imaginary injuries.
His deep ocean-blue eyes took me in, and for a moment, I felt like I could just get lost in them and that would be okay.
“Since the moment you stepped foot inside the bar. I knew all the high-ranking officials of the Caparelli Famiglia.”
“I’m not part of that.”
I had no skin in the game, and I never had any interest in being involved.
The reason I stayed with my family was because I was born into it.
No matter how much I wanted to leave, there would always be a part of me that felt loyal to it.
It wasn’t something I could say about Caine. And how my heart hurt because of that.
“You don’t think I would do the same thorough research on Davide Caparelli and his family?”
I swallowed, feeling even more foolish. Of course he would. Of course he would have known who I was all along. Just like how Caine would have recognized Reign and Kingston just walking past them on the street. Why had I thought I could remain anonymous?
He smiled a little, his eyes brightening with amusement. “It didn’t help that you used your real name.”
I scowled at that. “Jamie is a pretty common name.”
“Not in this city.”
I looked down at my lap. “Then why did you let me approach you?”
His fingers moved along the outside of my thigh. “I wanted to see what your game was. And you’re cute. It wasn’t any hardship to play along.”
I scoffed, not looking at him. I didn’t think I could keep up the tough facade if I looked at him. I wouldn’t know which emotion to let win—my shame or my fear of him.
I wasn’t really scared of him, was I? I shook my head slightly from the thought. “And have you figured it out?”
He shook his head, drawing my attention back to his eyes. “What are you trying to get out of this?”
I took in a deep breath and said without hesitation, “I want Kingston dead.”