Chapter 20
SOREN
I threw a pullover on and a pair of leggings before throwing my hair in a ponytail, already envisioning coming back home and spending the night with Kade.
I didn’t have to dress up to impress anyone anymore.
We were going to go to this exchange and make a deal Lilah couldn’t refuse for my freedom. Something she’s been wanting for as long as she’s known about it.
My inheritance.
Because all Lilah ever wanted or cared about was money, and I was hoping this was just enough to get free of my shackles.
Kade’s father would get the land that he was after, and I’d be free. I’d be free to live my life exactly the way I wanted, and no longer be anybody’s prisoner. I would finally be able to be with the man I loved and see the world I’d only caught a glimpse of.
“You look beautiful, Soren,” a deep voice said from behind me.
I turned from the full-length mirror in my room and fiddled with my fingers, still not used to his compliments.
I made my way over to Kade and wrapped my arms around his neck, seeing a smile grace his lips, as if he too was ready for the craziness to be over.
“Promise me everything will be okay?” I questioned, trying to keep my voice steady, even though I felt like a bundle of anxious nerves.
“No matter what happens, you’ll be safe, and we will be leaving together,” Kade reassured me, his voice soothing me instantly. “Nothing will tear us apart now, princess. You’re mine.”
He growled the last word, and I instantly felt that familiar heat begin to pool in my belly, wanting desperately to stay here with Kade and show him how much I appreciated him and his words.
Not to mention I owed him for the other night, although he would argue that I owed him nothing.
But for the first time in my life, I wanted to make someone besides just myself feel good. I wanted to give him all of me.
All the dark bits that I hadn’t shone the light on or admitted to in years, and the rare light pieces of my soul that were still fighting to stay.
My heart had been locked up for so long, I wasn’t even sure I still held the key.
But lo and behold, my dark knight held my hand and navigated the way.
“Let’s get this over with so I can come home and fuck you,” Kade said, his words making me melt into a puddle.
“Kade!” I playfully smacked his arm, although that was the only thing currently on my mind. We were on the same wavelength even when we weren’t trying.
I put my arm through his, and walked with him towards the front door, and to the end.
I wasn’t sure what kind of end to expect, but I knew no matter what kind it was, whether Lilah and Jude let me go or not, it wouldn’t go smoothly. They wouldn’t just hand me off so easily.
My anxiety was beginning to overflow, but knowing Kade was by my side dulled it to a quiet buzzing.
“Both of you stay safe, and come back in one piece,” Astrid said nervously, and it was good to know I wasn’t the only one anxious about this meeting. Kade had his stoic face on and didn’t look the least bit concerned. I envied that about him, wishing I could keep my worries deep within.
“I will do my best,” I replied as she pulled me into a quick hug, and she felt so warm and safe that I didn’t want to let go.
Since my mother had passed, Astrid had slowly but surely begun to take that empty space in my heart that Lilah would never be able to, and so I knew her worry was genuine. There was no ulterior motive behind it and her kindness.
I just hoped I could stay true to my word, and return us both in one piece.
As we drove, I tried to keep my attention solely focused on Kade’s hand on my thigh and his smell that permeated the air. But the closer we got to the meeting, the worse my fear grew, numbing all my other senses.
I trusted Kade, but I’d known Lilah for a very long time, and I knew there was no way she’d let me go so easily.
I had a feeling Kade knew it too, if the tension in his jaw was anything to go off of. We didn’t speak, yet our silence spoke volumes. The anxiety was thick in the air, like a fog first thing in the morning.
“You know everything is going to be fine, right?” Kade said, as if he could read my mind.
I didn’t reply because I didn’t know what to say. I knew he’d protect me, but I also knew nothing would go smoothly. Not for me.
Nothing in my life would ever be easy. There’s no way I could get off the hook this easily.
Kade grabbed my hands, threading our fingers together and giving my hand a squeeze in reassurance as we pulled up to the warehouse.
A number of cars were already parked in the gravel lot from what I could see. I could easily pick out Lilah’s, as well as Jude’s, which made my stomach roll.
I took a deep breath in and went to open my door, but Kade gripped my thigh roughly before I had the chance.
“Wait for me,” he said, his voice tense. He let go of my thigh and reached into the glove box, pulling out a pistol, and loading it quickly before my eyes.
“If everything is going to be fine, why are you bringing a gun?” I asked, as he tucked it into his waistband.
“You can never be too safe, Soren. You know that,” he replied simply.
He exited the car and rounded the front, coming to open my door and letting me out.
I closed my eyes, begging my heart to stop pounding, and for some ounce of bravery to slip in instead.
I had been afraid for years of everything around me. I didn’t want to be afraid anymore. And as Kade opened the door and grabbed my hand, I knew I didn’t have to be.
“Hello, my dove,” Lilah said, all eyes flicking to us as we entered through the double doors.
On the way here, Kade had explained that we needed to make everyone believe we hated each other. But how were we going to do that if he was going to ask me to stay with him? How was I supposed to hide my feelings for him from people who watched me with an eagle’s eye?
He seemed to have also realized this, because our hands stayed glued together as we made our way into the circle, never breaking contact.
Jude, Matthias, and Lilah’s eyes snapped to our joined hands, each wearing a different expression of confusion, disapproval, and disgust.
Like I gave a fuck what they had to think anymore.
Matthias seemed to have softened to me in the tiniest amount, but I still could tell he didn’t feel like I belonged in his family.
After today, I was going to be walking away with my freedom. Kade and I were going to be leaving this place the exact same way we entered it.
Together.
“What the fuck?” Jude’s voice pulled me out of my daydream. “Get your hands off my wife.”
“Calm yourself, Judas,” a man calmly said behind him, one I recognized as none other than his father, Vincent Peirano.
The fact that he was here sent a shiver down my spine. Because for the last several years, Vince Peirano had his son handle everything to do with his business, while he sat back and enjoyed the spoils of his blood money without ever actually handing over the reins to Jude entirely, of course.
Vincent being here was a bad omen in and of itself.
Although this man terrified my very being, I wanted to laugh at his behavior towards his son, and the fact that Jude was kept on a tight leash.
Ever since I’d known him, he had always been all bark, extra bite. He wasn’t used to being tamed in front of his enemies and the people whose respect he craved.
In a room full of pure bred killers, I was glad I was the only woman from the Luchetti clan here. I didn’t want Vanessa or Elizaveta involved in any of these dealings. The Luchetti family had already lost too much, and I couldn’t bear to watch them lose anymore.
“Vincent,” Kade nodded, finally releasing my hand, and tucking his into his trousers.
I let mine lay limp at my side, not knowing what to do with them, or what to do about anything right now, for that matter.
“Let’s get this over with,” Lilah chimed in. “I’d like to go home and take a nice, warm bubble bath.”
She gave Vincent a look full of promise, and I wanted to vomit in my mouth at the implication.
Because of course Lilah and Vincent were sleeping together. Why would Vincent be loyal to his wife?
The webs that were woven and intertwined within all our social circles were tangled beyond comprehension.
“Kade has brought your daughter,” Matthias said, breaking up the silent conversation between Lilah and Vincent. “Now let’s see that contract.”
“About that,” Lilah said, and in the blink of an eye, Jude had grabbed me from Kade’s side and held me in a headlock.
Lilah slowly walked closer to Matthias, and by the look on her face, you’d think she’d won.
But the joke was on her, because this man didn’t care if I lived or died.
He was concerned with his own family, his money, and the land that was up for grabs.
I was nothing but a bargaining chip about to be turned in.
“You think you scare me, Lilah?” Matthias practically laughed in her face, further proving my point that he didn’t give a damn about me.
“It’s not you I’m worried about instilling fear into,” Lilah said, before pulling a revolver out of her blazer pocket and shooting Matthias Luchetti point blank in the forehead.