Chapter 22
Julia
The moment the words stop, I feel something else rising in me.
They think we’re done talking… but we’re not. Not even fucking close. I step forward, blocking the door to the bathroom and crossing my arms over my chest.
“Okay,” I say tightly. “I have one more question.”
Two sets of eyes look up at me. Kai immediately looks worried, and Mikey… Mikey looks defeated.
I don’t give them time to brace for impact.
“Why. The. Fuck.” I say each word sharply, “Were you dealing with my father in the first place?”
Mikey blinks several times like I just slapped him, and Kai freezes.
Good. I want them frozen and scared. I want them to feel even a fraction of what’s twisting inside my chest.
“I… uh…” Mikey stumbles over his words.
“We used to work for him,” Kai blurts out. Both mine and Mikey’s eyes shoot to Kai. Mine are full of shock, and Mikey’s look like betrayal and fury.
“Wanna explain?” I ask.
“No, not really,” Kai answers honestly.
“Well, regardless, it involves me. My father and my men. You will tell me.”
“Ohh, am I your man now?” Kai wiggles his eyebrow at me, and I slap his chest.
“Not the time! Tell me what the fuck is going on.” I am as stern as I can be with these two men.
Mikey runs his hands through his long hair, pulling it back into a messy bun on the back of his head.
“When we were sixteen, we got involved with the wrong crowd. We were trying to help our mom with bills, hockey, and all of that. Well, one day, Kai walked in on a guy raping our mom; she was beaten up, and he was having his way with a damn near unconscious woman.”
Mikey sighs and looks up at Kai to make sure he is doing okay. A sad look passes between them.
“Well, I got Kai off of him, but the dude was unrecognizable. We got my mom to the hospital, and when we came back, the dude was gone. I didn’t recognize him, because we were so low on the totem pole, but apparently, he was one of the higher-ups in your dad’s ranks…”
Mikey stops and looks at me. My mind is racing, and my stomach is turning.
I feel like I am about to be sick. When I was planning on running away, they were working for my dad.
We were in fucking high school, and they were working on the streets, for my dad…
I nod at him to encourage him to keep going.
“One day, I was meeting up with the guy who was in charge of us, and he ‘accidentally’ told me that ‘Kai was on De Luca’s hit list, a life for a life, he said. Well, there was no way I was letting anyone kill my brother, so I went to talk to your dad. We came to an agreement that he would spare Kai’s life, but I owe him a favor to be cashed in at his convenience. ”
He stops taking another breath. I can see his hands shaking.
I honestly don’t know what emotions I am feeling right now.
It's a hurricane in my head. I have rage for not knowing they worked for my father, and I have sorrow for the boys who had to work in that kind of lifestyle to help their mom.
I was shocked that Kai killed a man with his bare knuckles at the age of sixteen.
But most of all, the confusion that my father would strike that kind of deal.
I have never heard of him ‘doing favors’ or anything like that.
“Well, when we were in the locker room yesterday at practice… We had a visitor… one of your dad's men. Saying your dad wanted to meet me at midnight, they would send me the address. I got the address and went there. I knew I had to go, or Kai’s life was on the line, and I would rather die than let my brother die. So I showed up at a warehouse. Your father told me to bring you to him by midnight tomorrow, and that if I didn’t, he would come to collect you himself. ”
I nod, not expecting anything less from my dear old dad.
“But what made me lose it was that he said he could do whatever he wanted with you, because you were his. I swung on him, but before I could make contact, his men were on me, and then this.” He gestures up and down his body.
“Okay…” I say slowly. My mind is trying to find the right plan.
“First. We need to come up with a plan.” My voice cracks at the end.
A plan. I need a plan to outdo my father.
The room goes silent after the words leave my mouth.
Kai breaks the silence first. He steps forward, eyes snapping up like I just suggested we all jump off the balcony.
“Julia, No. Absolutely not. You are not going anywhere near that man.”
Mikey immediately jumps in. “I’m not letting you walk into the lion’s den. I already fucking told him—”
“NO!” The words rip out of my throat.
Both of them freeze and stare at me.
Good. Because they’ve been doing all the talking and all the deciding.
I’m done being handled.
“You two don’t get to make this decision,” I keep my voice steady. “He isn’t after you. He isn't trying to take you. This is MY father. My life. My problem.”
Mikey flinches at my words, and Kai’s jaw ticks dangerously.
“Julia,” Mikey says, “you don’t understand. I saw how he talked about you. The shit he implied… your dad isn’t trying to ‘talk’ to you. He wants to own you.”
My stomach twists, but I keep my chin held high.
“Exactly.” I snap. “Which is why I’m not letting him blindside me again.”
Kai drags a hand down his face, like he is five seconds from losing his shit.
“We’re not arguing about this. You’re staying here.” Kai’s tone leaves no room for negotiation.
I step forward anyway, going toe to toe with him.
“You think you can lock me away in this penthouse and hide me like I am some glass doll? I’m not a fucking hostage! You don’t get to control me.”
Kai looks at me, eyes flashing with worry. “You don’t get it, little dove—”
“Oh, I get it perfectly,” I cut him off. “You think you can protect me from everything. Well, news flash! You can't! Especially from him! You don't know him like I do.”
That silences them. Hard.
I take a breath, forcing the words out before the fear wins.
“When my father wants something… he gets it. He has resources. Money. Men. The kind of power that never stops. If he wants me back? He’ll get me. He’ll destroy anything and anyone in his way.”
Mikey’s throat bobs as he swallows, and Kai’s brows pull tight.
“So we don’t run. We outsmart him.”
Mikey lets out a harsh laugh. “Outsmart the head of the fucking De Luca crime family? Julia—”
“Yes,” I bite out. “Because he expects obedience, predictability, and fear. He expects YOU to follow his orders.” I jam my finger into his chest, “and he expects ME to break,” emphasizing my words.
“So we give him what he wants.”
Both twins’ heads snap up at the same time.
“I’m gonna need you to clarify that part for me,” Kai says.
I grab Mikey’s burner phone off the counter and lift it up to them. “I’m assuming this is connected to my father?”
Mikey nods, but doesn’t say anything.
“We make him think the plan is working,” I say. “That you’re bringing me to him. That I’m terrified and compliant.”
Mikey’s eyes widen slowly.
“You want me to lie to him,” Mikey murmurs.
“No,” I correct. “I want you to bait him.
Kai crosses his arms over his chest. “Bait him with what? A fucking good vibes playlist?”
I grab the hem of Mikey’s hoodie I’m still wearing, and yank it off.
“This,” I say simply. “It smells like me. Looks like I was wearing it. You drop it at the meeting point. You let him think I was there, and that I ran. That you lost control. Something that forces him to react fast.”
Kai stares at the hoodie like it’s a grenade ready to explode.
“... Holy fuck,” he whispers.
Mikey meets my eyes, something dark and dangerous brewing behind his expression.
“If I do that, he’ll send every man he has to hunt you.”
“Bingo,” I say. “That’s exactly what we want. He’ll panic and spread himself thin, trying to scramble the resources. That will buy us time.”
Kai steps forward. “And while he’s chasing your shadow… where the hell are you?”
“With you,” I answer simply. “Both of you. Somewhere he won’t think to look.”
Mikey frowns. “And where exactly would that be?”
“Wherever you two went,” I say softly, “When you were sixteen and scared, trying to keep your mom alive. Wherever you hid when you were working for him.”
Kai’s entire body goes still. Mikey closes his eyes like he’s being dragged backwards through time.
“You… You want us to take you to one of those places…?” He whispers.
“Yes.”
Kai runs a hand through his hair.
“You know we have money, we can take you anywhere. That’s not a safe house, Julia… It’s barely a roof.”
“I don’t need comfort, I need to be invisible.”
Mikey shakes his head; I can tell he is getting overwhelmed, and he probably needs sleep.
“Julia… if he figures out we tricked him—”
“He won’t,” I cut in, “not until it's too late. And when he comes for us again, we’ll be ready.”
Silence falls again around us. But this time it feels loaded.
Kai again breaks the silence. I swear the man doesn’t know how not to talk. “... Fuck. She’s right, Mikey.”
Mikey’s head snaps up toward him. “You’re agreeing with this? Are you fucking insane?"
Kai shrugs. “She’s done running. And she’s not wrong… De Luca expects her to fold. If she doesn’t, we get the upper hand.”
Kai then turns to me. “And if this is the plan… then we’re doing it together.”
Mikey exhales slowly, looks between us, then nods once. “Fine,” he mutters.
My chest tightens with pride and a little bit of fear. These men, who could choose anyone in the world, are standing by me. Through my bullshit. Against him.
“Okay, then we have until midnight.. After that, we make him regret ever trying to own me.”
The twins exchange a look. Looking something like, for her, we choose war.