Chapter Sixteen
Audrey
Three.
That’s how many times I almost turn the car around.
The first time is barely five minutes after I pull out of the mansion gates, my fingers tightening around the steering wheel when I stop at a red light, staring at my reflection in the rearview mirror.
My makeup is flawless. My hair is packed in a neat bun—that’s also flawless. The problem, however, is my expression. I look like someone walking willingly toward her own demise, and maybe I am.
I knew the second Serrano sent me the address this afternoon that I’d gotten myself into some deep shit. For a moment, I considered running to Igor and telling him everything, but I’d been too afraid of how he’d react.
So afraid that I just stood at the center of the room, clenching my phone and blinking to keep myself from crying.
The second time comes when I catch sight of a police cruiser parked outside a gas station. For one reckless second, I imagine slamming on the brakes, marching straight inside, and telling them everything.
About Serrano.
About Emiliano.
And about the mistakes that started with a bruised ego and a twenty-year-old girl’s desperate need for revenge.
But I know better than to do that. The city wouldn’t be run by the mafia if the cops weren’t on their payroll. And even if I did go, what the hell would I tell them?
The fantasy dies almost as quickly as it’s born.
What exactly would I say?
Hello, officer. I’ve been helping a cartel boss destroy one of Miami’s most dangerous bratva organizations because I was angry my ex-boyfriend dumped me.
Yeah.
That’ll go over well.
A bitter laugh slips past my lips before I can stop it.
God.
How did I let it get this bad?
Now I’m at the crossroads of letting myself get hurt or risking my loved ones getting hurt. Maybe both.
My father died a couple years ago and my mother lives somewhere on the outskirts of the city, far away from the cartel and its troubles. Aside from my mom and my best friends Chloe and Matthew, the only other person Serrano could hurt is my younger brother, Simon.
He’s in Manhattan and won’t be coming back to the city until after he graduates from college. He doesn’t know I’m married yet—neither does my mother—and the last thing I want to do is drag them or anyone else into this shithole I’m trapped in.
So being reckless is a luxury I really can’t afford at the moment.
The only option I have now is finding a way to take down Serrano. If I convince him I’m truly working for him now, he may let his guard down enough for me to find something I can use against him.
He’s killed Joaquin already. If he’s not stopped, he’ll kill more people, and both Igor and I could wind up being his victims.
I tighten my grip on the steering wheel until my knuckles pale.
No.
I’m going to end this.
One way or another.
The GPS announces my next turn, its cheerful robotic voice almost insulting considering where it’s directing me—an abandoned shipyard near the docks.
Of course.
If there was ever a place perfectly suited for a psychopath like him, it’d be somewhere like this. Out here, he could kill me and throw my body in a shallow grave, and no one would ever know what happened to me.
I’ve snuck out once again, and Igor will be pissed when he finds out. I need to come up with a lie if I make it out of here.
My pulse spikes, but I take deep breaths to calm myself.
Rusted cargo containers stretch endlessly across the property like giant steel tombstones, their faded paint peeled away by years of salt and neglect.
Broken cranes loom overhead, skeletal against the pale afternoon sky, while the ocean crashes somewhere beyond the warehouses in a slow, relentless rhythm that makes the entire place feel haunted.
I pull the car over between two crates, get out, and start walking toward the container at the far end of the property. Serrano made his instructions clear in the text he sent me.
Each step feels heavy, like I’m being weighed down, and the closer I get, the harder it becomes to breathe. It’s midsummer and the afternoon sun scorches bitterly against my skin. I’d been in such a hurry to sneak out that I’d forgotten to put on sunscreen.
Two of Serrano’s men are stationed at the entrance. One of them has a large scar that cuts through his eye and ends at the opposite side of his lips. He looks terrifying, like someone who could kill me while staring into my eyes until the light leaves them.
The other one looks no different from Igor’s bodyguards. He’s dressed in all black, his eyes stone cold in a way that makes me wonder if he even has a soul. My stomach twists with fear and I swallow hard, my legs threatening to give out when I stop in front of the guards.
“Where’s Serrano?”
The one without the scar gives me a hard glare that drifts from my face to the soles of my shoes and then back up. “Phone?”
Cold spreads through my veins like poison. For the first time, the fear of dying here hits me. It’s so raw and intense that I clench my fists tight to stop myself from spinning on my heels and running away.
“It’s in my car.”
The men give each other a stare, and then the one with the scar nods at the other. “Search her.”
Every muscle in my body tenses as the one without a scar takes a step forward and runs his hands over my body, starting from my shoulders down to my feet.
His touch is nauseating, and the only reason I don’t throw up is because I hold my breath. Luckily, he keeps it respectful and doesn’t let his hands drift to places they’re not supposed to.
When he’s done, he says, “She’s clear.”
The one with the scar nods and signals for me to follow him.
I do, and when my eyes meet the dark gaze of the man sitting on a swivel chair at the far end of the container, a prickling feeling crawls over the back of my neck. I’m standing in front of Serrano.
Or should I say, Emiliano.
The man I’ve been working for all along without realizing who he truly was. My husband’s enemy…and now mine.
He says, “You’re late,” his gruff voice echoing in the empty container as he leans back in his chair and crosses one leg over the other. The man looks like the devil in a suit, and I’ll be damned before I show an iota of fear in front of him.
He doesn’t deserve my fear. So, even as my hands tremble and my heart beats too loudly against my ribcage, I straighten my spine and look him in the eyes.
“Let’s get straight to business. I’m not here for chitchat.” I keep my tone even. Fearless.
His brow cocks and a wicked smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “You’re not surprised it’s me.”
I tilt my head, mirroring his confidence the best I can. “I already figured it out when you said you killed Joaquin. You’re not as mysterious as you think you are, Serrano…or should I call you Emiliano now?”
His brows pinch and his smile vanishes. “I don’t like mouthy women.”
I snort derisively. “Is that so? You seemed to like them when you reached out to me claiming you were FBI. What changed?”
“You changed.” He sits up straight, his eyes darkening with what seems to be rage. “You had a job to do, and you dared to tell me you were no longer interested in working for me.”
“You tried to kill me.”
He laughs, the sound so high-pitched and maniacal that it sounds like I’m in a horror movie. It’s chilling. “You think you’d still be alive if I wanted you dead, you little cunt?”
His insult awakens a wave of anger inside me, but I remind myself I’m not in the position to be angry, and even if I was, it’s best to be docile while I’m here. “What do you want?”
He rises to his feet, stalks over to me, and begins to circle me like a raven over a feast of corpses. “You’ll do as I say from now on. No more games.”
Yes.
This is it.
This is my chance to cut a deal with him.
“If I work for you, it’ll be on my terms.” I turn around to meet his gaze. “We’re partners. So you’ll let me do things how I want. We have to trust each other, so you have to tell me before you make any decisions.”
He stops walking…and then he shrieks out a laugh that sounds like mockery. It’s not the first time I’ve heard him laugh, but something about the way it rings in the air this time makes my jaw tick.
“Oh, Audrey.” He says my name like a disappointed teacher speaking to a particularly slow student. “You still think we’re partners?”
He remains quiet for a moment, lifting his brows as if waiting for the realization to hit me. And it does, slowly and intensely.
If we weren’t partners, then—
“You were my pawn. All along. You’ve never been anything more than a piece in my game of chess.”
Air drains from my lungs until I can barely breathe, barely think. His words echo inside my skull until they stop sounding like words at all.
A pawn. He never cared about me getting back at Igor.
“No.” I shake my head slowly, refusing to accept what I’m hearing even though I know it’s true. Maybe it’s my ego being crushed at fully realizing how stupid I’ve been. “We had an agreement. You said if I helped you—”
“I lied.” He says it without hesitation. Without remorse. As if lying is no different from breathing, and for a man like him, maybe it is.
Now there’s only one question burning in the back of my mind. “Why?”
“I’ve spent years studying Igor Nazarov—his businesses, his habits, his allies, his enemies. Do you know what I discovered?” His lips curl into something between a smile and a sneer. “The man doesn’t trust easily. He keeps everyone at arm’s length. Women especially.”
I swallow hard, but it does nothing to soothe the dryness in my throat. “What does that have to do with me?”
“There were plenty before you. Models. Socialites. Actresses. Beautiful women who lasted a few weeks, maybe a month if they were lucky. Then he’d get bored and move on.” His gaze sweeps over me with open amusement. “But you…he kept you for months longer than he ever kept any of them.”
A strange feeling settles in my stomach.
“So you think he loved me?” I smile mirthlessly. “You’re a fool. He broke up with me. He said the vilest things to me. That man never cared about me.”
“Oh, but he did,” Serrano drawls. “The son of a bitch might’ve been in denial, but he did care for you. Maybe he even loved you.”
I would laugh at how ridiculous this is if I wasn’t scared out of my wits right now. Igor…love me? Hilarious. But the last thing I want to do is argue with a psychopath about how much my coldhearted husband cares about me.
“You chose me solely because of that?”
“I watched you after the breakup. You were twenty, heartbroken, impulsive, angry, and desperate to make him suffer the way you believed he’d made you suffer. You were exactly what I needed.” He shrugs lazily. “A woman like you doesn’t ask enough questions. She only wants revenge.”
My stomach twists violently. “So you made me your tool.”
He smiles. “You’re a quick learner, Audrey. I give you that. This could’ve gone a lot more smoothly if you’d discovered this early enough. Too bad you were so na?ve and easy to manipulate.”
Humiliation burns through me until it almost eclipses the fear. Every stupid decision I’ve made over the past year crashes back into me all at once. I thought I was making choices. I thought I was in control. I thought I was getting revenge against the man who shattered my heart.
Instead, I’d only become vulnerable enough to be used by this monster. I became his pawn, and now it feels like I’m stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea.
God.
How could I have been so stupid?
My hands curl into fists at my sides. “You’re a monster. You used my pain.”
“No.” He shakes his head slowly. “You did that yourself. I never forced you. I just extended an offer, and you took it without a second thought.”
The words slice straight through me because I know he’s right. If I hadn’t been so consumed by anger after Igor left me, if I’d stopped for one second to think instead of acting like a reckless child desperate to get some stupid revenge, none of this would’ve happened.
The realization sits in my chest like molten lead, crushing my lungs until breathing becomes difficult. When I finally look back at him, the fear is still there, but something else has replaced the desperation.
“You’re right. I was stupid and impulsive.” I pause and breathe. “And now I’m done.”
His amusement disappears. “You don’t have a choice.”
“I do, and I’m no longer your pawn from now on.” My heart hammers in my chest, but I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing how afraid I am. “Kill me if you want to.”
“Well, you leave me no choice.” He pulls his phone out and presses something on it before turning the screen to face me. “Take a look.”
A video plays on the screen.
My blood freezes.
Matthew is tied to a metal chair inside what looks like an abandoned warehouse.
His wrists are bound behind him, his lower lip split, one side of his face already swelling from a brutal punch.
Someone standing behind him grabs a fistful of his hair and jerks his head back hard enough to make him groan.
My knees almost give out beneath me, my vision blurring instantly “No…” I shake my head and throw a hand over my mouth as I reel backward. “No…please.”
Emiliano lowers the phone slowly, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. “You have only one choice now, Audrey.”
Tears spill freely from my eyes, leaving a hot trail down my cheeks. I can’t let Matthew pay for my sins. I’d rather die than have him killed because of my choices.
“What do you want?” My voice trembles, my words shaking from the terror rippling through me. I know this isn’t a bluff. Serrano will really kill Matthew if I don’t obey him. “I’ll do anything.”
He slips the phone back into his pocket and steps closer, until barely a foot separates us.
“So here’s what’s going to happen, darling. You’re going to walk back into that mansion, smile at your husband, and bring me exactly what I ask for.”
“What do you want?”
“I need a flash drive containing the information for all of Igor’s illegal businesses, allies, and shipments he’s expecting,” he says. “I need it fast, and I’ll be waiting in your old apartment this evening.”
He wants me to betray Igor. I’ve done that once; I can’t do it again. Maybe Igor can help me. Maybe he’ll save Matthew when I tell him the truth.
There has to be a way to fix this.
But my hope dies when Serrano wraps his fingers around my throat, cutting off my air completely.
“If you tell Igor or anyone else about this meeting...” He tilts his head slightly. “Your friend dies before sunset.”