Chapter 30
THIRTY
Capri
As Benny guided me up the narrow steps of the basement and to the rectory, I took a deep breath.
The air was cooler here and smelled better than the moldy room he had been holding me in.
My sweat-soaked clothes clung to my skin, my socks were still damp from my morning run, and my limp ponytail swung against my back with each weak step I took.
The thirst had gotten increasingly worse despite the bottle of water I drank, and my headache showed no signs of letting up. The nausea wasn’t helping. My legs twitched with muscle spasms, and even though they were heavier than usual, I made it to the altar.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said. “I’ll talk to my father and I’ll try to get to know your son.”
I didn’t believe I would honor that statement, but it was better than having Sebastian and my dad walk into a trap.
“You’re going to do more than try.” He guided me in front of the lector and faced me toward the empty pews. “We’re moving up the timeline. Once I rid us of the problem you brought back from Greece, you and Christopher will be free to marry.”
“Sebastian has nothing to do with any of that.” I glanced around, looking for an escape route. “If you let me handle him, I’ll tell him I want to stay here and get married to Christopher.”
Holding back the vomit over my words, even if they were lies, proved to be difficult.
“He doesn’t strike me as the type of man who lets go of his possessions that easily,” Benny said.
“He will walk away if I ask him to.” I didn’t want that to be true, but right now, I’d sell my soul on this altar if I could keep Sebastian alive.
“I’d admire your confidence, but don’t flatter yourself.” He tugged on my ponytail. “This vendetta I have against Hades is almost older than you. I had all but forgotten it until he walked into that reception and took you away from my son. Every man has his limits.”
“He didn’t know about your plans.”
“Somehow, I doubt that, or else he wouldn’t have made such an elaborate entrance into a city he was banished from for killing a holy man.”
Except, Sebastian didn’t kill Emilio, but I couldn’t use that as an argument without exposing the true culprit. As much as I didn’t want Sebastian to die, I couldn’t sacrifice my father.
The church doors flew open, and my dad hurried up the aisle. He looked just like I would have expected him to. Dressed in his custom suit, neatly polished black shoes, and wearing his most expensive watch. All business. No nonsense.
Did he think that I would ever be part of his dangerous negotiations? Did he regret putting me in the middle of this? Exposing me to a man like Benny? This wasn’t his average meeting. These were the highest stakes he’d ever faced.
There was one problem. I couldn’t help but notice he entered alone.
“You’re missing someone.” Benny gripped my arm, making the same assumption. “I was specific with my instructions.”
“I haven’t worked with Hades in almost twenty years,” my father said. “I’m not going to start today. I don’t have any control over what that man does.”
Hell!
“You’re telling me that not even your daughter’s life could make you put aside your differences and work to get her back?” Benny snickered. “That’s interesting.”
“I don’t need Hades for this meeting.” My dad stepped on the altar and rushed toward me, but Benny jerked me back. “Are you okay?” my father asked me.
“She has a concussion,” Benny answered for me. “She’s dehydrated, weak, and sleepy, but here you are, defying me when all you had to do was show up with Hades and I would have let Capri go.”
“You’re going to let my daughter go,” my dad said. “Then we’re going to forget this ever happened and go back to our original deal.”
“What?” My voice was louder than I intended because it reverberated off the walls and ceiling like the voices in the choir. “Are you crazy?”
“Capri.” My father held up his hand. “This is just a misunderstanding. Benny overreacted when Hades came back to town. He’s gone now.” He glanced at Benny then looked back at me. “I persuaded him to return to Greece and leave you alone. I was never going to let the two of you be together.”
“He would never…” Was my confession too much for Sebastian to handle? Could he have abandoned me because I love him? Was his heart so damaged that he couldn’t accept my love? Did these last few weeks mean so little to him? Could revenge have been his ultimate motivator?
I had too many questions which forced doubt into my dazed mind. The conversation from last night came smashing into me.
“Capri.” The uncertainty in Sebastian’s voice took me by surprise. “You’re very special to me, but I’m not the man…”
“Don’t.” How had I gotten this situation so wrong? I had never been in love before, but all the signs were there. Weren’t they? “I misunderstood.”
“That wasn’t the plan.” Benny shoved something hard against my side, disrupting my memory. A gun!
“Hey!” When my father drew his gun, Benny tightened his hold on me and tugged me closer to him. “Let her go.”
“Drop your gun,” Benny ordered.
Despite my weak state, the adrenaline pulsed through me. I frantically gazed around the church, trying to come up with a way out of this. I was too stunned to move for fear if I did, Benny would shoot me.
“Okay.” My father held up his gun before bending down and placing it on the elaborate marble floor. “You don’t have to hurt her.”
“Anything that happens to her now is your fault,” Benny said. “You’re going to fix this by delivering Hades.”
“I told you.” My dad focused on me. “Hades is gone. He didn’t want to be in the middle of this. He left Capri behind.”
I’m going to throw up. My heart shattered into a million pieces at the thought of Sebastian leaving me.
“I’m supposed to believe after his big display of how he took your daughter from you, he just gave up?” Benny pressed the gun harder into my side and forced me to walk closer to my dad. “You want me to believe he left this pretty, young girl, who is totally enamored with him, behind?”
“He used Capri to get to me.” My dad looked at me with remorse in his expression. “After that attempted hit last night, Hades realized this wasn’t a fight he wanted to take on.”
“No,” I whispered as the muscles in my legs weakened. “He wouldn’t do that.”
“You’re better off, Capri.” Benny held me steady. “But don’t worry, this won’t be the last we see of Hades. Because if your father wants you to stay safe and honor our original agreement, he’s going to persuade Hades to come back.”
“Why would I do that?” my dad asked. “Hades isn’t going to interfere in our business. You should be glad he’s gone. Now let Capri go and we can walk out of here.”
“Do you think he’s going to let that assassination attempt go? Of course he isn’t. He will retaliate.” Benny repositioned the gun, wedging it between my shoulder and my neck. “But that isn’t the only reason I want him here.”
“What possible use could you have for him?” My dad inched closer to me. “He’s of no concern to us. Capri needs a doctor.”
“Hades has to pay for what happened all those years ago on this altar.” Benny rocked back, causing me to lose my balance and stumble into him. “Killing a priest in his own church in such a brutal manner can’t go unanswered.”
“Why do you care what happened to Father Santiago?” My dad glanced at his gun that was by my feet. “That had nothing to do with you.”
“Leo.” Benny kicked my dad’s gun out of reach, sending it sailing across the sleek floor. “You didn’t do your homework when I proposed a deal with you. I’m a little disappointed. I vetted you. Shouldn’t you have done the same for me?”
“What are you talking about?” my dad asked. “What does Emilio have to do with any of this?”
“I would have let it go, but when Hades returned the night of the reception and threatened our alliance, I knew he had to be eliminated.”
The more Benny spoke, the more his body pressed against mine.
I was drained, but I was determined to get away from him.
As he went on about the past, I focused on the balcony above the foyer.
A flicker of movement in the darkness caught my attention.
Did I see someone? Or was the concussion playing tricks on my mind?
“What we were planning,” Benny continued. “It was epic. Our partnership would knock out all the other cartels in the city. No one would be able to rival us. With my merchandise and your connections on the water, we would be untouchable.”
“You went after Hades with my daughter standing right next to him,” my dad said. “Then you took Capri to lure me here. Do you think that’s good for our partnership?”
“Partnership? After I went after him, you took him into your home and mended his friend back to good health. I don’t trust you.”
My body tensed when Benny yanked my hair back and shoved the gun into my neck.
“Daddy!” I winced. “He’s Emilio’s cousin!”
“What?”
“That’s right.” Benny laughed. “You didn’t see that one coming.”
“That’s what you want with Hades?” My father glanced around the church. “After all this time?”
“As I said, I would have let it go, but when he strolled into that reception acting as if what he’d done had been forgiven, and then he walked out of there with Capri like he owned her, I had to remove him before he would cause too many problems for us.”
“Forget about Hades,” my father yelled. “Let Capri go and we’ll figure this out.”
“I told you both to come here together,” Benny said. “I’m not letting Capri go until you call Hades and tell him to get to this church. When he arrives, you’re going to kill him. That’s what you should have done a long time ago.”
“There’s no reason to eliminate Hades.”
“You’re going to show your daughter who you are and what you’re capable of. That’s the only way you’ll ever get her to obey you.”
As my dad and Benny argued, a flash caught my eye in the balcony. Something shiny hit the light from the windows and caused it to shimmer. And it wasn’t divine intervention.
“Let her go!” When my dad came toward us, Benny held the gun to my temple.
“No!” I closed my eyes and tried not to vomit.
“It isn’t Hades you want,” my dad shouted. “I killed your cousin.”
“What?” Benny tightened his grip on me. “How absurd.”
“I guess you didn’t vet me as well as you thought you did,” my dad said. “I’m surprised your cousin Maria didn’t tell you.”
“Maria?” He shook his head. “She’s been calling me since yesterday, but I was busy planning my next steps.”
“She learned the truth yesterday,” I said. “Why didn’t she tell me who you were?” I asked Benny.
“You didn’t need to know who I was, and I convinced her of that. The woman can be bought with expensive clothes and trips to the Caribbean.”
“Now you know who I am,” my dad said. “I killed Emilio.”
“You’re lying,” Benny said. “Why would you kill him?”
“Because I was working for men other than the leading families in New York.”
As my dad explained himself, I tried to relax and wait for an opening. Any opportunity to get out of this situation.
“Do you think you’re the first cartel I made an alliance with? Who do you think brought them to the city? How do you think I extricated myself from the mafia?”
“What did Emilio have to do with any of this?” Benny asked.
“He overheard a vital conversation and tried to persuade me to walk away from a deal I had made that included terms that were extremely questionable. When Emilio confronted me, I told him to let it go. These men I was working with were dangerous and wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if they knew what he heard. I tried to protect him.”
“By killing him?” Benny shouted.
“He threatened to go to the police.”
When my father glanced up at the balcony, I followed his gaze. Was he trying to tell me something?
“I tried to bribe him, but he wouldn’t accept it. I couldn’t jeopardize this deal, so I asked Hades to take care of it. That was his job. That’s what he did for me. But he refused. He said we had to find another way. Killing an innocent man went against his code.”
He’s my person. My soulmate. The man I will love forever. But our forever is about to get cut short if Benny doesn’t drop the gun.
“When Hades denied me, I came to the church with a bag of cash. I didn’t mean to hurt Emilio, but he refused to see things my way. We fought. It got out of control and…”
“You let your best friend take the blame for something you did,” Benny said. “You’re lower than I thought. No wonder Hades came at you through Capri. He protected you by staying quiet, and you betrayed him.”
“I did what I had to do,” my dad said. “I always will. If you don’t let my daughter go, you’re never going to see your son again.”
“Do you think I’m stupid enough to fall for that?”
I gasped when Benny tightened his hold on the gun and thrust the end of it aggressively into me.
“I’m sorry, Capri, but your father needs a lesson, and I’m about to teach him what it’s like to pay for his sins.”
“No!” I screamed.
“I will kill Christopher if anything happens to her.” My dad faced the balcony and then turned toward me. “Let her go and I’ll forget any of this happened.”
Benny cocked the gun with his thumb. “I’m calling your bluff.”
“No!” I pushed my back against his chest hard enough to knock him off balance. His gun fired within inches of me, hitting a statue on the altar. In the distance, a spark illuminated the balcony as a loud crack echoed through the church once the statue shattered to the floor.
I tripped as I rushed out of the way, not sure what direction to head in. I slammed to the cold floor at the same time my father fell to his knees and tugged me away from Benny, who still clutched his gun, aiming at me.
I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the bullet that was about to tear through my flesh. My body violently shook as I faced the inevitable. It wasn’t death that I feared. It was knowing I would never see Sebastian again that scared me more than anything.