Chapter 5
My back and shoulders screamed in pain as I helped Logan to the store parking lot where Tristan had left his SUV. A few cars slowed down as they drove past, but no one stopped to help us. Not that I wanted them to. Unless it was a street gang packing weapons and a doctor in the car, they couldn”t do anything for us.
Tears blurred my vision, and I tripped more than once, almost sending us both sprawling onto the pavement. It was only by sheer force of will that I kept us upright, because I knew if we fell, I”d never get Logan up again.
For the second time, I stopped and looked back over my shoulder, horrified at myself that I”d left Tristan there with the monster who was my father.
I stopped walking. I needed to go back…
”Luni…” Logan”s weight on my spine nearly doubled as he swayed on his feet.
”We”re almost there,” I told him as I got us moving again, my heart ripping apart with every step. ”We”re almost there, honey. Just hold on.” I didn”t know the extent of his injuries, but he was fading fast. I needed to get him to the hospital.
With strength I didn”t know I possessed, I managed to get us both to the car and dumped him into the passenger side. Then I ran around the front of the vehicle and ripped open the driver”s side door, found the keys, and climbed in.
”We need…to call the…cops,” Logan choked out beside me. His words were slow as he fought to stay conscious.
I pulled my cell out of the pocket of my jeans, but instead of dialing 911, I sat there staring at the black screen. ”We can”t,” I told him. And that was when I realized I couldn”t take him to a hospital, either. If I did, the police would be called. And what the hell was I supposed to tell them? That our capo father who we didn”t even know was still alive kidnapped his son and beat the hell out of him only because he knew his daughter would come running to save him so he could rape her some more if she could get out of the cell the other mafia guy was keeping her in to keep her safe from said father?
They”d take one look at me and my background as a sex worker and blow us off at best. Or at worst, they”d start sticking their noses into mafia business and get themselves killed. And us, too.
”We can”t call the cops.”
I put my phone back in my pocket, my mind spinning as I sat there staring at the warehouse through my tears. Would the SUV still be drivable if I smashed it through the wall? Probably not. And I had Logan to think about. I needed to get medical help for him. But where the fuck was I supposed to go?
”Luni…”
Glancing over at my little brother, I watched his face contort in agony a second before his head fell forward onto his chest. He”d passed out, and a part of me was grateful. I reached over him and fastened the seatbelt across his body so he wouldn”t fall forward if I had to brake fast. Then, with shaking hands, I wasted precious seconds trying to get the key into the ignition.
The SUV started easily, and I threw it into drive and almost drove us right into traffic. Stomping on the brake pedal, I skidded to a stop, my eyes going between the half-finished warehouse next door and my little brother”s bloody and swollen face.
With a cry of anguish that rose from the very depths of me, I quickly checked for cars and hit the gas pedal.
Even unconscious, Logan”s ragged breathing filled the car, and I sped through the city streets, weaving in and out of traffic with reckless abandon.
I headed in the general direction of Luca”s lake house because I didn”t know where else to go. I couldn”t remember exactly how to get there, and wished I”d paid more attention when I”d left with Veda.
Veda!
Getting off the next exit, I pulled the SUV over to the side of the road and found the number she”d given me.
”Luna! Are you and your brother okay? Did Tristan find you? I”m sorry, but I called him. I was worried.”
”Does Luca have access to a doctor?”
”Yes, of course.”
Thank god. Except I didn”t know how to get there. ”How do I get back to his house?”
After a brief pause, she asked, ”Isn”t Tristan with you?”
My throat tightened, choking off my response, as the world outside blurred behind my tears.
”Luna?”
I shook my head, unable to answer.
”Luna? Where is he?”
”Gino.” I forced the hated name out of my mouth. ”Gino has him…” I trailed off.
”Oh shit.”
”Veda! My brother needs a doctor!”
”Where are you now?”
I gave her my general location.
”Okay, you”re close. Let me give you the address.”
”Hang on.” Putting her on speakerphone, I pulled up my maps app. ”Okay.”
She rattled off the address to Luca”s house. ”I”ll call and let him know you”re coming.”
”Thank you,” I whispered. ”Thank you, Veda.”
”Be careful. I”m coming home and I”ll see you soon,” she told me, and ended the call.
Ten minutes later, I pulled up to the gates. They were closed, two armed guards standing sentinel. But as soon as they saw me and Logan, they opened them and waved me through.
Parking the SUV, I left Logan in the car and ran up the couple of steps to the front door. It swung open right as I got to it and Enzo stepped back to let me in. I burst through the doorway, my voice shrill with panic. Luca entered the room from a hallway to the right. ”Please! My brother needs help. He needs a doctor.”
”Is he in the car?” Enzo asked.
I nodded, my throat constricting with emotion, rendering me unable to speak as I followed him back out of the house. The gravity of the situation crashed over me like a tidal wave now that we”d arrived at Luca”s house. I couldn”t stop shaking and my heart was racing. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as the overwhelming fear for my brother”s life—and Tristan”s—consumed me.
Luca followed us. ”Where is Tristan?”
I didn”t answer him as Enzo opened the passenger door and unhooked the seatbelt so he could get Logan out. I was afraid to.
Luca grabbed my arm hard enough to leave bruises and spun me around. ”This is Tristan”s SUV. Where the FUCK is he?”
I stared into his cold blue eyes. ”He…he…”
”WHERE IS HE?” he roared.
”Gino!” I screamed back. ”He traded himself for us. He”s with Gino!”
Yanking me into his hard body, he sneered down into my face. ”You allowed him to do that? And you left him there?”
”I had to!” I told him. ”My brother needs help.”
His voice was like ice when he said, ”Fuck your brother.”
I stared up at him and slammed my mouth shut. I had no argument. He was right. I shouldn”t have left him there. There was no excuse. I should”ve at least tried. ”My brother is all I have,” I whispered. ”Please. Help him.”
”Luca, let her go.”
After a moment, he did. Glancing over at Enzo as he pulled Logan out of the vehicle, he gave me one last glare and then went over to help him. ”The doctor is on his way,” he told me. ”We”re going to get your brother in the house, and then you”re going to tell me exactly where you left Tristan. And god help you if he”s not alive when we get there.”
Lightheaded with relief, I nodded. ”Thank you.”
With another chilling look, he went to help Enzo get Logan into the house, yelling for someone named Lisa.
A middle-aged woman with warm eyes and a worried frown rushed into the cavernous room from the back of the house. ”I”ve got the bed set up,” she told Luca. ”Veda called me. Bring him in.”
We went through a pair of glass-paned French doors into what looked like a sitting room or office area. But instead of a desk, there was a hospital bed set up in the center of the room. A couple of light blue chairs with round glass end tables were near the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Once they had Logan on the bed, Luca turned back to me. ”Where exactly did you leave him?”
I told him everything without pausing, even when tears ran down my face and my nose got all stuffy and my voice broke.
When I was finished, he nodded once, and with a glance at Enzo, they turned and left.
Part of me wanted to run after them, and I felt like I was being torn in two.
”Don”t worry, they”ll bring Tristan home.”
I”d almost forgotten the woman—Lisa—was there. She handed me a tissue, and I used it to clean up my face while taking a few seconds to pull myself together. ”Thank you,” I told her.
She smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but the doorbell rang. ”That”ll be the doctor. I”ll be right back.”
The man that came back with her was younger than I thought he”d be, but he was completely professional as he shoved his short brown hair off his forehead and adjusted his wire-framed glasses. Setting down his bag, he started firing off questions as he carefully untied Logan”s wrists.
I told him what I knew and tried to stay out of his way while Lisa helped him strip off Logan”s clothes so he could better check his injuries.
”Will he be okay?” I asked him when I couldn”t take the suspense anymore.
”He was beaten badly,” he stated. ”His arm is obviously broken. One of his cheekbones might be shattered. I”ll need to take some X-rays of his torso.” He glanced over at me. ”And as soon as I”m done here, I”ll take a look at your face.”
I gingerly touched my cheek, wincing as my fingertips brushed against the swollen, tender skin. In the chaos of getting Logan the hell away from Gino, I”d completely forgotten about my own injuries. Adrenaline must”ve masked the pain, but now that things had settled down, I could feel the throbbing ache radiating from my cheek where I”d hit the floor and the soreness in my back from Gino”s knee.
Lisa left and returned a few minutes later with a metal rolling cart. ”What”s that?” I asked her.
”A portable X-ray machine,” she told me. ”And this is a handheld sonogram. The doctor can hook it up to his phone and take scans of your brother”s organs.”
I collapsed in one of the blue chairs so I was out of the way and watched as the doctor took X-rays and scans of Logan”s battered body. I couldn”t lose my brother. He was all I had left in this world.
After what felt like hours, but was probably closer to thirty minutes, he set aside his instruments and turned to me. ”He has a broken arm, three cracked ribs, and a lot of deep tissue bruising. His eye socket is fractured but not shattered. I didn”t see any internal bleeding, but keep an eye out for any swelling in his abdomen or any other strange symptoms. I”ll leave some pain meds here for him in case he needs them, and I”ll brace up that arm until we can get a proper cast put on him. It”s good that he”s not awake for this.”
I took a shaky breath. ”So he”s going to be okay?”
He nodded. ”With rest and time, yes.”
Tears of relief sprang to my eyes. ”Thank you,” I whispered.
”You”re welcome. Now, let”s get his arm taken care of and then I”ll take a look at your face.”
Lisa helped him with Logan”s arm. He groaned in his sleep when the doctor set it, but didn”t wake up. Then Lisa held it still while he went out to his car and got the brace for it.
Then he pulled up the other chair, and I let him examine me, wincing when he pressed along my cheekbone and jaw. ”Nothing seems to be broken,” he said after a moment. ”And these cuts are superficial and shouldn”t scar. You”ll have a hell of a bruise, though. Wash your face with some soap and water to clean out this scraped section so you don”t get an infection, and you should be fine. Is this your only injury?”
I frowned. ”Um, I was hit with something. Across my right shoulder and head.”
He didn”t ask any questions as he probed those areas. ”I think you”re okay. How long ago did this happen?”
I shook my head. ”I”m not sure. A couple of hours, maybe.”
”Will you be with her until the guys get back?” he asked Lisa.
She nodded. ”I can check on them both.”
”If she falls asleep, wake her up every few hours and ask her some questions.” He turned back to me. ”You might have a concussion. If you start having headaches, blurred vision, dizziness, or anything out of the ordinary, have someone call me.”
I nodded and stood. ”Okay. Thank you,” I said again as I stood up.
Lisa left with the doctor, leaving me alone with my unconscious brother. I pulled the blanket over his chest and then dragged one of the chairs over to his bedside and sank down into it. Taking his hand in both of mine, I watched his chest rise and fall. Silent tears slipped down my cheeks, but whether they were from relief that Logan was going to be okay or fear for Tristan, I couldn”t say.
The rational part of my brain knew I”d done what I had to do, that I couldn”t have gotten us all out of there intact. But the other part of me, the part that cared for Tristan more than I wanted to admit, was screaming at me for abandoning him.
Please be okay, I prayed to whoever would listen. Please...
The door opened behind me, and I twisted around, hoping my prayers had been answered, even though I knew it was impossible that they”d be back so soon.
But it was Veda. Still dressed in her skirt and blouse from earlier, she rushed over and dropped to her knees beside my chair, throwing her arms around me. ”I”m so glad you”re okay,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
I hugged her back, fresh tears burning my eyes. ”I left him behind, Veda. I left Tristan with Gino. He traded himself for us and I just...I left him there.”
”Gino?” Her mouth twisted in disgust. ”I never liked that guy. Luca told me how you ended up as his date for the wedding.”
”There”s more to it than that.” Tired of being strong, I poured my heart out to this woman who was little more than a stranger to me. I told her everything, starting with the poker game and ending with Tristan letting me out of the cell and getting the text from my brother. I even told her how Logan and I had grown up in foster care. I skipped over the more intimate moments between me and Tristan and the details of what I”d done to protect my brother. Not because I didn”t want her to know, but because I didn”t know if he could hear me.
When I was finished and sat there in a puddle of my tears, she got up and came back with the box of tissues, which she handed to me. ”Gino won”t be alive much longer. Will that upset you?”
I looked up at her, surprised. I”d expected sympathy. A hug. The usual girly bullshit. ”What do you mean?”
”I mean, Luca”s going to kill him. He told me the other night that”s always been his plan. He”s just had to wait for the right time.”