Chapter 28
Sera
"Hey, Sera," Gabe says. "We need to talk."
For a moment, I can't move. Can't breathe. Can't process that my brother is standing in front of me after months of silence.
He looks...good. Better than good, actually. He's filled out, his face isn't gaunt anymore, and his clothes are new. Expensive, even. Not like someone who's been on the run.
Not like someone who's desperate.
It pisses me off.
"Gabe." My voice comes out strangled. "What are you doing here?" I look around. There’s no one here but that can change in an instance.
"I needed to see you." He steps into the changing room, and I instinctively back up. "We don't have much time. Your fucking husband has this place locked down, and your guard will be back any minute. Plus, the feds are on my ass, and the Morozovs have people everywhere."
"You shouldn't be here." It feels like a moot point, but I say it anyway.
"I'm out of options." He runs his hand through his hair, and I notice his watch. Tag Heuer. At least five thousand dollars. Fucker. "I need your help, Sera."
My eyes narrow. “You can’t be serious.”
"I know you're angry—"
"Angry?" My voice rises. "You used me as bait, Gabe. You led me into that alley knowing what would happen. You could have gotten me killed. You could have gotten my baby killed."
"I didn't have a choice!" He shakes his head. “Plus, I didn’t know you were pregnant.”
"That doesn’t fucking matter,” I snap. “There's always a choice." I grip my bag tighter. "Adrian told me everything. The arrest. The deal with the FBI. The embezzlement. All of it."
His face hardens. "Of course he did. He’s a piece of shit.”
I move toward the door, but he blocks it. "Get out of my way."
"Not until you listen." His voice drops. "I'm in trouble, Sera. Real trouble. The feds want me to testify against the Morozovs, who also wants me dead for stealing from them. I need money to disappear. Start over somewhere they can't find me."
"Money?” I laugh. “What? Having problem moving your product?”
He glares, and I know I’m right.
“Look Ser, I just need a few million. Your rich now, it’s not like—”
I cut him off. “No.”
"No?" He blinks.
I meet his eyes. "I'm done saving you, Gabe. I'm done being your safety net while you destroy your life."
"This is different—"
"It's always different. It's always the last time. But it never is." I shake my head. "I have a child to think about now. A family. I can't keep lighting myself on fire to keep you warm."
Something ugly crosses his face. "A family. Right. Your mafia husband who forced you to marry him. That family?"
"You don't know anything about my marriage."
He leans closer. “I know that if you don't help me, I'll make sure he goes to prison. I've been feeding information to the feds for eighteen months. I have recordings. Documents. Enough to bury him."
My heart pounds, but I force myself to stay calm. "If you had anything that damaging, you'd have already used it. The FBI would have moved on Adrian by now." I tilt my head. "You're bluffing."
His jaw tightens. "You want to test that theory?"
"Yes. Actually, I do." I cross my arms over my stomach protectively. "Because I don't think you have anything. I think you got greedy, stole from the wrong people, and now you're desperate. But you have nothing on Adrian that matters."
We just stare at each other waiting for the other one to break. He does first, and his eyes go cold.
"Fine. You want to play it that way?" He takes a step toward me. "Then we go to option two. The Morozovs would pay very well for Adrian Nero's pregnant wife. They want his territory. His businesses. And you'd make excellent leverage."
Ice floods my veins. "You wouldn't." I take a step back.
"I don't want to. But if you won't help me, what choice do I have?" He moves closer. "I'm sorry, Sera. But I need to survive."
"By selling your sister?" My voice cracks. "By selling your nephew?" My hands go to my stomach, cradling my son.
"By doing what I have to do." He reaches for my arm. "Just come with me quietly. Don't make this harder than it has to be."
He grabs my wrist, yanking me forward.
And that's when I scream.
I scream as loud as I can, primal and desperate.
Gabe's hand clamps over my mouth. "Shut up! Shut the fuck up!"
But it's too late. I hear running footsteps. Shouting.
The guards.
Gabe shoves me hard into the lockers. My shoulder connects with metal and pain explodes through my arm. Then he's running, darting past me toward the back exit.
The door bursts open. Two of Adrian's guards rush in, guns drawn.
"Mrs. Nero! Are you hurt?"
I'm shaking so hard I can barely stand. "My brother. He went out the back. He—"
"Stay here." One guard stays with me while the other two chase after Gabe.
But I already know they won't catch him. Gabe has always been slippery. Always one step ahead when it matters.
The guard who stayed is speaking into his radio. "Code red. Mrs. Nero was attacked. Suspect fled. We need backup and—"
"I'm fine," I manage. "Just get me home. Please. I need to go home."
The drive back to the mansion is a blur.
They call Adrian. I can hear the guard's side of the conversation. It’s clipped, professional. "Your wife is secure. Shaken but unharmed. We're en route."
I stare out the window, watching Manhattan slide past, and I feel... strange.
Not panicked. Not scared.
Calm.
Like a switch has flipped in my brain.
Gabe showed his hand. He threatened me. Threatened my baby. Threatened to sell me to the Morozovs like livestock.
And now I know exactly what he is.
A threat.
And threats, in this world, get eliminated.
Maybe, it’s cold, but I’m a mother now, and my son will not ever be used as collateral.
Gabe made his choices, and he will have to live and die by them. Still, the thought makes me feel ill. I’m having trouble reconciling the Gabe I took care of as a little boy with the man threatening to sell me.
Adrian is waiting when we pull up. He's out the door before the car even stops, yanking my door open, hands on me immediately.
"Are you hurt?" His eyes scan me frantically. "Did he touch you? Did he—"
"I'm fine." I let him pull me out of the car, let him check me over. "The baby's fine. Everything's fine."
"You're shaking."
"Adrenaline,” I say. It doesn’t assure him. "Can we go inside? I'll tell you everything, but not out here."
He doesn't let go of me as we walk into the mansion. His arm is around my waist, protective and possessive. We go straight to our wing, to our bedroom, and he finally releases me to lock the door.
"Tell me." His voice is controlled, but I can see the rage simmering underneath. "Everything. Now."
So, I do.
I tell him about Gabe appearing in the changing room. About how good he looked. About the money demand. About his threats.
"He said he'd turn you in," I explain. "That he had recordings and documents. But I didn't believe him. If he had anything real, he'd have used it already. He’s desperate. He’s made too many enemies, and he’s trying to get someone off his ass.”
Adrian's expression is murderous. "You called his bluff."
"Yes. And then he went to option two." I swallow hard. "He said he'd sell me to the Morozovs. That they'd pay well for me.”
Something in Adrian's face goes absolutely still. Then he explodes.
"FUCK!" He grabs a lamp off the dresser and hurls it against the wall. It shatters, glass spraying everywhere. "That motherfucker. That goddamn—"
"Adrian—" I don’t even flinch. Because I’m not scared. Even in his rage, Adrian ensure my safety. I’m not even close to a singular piece of glass.
Because Adrian would destroy himself before he destroyed me. The thought is sobering.
"I should have killed him months ago. Should have put a bullet in his head the second I learned he was working with the feds—"
"Adrian, stop."
"—but I didn't because you asked me not to. Because I was trying to be what you needed. And this is what happens. This is what mercy gets you—"
"Adrian!" I grab his arm, forcing him to look at me. "Stop. Listen to me."
He's breathing hard, eyes wild, every muscle tensed for violence. I place my hands on his face, bringing him down to me so we are eye level.
"I'm okay," I say firmly. "I'm here. I'm safe. The baby's safe."
"He put his hands on you."
"Yes. And I screamed, and your guards came, and he ran. It's over."
"It's not over until he's dead."
I close my eyes briefly, ignoring the flash of pain in my chest at his words.”
"I know." The words come easily. Calmly. "And I'm telling you right now, all bets are off. Do what you need to do. Find him. End this. I won't ask you to spare him."
Adrian stares at me. "What?"
"You heard me." I step closer. "He's not my brother anymore.
He stopped being my brother the moment he tried to use me.
To sell me. To put our son in danger." My hand finds my stomach.
"So do what you have to do. I won't stop you.
I won't ask you to show mercy." I feel tears in my eyes because even though I’m saying all of this, I can’t help the way my heart wrenches at the thought of Gabe being dead.
"Seraphina—"
"I'm yours," I say quietly. "Completely. And I'm choosing you. Choosing this family. Choosing to stand with you instead of against you."
Something shifts in his expression. The rage is still there, but underneath it is something else. Understanding. Recognition.
"Say that again."
"I'm yours." I reach up, cup his face. "And I'm done fighting you. Done fighting this. I see you now. I understand what you are. What we are." I pull him down until our foreheads touch. "You're my husband. The father of my child. And I'm choosing you."
His hands are on my waist, gripping hard. "You're in shock. You don't know what you're saying—"
"I know exactly what I'm saying." I kiss him. Hard. Desperate. "I'm yours, Adrian. Take what's yours."
He groans into my mouth, hands moving to my hips, pulling me flush against him. I can feel how hard he is already; how much he needs this.
Needs me.