Chapter 30
Ellie: Hey…sorry for being MIA…lots going on with the family after Leo…Can we meet up somewhere? Please? I miss you.
Since the lockdown, I’ve been…a mess, to say the least. My girl hasn’t been in my arms where she belongs in a month and a half, and to make matters worse, I haven’t even heard from her since our fight.
Then everything went up in flames. I want to be there for her and assure her that I would never do anything to hurt her or any of her family.
I want to hold her while she mourns her brother, be her strength in this time of pain.
If I could put a ring on her finger so that she would belong to me forever, I would in a heartbeat.
That way, I would be the one to protect and love her.
I would keep her with me always, never letting a day pass that I wasn’t grateful for her presence.
One thing I know is that I don’t give a damn what my sister has to say. I’m going to see Ellie. The entire Bratva can try to stop me, but I’ll burn the fucking world down just to see her face.
Me: Yes! Of course we can meet up, baby. I miss you so much…Just let me know when and where
Ellie: Later this morning? Say 10 ish? We could just get coffee at our favorite café. I won’t have a lot of time…
Me: I’ll see you then ?
Ellie doesn’t respond, but I don’t care.
I have a time and location to see her, and my only focus is figuring out how to get out of here.
My saving grace is that the playoff finals are in full swing, and a little white lie about practice is enough to convince the guards to let me through.
I know I should tell one of them, but as it stands, they’re still loyal to Mila and would absolutely rat me out.
To my surprise, Ellie is already inside and waiting when I walk into the café.
This is the first time she’s beat me to a date even though I got here early to have her drink ready.
She looks up as the door chimes open, and damn, that’s not the Ellie I remember.
Yes, the death of a loved one can change you.
I know that firsthand from losing Mom. But there’s something deeper than grief in her eyes.
A darkness I’ve never seen before. A forced smile and wave is all it takes for my skepticism to fade.
I jog to the table where she sits with two coffees.
When I finally reach the table, I lean down and try to give her a hug, but she shoves a mug into my hand instead of reciprocating my awkward embrace.
“I hope you don’t mind that I ordered for you. I figured your favorite was still the same.”
Sitting in the empty seat across from her, I take a sip of the warm beverage to find it is indeed my favorite, a cappuccino with extra sugar.
“I still think it’s weird that you prefer hot drinks in the middle of summer in Florida,” she says, sipping on her iced coffee.
“Well, it was always cold when I lived in New York. It’s probably some weird Pavlovian response, but it makes me feel cozy.”
“Hmm…I suppose.”
We try to carry on a conversation, but the animosity in the air makes it impossible.
Neither one of us has brought up Leo, or the fact that her family thinks I might have something to do with his death.
We haven’t even brought up hockey since her brothers aren’t playing.
Which sucks, by the way. Without our team leaders, we were blown out of the water yesterday.
And if they sweep us at home, our chances of coming back from behind go way down.
After an hour of awkward conversation, Ellie reaches across the table and grabs my hand. I light up immediately at her simple touch, which commands every part of my body. It’s as if I’ve been dormant since I last saw her, and finally, she’s come back and brought me back to life.
“I know things have been weird between us, but…would you mind coming back with me? I…I have to get back home soon, but I don’t want to say goodbye yet. I can sneak you…”
I want to say yes, but even I know how stupid it would be to go into the home of the Mafia family that thinks I’m the one responsible for killing their son.
And if Mila finds out, I’ll be the next death in this feud.
My intuition tells me to say no. It’s evident that something is off with Ellie today beyond the death of her brother.
But when she looks up at me with those big, beautiful hazel eyes and bats her eyelashes, I’m a goner.
“Please, Teddy. I need you.”
“Okay, baby. I’ll go with you.”
“Thank you…” Relief paints her face, and for a moment, the Ellie I know looks back at me.
For a brief moment.
Rising from her chair, she grabs my hand and pulls me toward the door with such haste that I struggle to gain my footing.
“How exactly do you plan on sneaking me into your house?”
“Well, for starters, you’ll have to ride with me. The windows are tinted, and the family cars are the only ones the guards aren’t searching right now.”
“The guards?”
Yes! This is the perfect moment to bring up the elephant in the room…
Our families. I’ve felt terrible throughout our whole relationship for not telling her about the Bratva I was apparently born into.
I was too much of a coward, fearing both her response and what Mila might do to Ellie if she told anyone.
It’s been so much of a shock to my own system, I couldn’t imagine what she would think.
My soft, kind-hearted Ellie. I would have never guessed that she was a Mafia princess herself.
No wonder she was so scared about her brother’s reactions to us…
“Um…You know after Leo, my parents have just been cautious about things is all…” She pauses, opening the back door of her SUV. “I think you should get in the back just to be careful.”
“Okay…”
I step into the vehicle and climb to the back row as Ellie closes the door.
The sound of the locks engaging pierces the silence, and I expect she’s finally made it in as well.
I barely have time to look up to see an empty driver’s seat when a strong arm wraps around me, covering both my mouth and nose with a damp cloth. Then everything goes black.
Fuck, why does everything hurt? Twisting my neck relieves some of the tension there, but damn, my head is throbbing.
I try to massage my temples, but I can’t lift my hands.
My eyes shoot open to find that it makes no difference to the darkness that surrounds me.
I test the restraints on my wrist first to find both secured by what must be handcuffs, then move to my feet.
They’re tied up as well, but the material is lax and rough compared to the cool metal of the cuffs.
I’m tied to a fucking chair.
I try some of the breathing exercises Misha taught me to avoid panic and call forward my memory.
I was getting packed up for an away game when Ellie texted me about meeting up.
Then we had that super fucking awkward coffee date where she invited me to come home with her, which I accepted despite my better judgment.
Then she insisted I ride with her and locked me in the back of her car where…
Fuck, I hope someone didn’t get her. If someone is after her family, she was just as dumb as I was not to bring any security detail to our date. Goddamnit, how could I be so stupid? She was probably being followed, and the minute I was out of the way, they took her and locked me in car…
“Ellie? Are you here? Are you okay? Baby, are you here? Please be okay…”
A maniacal laugh fills the dark room, bringing chills to my body…because I know who it belongs to.
“Gabri?”
“That’s right, you fucking piece of shit. And Nikki. Maybe you’re not as dumb as we thought you were after all.”
I pull at my restraints with fervor, but it’s no use. “Where’s Ellie? Is she okay?”
“Yes, she’s perfectly fine now that we have your sorry ass to torture. Although there’s no revenge that will ever heal what you took from us. Not even your pathetic death will be enough to cover his.”
“I didn’t do anything to him. You have to believe me! Ellie! Ellie, tell them it wasn’t me!”
A sharp slap across my cheek cuts me off. “This was her idea in the first place, you fool. She brought you right to us, and now you can pay for the pain you’ve caused our family.”
Bright lights flick on, blinding at first, but eventually revealing the love of my life. She stands by her brothers with an expressionless face. There’s no love left in her eyes as they tear into my heart. There’s only vengeance.