2. Ethan
ETHAN
“Why couldn’t you trust me? I have always loved and trusted you…Why, Ethan? Why…”
Rosalie’s words from when she hugged me before walking out on us had been repeating in my head since the moment she pulled away from me.
I wanted to tell her it was because I was weak. Scared. That I loved her so much that I was ashamed she’d hate me after finding out.
There was more to it than that, or at least I kept telling myself there was.
“Where are you taking me?” I demanded as Ashes and Shadow pulled me out of the elevator.
I looked around. I wasn’t in the underground. They’d brought me back to the mansion.
“Where did you take Cole and Enzo?” I tried to break my arms away from them, but they tightened their holds on me, two other brutes I didn’t recognize walking behind us. I assumed they were underground guards.
Figured.
“We can’t tell you that,” Shadow said.
I grunted. I fucking hated it here, and I hated these assholes. They took me straight to Church’s office. He was sitting behind his desk, his feet kicked up, as he stared at his phone.
He looked over at me with a bored expression as the guys placed me in a chair in front of his desk and left the room.
“Where are Cole and Enzo?” I demanded, trying to hold my temper.
I honestly thought they’d taken me to the underground to die.
It took everything I had to remain calm.
I focused on getting out of there to get back to my son.
To get back to Rosalie so I could properly apologize to her for all the pain I’d caused her.
I didn’t expect her to forgive me, but I had shit that needed to be said.
“They’re in the underground,” he replied, sitting up and putting his feet on the ground. He regarded me with his brilliant green eyes.
“Are you going to hurt them?”
He waved my question off. “They’re already hurting themselves.”
“Dante—”
“Luka.” He smiled at me.
I scoffed. “Free my brothers. Please.”
“I gave my sister a choice. She made it. Lucky for you, you weren’t on any of the contracts made when it came to the horsemen. Looks like you have your get out of jail free card.”
“I will give it up if you let Cole out. You can keep me here. Kill me. Torture me. Fuck me. Just let Cole go. Please. He loves Rosalie and Ellis more than anything in this world. I am begging you to take me in his place.”
Church said nothing as he stared back at me.
“Please?” I begged softly. “Dante, anything you want, I’ll give to you.”
“What I want is for my sister not to hurt the way she does.”
“Then please let me talk to her—”
He pulled my cellphone from his desk and pushed it to me.
I blinked in confusion at the gesture.
“Call her.” He nodded to the phone. “If she answers and wants to speak to you, I’ll consider your promises.”
“If she doesn’t?”
“Then I suppose you’ll just have to beg me harder.” He got to his feet. “I’ll give you a few minutes to plead your case to her. If she answers.”
He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
I stared down at my phone for all of a second before I pulled her name up and called her.
It rang and rang.
“Come on, Rosalie,” I whispered, desperation washing over me. “Please fucking pick up. I need you to pick up…”
“Hello?” Her soft voice came over the line.
A tear squeezed from my eye.
“Rosalie,” I choked out.
She was quiet on the other end.
“Please,” I continued softly. “You don’t need to speak.
I only have a few minutes. I need to tell you I’m sorry.
” I slid off my chair and went to my knees.
“I am on my knees begging for your forgiveness. If not for me, then please, for Cole. He did nothing wrong. He loves you and Ellis. He needs you. Please. Come get him out of here—”
My phone buzzed as she requested a video call. Immediately, I accepted it.
“Rosalie,” I sobbed softly. “Please.”
Fuck, she looked beautiful sitting on her bed. Lavender sundress. Red curls cascading around her. But her face.
She was crying.
“I’ll do anything—”
“Why would you give Cole freedom when you have a son who needs you?” she asked.
“I-I…” I paused and steadied my breathing. “Because I know Cole will take Laz and raise him for me. That he will be cared for. Just, Rosalie, please. Even if you won’t free him—”
“You hurt me. All of you. You didn’t believe in me enough to understand. Ethan, it was me. I always stood by you. That’s what hurt me. Not that you have a son. That you lied and didn’t trust me!”
“I know. I know it.” I wiped at my eyes. “But you are a liar too. You hurt me just as much.”
I thought she’d fight me on it. Instead, she stared back at me through the screen, hugging herself.
“Lying about Fox. Do you have any idea what his death did to me? Then, to find out, I agonized over it for half a decade, only for him to be alive and living his best life with my girl? Fuck, Rosalie. I don’t know who is worse. You and him, or me and the guys.”
“I know. I understand the guys kept your secrets for the same reason I kept Fox’s. Love.”
I cried softly and looked at the floor, still on my knees. When I looked up, Fox had taken the phone from Rosalie and was staring back at me, his sunglasses on.
“Fox,” I choked out. “You son of a bitch.”
“Hey, E,” he said softly.
“Don’t fucking hey, E me. What the fuck, man? Seriously? What the fuck!” I sobbed harder. I hadn’t spent a lot of time dwelling on him. In fact, I was so angry at his lies that I’d pushed him entirely out of my head.
But damn, did I miss him.
“I’ll fix this,” he said softly. “I promise. I know it’s a big ask, but can you trust me?”
“Fucking asshole.” I wiped at my eyes.
“E, man. Please.”
I blew out a shaky breath. “Yes. I will trust you.”
“Then give us a few days, OK? Everything will be fine. I promise. Do you believe me?”
I stared at him. He was Fox, but he wasn’t. So much about him had changed. He didn’t look a thing like his old self. Bigger. Tatted. Gruffer. All the soft edges that had made Fox who he was were gone. Torn off by the underground.
“I can’t leave them to the underground,” I whispered. “I can’t—”
“Ethan,” he said. “Trust me.”
It was so fucking hard to trust him after everything, but in the end, he’d never done anything to hurt me intentionally. I knew that. Just like I hadn’t with keeping the truth from Rosalie. All I’d wanted was protection. For her. For me. God, I’d fucked everything up.
Plus, Fox was the one who got me through the underground. I owed my life to him. In a way, he’d sacrificed his life for mine. It was the only thing that kept my anger at him in check.
“OK,” I rasped. “I trust you.”
“I’ll see you soon, OK? Get to your son and take care of him. I’m sure he misses his dad. Can you do that for me? That’s all I want you to focus on.”
“I-I can do that,” I said, wiping at my eyes again.
“Good. I-I love you, E.”
I closed my eyes, letting my tears leak out.
When I opened my eyes, Rosalie was there, and Fox was gone.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated softly.
“We’ll talk soon.”
I nodded. “OK. Do you promise?”
“Yes. I promise.”
“Goodbye, Rosalie.”
“Bye, Ethan.”
I disconnected the call and slumped in my chair. Church returned moments later and sat on the edge of his desk, staring down at me.
“It pays to have friends in high places,” he said. “I really didn’t think she’d answer your call and that I’d get to keep you.”
“Do you want to keep me?” I asked, staring up at him.
“I have always wanted to keep you,” he murmured, eyeing me.
I didn’t move as he squatted in front of me and stared into my eyes.
“When we were kids, you kept me alive. You gave me a purpose,” he said, his voice low, as he took my hand in his.
I crinkled my brows at his words.
“We were two tortured kids, desperate for a way out. In a way, you were one of my first real… friends.” He paused. “I have always been fascinated with you, Luka. I have always wanted to save you.”
“Then why put me into the underground again?” I asked, my throat tight. “You know what that place did to me.”
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” he murmured, reaching out to trace his fingers along my lips. “I would so like to keep you.”
“You’re still crazy,” I whispered.
He chuckled softly as he cradled my face. “I am.”
“What about Cole and Enzo? Please don’t hurt them.”
“I will not harm them. I will give them a few days to think about what they want out of life. That is all.”
“Really?” The tension in my body lessened. “Why?”
“Because you asked me,” he said gently. “I owe you for being the bright spot in my rather grim childhood. Plus, my sister has kindly asked me to be on my best behavior. She can be a real pain in my ass.”
I swallowed. “So… Cole and Enzo…”
“Will be fine. They’re in very cozy rooms. Beds. Blankets. Bathroom. Food. Water. All the things they need. I will not harm them. I can show you if you’d like.”
I nodded. “Please.”
Church stood and nodded for me to follow him, so I did, drying my eyes as I went.
He stalked from the room, leading me to the elevator, where we got in and began the descent into madness.
When we reached the floor he intended, the doors swung open, and we stepped out.
Despite my hatred of the place, I had to admit he’d done a lot to it. It had fresh paint and was clean. I couldn’t hear any screams, so that was a plus.
Men who worked the underground for him bowed their heads as he passed by. He truly was royalty around here.
“How many prisoners do you have here these days?” I asked.
“Currently, we are housing one hundred and eighty-eight,” he said. “It’ll be less tomorrow. I prefer not to kill on Sundays. It’s a holy day.”
I said nothing as we walked, knowing the man was insane. It seemed unbelievable that he was Rosalie’s brother, but they looked an awful lot alike to deny it.
We stopped outside a room, and Church slid back a small peephole and gestured for me to look inside.
“No talking. Let him think,” Church said.
I decided to follow the rules and looked inside to find Enzo sleeping in bed. The room was tidy. Small. But Church had been telling the truth. It really wasn’t like the underground I remembered.
I backed away, and Church raised his brows at me.
“Satisfied?”
“I want to see Cole.”
He gestured for me to follow, and I did. We walked down the hall and rounded a corner before stopping outside another door. I checked the peephole to see a sight that broke my heart.
Cole was on his knees, praying, his lips moving and tears running down his cheeks. His room was the same as Enzo’s.
I didn’t need to hear him to know he was praying for Rosalie and Ellis. To get back to them.
I slowly backed away and stared at Church.
“You use psychological torture really well,” I said.
He smirked. “I like to make the accommodations comfortable. It makes people feel safe when we all know they’re not.”
“You said they would be.”
“For now. We will see. I will speak to them tomorrow.”
“Just don’t… don’t torture or hurt them. Please, Dante. I meant what I said. I’ll do anything.”
“The only thing I want you to do is to go back to your home and take care of your son. I want you to think long and hard about what you want. If it’s my sister, you better fucking wow me or I won’t even let you look in her direction again. Understand?”
“Yes,” I said fiercely.
“Good. Come on.” He nodded for me to follow him, so I did. We returned to the main level.
“If I am impressed, then I will reward you,” Church said as he led me to the front door.
“Reward me? By giving me my brothers back?”
He smirked. “Perhaps. I was thinking something a little more special than that. It’s a gift I have been wanting to give to you. As long as you comply, I will give you an ending you will love.”
I studied him for a moment, deciding I didn’t want to know what he had up his sleeve.
“I’ll be seeing you,” he said.
“I’m free? Just like that?”
“Just like that.” He smiled at me. “Don’t fuck it up.”
I backed away slowly. I’d wait to thank him. I’d learned that much about the underground.