49. Laila
49
LAILA
“You can’t do this.”
But even as I say it, I know he can. He will.
Whatever was left of my father has been hollowed out by greed and self-preservation. He’ll throw anyone into the fire to save himself—even his own daughter.
My father’s tongue snakes over his cracked lips. “You did this to us, Laila. If you hadn’t kicked me out of your life?—”
“You left! It was your choice!” My voice is already hoarse with a wasted argument. “You abandoned me and Mom when we needed you most.”
He rolls his eyes. “Not this sob story again.”
I shake my head, anger heating my skin bright pink. “I don’t know what Mom saw in you. I don’t know why she would waste her love on a man so disgusting.”
Charles’s eyes mist over. He looks down for a moment, and I’m hoping I’ve hit a sore spot. One that will activate whatever smidgeon of conscience he might have left.
“Your mother wanted a fairytale romance, so of course she was disappointed.” He raises his eyes to me. “But she saw me more clearly than anyone else ever?—”
“You’re a heartless monster, and you always have been,” I spit, refusing to let him lie to me or himself for another second.
“And you are a spoiled, selfish little bitch!” Charles roars.
“Fucking hell, can we fast forward through all this family drama bullshit?” Jasper interjects, absentmindedly spinning the gun in his hand. “I’d like to get this thing over with.”
Charles swallows, moving towards Jasper even as he keeps his eyes on me. “Do you have her phone?”
Jasper hands it over. The sight of them so in sync makes me nauseous.
“How the hell do you two even know each other?” I lean against the wall of windows behind me, a jagged metal edge biting into my back. I run my fingers along the wall looking for a latch.
Suddenly, Jasper raises his gun and points it right at my face. “Don’t move another muscle. Seriously. I’m not in the mood to be tested today.”
“Will you stop?” Charles grunts. “She’s worth nothing to us dead.”
“Gee, thanks, Dad,” I scoff. Much as I’d love to make a break for it, I’m not about to risk a bullet in my back. No matter what he says, Jasper is crazy enough to pull the trigger. And I have no idea how good of a shot he is.
My father ignores me as he walks over, holding my phone in front of me. “Unlock it for me.”
“And if I refuse?”
The words are barely out of my mouth when his palm smacks across my face. I stumble back as my vision blurs behind a veil of spinning, silver stars.
“Next time, you’ll taste blood,” he warns.
With a trembling hand, I use my thumb to unlock the phone for him. He takes it back over to Jasper. Together, they type out a message. I hear the whoosh of the text leaving to God knows where.
I peek over my shoulder. The windows behind me are smeared with a grease-like paint. There’s no way anyone on the outside will be able to see what’s going on in here.
Jasper nods appreciatively at their handiwork. “Yeah, that’ll get him here fast.”
My heart races. It’s too late to undo the message, but I have to try to do something. “How long have the two of you been working together?”
“Months now,” Charles answers. “Jasper and I have a lot in common.”
Don’t I know it? I could count the ways, but I have a feeling my list would only get me in more trouble.
Still, I take a guess. “Your hatred for my husband, you mean?”
“Him, too. But I was actually talking about the Italians.”
“This is about the Italians?”
“Enzo fucking Calcagno,” Jasper spits. “I thought that little shit would be better than his father. Turns out, they’re cut from the same cloth. Both men demand their pound of flesh.”
“You owed Enzo’s father money?” I surmise. It’s always about money.
“My debts are old. They should have been forgiven a long time ago.” Jasper sneers. “I got myself thrown in jail, hoping that Alessandro would write them off. But the stubborn bastard never forgives a debt. When Arsen showed up in max, I figured he was my way out.”
I gasp. “You were using him right from the beginning?”
Jasper’s face falls. “Just because he could do me a favor doesn’t mean we weren’t really friends. I had his back and he had mine.”
Denial must be how these two get to sleep at night. Yet another thing they have in common.
“You were hoping that he would protect you from Calcagno.”
“And he did… in the beginning.” His eyes narrow. “But your husband has always been a fan of his high horse.”
“He holds himself and the people around him to high standards,” I agree.
“He thought he was better than me,” he growls. “I was loyal to him, but he turned me away just because I knew how to loosen up. Snorting a line every now and again would’ve been good for him.”
I try not to laugh out loud. I must have missed that issue of Men’s Health .
Jasper’s lip is curled as he paces. “He thought he could control how I lived. He didn’t respect me. He didn’t actually care about me; he just wanted me under his fucking heel.”
The gun glints as he spins it around and around and around in his hand. I close my eyes, trying to settle my racing heart. “Jasper… you’re making a mistake.”
“The mistake was thinking we could start over. The mistake was putting my trust in him again.”
“Thankfully, I stepped in,” Charles interrupts. “I showed Jasper how na?ve he was being. I showed him there was another way.”
“What way is that?” I ask with disgust. “Abduct your own daughter and hold her for ransom?”
Charles shrugs. “Your husband has more than enough money to pay off my debts to the Italians and set me up for life. I’m done fighting for scraps. I want to live well.”
“And you?” I demand, turning to Jasper. “What do you stand to gain from all of this?”
“My pride. My self-respect. Fucking revenge.”
“Revenge.” All of this for something as petty and intangible as revenge . Suddenly, I’m stone-cold. I know there’s no point arguing with him, but I try, anyway. “Jasper, you’re not thinking straight.”
“Actually, I’m thinking clearer than I have in years. It’s time Arsen and I had it out once and for all.”
“He saved your life!”
“I saved his, too! More times than I can count. He wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for me. He would have died in max, choking on his own blood.”
“Arsen never needed you. He would have survived with or without you. He owes you nothing!” I shove hard against his chest.
A split second later, the butt of his gun makes contact with the side of my face.
My father’s slap was nothing compared to this pain. It spears deep in my bones and stays there, aching across the whole right side of my body. Stars burst behind my eyes, and I can taste blood.
When my vision finally clears, I realize I’m on the moldy floor. I inhale a desperate breath and almost choke on the dust.
“Great,” my father complains. “She’s bleeding.”
“Good!” Jasper snarls. “I want him riled up when he sees me. It’s no fun if he doesn’t fight back.” He pulls out a bag with white powder and unrolls it on a rickety table in the corner.
“You’re gonna do that now?” Charles balks, adjusting his coat so that I can make out the gun he’s got concealed within his waistband.
“I gotta be ready when Arsen shows up.”
I slowly sit up, breathing through the pain in my head. If there’s one thing my hip has taught me, it’s that there are ways to keep moving through the pain.
In any case, my cracked forehead and aching hip are the least of my concerns.
Nina may be safe at home with Polina and Evelyn, but from every other angle, I’m totally and completely screwed.