Chapter 36 Roran
Roran
“Where do you think you're going?”
Chris’s voice startles me. My—now clearly failed—attempt to sneak out of her apartment is cut short. She steps in front of me, and her father, Mariano, stands just behind her.
I should just take a picture with the three brothers and send it to my father—maybe it’ll finally give him the heart attack he needs to move on to the next world.
They do look alike, but he doesn’t seem as terrifying as I imagined—like the capo’s right hand should look like. Maybe that’s why I didn’t connect it faster.
“U-um,” I stammer, freezing as Luca himself steps forward from the hallway. Why is he here, in Mariano’s home? Aren’t their meetings always in Luca’s office?
I sigh, feeling Chris’s glare burn into me.
“Would you believe me if I said I’m just going for a walk?” I force a nervous laugh.
Chris exhales dramatically and steps forward, grabbing the small backpack I borrowed from Kayla’s room and ripping it off my shoulder.
“Ouch.”
Luca lets out a low sound, almost like a growl. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was about to slice my throat open. Maybe he still will.
But I can’t focus on that. I need to get to Diana. And I need that medicine Alin refuses to give me.
They all stare at me, waiting for the truth. Chris dangles the backpack strap from her finger in front of me, like a taunt.
I take a deep breath and drop my shoulders.
They’re not my enemies. At least… not right now.
“Alin wouldn’t give me any information about the medicine, so I thought—”
“What? You thought you’d just go get it yourself?” Chris cuts me off, her nostrils flaring.
“As far as I understand, you couldn’t get it on your own for over two decades. And now, magically, you’re going to what? March right into your father’s arms? Beg for it? Didn’t you need our help because—” She points at my chest sharply. “—you couldn’t do it alone?”
Her words hit me like slaps, and I can’t deny a single one.
But I can’t wait around. If they won’t help me get it, I’ll lose my mind. Diana will die if I don’t act.
Our eyes lock. And only then does it hit me—she isn’t furious. She isn’t disgusted. She’s… worried. About me?
“I—I’m sorry,” I say, my voice barely steady. “But if you don’t get me that medicine, I’ll be a liability here. You won’t even be able to use me for whatever you want from me. If I lose it like my mother, I’ll be as good as dead to my father.”
Chris’s gaze softens.
Then I hear another sharp breath, and I tilt my head to Luca. His hands are shoved into his suit pockets, his posture just like my father’s—that poised, cold readiness.
I swallow, not daring to even breathe.
“She won’t give you the drug,” Luca finally says, his voice calm but heavy. “Because, believe it or not, it’s going to make your ‘illness’ worse. Much worse.” The word illness rolls off his tongue like a mockery, sharp enough to slice through me.
I let out the breath I’d been holding.
“But if it’ll make you feel better… I think Matteo found Diana’s whereabouts,” Chris cuts in before Luca can continue.
I gasp, grabbing her arm.
“You found her? Where? Are you bringing her here?” A flood of words spills out, but she shakes her head and looks at Luca, probably for approval.
He steps forward. “Do you know about your family’s warehouses? The biggest one—”
“The Red Dock,” I choke out.
“He wouldn’t—”
No. No. He’s a fucking monster, but he wouldn’t…
“He already did,” Mariano finishes instead of him. “She’s there. We traced some of Fedor’s men's messages.”
My legs give out, and seconds before I hit the floor, Chris catches me. The backpack drops from her hand with a clang.
“But we don’t have a precise location. We never bothered with their area before—unless they crossed into ours. So if you know anything, now is the time to speak.”
I can’t even register that they’re asking me for intel. Me—a woman. The enemy’s daughter.
“I don’t know,” my voice is a broken whisper. “All I know is they changed the place after Solas killed your—”
My head tilts up, meeting Luca’s piercing gaze when I realize what I said.
My heart slams against my ribs.
“I—I’m sorry for your loss,” I manage.
Luca inhales sharply through his nose. “I’m not sorry for yours.”
My heart stutters. Is he talking about Solas?
“Believe it or not, I know Solas deserved it. They all do.”
My voice is so small, I can barely hear it myself.
Silence. One second. Two. Three.
Then I hear his shoes on the tiles. One step. Two. His expensive leather shoes stop in front of me. I don’t dare look up.
“Changed from where?” His voice is rough, close.
“That too… I don’t know. We—” No. Not anymore. “—they never shared anything but bed and violence with the women in the Konfetki.”
Another low growl rolls from him. Chris’s hand tightens on my arm.
“Is there anything else that could help us trace it faster?” he asks, his tone now steady, all steel.
Think. Diana is in danger. Think, Roran. Think. I clench my teeth.
Think—
“Ah!” I lunge for the backpack. My hands tremble as I unzip it, digging frantically.
There.
I hold up a small piece of paper, unfolding it carefully. Chris releases her grip as I stand, then places it into Luca’s hand.
Vlad’s phone number. I wrote it down before I ran, hid it in my bra—just in case I’d need him as a last resort.
“I wanted to bribe him before. He handles the drug supply for Fedor. I was going to use his number to meet him again… They stock it at the Red Dock, but it’s impossible to get inside—”
“Leave ‘impossible’ to us,” Luca snaps, clenching the paper in his hand before passing it to Mariano.
He nods and strides out, disappearing into the corridor.
My fingers twitch at the empty space where the paper had been. The only tiny connection to Diana I had left.
I’ll see her soon. I have to. Tears burn the edges of my eyes.
“She’ll be fine. She’s fine!” Chris insists, leaning close to my ear as Luca follows Mariano’s trail out.
“She’s the only thing I have left in this world,” my voice cracks. “I can’t lose her.”
A tear escapes, burning hot down my cheek. Then Chris surprises me. She wraps her arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace.
I hesitate… then my hands clutch the back of her shirt, and I break. A sob rips out of me, my face buried in her shoulder.
I’ve never broken in front of anyone. Never shown weakness.
But I can’t hold it anymore.
For the first time in my life, I find comfort not in pity—
But in warmth. In acceptance.
She stands there quietly as my tears soak into her shirt. I don’t know how long it’s been until Kayla’s voice cuts through the fading sobs coming from the entrance.
“That’s it. I’m done sitting quietly when I can actually help.”
“Kayla. No—”
Chris snaps, not breaking her hold on me. But I finally raise my head, pulling away to look at Kayla as she strides toward us.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do, Chris.
” Her voice trembles with anger and something deeper—a fierce determination that reminds me so much of Diana it nearly stops my heart.
“I’m tired of being the pampered princess when I could actually help.
Especially in Roran’s case.” Her frown deepens. “I’m not made of glass!”
Help? How?
Chris raises a hand, trying to steady the moment. “Okay—” she starts, her voice firm but careful, “—let’s all calm down before we do something stupid. Let’s go blow off some steam first. We need it. All of us.” She glances between us, her gaze lingering on Kayla.
I’m still stuck on Kayla’s words. Help? What are they hiding?
Kayla hesitates, breathing hard, but then lets out a resigned sigh. “What do you have in mind?”
Chris’s lips twitch into a small, defiant smirk. “You’ll see.” She arches a challenging brow.
Kayla narrows her eyes but finally nods, her shoulders relaxing just slightly.
“Let’s go,” Chris says.
Go where?