Chapter 26 - Elena
Cold, bitter wind is the first thing I register.
It howls across the rooftop, whipping my hair relentlessly while my skin prickles. The burning against my wrists comes next as zip ties dig deeper into my skin each time I struggle.
Then I feel the cold seeping from the concrete into my legs as everything comes into focus, making me stagger.
A barb of humiliation wedges its way into my side at the realization that I’m on my knees, barely propped up against a cement wall beside me. Overhead lights cut through the otherwise dark sky above, making me squint beneath the harshness of it.
Each time the wind picks up, it comes as a harsh reminder that I’m on top of a building somewhere. Too high up, and far too exposed.
As more awareness spreads through my body, almost like my system has rebooted, my senses are sharper than they had been. I focus on the way my heart pounds so hard that it hurts, and how my lungs refuse to cooperate.
Twisting instinctively, I earn a rough shove between my shoulder blades that makes me careen forward.
“Stay still,” someone rasps behind me, leaving no room for argument.
Even if I should, I can’t. Not while I’m surrounded by men on a rooftop somewhere.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask, trying to get a better look at him. “What do you want?”
I’m met with laughter, both low and clearly male.
Squinting through the bright floodlights, I see the one behind me, along with two more. The one looks older with streaks of grey in his short dark hair. A few more figures linger nearby, making me well aware of how outnumbered I am.
“It’s fortunate you have a strong enough heart.
The sedative was a higher dose than intended, but you’re awake now,” one of them says as he kneels in front of me, giving my cheek a condescending flick that makes me flinch.
His grin is wide and bright, almost identical to the other one. “That’s a good thing.”
My stomach twists immediately, recalling that pinch I had felt before.
“You drugged me?”
The one behind him shrugs. “Our men did, at least. Apparently, you were acting like a wildcat out there. I wonder if those claws are your own, or something borrowed from being a Lukov.”
“Either way, I’d like to see it for myself.”
The two of them sneer, enjoying this moment far too much.
“Stop toying with her and get to the point,” the older man murmurs, gesturing vaguely. He looks me over briefly. “She deserves to know.”
“Know what?” I demand, growing more irritated from the way they dance around my questions.
“That you’re valuable, of course,” the one in front of me says, head tilting slightly. “Very valuable.”
“You’re being rude, brother,” the other muses, not even committing to pretending he’s scolding him. “You should always introduce yourself first before reminding a woman of her place.”
More irritation flares inside me, but I’m in no position to bite back. Not yet, anyway.
He chuckles, and the green in his eyes looks disarmingly innocent. “Fine. I’m Cesare, and this is my brother Carlo. And this,” he says, motioning over to the older man, “is our father, Orlando. You must’ve heard of him by now.”
Glancing between them, the name clicks at once, and my eyes widen at the realization.
Grimaldis.
Schooling my expression, I straighten. “I have.”
“Good…that saves us the boring details then,” Cesare hums, seeming more boyish from the way he looks at me.
“That brings me back to my previous question. What do you want?” I repeat, doing my best not to fawn beneath their gazes.
“What we want is leverage, just like everyone else,” Carlo says more pointedly this time, eyes sharp like a predator. That look is enough to make him seem more aggressive than his brother. “And you are the key to it.”
I narrow my eyes at them as rage rips through me, despising how all of this boils down to me being nothing more than something to steal and trade. Bait. I’m tired of it.
Orlando sighs as if all of this is too tedious for his liking.
“Vito Caputo promised us things. All of which he couldn’t follow up on.
Territory, access, you. We had the price worked out and everything, but as much as he loved money, he loved being alive more, which is why he handed you over to a ghost.”
That word sticks out in my mind at once, and my pulse spikes.
“You mean Wyatt.”
Orlando grins. “Yes, but he goes by many names, doesn’t he? Vic Dubrov, Wyatt Michaels, the Vegas Ghost…how does he keep it all straight, I wonder?”
I grit my teeth. “What does he have to do with this if Vito was the one who screwed you over?”
He hums simply. “Everything.” With his hands folded behind his back, he takes a few slow, idle steps.
His shoes crunch against loose gravel on the rooftop.
“It’s true that Vito betrayed us. He took what was ours and gave it away freely.
He was even prepared to turn to another group looking for a bigger payout, so it seems.”
“And Wyatt has been on our radar for a long time,” Carlo mutters, letting a look of disdain cross his features.
“Then take it up with him, not me,” I return, chest tightening at the thought of them actually confronting Wyatt. “I’m not part of this.”
Carlo clicks his tongue in mock sympathy. “You are now.”
The claim feels more like a death sentence, making my skin crawl.
I’ve never wanted anything to do with these underground politics. I never asked to be pulled into it. But as a Lukov, I guess this is the hand I’ve been dealt.
“You’ll make a fine wife,” Cesare hums, reaching forward to move my chin from side to side, making me stiffen. “One of us could use a woman who already knows how this world works. It’s an asset, really…for you to know what’s expected of you.”
Wife.
The word nearly makes my skin turn to ice, tripping over the mere thought.
That title has already been weaponized against me once, but surprisingly, Wyatt handled it with more care than I anticipated. He never looked at me like I was lesser than, and he respected my boundaries. He married me to keep me safe, even if I didn’t see it that way before.
But given the way the Grimaldis look at me, I know that wouldn’t be the case. Not even remotely.
“No,” I mumble, shaking my head out of his grasp as if fighting the notion. “Absolutely not. You can’t—”
“We can,” Cesare says with an amused gleam in his eyes as he stands. “And we will.”
Despite the panic threatening to choke me, I narrow my eyes at them. “My brothers will burn everything you have if you try. Wyatt won’t ever let that happen.”
Orlando smiles, subtly cruel. “A Lukov woman disappearing into our family is the kind of humiliation that festers for a lifetime. As for Wyatt…I’ll take immense pride in knowing the woman he thought he owned slipped right through his fingers.”
I don’t mean to react, but my expression tightens at the threat, and they notice. Their mutual amusement deepens, leaving me feeling more like a specimen being studied in a lab.
Being caught under their attention like this, hearing their plans for me, brings me more fury than I’ve ever felt before. The fear is there, but it’s fuel this time. Even if I’m at a disadvantage here, I won’t let them take me away from my brothers, or from Wyatt.
I’m not property. I’m not subhuman.
Orlando straightens. “Enough talk. Get her up.”
Their hands grab at my arms as they haul me to my feet, making my balance falter. With weak legs, I stumble forward, and the sudden change gives me a head rush.
I don’t know where they’re taking me at first, but they suddenly get me to stop as a helicopter approaches. Hope stirs in me, wondering if it’s the police, but at the sight of its unmarked exterior, it dies immediately.
It lands some distance away on a black pad, stirring up an even bigger gust of wind while the thrum of its rotors vibrates through me.
The blades continue spinning, and the sight of it waiting there punches a renewed terror into me.
If they get me in there, they could take me anywhere. Just as quickly as they grabbed me, they could make me disappear completely. Then, there would be a chance that I’d never get to see them again. Not my brothers, the girls, and certainly not Wyatt.
I’d be as good as dead with them.
“No,” I mumble, growing numb. “Please.”
Then, unceremoniously, Cesare and Carlo start dragging me toward it. They don’t care to listen to me.
Digging my heels in as hard as I can, pain shoots up my legs, but I don’t care. My shoes scrape against the concrete, and even if it’s pointless, I resist.
“You don’t have to do this…I won’t be useful to you. I’ll fight you every step of the way.”
Carlo laughs, giving my arm a tug. “You already are.”
My heart slams in my chest, feeling so close to breaking from the pressure, and I squeeze my eyes shut to try and block it all out.
Then, somehow, shouting breaks through the helicopter's noise. It’s sharp, urgent, and close enough for all of us to register.
The twins freeze, and Carlo curses under his breath as he presses a finger against his earpiece.
Orlando’s thick brows furrow. “What is it?”
Before his son can answer, noise from down below moves upward.
Gunfire echoes faintly somewhere inside, followed by the incessant ring of a fire alarm being triggered. The mood on the rooftop shifts instantly, and that casual confidence drains from the Grimaldi men at once, replaced by panic.
“Damn it, what’s happening?” Orlando demands, grabbing Carlo’s shoulder roughly with gritted teeth.
Carlo, who had looked so brutal before, can’t hide as his eyes widen and the color drains from his face. “They’re breaching multiple floors, gunning down our guys. But it’s too much heat.”
His father’s eyes narrow. “Who is it?”
“Wyatt’s men,” he murmurs, reaching for his pistol. “And…Lukov units. Together.”
For the first time since I opened my eyes on the rooftop, true fear flashes across Orlando’s face. Fear and surprise.
“Impossible.”
“They’re moving fast. The others are trying to hold them off, but there are too many.”
My heart lurches.
Wyatt. My brothers.
Regardless of their unsteady truce and the tensions between them, they came for me. Together.
“Move her. Now!” Orlando barks, and when his sons are too frozen to move, he grabs me himself.
Even if he’s trying to pull me away, I don’t worry. Instead, I dig my heels in deeper, making it even harder for him.
So long as he doesn’t get me on that helicopter, I’ll stand a better chance of making it out of here. Back to my family, and back to Wyatt.
With adrenaline firing through me, the same thought lingers in my mind.
I’m not alone.