Chapter 79
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
Ace
I don't say a word as I'm dragged into an underground cellar. Water drips from the ceiling onto the concrete floor. Warm blood runs down my forehead.
The pain in my arm is almost too much. I've never felt pain this excruciating.
But the pain in my heart? Of not knowing where Harper is? Whether she's alive? Whether our baby made it?
That's worse than anything they could do to me down here.
They shove me into a chair. I can't fight back. I can barely fuckin' walk. So I sit. I let them cuff me.
"Fuck you," I spit.
One of them pulls off his balaclava. I don't recognize him to start with, although I can’t see that well; it’s hazy as hell. Dark hair. Olive skin. Expensive watch. "You knew the rules, Mr. Sterling. LA is a warzone. My sister couldn't agree on a deal with your brother. So you are fair game."
And there it is, the Italian accent.
I blink, trying to piece it all together. This asshole didn’t say a word at the meeting. Fabio.
My sister. A Milano. Gianna's own blood. Her brother, who sat two feet away from me.
I don't react. I just stare.
"Don't you want to know what we plan to do with you?"
I don't flinch.
I know the drill. They know I won't give up information on my family. They know I won't go to Enzo and bring them into our organization. So I'll become a message to Hunter and Enzo. A warning about the power the Milano family holds in LA.
Perhaps the Greeks weren’t our real problem this entire time. Our real enemies are the Milano family.
The man laughs.
"Ah. You think we're going to kill you?"
I blink at him.
"Not very talkative, are you?"
I grit my teeth. I want to kill him. I'm cataloging everything. The watch, the ring on his right hand, the way he favors his left leg, the exits, the dripping pipe, the loose cuff on my broken arm that they didn't tighten properly because they assumed a man this damaged couldn't use it.
Mistake.
"Well, let me tell you. First, we use you to manipulate a deal with Hunter. So you stay alive for a few days while negotiations begin. How that goes depends on how much your brother loves you. Is he willing to give up everything to save you?"
I clench my good fist. Fuck.
Hunter would. I know that. Hunter would give up Sterling Ranch for me. And I can't let him.
"If we can't agree terms, we kill you and deliver you back to Sterling Ranch in five pieces."
"Five. Very adventurous," I say, deadpan.
The guy laughs and crouches to my eye level. Close enough that I can smell his cologne over the damp and the blood.
"My sister thinks she has control of this family. That she can control our father. She is wrong. A woman can't run this kind of organization. It's unnatural." His lip curls. "You think she could take down the Greeks? When she couldn't even get Hunter to work with her? Useless bitch."
From what I've seen, Gianna Milano is the opposite of useless. And this idiot just told me everything I need to know. This isn't a Milano operation. This is a coup. The little brother making his move while his sister holds the throne.
But none of this fucking matters if Harper didn’t make it.
"I can't wait to see what she does to you when she finds out," I say.
He shrugs, that crazed look returning to his eyes.
"The Milano family is mine. Our father will soon see that. I was the one who took the initiative. I sided with those Greek bastards so I could take them down. I did that. Not precious Gianna."
His eye twitches, and I tilt my head, assessing him. Something has him rattled; it’s making him anxious. My guess is that Gianna is already onto him.
This family is fucking delusional. And that's exactly why it'll crumble. Families don't turn on each other like this. I'd die for my brothers. My brothers would burn the world for me.
That's the difference. That's always been the difference. And it's why the Sterlings will still be standing when the Milanos are a name on a gravestone.
He pulls out his phone and holds it up.
"Smile for the camera, pretty boy. This might be a good post for your socials, too."
I don't.
All I can picture is the flames on the car. Harper's body hanging. Our baby.
I need to get the fuck out of here.