Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

T he grip Marcel has on my hand is so tight I'll probably have bruises tomorrow. My eyes dart around the room, my heart beating out of my chest as I stay as close to his side as I possibly can, following him to wherever he's going.

He lifts his arm and the sound of his own gun firing off shots deafens me. Then a man in a ski mask drops to the floor right in front of us. Before I can contemplate what's happening, my body is being raised and then we're moving. Marcel is running, pushing through the crowd while knocking people out of his way.

Everything happens so fast. A flurry of movements followed by an eerie silence.

My feet hit the ground, Marcel's arm still wrapped around my back. "You okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" he asks, the panic clear in his voice.

I look around the alley. It's quiet out here. I can't hear anything other than the heavy breathing coming from Marcel and my own heartbeat going haywire in my chest. "I'm okay," I manage to get out. "Are you?"

"Let's go." Marcel takes hold of my hand again and starts guiding me towards the back of the building. A door behind us opens and like a freaking ninja, Marcel is in front of me again, his arm outstretched and his finger on the trigger.

Gio approaches us, a terrified-looking Eloise right beside him. "You good?" he asks Marcel, briefly looking at me before diverting his attention back to his brother.

"Yeah, you?" Marcel asks.

"Dan's coming around with the car now," Gio says just as an SUV turns into the alley.

"What the fuck was that?" Eloise questions with a hand to her chest. I can only assume her heart is beating as quickly as mine.

Gio wraps his arms around her and holds her against him. The love he has for his wife is written all over his face. When the car comes to a stop in front of us, Gio swings open the back door. "Get in," he says while ushering Eloise inside. Then he steps away from the door and turns to me. "Your turn. Get in."

I look at Marcel, who nods his head. Then, with a hand on my back, he guides me towards the open door. "It's okay," he says. "We're going to get you home."

I climb inside, expecting him to follow me. What I don't expect is for the door to close and the car to start moving.

Eloise's hands are digging into the leather of the seats as she starts screaming at the driver. "Dan, stop the fucking car. What the hell are they doing?"

"Mrs De Bellis, you need to calm down. The boss has it under control," the driver replies in a soothing tone.

"Has what under control?" I ask him.

"I'm taking you both home. Gio and Marcel will meet you back there," he says.

"No. Let me out of this car." I try to steady my voice. I don't like being locked in, and I like the fact that Marcel is back there even less. What if whoever was attacking that place is still there?

I tug on the door handle but nothing happens. My heart rate picks up. So does my breathing. I can feel the panic building. I can't do this.

"Stop the car. Please," I say. "I need… I need to get out." Everything sounds like it's underwater.

Where is Marcel? I need him here. I can't be locked in this car. A hand grips around mine and I turn my head away from the window and towards Eloise.

"You're safe here, Zoe. It's going to be okay. Marcel will probably be back at the house before we even get there," she says while attempting to comfort me.

"No. I need to get out. Stop the car." I scream louder, snatching my hand free then using it to pound against the windows. It's not her fault, and I feel bad when I see her flinch.

Realizing I'm doing little more than making a fool out of myself, I drop my arms, reaching into the bag that I'm thankful was crossed over my body while I was dancing, and find my phone. Then I scroll through the contacts until I land on Mikhail's name.

I don't know where Ivan ended up in all of this mess. But right now, I could really use the familiarity. Before I press the call button next to his name, I hit the number above it. Marcel.

The phone rings, and just as I think it's about to ring out, he answers. "Zoe, what's wrong?"

" What's wrong? Tell whoever is driving this car to stop and let me out, Marcel. I need to get out. Please, let me out." Tears are falling down my cheeks.

"Fuck," Marcel curses under his breath before softening his tone. "Zoe, listen to me. Dan is driving the car. Dan is a good guy. I promise. He's just taking you home. I'm going to meet you there. Wait for me in my room. I won't be long."

"No. I can't. I need to get out, Marcel. I need to… I can't…" I am almost panting by this point.

"Zoe, I can't let you out in the middle of the street. Please, just let him take you to my place. I need to know you're safe, Zoe," he says more quietly.

I can't find the words to respond. I don't know what to say. I should just wait until the car stops and then I can run.

"Zoe, Ivan is here. He's coming to you."

"Ivan is there?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Put him on," I tell Marcel. Ivan will get me out of here.

"Zoe, I'm five minutes behind you. I need you to stay with the De Bellis guy until I reach you."

"You're okay?"

"I'm fine. How are you?" Ivan says.

"I need to get out of this car. They won't let me out," I tell him.

"I know. Just try to stay calm. I'm coming to get you," he says this part in Russian. Words I know all too well, because Mikhail has said them over and over again throughout the years. Whenever I'd have a panic attack, Izzy would call Mikhail and he'd tell her the same thing.

"Okay," I say while taking a huge breath. I try my best to calm myself.

I'm going to be okay. I'm not trapped. Ivan is going to come and get me. And then I can go home.

"Zoe?" Marcel's voice comes back on the line. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I tell him. It's not. Nothing is okay. It seems like I can't be in public with Marcel without getting shot at. Either the people doing the shooting have really bad aim, or they're not actually trying to kill anyone.

"It's not. You're not okay and that's my fault," he says.

"Marcel, are you coming?" I ask him.

"I'm on my way. I'll be right behind you, babe."

"Okay." I disconnect the call and drop my phone back into my bag. Then I turn to Eloise, who is watching me with cautious eyes. "I'm sorry," I tell her. "I just don't like being trapped in small places."

"Yeah, me either," she says.

When we pull up to the De Bellis mansion and the gates shut behind us, with four guards standing at it, all of my hopes of getting out and running vanish. And all of my panic and stress about being trapped starts rising to the surface again.

"Come on, I'll make coffee or pour us some wine. Whatever you want," Eloise says when the door opens.

"Thanks." I offer her a tight smile as I follow her out of the car and into the house. "You have a lovely home," I say politely, trying to take my mind off the fact that another mafia family lives here. Ivan will be barging inside any moment. If he said he was coming, he will. I know that. I mentally remind myself of the fact that he's coming. Although one man against the army the De Bellis family has is not going to get me out if they want to keep me in.

Marcel isn't like that. I know him. He's not like that. He's going to come here and he will take me back to my house. I just have to keep repeating that in my head.

I trail behind Eloise until we end up in the kitchen. "Have a seat. I'll be right back," she says, clasping her hands together. I don't miss the way they shake a little. She's good at putting on a brave face, but she's not okay.

I don't call her out on it though. Instead, I sit at the kitchen counter and watch her retreating back. Until the sound of a sliding door opening has me turning around. Vin, the young kid I met out front last time I was here, steps through a second later.

"You came back," he says.

"Not willingly," I retort.

He raises his brows before his eyes lower to where my nails are scratching at my forearm. "You okay?" he asks me.

Am I okay? No, I'm not okay. "I'm not a fan of being trapped," I tell him.

"I heard what happened. At the club. You're not hurt, are you?"

"No." I shake my head.

"I have something that can help if you want," he says.

"Help with what?"

"The anxiety, the fear." Vin shrugs. "I get it. I don't like being trapped either."

"What do you have?"

"Come outside." He steps back through the door. And I don't know why, but I follow him out. There's something about this kid that just calls to me. It's odd. I don't know him, but I feel like I do.

Vin pulls a joint from behind his ear and lights it up, taking a couple of puffs before he hands it to me. My eyes widen. I've never smoked anything in my life. " This is what you have?"

"Don't knock it till you try it. Trust me, it'll help," he says, waving the blunt in my direction.

I take it from his fingers.

"If Marcel asks, you didn't get it from me," Vin says as I bring the rolled end to my mouth and inhale.

My lungs fill with smoke, which is quickly followed by me embarrassingly coughing up those same lungs.

"You haven't done this before, have you?" Vin laughs.

"No," I say breathlessly, while trying to recover from my choking fit.

"Shit." Vin shakes his head. "Well, you can thank me later." Vin sits down with his back pressed against the wall.

Following his movements, I lower myself down before bringing the joint to my mouth again, inhaling a little bit less this time. I manage to do so without coughing up my entire lung. Just half of it.

Vin snatches the joint from my fingers. "Give that back before you kill yourself and then cause my demise."

"How will me killing myself cause your demise?" I ask him. I can already feel the tension from my body start to melt away.

"My brother loves you. If you die because I got you stoned, then he's going to kill me," Vin says.

"Ah, no, he doesn't." Marcel isn't in love with me. Is he?

"Live in the land of denial if you want, but it's true. You wouldn't be in this house if he didn't."

I stare out at the immaculate gardens, the world around me suddenly more… everything. "Do you like cake?" I ask Vin as soon as the idea pops into my head.

"Oh god, you're one of those stoners," Vin groans. "Come on, I'll find you some cake." He pushes to his feet while balancing himself against the wall, then holds out a hand to me.

"Thanks. Think we can get chocolate cake?" I ask.

"Probably." He smiles while pulling me to my feet and then letting go of my hand. I follow him back into the house and into the kitchen.

"Oh, Jesus, Vin, tell me you didn't get her stoned." Eloise sighs the moment she spots me.

"She was stressed. I helped her." Vin lifts a single shoulder. "Don't make a big deal out of it, El."

"I won't have to," Eloise says. "Because your brother will. Marcel is gonna be pissed."

"Marcel is pretty." I smile as I plop down into a chair, my lips curling when I add, "I like him."