Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Elian

I wasn’t surprised when I woke up to an empty apartment. Though I won’t lie and say I wasn’t disappointed, that a big part of me had been excited at the prospect of having coffee with her, of making breakfast for her.

Hell, I’d woken up early with the sole purpose of making something more impressive than a simple omelet.

But she was already long gone, the steam evaporated from the hall bathroom.

She must have been tiptoeing around if she didn’t wake me, but she’d managed to feed Kevin before she headed out, even if the coffee pot wasn’t even on.

I knew she must have been freaking out about the night before if she had sacrificed what seemed like an important morning ritual to her just to avoid running into me.

It’s not that I didn’t understand. I did.

And, really, I owed her an apology.

I had no right to open her bedroom door without knocking. That was insanely invasive. But it was kind of late, and her room had been quiet for a long time, so I figured she was asleep. I didn’t want to wake her up just to let the anxious, pacing Kevin in.

But, yeah, she hadn’t been sleeping.

I wish I could say that my immediate reaction wasn’t one of desire. That I didn’t fantasize about walking in, closing the door, and taking over for her, teasing her with my fingers and tongue until she was screaming my name as she came.

I couldn’t say that, though.

Hell, it was a lot more than just that going on in my head as I watched her for just a moment, arching and writhing and whimpering.

And I guess part of me had anticipated… interest on her part when she saw me there. Unless I’d completely misread the looks she’d shot me several times over dinner and dessert.

But it wasn’t interest. It was horror.

Which made me feel like a complete fucking creep.

So, yeah, I owed her an apology.

I considered sending it via text, but I thought that bringing it up that way might only make things worse at this point. I was just going to have to wait to say it when I caught her in person again.

I was just about to head out for the day to do yet another seemingly useless stakeout when my phone started to ring.

Rico’s name was on the screen.

“What’s up?”

“Come over to the meat shop,” he said, then ended the call before I could ask for any further details.

I’ll admit that I was much more excited to see what Rico had going on than I was about more endless hours spent alone in my car, following Bratva members as they went out to lunch or got their dry cleaning.

Rico’s shop opened later in the day since there weren’t exactly a ton of people looking to buy steak at six in the morning, so I went around the back, finding Renzo’s kid Coal standing by the back door, keeping guard.

He looked rough. But, then again, I didn’t remember the last time I saw him without cuts and bruises. The kid was earning his keep, that was for sure.

“Everything alright in there?” I asked as he reached to open the door for me.

“Always something going on,” he said with a casual shrug. That was Coal. Calm. Unflappable. He was going to be a good capo some day.

I made my way in the door, expecting to turn and move into the office, when I found myself faced with a man in the middle of the floor, strung up by the chain around his wrists, the tips of his shoes just barely touching the ground to give his shoulders a break from the strain of hanging.

He was breathing heavily, sweat cascading down his face, mingling with the cuts on his cheek and lip, turning it all a light pink color as it dropped off his chin and onto his white shirt.

“What’s this?” I asked, gaze moving around to Rico, Renzo, and Saff.

Of the three, it was the small, blue-haired Saff who was out of breath with roughed-up knuckles.

“The leader of the 34 th Street crew,” Saff said, gesturing toward him before turning to grab a bottle of water, and taking a long sip.

“We have another crew working with the Russians,” Renzo explained, his dark gaze landing on the guy who, despite the way he was trying to snarl at us, looked close to pissing himself.

“Just so happened to be helping my bagman around that area today, and I saw him get out of the car with one of those fucks,” Saff said. “So I had one of my guys bring a car, threw his ass in it, and brought him here for some questioning.”

I was honestly surprised he was still breathing. Saff had a raging temper when she was riled. And it was often explosive and violent. The guy was lucky a few bruises and cuts were all he had to show for his betrayal. So far. Lord knew we weren’t done with him.

I nodded at Renzo, then moved toward the office. “Did we do the hit between the other crews yet?” I asked.

“It’s supposed to go down tomorrow night. The leader of one of the crews was out of town, but we hear he should be back sometime tonight. So by tomorrow, he should be back on the street again. Then we’ll strike.”

“What are our plans with this one?” I asked, jerking my head over toward him as Saff and Rico joined us.

“Taking out another crew cuts off another stream of income,” Rico said, exhaling hard.

We all got his frustration. Back in the day, we wouldn’t have hesitated. You fucked us over, you went down for it. The thing with growing an organization, though, was that there were men, women, and children who relied on the stability we provided.

We were already taking out two whole crews.

And, sure, others would come up and take their place, but it would require time.

So losing a third revenue stream was really pushing it.

“So what are the options?”

“One, we finish him, then put one of our men in charge of that crew. Move an associate over to that instead,” Rico said. “Sure plenty of ‘em would welcome the opportunity.”

“And two?” I asked, getting a grumble out of Saff.

“Clearly, Saff doesn’t like this one,” Rico said, shooting her a smirk, the kind a brother gave a pain-in-the-ass little sister. Which, admittedly, was what Saff was to him sometimes. Since Saff often acted before thinking of the family first. And Rico was a family man through and through.

“But the other option is to see if we can turn him, make him double-cross the Russians. See if we can get some decent intel out of him, since just surveilling isn’t going to cut it when they’re so careful.”

I nodded at that.

“Which way are you leaning?” I asked, looking at Renzo.

“So, is this some Soylent Green shit going on around here now?” Dav’s voice called from the back room, making all of us let out a chuckle as he made his way toward us. “Because I’ve been buying the meat assuming it wasn’t human, man,” he said, smiling at Rico.

“Human would be cheaper,” Rico admitted, sighing hard, and it was interesting to see him worrying about anything other than the family itself. “Short of it is this fuck is working with the Russians. We’re trying to figure out if we kill him, or we turn him into our spy.”

“Want me to take a few rounds with him?” Dav asked, a wicked look rising on his face, conjuring up images of him on the floor on top of one of Cinna’s attackers, his finger digging into his eye sockets.

“If I want him blind, I’ll know who to call,” Saff said, lips curved up slightly.

“As opposed to having his balls chopped off?” Dav shot back.

“That was one time!” Saff insisted, narrowing her eyes at him. “And he had it coming. You don’t want to get neutered, don’t act like a dog. Simple enough.”

“Focus, you two,” Renzo said, shaking his head. The light in his eyes, though, said he was amused by their banter.

“So, did you need something from me?” I asked, wondering why I was here when they had more than enough hands on deck.

“Seems like he’s working directly with Dimitri,” Rico told me.

“That’s… pretty high-ranking,” I said, brows lifting.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “So we want to know if you think it’s possible to use this guy against them, or if it is too risky with it being Dimitri.”

That was a good question.

On the one hand, this was likely the only way we would ever be able to get this close to one of the fuckers without holding a gun to their backs. On the other, I’d heard various people claim that the guys at the top of the Bratva were practically human lie detectors.

“If you think he’s smart and calm enough to pull it off, I think it’s worth the risk. But if there’s a chance that he’s too jumpy or a shitty liar, just end it now.”

Rico was nodding at that when I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. I ignored it, figuring it was just one of my men sending me some update or another. Or maybe my sister wanting to know if I was going to be coming to family dinner that week or not.

It wasn’t until I was making my way out the back door when I finally reached for it. Then felt my heart lurch in my chest.

It was Elizabeth.

Asking for help in all caps.

And I’d fucking ignored her.

“Yo,” I called to Coal, “you’re with me,” I said as I shot off a text back.

Coal banged on the door twice, then took off at a run to follow me as Dav moved out to stand guard at the door, his brows pinched, but knowing better than to ask what was going on when shit was looking emergent.

“You gonna tell me what the fuck I’m getting myself into or nah?” Coal asked, climbing in my driver’s seat as I took the passenger, wanting to be able to text Elizabeth and get more details, to reassure her that I was on my way.

“Got a girl who Bratva enforcers keep trying to kill,” I told him, getting a nod. Nothing fazed the kid. “She’s hiding in the library after getting chased through the middle school.”

“Middle school?” he asked, shooting me a look.

“She’s a grown-ass woman,” I said, rolling my eyes. “She was there for a press conference or some shit, I guess. She works for Senator Westmoore.”

“That fuck,” Coal scoffed.

“He’s working with the Bratva,” I told him. “She’s been trying to get proof of that.”

“No wonder they want to take her out,” he said, weaving into the oncoming lane to cut around nearly standstill traffic, getting a chorus of horns, and making my fucking heart seize in my chest with how close he came to colliding with a damn city bus.

“The fuck you learn to drive like that?” I asked.

“Been around,” he said, shrugging, protective of his past.

I was used to that. Renzo, Rico, Cinna, Dav, and Saff were similar. In the Lombardi family, I was one of the very few who had a traditional family. Which was, I guess, what set us apart from most of the other Five Families who were mostly made up of blood relatives.

What should have been a ten-minute drive even pushing the speed limit ended up being under eight.

“What’s the plan?” Coal asked, climbing out with me.

“Are you packing?” I asked. In response, he lifted his shirt to show me a gun in a waist holster. Then his pant leg to show me one situated there as well. “Good. We need to sweep the whole building before I even think about bringing Elizabeth out,” I told him.

“Got it. Together or separate?”

“Separate, so no one can sneak past us. One floor at a time, bottom to top, then you do another sweep downward while I go get Elizabeth.”

With that, I got a nod, and we were moving down the side alley of the school that was locked down tight after the town hall was over.

“I got it,” Coal said, waving me out of the way as he reached in his back pocket for a lock pick kit.

“Should I be concerned you just carry that around with you?”

“Shit happens. I like to be prepared,” he said, making impressively short work of the lock before swinging it open for me as he reached to release his gun.

I had mine out already, so I moved in, taking the lead as we walked down the deserted halls. The doors to all the classrooms and the main office were locked. And there was no way a grown man could fit in one of the short, slim lockers.

We went into the gym, finding chairs still set up, and half the bleachers open. We went into the boys’ locker room. Then the girls’, which is when Coal tapped my shoulder, nodding over to the ground when I turned to look.

And there was Elizabeth’s purse. It was upturned, the contents scattered all over the ground.

I pointed toward it as I took a few steps back to keep an eye on the doorway as Coal quickly gathered all of Elizabeth’s shit into her purse—which was an impressive amount of stuff—before slinging it up on his shoulder, and wordlessly continuing the search of the first floor. Then the second. And, finally, the third.

But there was no one.

I imagined her attacker doubled back to the gym, thinking she might have slipped out with the crowd. Then had gotten himself locked out as well.

I pointed to the library and Coal nodded, moving on to do another sweep while I collected Elizabeth.

When she rose up from the desk, she was white as a sheet, her eyes saucers, and her entire body was shaking as I pulled her against me.

“It’s okay,” I assured her, my lips against her hair. And if I went ahead and pressed them to her head, so the fuck what? “But I have to get you out of here, okay?” I said, getting a frantic nod from her as she slowly untangled herself from me.

I felt the separation like a pang in my chest. But there was no time to focus on that when there could be a fucking Bratva enforcer out to get her still.

“I got your purse,” I told her, getting a nod from her. “I need you to stay behind me, okay?” I asked, reaching again for my gun, watching her stiffen, but she did what I asked, moving behind me.

Reaching back, I wrapped an arm around her, keeping her close as we made our way down the hall, the stairs, and then out onto the lower level.

Coal was waiting right near the main entrance, then led us toward the side where we’d broken in.

“Back the car up onto the sidewalk,” I instructed as we both looked out the door, scanning the streets and rooftops.

With that, he ran off, getting in the car, and doing what I instructed.

“I’m going to pull open the back door, you fly in and go flat on your stomach. Stay low until I say otherwise.”

I waited for a nod from her before we were running to the end of the alley. From inside the car, Coal leaned between the seats, throwing open the back and passenger doors, and we both jumped in in unison.

“Go,” I said as soon as the doors slammed but Coal was already peeling off, driving up and down side streets, making sure that if there was any tail, that it was impossible for it to keep up with us in the traffic.

It wasn’t until we were only a few blocks from my place that I finally spoke.

“We’re almost home,” I told her, hoping my voice was calming because I was pretty sure I heard her sniffling back there by herself. “Two more minutes,” I assured her. Then, quieter, so only Coal could hear me, “We’re good, right?” I asked, looking in the rearview mirrors.

He gave me a nod as he pulled up to the curb, but he cut the engine and climbed out, scanning the streets and buildings as I shuffled a splotchy-faced Elizabeth out of the car and into the safety of my building.

“Come here,” I said in the elevator when she tried, and failed, to hold in a cry.

I pulled her against me and kept her there as we moved out into the hall, then into the apartment before I felt like I could truly breathe again.

And as soon as the door closed and locked behind us, Elizabeth finally stopped trying to hold herself together, and completely fell apart, sobbing in my arms, clinging to me, as I murmured quiet assurances that she was okay, that no one was going to get her at my place.

As I held her, I decided I needed to make sure that was a promise I could keep. I was going to need to pull two of my men off of their usual work and have them doing security outside of my building or the floor of my condos.

It would be a pain in the ass for my crew, but it would be worth it if I never got a text like that from her again.

“How about I draw you a bath?” I asked. “In my bathroom. It’s got the good tub,” I told her when she finally stopped crying.

“Okay,” she agreed, voice small as I led her into my room, then settled her on the end of the bed before going in to get the bath going.

“Want me to bring you anything?” I asked. “Wine? Coffee?”

“Coffee and my rescue meds?” she asked, looking up at me, and I saw how swollen her eyelids were. I figured it was from crying, but it seemed like the craziness of the day had brought on another migraine.

“Sure. Hold tight,” I said as I rushed around to make her coffee, brought her one of her pills that she took quickly, then carried the coffee with her into the bathroom, and closed the door.

And I stood on the outside of it, trying and failing, not to imagine her in there naked.

“Fuck,” I hissed, walking back out into the hallway to lean against the wall, taking deep breaths that I hoped would reason with my cock about the whole situation.

When that didn’t work, I went out into the kitchen and got myself a drink while I shot off texts to my men, then Renzo, to explain the situation. And, finally, to Coal to thank him for helping out.

It was only then that I realized Elizabeth had nothing to change into.

Feeling like I was invading her privacy for the second time in twenty-four hours, I went into her room, finding a pajama set in a soft material I figured she might find comforting, grabbed a pair of panties—trying again not to imagine her in them—and made my way into my room to knock on the bathroom door.

“Come in,” she called, making me straighten, figuring maybe she was wrapped in a towel.

But when I pushed open the door and moved inside, she was still in the tub. Naked. And looking at me with heat in her pretty blue eyes.