She hadn’t looked away from a screen since that first call to Libby had gone straight to voicemail.
I’d been calling her nearly every minute since, but nothing had changed.
“I’m just fucking sitting here,” Dare growled from where he was pacing.
“We’re all sitting here,” I yelled.
“That’s my sister they—”
“She’s my goddamn fiancée.” I ended the next call to her and got in Dare’s face, my jaw aching from how much pressure I was putting on it. “You’re the one who demanded we stay put until we have a lead. There’s no lead, so we’re all still fucking here.”
“I can’t lose her.”
I dropped my head, my tone lowering with it. “If you think for one damn minute that I can—”
“You’ve left before.”
I shoved him. “You think I wanted that?” He stepped up and tried to steady himself when I shoved him again. “You think every day wasn’t agony? I did what she needed.”
“Bullshit. You left for you.” He threw out his arms and looked around. “Looks like you’re good at it too.”
I lunged at him but my fist only met air as I was dragged back by Lincoln and Jared.
One of the twins was in front of Dare with a hand to his chest, whispering harshly.
“She held me at arm’s length for years because of the Moretti shit, but she’s always meant everything to me. I’ll do anything to find her. Fucking anything.”
“You left when she pushed you. Then she was taken.” His lip curled in a sneer. “She would still be here if you’d stayed.”
“This is on me?” I huffed and shrugged the guys off me when Dare turned away. “You dealt with these Morettis so she could have a life with me, then ignored her worries about them a week and a half ago.” I beat my hand on my chest and yelled, “I’m the one who noticed something was happening. I’m the one who tried to help her. She did everything to convince me it wasn’t them—to make me believe we were over. I never would’ve left otherwise.”
“I didn’t deal with them for you.” He looked over his shoulder, his mouth twisted in disgust. “I did it so she could have a life she wanted.”
“Someone do something useful and call Conor and Kieran.”
Everyone shouted they were calling Conor within a second of Einstein’s request.
“I’ve already got it,” one of the twins said. “Call Kieran.”
The other twin looked to Dare, his face white with horror. “Come on . . .”
“Fuck you if you think Lily’s calling him,” he said on a growl, then spoke into his phone. “Mom, tell me everything you know about Moretti.”
“Son of a bitch.” The second twin started pacing and slowly brought his phone to his ear, then glared at Lily. “If Kieran kills me, you owe me so much food.”
“Yeah, of course, Diggs,” Lily murmured. “Only the biggest sandwiches for you.”
Diggs smiled and fist-bumped Lily. “Hell yeah, nerd.”
The entire exchange went down in about twenty seconds.
I glanced at my bandmates. Their confusion had continued to grow since the Borellos arrived. I shrugged. “I’ve heard Kieran’s a scary motherfucker.”
Lincoln nodded, then looked to the other two. “Do you feel like we’re missing something?”
Jared made a grunting noise.
“Oh yeah,” Ledger said. “Why does that guy get sandwiches?”
I rolled my eyes and walked over to Dare when he hung up and stepped close to Einstein and Lily.
“Mom’s on her way here. She’s pissed that she’s going to set foot on Holloway land.”
“The fuck?” I hissed. “Your mom’s worried about where we are and not what’s happening to her own fucking daughter? What the hell is wrong with—”
“Their mom knows Dare will get her back, rock star.” Einstein sighed, her attention never wavering from the computer when she mumbled, “She probably said their dad was rolling in his grave too.”
Dare gave a confirming nod.
Despite the weight pressing on my chest, my mouth twitched into a brief smile.
Libby had said nearly those exact words the night the guys threw their first party here.
“Diggs,” Dare called out. “Kieran?”
From the smile on the twin’s face, Kieran hadn’t answered.
Diggs shrugged. “Straight to voicemail.”
“He’s working,” Lily whispered.
The other twin, Maverick, tapped on the counter and nodded in agreement with what Lily said. “Yeah. Yeah, send it.” He cleared his throat and glanced around. “We’re at Holloway, man. Yeah, I know.”
“What?” Dare demanded as soon as Maverick hung up.
Einstein sat straighter, her fingers flying even faster over one of the laptops.
“Conor’s coming. He’s not happy about where we are.”
“None of us are,” Dare ground out.
“Hey,” Ledger and Lincoln called out resentfully.
“Did he know something?” Dare asked over them.
Maverick sucked in a sharp breath, like he was preparing to give bad news. “He’s known about the stalking. Was helping Libby with it.”
I don’t know who had a worse reaction. Dare or me.
Dare’s frustrated curses filled the kitchen.
Rage overshadowed everything else, and soon I didn’t see the kitchen or the house at all.
All I could see was Libby pushing me away.
All I could hear were her lies.
All I knew was the frustration of the last week.
And she really had been going to someone else.
I didn’t know I’d grabbed a barstool and thrown it across the living room until Lincoln grabbed my shoulders and shook me, yelling at me to calm down.
“Mom knows?” Dare roared. “She fucking knew and didn’t say a word?”
I turned in time to see Maverick give Dare an unsure look. “That’s what he said.”
“Doesn’t matter who did or didn’t know, we need to be glad someone did,” Einstein cut in, her voice an orchestrated calm. “Conor did some of my work for me. Jesus Christ, Dare, you knew all this was in here?”
“All what?”
We all crowded behind her to read the scanned document she was scrolling through, but as soon as we got behind her, she was moving onto another window.
“Maxon, what were those pictures of?”
I gripped the back of my neck. “Libby and uh . . . Libby and me. They had notes on the bottom. Like, ‘You’ve always belonged to me.’ Shit like that.”
“Okay, think we can safely say it’s one of the grandsons,” she murmured.
“Vince’s grandsons?” Dare asked, dropping low to look at the pictures of the men on her screen. “Like one of the ones Libby was supposed to marry?”
Einstein made an affirmative tone in her throat. “After Vince died, the family didn’t keep themselves as hidden as before. Conor got a list of all the men in the family, which shows them actively living in Chicago . . .”
“You don’t think they are,” I guessed from the way her voice trailed off.
“After reading the contract . . . no.”
“You read the contract?” Dare asked, shock coating his words.
Einstein started to glance at Dare over her shoulder before focusing on the screens again. It was the closest she’d come to looking away from them. “You say that like you haven’t.”
“I haven’t,” he said roughly. “They refused to let me see it.”
“Think that’s something you should’ve demanded to see,” she whispered.
“I’ve seen him,” I said quickly, interrupting whatever Dare started to say.
Everyone stilled.
No one spoke for a few seconds until Einstein finally asked, “You have?”
I stared at the guy on the screen, trying to put a memory with the face. “I don’t know where, but I’ve seen him. Recently.”
“This is goo
d and bad.”
I drove my hands into my hair. “How is this good?”
Einstein pressed her fingers to her eyes and let out a quick breath, then went back to one of the other laptops, leaving the picture of the man up there. “Because it means she was taken by a Moretti.” Before any of us could react, she said, “They won’t hurt her, but . . .”
I looked to Dare and Lily when she didn’t continue.
“Einstein,” Dare yelled.
“We’re also safe,” she said distractedly, then cleared her throat. “Borellos. Maxon isn’t because of who he is to Libby.”
“But what, Einstein?” I begged.
She finally glanced away from the screens long enough to look at us. “That guy? Gabe. He’s a regular at the bar.”
Recognition hit. “That’s where I saw him.”
She looked at me warily then squared her shoulders, like she was about to deliver bad news. “I hate to do this to you, but it’s not like you didn’t know it was happening anyway. I’m also positive they slept together when you were gone. And when I say positive, I mean they did.”
My hands slowly slid from my hair and fell heavily to my sides.
I stumbled back a step.
Einstein noticed the look on my face and rolled her eyes. “I meant when you were living in California and touring. Not last week.”
I’d known.
But knowing and someone telling me were two different things.
Seeing one of the men talking with Libby was something I never thought I’d have to do.
“And if Libby slept with him,” Einstein continued, “then this went from bad to shit.” She switched windows on one of the laptops, bringing up the contract, and turned the laptop toward us. “You should read this.”
Under the arrangement agreed upon by Vincent Moretti and Lucas Borello, the following must be complied:
The Moretti and Borello families will refrain from violence against one another immediately following the signing of this contract.
The Moretti and Borello families will come to each other’s aid during times of distress. Including, but not limited to: Outside threats, financial struggles, emotional grief, and work crises.
The Moretti family will discontinue retaliation and forgive any wrongdoing made by the Borello family in the past. Including, but not limited to: rebelling against, and withdrawing from, the Willow Gang under unsavory terms.
The Borello family will offer their daughter, Elizabeth Borello, to the Moretti family as a guarantee of peace and unity between the two families. Guidelines as follows:
Elizabeth Borello, hereinafter referred to as “Elizabeth”, has until the day she turns twenty-one to join the Moretti family on her own terms. By joining the Moretti family, Elizabeth will marry a grandson of Vincent Moretti’s, whose name will be kept from this contract and the Borello family until the wedding for his own safety.
If Elizabeth fails to do as instructed, in order to retain the peace between the two signed parties, she will be transferred to the Moretti Family by a person of the Moretti family’s choosing.
In the unfortunate occurrence of the above paragraph, the Moretti/Borello union will still be seen as lawful in the eyes of the State the day following Elizabeth’s twenty-first birthday. At that time, a lawyer of the Moretti family’s choosing will sign this contract.
The Moretti/Borello union will be seen as lawful in the eyes of God when the two parties subjected to the arrangement willingly consummate their marriage. At that time, a priest of the Moretti family’s choosing will sign and finalize this contract.
The terms stated above are effective immediately upon signing by both parties. The terms are bound once the contract is finalized. This is a blood-binding contract. If death should occur to either of the signed parties, the contract will remain intact through the next blood relative.
This contract is void only upon the death of one or both parties subjected to the arrangement. If the contract is broken beforehand by either family, it will be considered an act of war.
Below were all four signatures.
I fell onto one of the barstools. “Fuck.”
Libby
“I DON’T CARE,” I SHOUTED when Christian finished reading the contract out loud. “I don’t care what it says. We changed the terms. That one is void.”
“Doesn’t work that way.” Christian laughed darkly. “Whatever you thought your brother did, I assure you he didn’t. You belong to me.”
“No. No, I don’t—I never. You can’t do this to me,” I cried out. “You can’t claim me and then decide how the rest of my life is going to play out because you think you own me. That stupid piece of paper means nothing to me.”
He pulled me closer and yelled, “That was a contract signed in blood, Elizabeth. You and I are the only things binding our families—the only things keeping them from fighting.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Gabe whispered as he emerged from the shadows.
“Screw you and your fucked-up family,” I yelled at him.
Gabe’s mouth twitched into a crooked smirk.
My next scream was nearly as piercing as the sound of the gunshot tearing through the warehouse.
Christian stumbled back, roaring in pain and clutching his shoulder.
What . . .
What the hell?
I couldn’t process what was happening.
There had been so many shocks tonight that I couldn’t grasp this new one. It was as if my mind was trying to protect me by filling itself with mundane things instead.
The only thing I could think in that moment was Dare would give me so much shit if he found out I’d screamed . . .
“The hell are you doing?” Christian snarled.
Gabe rounded on him, his smirk growing broader. “To answer your questions from earlier, Elizabeth, yes, I had to stalk you and kill innocent men. But I’m not the man you’ve hated all along. That award goes to this man here.” He lifted his arm and shot again.
I barely flinched, and only cast Christian a quick glance to see him bleeding from both shoulders and struggling to stay upright.
“Cousin. My partner at the firm. Underboss of Willow Gang,” Gabe continued dryly. “He ordered every picture to be taken and delivered to you. Ordered the deaths of the men you slept with. And he snuck into your bed a few nights ago.”
“Oh God . . .”
Gabe smirked. “I had to hear about it. In detail.”
My stomach rolled violently.
The box in Gabe’s truck. The film, camera, and envelopes . . . it hadn’t occurred to me someone else might be behind any part of it.
I should’ve known.
The presence Christian exuded—so dark and heavy and wrong—it’d been in my room that night.
I’d felt it. Dismissed it.
A growl built from deep within Christian’s chest when Gabe stood before him.
“You don’t deserve to be next in line. You also don’t deserve to be the one in the contract.”
“You don’t get to decide—”
“Don’t I?” Gabe slowly advanced, making Christian stagger back. “It said a grandson, which I am. It said they had to consummate the marriage.” Gabe smiled wide, making him look feral. His stare dragged to me for a few seconds. “Which we did. Over and over. After all, you had me watching her for years.”
Christian lunged just as another gunshot rang through the warehouse.
He stopped suddenly, clutching at his chest and staring wide-eyed before dropping to his knees.
A wet cough worked up his throat, spraying blood from his mouth.
Gabe stepped directly in front of him, all cruel smiles and greedy stares. “That fourth signature? I made the call for it.” Gabe shrugged slightly. “We already had the contract signed and delivered back to us before you decided it was worth your time to meet her. We’ve just been waiting for you to make a move desperate enough to warrant being taken out. For example . . . your decisions the last couple
weeks.”
“I’ll kill you,” Christian choked out.
Gabe laughed, short and mocking. “Thought we already covered that you have clean hands.” He bent his head closer and said, “I’ll take care of the family better than you ever could.”
Christian’s face twisted in rage and pain, his mouth opened to retaliate, when Gabe put a bullet through his forehead.
I jolted when Gabe suddenly appeared in front of me, brow furrowed and eyes searching me.
“You look like you’re going into shock.”
Did I?
It wasn't the first murder to happen in front of me.
Not by a long shot.
But I’d felt blindsided tonight. Repeatedly.
“I was unaware you two were related. And Moretti.” My eyebrows slowly lifted and a breath of a laugh escaped my lips. “Then you started picking each other off in front of me. And somewhere in the middle of that, I found out I was married to a goddamn psychopath.”
Gabe looked to where I’d gestured to Christian, then back to me. That crooked smile I used to beg to see making an appearance. “Not.”
“Not what?”
“Weren’t you listening? You were always married to me.”
I stumbled back into the wall, my head spinning as I tried to remember what was said. “No. No, no . . . oh—shit.” I flinched when he palmed my waist and tried to move away, but he crowded me in place.
“I won’t hurt you.”
A maniacal laugh burst from my chest. “Excuse me for not believing you.”
Anger briefly flashed across his face. “I never hurt you before tonight.”
“You lied to me,” I bit out. “You let me think I was free for eleven years.”
“There are prices to pay for trying to back out on a blood oath, Libby. Freedom is usually one of them.”
“We didn’t back out. Dare—”
“I’m aware of the cataclysm your brother was at fault for.”
I blinked quickly. “What? He . . . what? He didn’t do anything.”
“He almost started a war because he was too young and careless to think about the consequences of his actions.” He shrugged, the movement jerky with frustration and bringing him closer when his body relaxed. “But he was the only blood male, so what he said went.”