Chapter 3 THREE

༺ VAELIA ༻

I didn’t know how long I had been out, but when I finally drifted back to consciousness, the world was different.

I opened my eyes. Blinked. My eyelashes moved fast against the bright morning light coming through the blinds. I wasn't in my bed but was sitting on the edge of the bed. My head was against a wide chest. Strong arms were around my waist. They were holding me close to a body that felt safe. It was like a rock, in a storm. It was Elias.

He hadn’t laid me down. He had just held me.

My heart gave a violent, painful thud against my ribs again, it is something I have gotten used to feeling. That familiar thud always betrayed me around him. I shifted slightly, and his arms tightened instinctively, his chin resting on the top of my head.

"Easy," he murmured gently. "You're awake."

"I..." My throat felt really dry. I pulled back a little to look at him. His dark eyes were searching my face, his brow furrowed with that intense, protective focus that made him such a good detective, and such a dangerous man for my heart. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pass out."

"You fainted, Catrina," he said softly, his thumb brushing a stray tear from my cheek. "Your blood sugar was probably crashing. Or the stress finally caught up to you."

He gently untangled his arms from around me and stood up, his large hands lingering on my shoulders for a second.

"Stay here. I’m going to get a cold towel for your face."

He walked out of the room. It felt really cold after that. I was still sitting there, with my hands shaking on my laps. Fina Halloway had walked in a few minutes ago, taken one look at Elias holding me, and simply smiled, assuming he was just being the protective older brother. But Maya and Lily? They had been standing in the doorway, and the knowing, triumphant looks on their faces told me they saw right through the sibling act.

I heard Elias’s footsteps in the hallway, followed by a sudden, sharp whisper.

"Stop right there, Elias James Halloway."

It was Lily.

I stopped moving and my breathing got stuck in my throat. I slowly went to the bedroom door that was not closed all the way and I put my ear on the door to listen.

"Lily, move," Elias whispered. "Catrina needs the towel."

"I know what you're doing," Lily shot back. "You're acting tough, playing the stoic big brother, but you and I know there is something behind the whole act, Eli. I see the way you look at her. You like her, don't you? You're in love with her."

Silence filled the hallway. I put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from making a noise.

"She's our guest, Lily. She's traumatized," Elias said, his voice very quiet and serious.

"She's a woman, and you're a man, and you're both miserable if you ask me!" Lily’s voice shaked. "Eli, please. We were so close before Dad died. We told each other everything. After the funeral you stopped talking to me. You became this... this wall. I used to know what you were thinking. Now I have no idea. I love you, and I still want my twin brother back, even after I get married next month."

"Lily..."

"I know you're trying to be strong for Mom and Maya," she continued, you could hear the sadness in her voice. It was like a tear was falling. "But you don't have to carry it all alone. Let me in. Please. I really want to support you, Mom, Catrina and Maya."

I heard a quiet sigh, then fabric rustling.

Elias spoke, his voice shaking with feeling.

"Lily, look at me."

I peeked through the door gap. Elias moved forward. Gently held his sister's face. He kissed her forehead softly.

"You will always have the first place in my heart," he said. "You are my twin, my other half. I already had a word with Marcus, by the way. I told him if he ever makes you cry, or if he doesn't treat you like the queen you are, he will face consequences that the police can't protect him from. He looked terrified. It was beautiful."

Lily let out a laugh that sounded wet and breathy.

"I am like this because we don't have a father anymore," Elias continued. "Someone has to protect this family. I love you all so much it actually hurts. Walking you down the aisle next month... that's something I really want to do. I love you. I will always protect you and this family."

He stopped talking. His thumb wiped her cheek.

"You are like a rose to me, Lily. A beautiful, perfect rose. I didn't want to give you to another man... but I have to."

"Then confess your love to Catrina!" Lily pleaded, grabbing his shirt. "Don't let her go, Eli. Tell her!"

Elias smiled.

"It's not time yet, Lily. Let me handle this at the right time."

He kissed her forehead again and turned toward the bedroom. I scrambled back into bed, pulling the duvet up to my chin just as he walked in, holding a damp, cool towel. He didn't look like a man who had just had his heart bared. He looked like the calm, collected detective.

"Here," he said, handing me the towel.

Before I could take it, Fina walked in, gently taking the towel from his hands.

"Let me, sweetheart. You go check on the coffee."

She turned to me, her eyes full of maternal worry.

"I don't know what's happening in that head of yours, Catrina, but we are taking you to the hospital for a full checkup. Today."

"Mrs. Halloway, no," I said, panic flaring. "I'm fine. I just had a nightmare. I didn't sleep well, that's all. I swear."

"You're lying, girl," Lily said, walking into the room and crossing her arms.

"Yeah... no. I'm not buying that," Maya echoed from the doorway.

"I think I will agree with them this time, sweetheart," Fina said softly. She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled me into a fierce, crushing hug. "Oh, my sweet girl. Why didn't you tell us you weren't well? We thought it was just stress, but you're shaking. We're taking you to the doctor."

I closed my eyes, burying my face in her shoulder. She was so loving, so completely blind to the deeper, lethal danger we were all in. She thought I was sick. She had no idea I was a hunted animal.

"I'll take her," Elias said from the doorway. "I can take a half-day."

"You have the Miller case," I said quickly, pulling away from Fina. "You can't miss work, Elias. I'll be fine."

"Lily will take her," Maya chimed in. "I'll go with you to the mall, Eli, and I promise to behave too. When coming back, I will buy lots of sweets for Catrina."

"Perfect," Fina said, clapping her hands. "Maya, go get your coat and don't you dare tell me your shoes are missing again, young lady! And Lily, get the keys."

Maya hugged me tightly.

"Feel better, Catrina. Don't worry. I will bring back something special for my favourite bunny. The doctor will fix you right up."

Elias walked over, his eyes locking onto mine.

"You're going to be okay, Catrina," he said, his voice so reassuring. "The doctor will take care of you well. Your sickness will be treated. I promise."

The dramatic irony of his words felt like a knife twisting in my gut. My sickness. If only he knew the sickness was my last name.

Ten minutes later, I was in the passenger seat of Lily’s silver Honda Civic. Since I had moved into the Halloway house eight months ago, I hadn't left the property. This was my first time stepping out into the world. As Lily pulled out of the driveway, I understood why they wanted a checkup. To them, I was a fragile, broken bird. They had no idea I was a viper hiding in their nest.

Lily reached over and gently squeezed my hand.

"You're going to be at my wedding, Catrina. Standing right beside me. You're going to be alright. Nothing will happen to you."

I looked at her. She was so beautiful, so radiantly kind. I thought about the night Maya, Lily and I had bathed together in the massive clawfoot tub, singing off-key to 80s pop songs until Fina had to shout from the hallway for us to keep it down. I thought about the way Lily always saved me the crustless sandwiches.

A hot tear slipped down my cheek, then another. I wished, with a desperate, agonizing ache, that I could stay with them forever. If anything happened to them because of me, would I ever forgive myself?

Lily noticed the tears in the rearview mirror.

"Hey, girl," she said softly, reaching over to wipe my cheek with her thumb. "Don't cry. We're almost at the hospital. It's just a checkup. There is no need to cry."

How naive. How beautifully, tragically innocent.

Lily turned her attention back to the road, her eyes flicking to the side mirror.

"Huh. I wonder why that car has been following us for a while. He had plenty of opportunity to pass on the straightaway. Maybe he's a learner? Or just a slow driver."

She dismissed it with a casual shrug, turning up the radio.

But my blood turned to ice.

I looked out the side window. It wasn't the same matte black SUV from last night. It was a dark gray Range Rover. But two cars behind it, barely visible in the glare of the sun, was another gray Range Rover.

Two cars.

They were boxing us in.

"Lily," I said, my voice trembling. "Change the route."

"What?" Lily laughed, tapping the steering wheel. "No way. This route is ten minutes shorter. The GPS says—"

"Change the fucking route, Lily!" I yelled, my temper getting the better of me.

Lily jumped, her eyes wide with shock.

"Catrina? What's wrong with you?"

"Turn left! Now!" I pleaded, my hands gripping the dashboard so hard my knuckles turned white. "Please, Lily. Just turn left!"

"Okay, okay! Jesus, you're scaring me," she muttered, signaling and swerving the car onto a narrower, tree-lined residential street. "Relax, Catrina. It's just a car."

But it wasn't just a car.

I looked back.

The gray Range Rover had turned with us.

The other car was right behind it.

Lily’s foot pressed heavier on the gas.

"What is the big deal with those cars? Are they following us?"

"Drive faster," I whispered, my vision tunneling. "Lily, drive faster."

"I'm going the speed limit! What the hell is going on?"

She turned her head to look at me, her mouth opening to say something else.

CRASHHHHHHH.

A blacked-out truck came out of nowhere, T-boning the driver's side of our car at eighty miles an hour.

The sound was deafening, a horrific crunch of metal and shattering glass. The Honda lifted off the ground, somersaulting violently into the air. The world spun in a chaotic blur of sky, asphalt, and blood. I was thrown against the seatbelt, my head slamming into the window.

The car landed upside down with a sickening, final thud.

I hung suspended in my seat, blood dripping from my hairline into my eyes. Through the shattered windshield, my vision blurry and fading, I saw boots. Heavy, black tactical boots stepping out of the truck.

I tried to scream, but my lungs were filled with dust and blood. The last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me whole was the boots walking toward my door.

༺ KAELITH ༻

"If the fucking zoning permits aren't signed by midnight, I want the alderman's house burned to the ground. Not the house, fool. Just the fucking alderman inside it. Are we clear?"

The boardroom was dead silent. My twelve caporegimes sat around the table with pale faces. No one dared to look at me.

"Crystal clear, Don Vespero," my consigliere, Mirus, said, adjusting his silk tie. "The cleanup crew is already on standby."

"Good. Because I am sick and tired of these politicians thinking they can play both sides of the—"

Just then, my encrypted phone buzzed against the table before I could finish what I was saying.

I held up a hand. The room understood what it meant.

I picked up the phone.

The caller ID read: Saki.

"Speak," I said.

"Boss, we have her. The extraction was messy, but we secured the package."

I stood up, walking to the floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the Chicago skyline.

"Is she unscathed? Did the Corvanis men get to her first?"

"Nyet, Boss. The Corvanis soldatos were trailing her, but we jammed their vehicle before they could intercept. She is not dead, but she is unconscious. We are bringing her to the secondary club now."

I gripped the phone so hard the metal casing groaned.

"Listen to me very carefully, Saki. If she has a single scratch on her, if she has a bruise, a cut, or a fucking headache, I will peel your skin off and feed it to the dogs. She is the most important asset this family has acquired in a decade. Do you understand me?"

"Da, Boss. She is untouched. I swear it on my mother's grave."

"Bring her to me," I commanded. "And Saki? Kill the Corvanis men. Leave no witnesses."

I hung up and shoved the phone into my pocket. I turned back to the boardroom. The twelve men were still staring at me, terrified.

"Meeting adjourned," I said. "Get the fuck out of my sight."

They scrambled out of the room like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

Mirus lingered by the door.

"Boss? What is happening?"

"The game has changed, Mirus," I said, then walked back to the head of the table and sat down, steepling my fingers.

For eight months, I had hunted the runaway bride of the Corvanis syndicate. I had tracked her movements, analyzed her psychological profile, and waited for the perfect moment to strike. Her father thought he could hide his prized, untouched virgin in a suburban sheep pen. He thought his daughter was just a bargaining chip, a piece waiting to be sold.

He was a fucking idiot.

Vaelia wasn't just a hostage. She was the key to dismantling the entire Calabrian-Albanian trafficking ring that had been poisoning my city. She was the leverage I needed to force her father into a corner, to make him sign over the port authority assets and bleed his empire dry.

Every empire has a weakness. Corvanis's has a name. Vaelia Corvanis.

As of today…

She is no longer his advantage. She is mine to use against him.