Page 10
CHAPTER TEN
GIA
Mom’s words are a punch to the gut. “You had a baby with a Lynde.”
The sharp stab of guilt twists deeper, but I can’t let her see it. Not when every single fiber of my being is cracking and tearing at the edges, shredding into pieces so fine I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to stitch them back together.
If Noah finds out, it won’t just be me who pays the price.
Bianca will too.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Mom shakes her head, gesturing to the chair at the dining table like I’m a young girl in trouble again.
“Keep your voice down!”
The chair scrapes against the glossy black floor of Noah’s dining room as I pull it out and drop down. The energy seems to sap from my body as I glance out the windows, trying to take stock of how many men are guarding the outside.
If there’s not too many, I might be able to escape.
Mom slaps her hand on the table in front of me. “Don’t you dare talk to me that way, Gia. Not when you’re the one who screwed up.”
“Are you calling Bianca a screwup?” I ask, voice venomous as I rub my bruised knuckles.
She hands me the ice wrapped in the stained tea towel she embroidered small blue flowers onto years ago. “No. I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is that you sleeping with a damn Lynde is a screwup. Tell me that you had no clue who he was before you slept with him.”
I bite my tongue and press the ice to my knuckles, hissing slightly at the sting.
Maybe I shouldn’t have punched Jace in the face a couple hours ago but watching him try to explain the broken nose and my bruised knuckles was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.
If I have to risk being around my brother again, someone has to pay for it.
Though, staying with Royce might’ve been a better idea. He’s not the most stable person, but he thinks things through. He doesn’t act on impulse like Noah can be prone to do.
Mom sighs and slumps down into the chair beside me. “I don’t know how we’re going to keep this from Noah. You knowingly slept with someone in the family he’s trying to destroy. You had a baby with a Lynde. You understand that this changes things, don’t you?”
“You know, I keep hearing that it changes things, but I don’t know why. Me and my daughter don’t have to be pulled into this shitstorm.”
“He’s her father too. You know that. He has as much right to be around his daughter as you do.”
“No. He really doesn’t.”
She leans forward, her elbows on the table as she rubs her temples. “I don’t know what we’re going to do about this, Gia. You’re going to have to tell him sooner or later.”
“The more you talk about it, the greater chance there is of someone overhearing and telling him.” I glance over my shoulder at the doorway, and sure enough, a man dressed in all black with a face that looks carved from stone marches by.
I stare at her, and for a moment, I wonder if I’m going to have to kill my mother.
I’ve killed people before when I’ve had to. The thought of turning a gun on her makes me sick, but if she’s about to expose me, it might be the only thing I can do.
Protect Bianca at all costs.
It’s the mantra that plays through my head every day. And now it seems more prevalent than ever. One person after another keeps threatening to come after her.
Will I have to turn into a serial killer to finally get my freedom?
Mom leans in, patting my good hand. “You need to let Noah help you, alright? I know that you think he’s got something else going on, but that’s just you being paranoid and now it’s clear to see why. You’ve spent the last two and a half years hiding the fact that Bianca is a Lynde.”
“Noah wants to leverage me in whatever way he can. Right now, that’s forging paintings for him, but what’s that going to look like if he finds out the truth?” I pull away from her, not sure who the woman sitting across from me is.
I love my mother to death, but she’s been blind to the way Noah and his father worked for a long time. Even with his father dead and only Noah to contend with, she still can’t—or maybe it’s that she refuses—to see the danger that lingers around him like a dark cloud.
She shakes her head, looking at me like she thinks I’m overreacting. “Really, Gia, you need to just let this go and trust him. He’s your older brother. Do you really think he’s going to let anything happen to you?”
“He let me get kidnapped.”
“I’m sure he didn’t think they would come for you. He’s done such a good job at keeping you and Zoe hidden all these years. You know, it was his idea that you took my last name instead of his father’s.”
It was also his idea to teach me how to kill people before I was even a teenager. He was also the one who saw the ability I had to paint and figured out a way to use it to keep me his prisoner.
He thought of all the ways he could trap me and he executed them all with a flawless precision I should’ve fought against years ago.
“Mom, this is insane. My daughter is upstairs sleeping right now, but do you think he would leave her alone if he knew the truth?”
My chest tightens just thinking about what could happen if he figures out who she is.
I’d have to find some way to keep her safe from him.
While Royce wouldn’t use his daughter as a bargaining chip, I don’t have the same idea about Noah. I’m not sure a shred of humanity has ever existed in him. As far as a half brother goes, he’s a monster just lurking for his chance to use whoever he can to get to the top.
“You like the life you lead, and that has everything to do with the empire Noah’s family has built.” A low whistle comes from the other room. “It sounds like the tea is ready. You stay here and ice that hand.”
Mom gets up and heads to the other room, leaving me with the soggy towel draped over my knuckles, ice cubes melting fast.
Groaning, I put the towel on one of the black vinyl placemats before leaning back in my chair.
There’s no way that I’m going to let Noah control my life forever, but this is the only option for the time being. He makes sure that I have work coming in and that there’s a roof over Bianca’s head.
I have millions of dollars sitting in an account offshore.
I could draw that money and disappear, but one day the money would run out and I wouldn’t have the connections to sell the forged paintings if I turn my back on Noah. He would cut me off from his contacts.
Working a normal job would be hard. I would have to find someone to care for Bianca and that person would have to be willing to shoot my half brother in the head if he ever tried to come for my daughter.
Maybe I should have stayed with Royce.
Mom walks back into the room with two cups of tea on little saucers, the ceramic rattling around on the brushed brass tray. “You know, I believe that Noah is trying to atone for his father’s sins.”
“Is that why you’re here instead of in Costa Rica like you’re supposed to be?”
“He changed my mind. He told me that we would be safer here than overseas.” Mom puts a cup of tea in front of me even though she knows I’ve never liked the stuff. “I think you need to look at this from all angles, instead of just the one that paints him like the problem.”
“He’s not the problem, but he’s one of the problems.”
She nods to the cup. “You need to have some of that. It’ll help you feel better.”
“No, what would help me feel better is knowing without a doubt that my daughter is going to be safe.” I pull my new phone from my pocket, bringing up the baby monitor app to check on Bianca.
She’s still nestled in her crib, but she’s starting to toss and turn, her little fists clenching. My chest tightens just watching her. How could Royce and I make such a perfect thing when we’re so fractured?
“Mom, you need to think about what you’re willing to stand for. The life Noah provides for us is good, but do you really want to spend the rest of your life at his beck and call?”
I put the phone to the side, getting up and going to the doorway to check the hall. Jace stands at the other end of it, his arms crossed over his broad chest, black eyes shining and nose slightly more crooked than it was before.
Nodding to him, I step out of the dining room and head for the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Staying here isn’t safe.
I knew that before, but I still allowed Jace to bring us back to Noah. I thought that the devil I knew was better than the devil I didn’t, but the icy glare burning a hole through me as I disappear makes me feel like it’s only a matter of time before my daughter is used as a pawn.
The winding halls are lined with men and their guns, leaving an uneasy feeling crawling through my stomach.
Noah never has this many men in the house. He likes to maintain some sense of privacy.
If they’re inside, that means he has to be expecting something big.
Doing the best I can to look natural, I go into Bianca’s room just as she starts to whine. It takes only a few minutes to get her out of the crib and into a fresh diaper before taking her out onto the balcony.
There are men standing on either side of the doors, glancing to us as we step out.
I nod to both of them, going to the railing. “Look, Bia bean, see the pretty birds?”
Pointing to a couple of the birds, I use the chance to glance down around the house.
Men patrol the grounds, moving along the paths and driveway like they’re expecting a major infiltration at any moment.
Royce may be a lot of things, but he’s not impulsive. He’s not going to come after me without a plan in place.
If he’s still alive.
And then I have to worry about what that plan is going to entail. Is he going to kill me for leaving him to bleed out?
Guilt gnaws at me as I bounce Bianca, grinning when she laughs.
I should have done something to get in contact with his family. It’s been nearly six hours since I left him on the floor.
He’s dead. I’m the reason Bianca’s father is dead.
She’s never going to forgive me when she finds out.
The realization hits me like a ton of bricks dropping straight down onto my head. I turn and take her back inside and downstairs, strapping her into the little stroller.
Jace looks at me as I push her toward the front door. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“I was planning on taking Bianca around the property. We were trapped for days in that Lynde bastard’s house, and she hasn’t had enough fresh air.” I force the lie out, trying to make it sound as natural as possible.
He shakes his head, moving into my way. “I was told not to let you out. Wouldn’t want to get a broken nose for not following orders again, now would I?”
My stomach does a flip. “You’re going to let me go walk, Jace. I’m not going to stand here and argue about it. She’s a child and she needs fresh air.”
“Let her go for a walk.” Noah appears behind me, hands in his pockets, watching me like he’s thinking I’m going to bolt at any moment. “There are dozens of men walking the property and she’s not going to be able to go anywhere.”
The last bit is said like a warning, his tone low and the meaning clear.
He doesn’t trust me anymore.
“Thanks.” I smile and hug him quickly, playing the part of happy younger sister that I’ve always played. “We’re just going to go through the gardens. I’m not going as far as the lake today. Looks like it’s going to rain.”
Noah nods and ruffles my hair before Jace steps to the side and lets me out.
I have no clue how I’m going to get a message to Royce’s family when I’m being watched like a hawk. It seems impossible, but somehow, I have to.
Using my phone is a risk. I’m sure Noah has it bugged. He’d be stupid not to.
Which means I have to find a way off the property without his men noticing what I’m doing.
I turn the stroller toward the driveway. I can go through the front gates and walk down the street. He’s going to have the entire neighborhood being watched, but they can’t watch every street all the time.
I just have to find a gap in their patrol.
Bianca giggles in her stroller, babbling to herself with a mix of words and nonsense. She reaches out to the flowers that we pass, pulling one off a bush and holding it tight as I stride through the gates and out onto the open street.
Now to just find a way to message his siblings.
The evening is getting dusky, visibility reducing as the night sets in.
A woman approaches me, and when she steps around me to pass, her shoulder hits mine, sending the iced coffee in her hand falling over me.
“I’m so sorry!” she says, stooping to the ground at the same time I reach for the diaper bag under the stroller. “We’re going to be getting you out of here.”
My spine stiffens, but I kneel to reach through the bag, handing her a pack of baby wipes to clean up some of the coffee on her skin. “Who are you?”
“Skyla. Royce’s sister.”
A sharp pain explodes in my chest as I feel like I’m fighting for breath. “I left him at the safe house. He was bleeding out.”
I shouldn’t care about what happens to him. I should be glad that he’s going to be less of a threat to us. But I can’t bring myself to be that cold. Not when it comes to him. I need to know that I’m not the reason he’s dead, even if his being alive means I’m going to have hell to pay.
Skyla’s gaze lifts to mine. “He’s fine. Now, you’re going to find a way out of that house, and I’m going to take you back where you belong.”
Something about the tone of her voice makes me want to trust her.
That, and I don’t think I can trust Noah anymore. Not fully at least.
“How are you going to know when I get out?”
She hands me back the baby wipes and grabs her empty coffee cup with a smile. “I’m sorry about that. Have a good day!”
Skyla keeps walking past me as if nothing happened, not answering any of my questions.
I push the stroller forward, taking a turn around the block and heading up the street before stepping through the other gate onto the property.
Bianca still babbles to herself as we take our time going through the garden, trying to make it look like there’s nothing suspicious going on before I finally return to the house to feed her some lunch.
Noah is sitting at the small table in the kitchen when I walk in, his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes burn into mine, and I know. Whatever game he thinks I’m playing, I’m running out of time to win.
One wrong move, and Bianca won’t just be caught in the crossfire—she’ll be the target.