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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

GIA

“This is going to end in more bloodshed than anyone wants to see,” I say, cupping my mug of hot chocolate and leaning against the railing beside Skyla.

She shrugs, hands stuffed deep in her pockets even though the sun is shining and it’s a warm winter day. “That’s why Aiden and Royce went back to New York. They should only be another day or two, and then they’ll be back with more weapons.”

A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth as Bianca races away from Ellie and Shawn, the little hot-pink snowsuit making Bianca look like a shining beacon against the glistening yard.

“He said he’d be home by Christmas.” I roll my bottom lip between my teeth. “That’s in two days and when I talked to him last night, things weren’t looking good with the gun shipment they were waiting on.”

“They should be.”

“What do you think Aiden is going to do when Noah hunts us down again?”

Skyla sighs, her shoulders rising and falling. “I don’t know. I’d like to think that he’s going to be able to handle everything, but it seems a little ridiculous to say that when most things that could go wrong have gone wrong.”

Dominic lobs a snowball at Sean, laughing when it slips down the collar of the yellow flannel he wears. Sean is quick to retaliate, grabbing Bianca and using her as a human shield while Ellie chases them both down.

Bianca giggles like she’s having the time of her life.

She never got this with Noah. He didn’t want much to do with her, even if he made sure she was taken care of.

Yet Royce’s family has taken her in like she’s been part of their family since she was born.

And the more time I’ve spent with them in Vermont over the last few days, the more I’ve realized how wrong it was to keep her from all of them.

My stomach twists into a tight knot as I sip the hot chocolate. “Noah isn’t going to stop.”

“I know.”

“And Aiden and Royce really think they’re going to be able to beat him, but if they do manage to kill him, Zoe is likely to step right into his position if she can get the other men on her side.”

Skyla nods, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and offering it to me. “Want one?”

I glance at the box before taking one. “Fuck it. It’s been a long couple months.”

She laughs and puts one between her own lips, lighting it before holding out the neon-green lighter to me. “I don’t smoke much either.”

“Stopped a while ago.” I take a drag, blowing the smoke out. “I know I shouldn’t—setting an example for Bianca and all that—but if we’re going to make it through my brother and his psychopath nature, these are needed.”

Skyla flicks the ash from the end of the cigarette. “One isn’t going to kill you and I think you’ve earned it.”

“Can I be honest?” I ask, hesitant as I turn my back to the others.

“You usually are.”

“I don’t know if I can trust Aiden.”

Skyla leans beside me, looking at the towering glass windows of the house and inside where a sad Christmas tree is sitting beside the fireplace. “You can. At the end of the day, Aiden just wants what’s best for his family.”

“Does he think that Bianca is part of his family? Because if he doesn’t, I don’t think I can trust him to take care of her.”

“You trusted him enough to drive out here with me and her.” Skyla takes another drag before stubbing out the cigarette against the railing and tossing it into the flowerpot in the corner.

I take a final drag of my own, tossing the butt with hers. “That was more about trusting you than it was him. He’s still not happy about me and Royce. I saw it before they left to get guns.”

“Aiden doesn’t have a choice.”

“He does. He could make this worse for both of us. There’s no stopping him from handing us over if he feels like it either.” I twist back around as Bianca topples into a large snowdrift and Ellie fishes her back out, laughing as they get on a sled together.

“Noah will be dead long before he gets his hands on you.”

I scoff, the thoughts in my head spinning in a thousand different circles, all of them overlapping each other until my mind is one jumbled mess. “He’s like a cockroach. He’s going to outlive everyone, and he’s going to make it my problem. He’ll stop at nothing and all of us are going to end up dead.”

“You really think your own brother would kill you?”

“Yes.” I tip my chin in the direction of Bianca. “She’s the only one I think he won’t kill, but that’s more because she’s a child than anything else. He may be a monster, but he has a code of conduct at least.”

Skyla shifts her weight to one side before stepping back and perching herself on the edge of the picnic table. “We have a plan in place. Summer and Jade are taking care of everything back home, and Aiden is going to kill Noah.”

I swallow hard, conflicting emotions going to war. “You guys don’t know what Noah is really capable of when he gets going. You think that you know the worst of it, but he’s going to come at you hard.”

She pats the picnic table beside her. “Take a seat and take a breather.”

“I don’t think it’s that easy.” I sit down beside her but there’s still a shiver running down my spine that I can’t shake.

“We have a plan in place.” Skyla nudges her shoulder into mine. “If shit gets bad, I’m taking Bianca and I’m running while you stall your brother.”

“If he doesn’t kill me first.”

Skyla chuckles. “Well, there is that to consider now too, but I don’t think we need to go to the worst-case scenario immediately, Besides, there’s your brother’s ego to consider. He’s going to want to save you for last and make a point of it, if he does want to kill you.”

“Thanks,” I say, tone dripping with sarcasm as I give her a flat look.

“Either way. We’ve got this. We’re going to take care of Noah, and you and Bianca are never going to have to look over your shoulders and worry about him again.”

“I don’t know if the worry is ever going to end.”

“From what I know after helping raise my younger siblings, it doesn’t get any better. You’re always going to worry about them and hope that they’re making the right decision. And then when they feel like they can’t even come to you about who they were dating, it hurts.”

I press my shoulder into hers. “To be fair, would any of you have taken it well?”

“Unlikely.” Skyla smirks and leans back, propping herself up with her forearms on the table. “We wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with a Rinaldo, but sometimes there are more important things than that.”

“Such as?”

“My little niece and her mama, who happens to be amazing at forging art, which you and I need to talk about. If it’s what you want to keep doing after all this is over, then I have some connections who happen to like both art and money laundering.”

I snort, eyes rolling. “Yeah, okay. Optimistic of you to think that there’s a future after this.”

“I know there’s going to be.”

Before I can respond, my phone starts ringing, the bright and cheery tone breaking through the peaceful morning.

Mom’s picture appears on the screen as I pull it out of my pocket. My heart drops to my feet just looking at it. I don’t know if the call is safe to answer. Hell, I don’t even know if I can fully trust her when she puts so much of her faith into Noah.

I swipe my thumb across the screen and hop down from the picnic table. “Hi.”

“Where are you?” she asks, her voice high-pitched. “I need you to tell me where you are right now, Gia.”

I force down the swells of worry that surge to the surface at her panicked tone. “I’m not going to tell you where I am.”

“Gia, it’s important.”

“So is keeping my daughter safe. Not to mention that you could already be tracking this call for all I know, which then brings up the question of how you even got my new number.”

“Zoe gave it to me after you sent her a message yesterday.”

I knew I shouldn’t have sent her a message.

I just wanted her to know that me and Bianca were safe. If I thought for a second that she was going to hand out my number, I wouldn’t have bothered messaging.

And the tracking.

If I was paying attention, I would’ve thought about that yesterday. The line might not be as secure and well hidden as Skyla says it is. She insisted when she gave it to me that people were back at their home, bouncing my location to three states away, but what if that was wrong too?

Mom sighs. “Gia, you know that I only want what’s best for you. That’s all I’ve ever wanted, and you can’t honestly tell me that running around with the Lyndes is good. Noah is going to come for them and you’re going to be collateral.”

“After all I’ve done, I’m a target too. You saw to that years ago when you decided it would be best to keep us under his thumb.”

“It wasn’t a mistake. He’s done right by you over the years, and this is how you repay him? If you had just stayed home when he brought you back, he wouldn’t be on his way to you right now.”

“Excuse me?” My heart seizes in my chest as I pace away from Skyla. “What are you talking about?”

“I called because I know that siding with Noah now isn’t right for you or Bianca.”

“Then why did you say all that shit?”

“Because it’s still partially true. I don’t regret choosing to keep you close to the Rinaldos, and if you had stayed, we wouldn’t have this problem right now. But we do and I called to warn you that he’s on his way.”

“And how do you know this?” My hand balls into a tight first as I tuck it deep in my pocket, nails biting into my skin.

“Zoe told me.”

The world around me becomes a blur as I lean against the stone wall of the house, chills running through me despite the thick wool coat I have on.

“Why did she tell you that?”

At best, I’m hesitant to trust the information my mother is giving me.

For all I know, she could be feeding me lies to help Noah. I wouldn’t put it past her. It was the same kind of thing she did for our father when he was alive. He liked to use her as bait, drawing people in and flushing them out before he killed them.

I don’t know if she knows how many deaths she’s responsible for.

Mom makes a noise under her breath. “Really, Gia, enough of the inquisition. I’m your mother and I’m trying to help you.”

“This is the first time in my entire life that you’ve taken my side over the Rinaldos. Excuse me for being more than a little suspicious of what your actual motives are. It’s just a little hard to believe that you actually want what’s best for me and Bianca.”

“I do, and it might take you some time to see that, but things have changed, Gia. I need to know that the two of you are safe.”

“How far away is he?”

“He just left maybe ten minutes ago.”

“Thanks for the warning.” I end the call before hurrying over to Skyla.

She looks up from her phone, eyebrows pulling together and a thin line appearing between them. “What happened?”

“Noah is on his way. My mom just called and he’s going to be here. He just left the house. We should pack up the cars and get out of here as soon as possible.” The words come out in a rush, some of them mashing together.

Skyla shakes her head and stands, whistling to the others. “Back in the house. Now!”

They hurry to the deck, Bianca clutched tight in Ellie’s arms. I run down the steps and meet them halfway, snatching up my daughter and darting back up the steps.

As I go to head for the garage, Skyla steps into my path. “We’re not going to run again. We can’t keep running and we have a plan for what happens if he gets here, so it’s time to put that plan into action.”

“I’m not going to sit around and wait to die.”

Ellie gives me a sympathetic smile. “You’re not going to die. Just listen to Skyla.”

Skyla takes me by the hand and pulls me through the house and to Bianca’s room. She says nothing as she pulls on a book hidden within the bookshelf.

Another one slides open, revealing a little number pad. Skyla punches in a code and the bookshelf swings out of the way to reveal a panic room.

She grabs the crib and forces it into the room before motioning to me. “Get Bianca comfortable in here. It’s going to be a long few hours until Noah gets here, but he might have men ready to breach sooner than expected and we need to be ready.”

I nod and change Bianca quickly, putting her into a fresh diaper and her favorite soft pajamas before settling her into the crib in the middle of the room.

Screens line one wall with a keyboard beneath them and a plush chair. On the other side of the room, there are a row of bunkbeds and another door halfway open. Inside the other little room looks to be a washroom.

It’s not much, but there’s a food supply in the corner near the screens as well. It’s not enough to last long, but if Skyla has to come up here and hide with Bianca, they could last for a week or two.

Skyla tosses more diapers and wipes into the room before we step out and seal it shut. She turns to me, putting her hand on my shoulder. “It’s time to put the plan in action.”

I nod, fingers trembling as I open the messages I’ve been sending back and forth with Royce.

GIA: COME HOME NOW. NOAH ON WAY.