Page 22 of Darkest Game (The Dark Mafia #3)

Chapter Twelve

Liam

“ S he has your mother?” Irina asks as I rush to the door.

“Apparently Elaine is at my mom’s house. She sent out word to get back to me. If she kills my mom…” I ram my fist into the wall. “Fuck!”

Irina flinches. The sight of it forces me to take a deep breath.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” I mutter. “I just need to make sure my mom is not dead. Elaine is fucking crazy.”

“Let me come with.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s me and you Elaine wants. Not your mom. Let me come with.”

“What would coming with me do? You’re going to give yourself over to Elaine to save my mother?”

Irina hesitates before she nods. “It’s me she hates.

Your mom doesn’t deserve this. You told me yourself: she’s not a part of this life.

She never wanted to be. You’ve kept her from it.

Whereas I’ve grown up in this life. I’m at least used to it.

I’ve always known my place in it. Let me come. I can help you.”

“You don’t even know my mom. For all you know, she could be terrible.”

“If she’s so terrible, then why are you desperate to go save her?”

I sigh. “Fuck. You’re right. My mom is one of the best people I know. That’s why I’ve kept her from all of this and now Elaine thinks she gets the right to do this? Fuck this. Let’s go.”

“I can come with?”

“Having you at my side will be better anyway. I can’t risk anyone finding this place. You on your own is not a good idea. Let’s go.”

We hurry out to the car and it takes around thirty minutes to get to my mom’s house. Irina and I are silent on the drive. I’m too fucking pissed to talk.

Besides, Irina and I went a little too far on the couch. If I hadn’t gotten that phone call, I probably would have taken her right then and there if she had let me. And the second I take Irina, I know I’ll never be able to let her go.

How can I want someone so badly and yet know I shouldn’t have them at all? It’s all so fucking confusing.

We arrive at my mom’s house. It’s a small ranch style on a cul-de-sac. Suburban living. And now the world of the mafia has entered my mother’s life.

“Wait in the car,” I tell Irina. “Let me handle this.”

“Then what was the point of me coming?”

“If I need you, I’ll come for you, ok? Just stay in the car. Stay low in case any of Elaine’s men show up. Keep an eye out. If you see anything…” I reach into the glove compartment and pull out a burner phone. “Here’s my number.” I text it into the phone. “Call my number if you see anything.”

“Ok.” I can tell she’s trying to sound brave but she’s actually very scared.

The fact that Irina wants to be here to help me save my mom is something I never thought would happen. How can she care about a guy like me?

“Stay safe,” I say gruffly before getting out of the car. My heart is pounding as I head to the front door. Please let my mom be all right. Let her be alive.

Since I keep my mom out of a lot of my mafia life, we don’t talk that regularly like we used to. Usually just once a month on the phone. I haven’t seen her in person in a few months.

I knock on the door. Someone peers through the peephole and opens the door. One of Jack’s men, Connor, lets me inside.

The front door leads right into the kitchen. And that’s where I see my mom, tied to a chair, a man standing behind her with a knife to her throat. Oliver is the name of the man.

Behind him stands Elaine, a smug look on her face like she knows she’s won this round. “Took you long enough to get here.”

“I was around thirty minutes away. Let my mom go.” My eyes flick to her scared face. A rag is in her mouth, preventing her from speaking.

My mom, Ashley O’Connor, pleads with her eyes for me to save her. It’s fucking heartbreaking. My mom who used to comfort me, who used to be superwoman in my eyes when I was a boy, now needs my help. Now needs me to be superman to her. To be invincible when we both know I’m not.

“I’ll let her go when I get what I want,” Elaine says. “She doesn’t need to die for your actions.”

“Fine. So kill me and let her go.”

“No. Not until I get Irina. I know you took her from the park. I know you have her. Where is she?”

“Let my mom go and I’ll tell you.”

Elaine smirks. “That’s not how this works. Oliver can stab her in the throat at any moment.”

“Then I won’t tell you where Irina is. And you’ll never get your hands on her. You’ll never get to kill her. I know you desperately want to.”

A look of pure fury crosses Elaine’s face. “Fine. We’ll let her go. But only if you give me Irina. Go get her and give her to me and then I’ll let your mother go.”

“My mom has nothing to do with any of this. She didn’t even know Jack. She doesn’t even know I’m married.”

My mom’s eyes widened and she struggles against the binds holding her to the chair.

“Keep her quiet,” Elaine snaps and Oliver smacks my mom across the face.

“Careful,” I growl. “If you hurt her again, I’ll never give you Irina.”

“Give me the girl. You can’t honestly care about her. You barely know her. So give her over to me and save your mom. You would choose some girl you’ve only known for a week over your own mother?”

My mom is my mom. Of course I’ll do anything to save her.

But Irina… she’s wedged herself into me in a way I never thought possible. I don’t want to lose her but to save my mom?

“Let my mom go,” I repeat. “And I will give you Irina. I swear it. But you have to remove that knife from her throat. Now.”

“Check him,” Elaine says, nodding at Connor. “Make sure he doesn’t have a gun on him.”

Connor pats me down and takes the gun from my jacket. “This is the only one.” He hands it over to Elaine, who points it at me.

“I’ll let your mom go once you give me Irina.”

“Let my mom go and I’ll give you Irina.”

Elaine smirks. “I don’t trust you.”

“And I don’t trust you. It seems we’re at a standstill. One of us is going to have to bend and it’s not going to be me. So bend, Elaine. All you have to do is untie my mom and let her go.”

“Once I do that, you’ll try to attack me.”

“You have a gun on me. You’ll kill me the first second you get. I won’t attack you. I’ll give you Irina. You’re right. My mom means more.”

And while I do technically mean that… Irina does mean a lot to me. More than I ever imagined. I know for a fact that I cannot hand her over to Elaine to be killed.

So I need a plan. But it’s going to require giving Irina up temporarily.

“Good,” Elaine says, smiling like she thinks she’s won. “So bring Irina here.”

“Let my mom go.”

“Oh my god! We’re going around in circles. If you do not bring Irina here, I will stab your mother in the neck. How does that sound?”

“Don’t,” I growl.

“Then get Irina.”

I know Elaine is not going to bend and I cannot risk my mom’s life. With a sigh, I finally nod. “Ok. I’ll bring her here. If you kill my mom in the process, I will make you pay. Got it?”

She sneers at me. “Got it. Now go get the girl.”

I give my mom one final look, hoping she knows that I’ll do whatever I can to save her, and go back out to Irina.

“What’s happening?” she asks when I get into the car.

“My mom is tied to a chair. They have a knife to her throat. Elaine is going to kill her unless I give you to her. I can’t get my mom out of that situation. Not without a distraction.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying…” I look into Irina’s pretty, sweet, caring face and know that I have to hurt her. And it hurts me more than I’ve ever felt before. “I’m saying I need to give you over to Elaine.”

She sucks in a breath. “I… figured something like this would happen.”

“I’m sorry, Irina. I have to save my mother.”

“I know. It’s why I came. Elaine wants me. I’ll give myself over to her if it means saving your mom.”

Fuck. Guilt flares through me. “You don’t even know my mom and yet you’re willing to sacrifice your life for her?”

“It’s the right thing to do. Your mom doesn’t deserve this. She never wanted any part of this life. But I’ve known my destiny. I’ve known that I would always belong to the mafia.”

“You’re an innocent in this too, Irina. You never deserved any of this.”

“I know. But she’s your mom. And… I care about you, Liam. You’ve saved my life so many times now. It’s only fair I return the favor by saving your mom’s life.”

“I don’t want you to do this,” I say gruffly.

“We have to. It’s why you came here. Because you know Elaine won’t stop until she’s killed us both. Don’t let your mom be collateral damage. I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I was partially responsible for her death. So I’ll do this. For her. For… you.”

“I’m the bastard who kidnapped you. I don’t deserve your help.”

Her smile is tinged with sadness. “You’re also the man who’s made me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt. I was taught to be a good person and a good person helps those in need. Your mom needs us now. I’ll do it.”

“No. We’re not going down without a fight.”

“Your mom will be killed if we fight.”

“Then we put on a show,” I say. “We just have to distract Elaine long enough to save my mom. That’s it.”

“How?”

I grab another gun from the glove compartment. “Lets go. Follow my lead.” I know in my gut that I cannot give Irina up, not even for my mom. She’s too good and pure and sweet to just give her to Elaine. Irina deserves everything in this fucked up world.

She’s been changing me without either of us even realizing.

“Stay behind me,” I say before I kick the door down. I burst into the room and shoot Connor straight in the head before he can react. None of them expected me to return so soon.

Elaine screams but instead of running away like I’m used to from her, she grabs the knife from Oliver and presses it to my mom’s neck. “I will kill her. Lower the gun.”

“Here,” I say. “Take Irina.” I grab Irina’s arm and shove her towards Elaine. It shocks both Irina and Elaine so much that Elaine’s grip slackens on the knife.

That’s when I act.

I kill Oliver right away. Elaine must realize the predicament she’s in because she grabs Irina and presses the knife to her throat.