Page 70 of Deceptive Desires (The Syndicate #2)

Cecilia

I look up at the overcast sky and hope I can make it home before it starts raining. I’m rushing down the sidewalk, keeping my head down when a hand grips my arm and pulls me into an alley.

I look up to see a man cloaked in a black hoodie holding me.

I open my mouth to scream but am cut off.

“Come on, Cecilia. You really don’t recognize your best friend?” the man says, and I realize I know him.

I launch myself into Leo’s arms and give him a tight hug.

“What a way to say hi after all this time! You scared me! But no matter. How have you been? What’ve you been doing? It’s been so long,” I tell him, excited to catch up.

The hoodie is covering his face so he’s almost unrecognizable.

“Come with me. We need to talk, and it’s about to rain,” he says as he leads me further down the alley. We take a turn, and there’s a black car with tinted windows. I get in the passenger side, and he gets in the driver’s side.

“First, turn off your phone, and give it to me,” Leo demands.

I’m shocked by the weird request but do it anyway.

“How have you been? We have so much to catch up on!” I’m excited to tell my friend about my engagement.

“We really do, but we don’t have a lot of time, so you need to listen,” he says, and I start to wonder if this run in wasn’t an accident after all.

“Okay, you’re making me nervous. Is everything okay? Are you in trouble?” I ask warily. “We can help you if you are.”

“I’m fine. You’re the one in trouble.” He glances at my engagement ring, then meets my eyes with a hard glare. “Your fiancé isn’t who he says he is. You’re being tricked, and it’s getting dangerous.”

I lean away from him, taken aback. What does he know about Roman?

“You don’t understand. Roman is the sweetest, kindest man ever. You’re mistaken,” I correct him.

He laughs bitterly.

“You have no idea. This monster you’re with… he’s from hell,” he says it so darkly, I shrink back. “His whole fucking family are monsters. Every one of them.”

“No. You’re wrong.” I shake my head, knowing the Montclairs are the best people I’ve ever met.

“You’re so fucking na?ve, Cecilia. What do you know about the Syndicate? Nothing, I bet, or you wouldn’t be with the enforcer,” he seethes.

“The Syndicate? Do you mean Syndicate Enterprise, their security and defense company? I know all about it. They help people,” I explain, needing him to understand he has this all wrong.

“They don’t help anyone. Your precious Montclairs run a criminal organization called The Syndicate.

They do so many illegal things. Syndicate Enterprise is just their legal front.

The cover to keep up appearances, and Roman Montclair has nothing to do with it.

” He pauses and grabs my hands. As much as I want to pull back, I don’t.

“He’s the enforcer for the Syndicate. He does the grunt work.

The dirty work. He tortures and kills people for a living.

And he does it with a smile. Everyone in the underworld knows his name, and we all fear the monster he is. ”

“That’s ridiculous. Roman wouldn’t hurt a fly.

And the Montclairs are standup citizens.

I don’t know why you’re saying this, but you’re mistaken.

It must be a different Montclair family,” I say gently, not wanting to call him a liar, but I know his accusations are absurd.

“I should get going, Roman’s going to wonder where I am soon. ”

I try to open the door, but it’s locked.

“You’re not going anywhere until you hear me out.

I know of Roman’s viciousness firsthand.

He’s tortured me.” Leo drops my hands and pulls up the side of his shirt, revealing his ribs.

And something more terrifying. “He did this to me. He carved his initials into me to remind me of what he’s capable of.

” He waves his hand in my face, and I realize he’s missing his ring finger.

“He fucking chopped my finger off! I barely made it out alive. That’s why I haven’t been in touch in so long.

He threatened my friends and family if I reached out to you.

He said he’d kill them all then me. He has a warehouse full of torture equipment.

He tied me up and almost beat me to death. He's a psychopath.”

“Oh, Leo. I’m so sorry you went through that.” I grab his hand and rub it soothingly, trying not to look at the nub of the missing finger. “But you’re wrong. It must’ve been someone else. I mean, why would my Roman torture one of my friends?”

“It was him. Right after my birthday at the club. He drugged you, took you home, then found me. He kidnapped me, brought me to a warehouse, tortured me, threatened me, deleted your contact from my phone, chopped off my finger, and carved his name into me.” Venom is laced in his voice.

“But why?” I ask, confused. There is no motivation there.

“He wanted you all to himself. He was jealous of our friendship. I bet he even blamed me for drugging you. He probably threatened Gracie into vouching for him. Poor Gracie must’ve been terrified. We know how skittish and pathetically paranoid she can be.” He snorts derisively.

“No. Roman never blamed you for drugging me. He just said it was a stranger. I don’t understand. He was with me the full night. I woke up to him sleeping on my floor.” It comes out weak, but I refuse to give in to his claims.

“You were drugged. You were passed out all night. He left, tortured me, then came back to you. He’s a sadistic fuck. He even used lemon juice to burn the carving worse. He’s a sick fuck that gets off on pain. Why can’t you see it?”

My eyes widen, and my heart stops at the mention of lemons.

All the times Roman’s been gone then comes back smelling like lemons flash through my mind. Over the months, it must have been dozens of times. Sometimes multiple days in a row.

It can’t be true.

I can’t even fathom the amount of people he could have hurt in that period of time.

“You’re starting to understand. But that’s not even the worst part. He’s manipulated and hurt you time and time again.” Leo pinches my chin and lifts my face towards his.

“No,” I whisper, begging him not to tell me.

Because I know whatever he says will change me forever. Will ruin Roman and me. And I just can’t bear that.

“He drugged you that night at the club. He tortured your friend into abandoning you. But that’s not all.

He orchestrated the break in at your apartment.

He paid the man to show up, scare you, and ransack the place.

Wasn’t it so lucky that you never saw the robber?

That he never hurt you? That Roman came immediately?

He arranged the whole thing so you would be forced to move in with him,” Leo pleads with me to believe him.

“No,” I whisper again, unable to connect the evil monster he’s discussing to my sweet, caring fiancée.

“You didn’t get fired for no reason. After your boss was a little rude to you, Roman beat him as well. Threatened his life if he didn’t fire you. He wanted you completely dependent on him. So you could never leave him,” Leo continues.

“No.” It’s a frail denial.

“I didn’t want to have to show you this, but here,” Leo hands me his phone.

On it is a video of two men by a dumpster taken from far away. It zooms in, and I realize I know these men. It’s Roman and Dr. Sanders.

It’s too far away to hear what’s being said, but I don’t need to hear to understand the fists flying. Roman punches Dr. Sanders repeatedly. He knees him between the legs. Pauses the pounding to talk to him. I feel nauseous. Not even halfway through the video, I turn the phone off.

“How could this happen?” I beg to understand.

“It’s okay, Cecilia. You didn’t know. You see the best in people, and he took advantage of that,” Leo says, rubbing my shoulder in what should be a comforting way.

“But that’s not all. The man that robbed you earlier this week?

Roman tortured and killed him after Sebastian found him.

That’s how you got that ugly ring back so quickly.

It wasn’t a work of magic. It was the work of the monster we all hate. ”

“Killed?” I say, doubt despite reason seeping into my voice.

Leo sighs, grabs his phone, and does something on it.

“See for yourself,” he tells me as he hands it to me.

Pulled up is a picture of the robber, clear as day. But his shirt is off. And on his chest are Roman’s initials, carved into him just like they are on Leo’s side.

I roll down the car window and throw up. Over and over again. I throw up for what must be five minutes. Leo rubs my back the entire time. It isn’t comforting. Not at all. It just makes the whole experience worse.

Once I’m done, Leo hands me a bottle of water, and I rinse out my mouth.

“How do you know all of this?” I ask, succumbing to the truth.

“As soon as I recovered from his torture, I started following him. I had to save you from him, but I knew I needed to compile enough evidence so you could see through his charm. His obsession with you runs deep. I didn’t realize how far he’d go to ensnare you.

And the worst part is, he only wants you because he wants to get one over me.

I’m sorry I didn’t step in sooner,” Leo says, and pushes a piece of my hair behind my ear. I shrink back.

I don’t want his comfort. I don’t want anyone’s comfort. The only person who could calm me is… Roman. But that’s not an option anymore.

I don’t know what to do.

“What now?” I beg him, needing guidance.

“I have you covered, baby.” He reaches into the backseat and hands me a large backpack and some clothes.

“Here’s a bag full of everything you need.

There’s twenty-five thousand dollars in cash, clothes, a new ID, a burner phone, and some snacks.

It’s not enough to last forever, but it’s enough to get you far away and to help you build a new life. ”

He smiles at me, as though he saved my day, but the feeling’s wrong. Because the only hero I’ve ever believed in was Roman. And it turns out he was the villain all along.

“Why are you doing this for me? Where did you even get this money?” I ask, not really caring about the answer. I’m just stalling from what I know I have to do.

“Because you’re my best friend. And I can’t watch you throw away your life for this monster.

He’s too evil for your pureness,” he tells me.

“Now here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to put on these clothes and headscarf, so when he tries to track you based off what you’re wearing right now, he can’t.

I’m going to drop you off at the train station, and you’re going to buy a ticket going somewhere far away.

Don’t tell anyone. You’re not going to contact anyone from your old life.

If you do, you put them in danger of Roman.

He’s going to be looking for you. He’ll torture anyone who knows anything.

You’re going to text me where you end up.

I’ll keep you up to date on what’s going on here.

He thinks I’m not in contact with you, so he won’t suspect me.

You’re going to live under this new identity.

Don’t tell anyone who you are. Do you understand? ” he demands.

“But what about my family? What about Gracie?” I ask, not knowing how I could just leave them and never look back. “Can’t we just go to the police and report him?”

“The police know, but they look the other way. They don’t get involved in the underground crime here.

The Mafia is like the police of the underworld.

They keep everything in order, so the cops stay out of it.

The cops would probably hand you over to Roman to stay in his good graces,” Leo explains.

“As far as your family and Gracie, you need to leave without a word. Maybe in a few months if Roman’s given up the search, you can reach out.

But until then, you put them in danger of his wrath if they know anything.

Swear to me that you’ll leave them out of this. ”

I hesitate, trying to process everything.

My whole life has been turned upside down in the span of fifteen minutes. I don’t even know who I am anymore.

“Cecilia, do you understand?” Leo shakes me, grabbing my attention.

“Yes, I understand,” I respond hoarsely.

“Good. Now, I’m going to drive us to the train station. Take this time to memorize your new ID,” he says with a smile.

How can he smile at a time like this? I just found out everything is a lie. He’s the one who told me. And he’s smiling?

I don’t think I can ever smile again.

He nudges me, so I pull out the new wallet in the bag and look at the ID.

Emily Ricci.

I feel uncomfortable that Leo gave me his last name, but I don’t say anything. Other discoveries in the past twenty minutes have made me more uncomfortable.

He pulls up to the train station and stops.

“Good luck, Emily. Remember, text me when you get there,” Leo says with a sad smile.

“Thank you, Leo. For everything,” I whisper.

“Anything for you, baby,” he says, then unlocks the car door.

I get out the car and stare at the train station.

I feel my heart crumble with each step.

I look back at Boston one last time, knowing I’m leaving the remnants of my heart here.