Page 5

“Who were those men?”

That was the first thing Jay had asked five nights ago after the unannounced visit of the men in black.

Quickly, I’d wiped the tears off my cheeks with the back of my hands. My feet stopped moving, pausing by the counter. I was about to put the cake away, ready to chuck it inside the fridge, when he stormed into the house, confused, concerned, and angry at the same time.

I’d wished him a happy birthday, but Jay didn’t care, not about the wish or the cake I’d spent hours baking. Instead, we’d spent the wee hours of his birthday talking about the Russian mafia and the debt our late father owed.

We sat in the living room tonight, the same cloud of gloom and uncertainty hanging over our heads as more rain pelted the glass windows. He parted the curtains with his fingers again—for the fifth time exactly—and the view was the same: rain, dark, cloudy skies, billows of what appeared to be dusty wind, and a black truck with bright white headlights.

“They’re not going to give up, are they?”

Dropping to the couch, he curled into the blankets, wrapping and hanging them over his shoulders as he reached for the cup of hot chocolate on the center table. Taking a sip from mine, I ticked off an item from the neatly drawn check boxes on my daily to-do list, shaking my head.

“No. Apparently, they won’t. They probably don’t even know what that phrase means—to give up. You should have seen them, their eyes….”

A quick flash of brown made my fingers pause with the pen, reminding me of his heavy presence in the room. Shaking my head and thoughts of the intimidating midnight man out of it, I resumed with the checkboxes. “They were so intimidating. And they meant business.”

After some moments of silence, my brother shuffled on the couch, the butt of ceramic thudding on the center table when he dropped the mug.

“Is this it?”

I frowned, ticking off another box. “Is what it?”

“This…. I mean, we’re just sitting here, drinking hot chocolate, while watching them openly stalk us, and we aren’t doing anything about it. So, is this it? Our fate? We have two days left. Two days before they come back here, marching to our doorstep.”

Sighing, I rubbed the spot between my eyes and the bridge of my nose. I dropped the book, and when I looked up, I wasn’t surprised to find his eyes on me.

He stared at me with those youthful blue eyes. Jayden had always been the most energetic between us, ready to take on the world, headstrong. Sometimes, like tonight, it really was annoying.

When I’d told him the details of our father’s debt and the price we had to pay to repay Mr. Yezhov, I boxed him into a corner, leaving no other option but to trust me. Currently, his trust was waning.

“Jayden, you don’t understand, these men are—”

“Dangerous. Try another word. I’ve heard that too many times already.”

“Look, if they come back here—”

“You mean when they come back here because they will. It’s the Bratva.” He threw off the covers and sat upright with that stubborn frown on his mouth and angry eyes. “Maybe you don’t understand. Serena, we’re talking about the freaking Russian mafia. They’re not only dangerous but vicious and ruthless. Unlike us, they don’t function with hot chocolate and emotions. They’re out there in the cold, ready to freeze their asses off if it means getting the job done. So, if you’re thinking of begging them not to take me when they return, you’re only going to waste your time. We need to have an action plan, and a good one, too.”

But he was wrong; I did understand. Too well, in fact. And that was why, contrary to what he thought, I was checking boxes to keep my sanity together rather than shattering to a million pieces like it threatened to do. However, what surprised me more was the extent of knowledge Jayden possessed on this subject. Almost like he knew them personally.

With furrowed brows, I shifted the book aside, scooting toward the edge of the chair, but he didn’t give me a chance to speak.

“Or you know what? Maybe I should just do it and offer myself up willingly. It’ll take the attention off you, too. I don’t know what I’d do if those bastards tried to hurt you. Also, I’m our father’s only son. He might not have been the best parent, but I feel responsible for this. I can—”

“You can and will not do anything, Jayden Skye.”

The pain that sliced my heart was immediate, as though an arrow shot right through.

When I was forced to relive the bitter memories of the past, I clutched my chest. The cold, rainy days, like tonight, were empty. After my mother left, she jump-started me into playing the role of a mother without a prior warning. Then, my father stopped caring. Work was always more important than us. Jay was all I had left. I raised him like he was my own.

It was just Jay and me.

It had been us for years now, and I wasn’t going to give up his bright future because of our father’s mistake. “We did not come this far for me to lose you to a life of crime and cutting off people’s fingers, you hear me?

The thought of him getting swallowed by that world— of crime, of violence, of shadows—was like a fist closing around my throat. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t let him fall into that trap.

I knew Jayden. I knew he was scared but willing to do whatever it took to keep me safe. But I was the older one. I had to be strong for him. For us .

“No matter what happens, you stay out of it. You promise me that right now, Jay. You’re not going to get tangled in their affairs. Promise me.”

He looked at me for a long moment, and I saw the conflict swirling in his eyes.

God, he’d grown so much, but I never thought it possible that I’d see him as anything other than my little brother, still someone I needed to protect.

Finally, he nodded. It was a small, reluctant movement, and I should have felt relieved, but my heart still ached.

“I promise, Serena,” he said quietly.

I wanted to pull him into a hug, to hold him tighter than I had in years—I needed to believe that we’d find a way out of this. But he was still talking.

“But that doesn’t erase the reality that they’ll return soon. It’s just two days left, Serena. We have to be ready when they come back. If we don’t fight them off somehow, they’ll take me.”

I’d stopped counting how many times my brother was correct about the impending situation and started focusing on the options we had to chase them off.

Currently? We had zero options.

However, the confidence oozing off the young man seated on the couch opposite mine was a cause for concern. Part of me couldn’t wait for him to reveal the card under his sleeve, while the other part wasn’t sure she wanted that card to see the light of day.

It reminded me of springtime about seven years ago. We’d been on our way to school, walking down the street on the pavement, when one of the neighbors sped down the road, tires splashing a bucket full of dirty water all over us from a deep puddle.

The neighbor hadn’t stopped to apologize, and Jayden took it personally. With a small smile I’d never forget, he promised me he’d fix it.

The next day, while we’d been on our way to school, walking down the street on the pavement, we walked past the neighbor’s house. His car’s windshield and back glass were cracked, and though I never asked till this day, I had a good idea who fixed it.

“What do you suggest?”

Jay glanced around. “You’re sure they didn’t bug the house?”

“You’ve said a lot already, and you’re only worried about that now?”

He rolled his eyes, shifting closer. They’d obviously not had the house bugged; otherwise, we’d have probably been ambushed hours after they left.

“I know someone that can help us.”

I blinked. “ You know someone who can help us against the Russian mafia?” I repeated like it was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard because it was. “Who’s that powerful, Jay? Even the police will prove to be useless in this case.”

“The police?” He scoffed in disbelief. “Who said anything about the police? I’m talking about Matteo.”

Like I’d been smacked across the face, I flinched backward, my blood running cold. I’d heard many sayings, “It takes one to know one,” “Only those who have worn the shoes know the pinch.” It only made sense that Jay’s immediate solution to fight off Timur Yezhov would be another notorious mob—the Italians. And now, I fully understood why it appeared like he knew them personally. He did.

Matteo and Jay were close friends. I, on the other hand, watched them from a distance. I’d never been a supporter of their friendship because of Matteo’s bloodline. He tried but couldn’t hide it. The normal-school-kid guide never worked where I was concerned because I knew of his father.

Enzo Colombo. One of the most feared humans to ever know. He, plus the people he led, were no better than the Bratva.

I shook my head. “We can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Why not? Jayden, we can’t start running away from one crime family to another. Matteo’s father is no different from the man who walked into our home five nights ago. It’s like trying to fight evil with evil.”

He paused, his eyes growing steely with determination. “Well, do you have a better idea?”

“I….”

“Exactly what I thought. You don’t.” Then, his gaze softened, and he left his seat to come to mine, throwing an arm over my shoulder and wrapping me in a warm side hug. “You don’t have to do anything; I’ll do all the talking. He owes me a few favors, so it’s nothing. What we need is to be far away from the Russians, at least for some time. Once they can’t find us, they’ll move on to other things. I’ve heard enough about Timur Yezhov to know he’s a busy man. No time to waste.”

“You really think Matteo will be able to help us?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I’m one hundred percent sure he can.”

I rested my head against my brother’s, feeling the weight on my shoulders lighten up. If it were up to me, I’d never want anything to do with either family, especially when Danger was their middle name. But we didn’t have lots of options.

I didn’t trust the Colombos, but I trusted my brother.

If he was sure they could help us, then I wouldn’t fight it. All I could do was hope that everything went according to plan.