Page 22

Zoey

Justin shoves his way into my room, despite my attempt to keep him out. His cold dark glare narrows in on me, turning my skin to ice. I swallow hard, masking the fear that wants to steal my breath. I’ve never trusted Justin but he’s the last person I expected to be standing outside my door.

“What are you doing here?”

He closes in on me as the door clicks shut behind him. My steps falter as I walk backwards on shaky legs, stumbling over my own feet but staying upright.

“Look at you all whored up for your biker rat.” His hand grips around my arm. His fingers digging into my skin like claws. “Is that what you’ve become, Zoey? A whore?”

With a sneer, he rips at the strap of my nightgown. The thin lace tearing at the seams and falling loosely over my shoulder. His eyes drop to my exposed skin as I swing my fist but it misses its landing. Justin’s hand darts up and closes around my neck.

My heart pounds against my chest, my breath coming out in ragged gasps. “Backdraft will be here any minute and he’s going to kill you for touching me.”

His chest heaves with maniacal laughter. “He’ll be too late.”

“Too late for what?’ The words scratch at my dry throat.

“There’s bombs all around this hotel, and in less than an hour, they’re going to blow. Unless you come with me, the death of all these people will be on you.”

His warning hits me harder than any physical blow ever could. My stomach clenches in knots. All these innocent people, Cal and Brie, Backdraft… All their lives are in danger.

I can’t hold back the tears that swell in the corner of my eyes. “Why? What do you want?”

“Isn’t that obvious, Zoey? I want what was promised to me. I want you.”

My heart sinks into the pit of my stomach. Justin has always been obsessed with me, but I never thought he’d go to such extremes.

“You don’t have to do this, Justin.” My voice trembles.

“I do, Zoey.” His grip around my neck tightens, his eyes void of all emotions. “You’ve left me no choice. Now let’s go.”

With his hand still around my neck, he slings my body towards the door with a force I never knew he was capable of. I take slow hesitant steps out of the hotel room and into the hallway, knowing that there’s no other choice. If I scream for Cal or Kayden’s attention or stall until Backdraft arrives, hundreds of innocent people will die. My only choice is to placate him and hope he doesn’t detonate them anyway.

As we make our way down the hallway towards the elevator, I spot the security camera overhead. In a desperate attempt to warn someone, anyone, I carefully mouth a warning.

Stepping into the elevator, the door slowly closes around us. My hands grip the hem of my nightgown, wishing my fingers were curled around a weapon. A gun, a knife, anything to defend myself against him, but I have nothing. Justin grunts, shifting closer. His hot breath sucking the air out of the small space. His eyes sweep over my body, lingering too long on my chest and I suddenly realize how exposed I am. He didn’t even give me time to change or cover up.

I cross my arms over my chest hiding the swell of my breasts the best I can. I can feel his eyes on me, watching my every move. A feeling I’ve become all too familiar with. Goosebumps run down my arms and I try to hide the shiver that follows.

The elevator comes to a stop but the doors don’t open. Justin inserts a key and a door I didn’t notice before slides open at my back.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask, desperate for answers.

“There’s someone I thought you’d want to say goodbye to.”

With a forceful shove, I stumble out of the elevator. My heart is lodged in my throat, thinking about who he could mean. I’ve never been a religious person, but I send up a silent prayer to any god who’ll listen that it’s not Backdraft.

Justin leads me through a maze of concrete corridors full of oversized industrial equipment. The cold air bites at my skin and I tremble from both the cold and the fear that has a hold of me. His heavy footsteps and the thudding of my heart echo around us as he leads me deeper into the massive space and only stopping when we reach the farthest point.

“Through there.” Justin motions towards a door, now brandishing a gun in his hand.

Slowly, I twist the handle and push open the heavy metal door. It’s dark inside, the only light casting across the floor from the corridor behind us. The weight of the door slams shut, the thud jolting through me like thunder. Justin flips on the light and my heart stops beating at the sight in front of me. My mouth opens and slams closed, my words stuck in my throat.

My father, or the man I always knew as my father, is slumped forward in a chair. His hands and legs are bound, his fingers twisted and broken.

“Why?” I manage to croak out. As much as I hate the man for what he’s become and what he’s made of me, a part of me doesn’t want to see him hurt. “Why did you do this to him?”

I step to him but Justin’s arm slides around my waist, stopping me from moving forward.

“He broke his promises.” Justin's warm breath crawls over my neck. “You caused this, Zoey. His blood is on your hands. And I won’t hesitate to kill you too if you betray me.” Justin shoves me forward, releasing his hold on me. “Say goodbye. We have to go.”

I rush to my father, kneeling before him. Despite everything, my heart is breaking seeing him like this and knowing it’s because of me. “Dad?”

I touch his face being careful not to hurt him. He lifts his head revealing the bruises and blood coating his skin. His eyes are so swollen he can hardly open them when he looks at me.

“I’m sorry, Zoey.” His raspy voice breaks, tears forming in his eyes.

“What did he promise you?” I ask Justin.

His dark eyes narrow. “You, Zoey. He promised me you, but then you took off, abandoning your family and ruining everything for that dirty biker.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb, Zoey. I saw you with Carricci, which means you know the truth but maybe you need to hear it from him.”

Justin stalks behind him, grabbing him by the back of his head and jerking it backwards.

“Tell her, Dad.” He draws out the syllables mockingly as if it disgusts him to say it. “Tell your daughter what you did.”

When he doesn’t speak, Justin jerks his head harder. His shallow breaths turn into a gasp before he admits what I already know in my heart to be true. “I took your mother’s life.”

I stumble backwards, unable to hold myself upright. “Then it’s true. All of it? I’m Carmine Bianchi’s daughter?”

My father’s sins seep through the cracks in his facade. The crinkles on his face draw tight. Justin lets go of his head, but he doesn’t say anything, only lowers his eyes to the blood splatter on the floor with a single nod.

“Where do you come into all of this?” I ask Justin.

“Your father promised that if I helped him eliminate them all, I could have you. Imagine what we could do, Zoey. A Bianchi and a Moretti. Once the Carriccis are eliminated, we’ll be the next in line to run the New York Syndicate. We could’ve had it all. Parties, a huge house, run the world's largest mafia organization outside of Italy but you chose to fight me at every turn! Not anymore.” Before I can speak Justin pulls his gun and presses the barrel against Domonic’s forehead. “Say goodbye to Daddy. You’re mine now.”

The sharp echo of the gunshot ricochets off the walls and I draw in a shaky breath watching as Dominic crumples in front of me. At the same time, the hotel's fire alarms erupt into a deafening wail, drowning out my racing heartbeat. I don’t know how I know but I feel it in every fiber of my being. Backdraft got my warning. I can only hope he finds me in time.

The alarm catches Justin off guard. His eyes narrow and his jaw clenches as he paces the room like a caged animal. He knows it too.

“He’s coming for me.” I bite out, my words harsh and unyielding.

Justin stalks toward me, backing me toward the wall. There’s nowhere to run and I have nothing to fight with. Justin’s nostrils flare and the vein in his forehead bulges as he winds up to take a swing. The weight of the gun clenched in the calloused knuckles of his hand connects with my cheekbone, sending a sharp pain through my face. My vision blurs for a split second and I see stars. My eyes sting with unshed tears as I fight to hold them back. I won’t let Justin see me cry. It’s time I prove that I’m stronger than he thinks I am.

“Your plan is flawed Justin. I could never love you.” I taunt him. His unraveling plan is making him even more dangerous, but I need to stall long enough for Backdraft to find me.

I brace myself as Justin winds back for another blow. As his fist connects with my chin, the impact reverberates through my body. My mouth fills with a metallic tang and blood trails from my lip but I refuse to fall. I stand my ground, glaring at him defiantly. He stares at me, his lips curling into a cruel smile.

“You don’t have to love me, but you will learn to respect me. I’ve earned that much.” He turns the gun toward his body and draws it over him. “Look at me. Look what I’ve given for this cause. If you think I’m going to just give it all up, you’re not as smart as I thought you were.”

I lunge for him, my hand reaching for the gun, but even with one hand, he’s quicker than I am. My hand meets nothing but air. Justin smirks at me, slipping the gun into the back of his pants and strikes his hand out. It connects with my throat as a slow devious grin twists his lips. He flings me back against the wall, controlling me with his tightening grip.

I lock eyes with him and spit the blood pooling in my mouth in his face. “I’ll never stop fighting you.”

Justin leans into me, his hot breath stinging my face. “You can fight all you want. It doesn’t change anything.”

His rough fingers squeeze tight, digging into my skin and constricting my throat. I gasp for breath and he pushes me harder into the wall, pressing his body into mine. I suck in another shallow breath and he crushes his mouth to my parted lips. I can feel the anger of his kiss seeping through every inch of me. When he pulls away, I shudder in disgust, letting the whimper fall from my trembling lips.

The heavy metal door slams open, the creaking hinges filling the room. From over Justin's shoulder, I spot Backdraft towering in the doorway, a piece of his dark hair dusting across his forehead. His broad shoulders stretch the seams of his leather cut as he fills the doorway. A rush of relief fills my aching lungs.

He takes a few steps closer, but Justin tightens his grip around my neck, stopping him. “Come any closer and I’ll break her neck.”

I don’t doubt for a second that he could, he’s stronger than I ever realized.

“Get your hand off of her before you lose that one too.” Backdraft’s voice is calm but there’s no mistaking the underlying aggression beneath it. Backdraft inches closer, his large hand tightly curled around the grip of his gun. The coiled muscles in his arms and chest tighten. His eyes roam over my battered face and his expression twists into a raw fury. With every step, he weighs the risk of firing a shot into the back of Justin's head. If he misses, however unlikely that may be, the bullet could ricochet and hit me. “I won’t warn you again.”

Justin drops his hand from my neck, reaching for the gun tucked behind his back.

“No.” The word tears from my throat as I lunge toward Justin but his arm shoots back sending me hurling across the room. My body slams into Dominic’s lifeless body still tied to the chair. The force knocks me to the ground under the weight of his dead body. His still-warm blood fills my nostrils and seeps into my nightgown, sticking to my skin. Another gunshot echoes around me followed by a heavy thud. My heart is racing and my stomach is turning as I struggle to untangle myself from Dominic’s twisted limbs.

Backdraft closes the distance between us, reaching out his hand to help me up. “Are you ok?”

I nod, still trying to process what happened and collapse into Backdraft’s arms. He holds onto me tightly as we stand there catching our breaths.

“Let’s get out of here.” Backdraft shifts his weight, pulling me into his side. “It’s over.”

Needing to see for myself, I look at Justin. Blood pours from the wound in his stomach, coating his shirt and pooling around his body but his chest still rises and falls in shallow waves. His dark eyes flutter open for a brief minute, his disgusting snarl still etched on his lips.

“I die,” he chokes on his words with wheezing gaps, blood spewing from his mouth as he tries to speak, “you die.”

His chest heaves and a gurgle rolls up his throat escaping with a heavy rush of blood as he takes his last breath.

“Shit. The bombs.”

Backdraft grips my hand in his and we rush through the door into the long corridor just as the foundation trembles under our feet. I stumble but he grabs hold of me, pulling me back to my feet.

The walls shudder violently as another explosion erupts, sending thick choking clouds of dust and debris down on top of us. The hum of the machinery is replaced by the deafening groan of the steel support beams buckling overhead. My breath rips from my lungs, fast and shallow as clouds of smoke and debris pillar through the maze of twisted metal and crumbled concrete.

“Stay low!” Backdraft shouts above the hiss of bursting pipes, moving through the smoke like it’s second nature to him.

His grip tightens around my trembling hand as I struggle to keep up. My vision diminishes from the thick plumes of smoke curling around us. Loose wires and twisted metal fall from the ceiling as we weave a path through the destruction. The smoke curls and swells, robbing my lungs of oxygen. I cough, my throat raw from inhaling the acrid fumes.

Every step feels heavier, my aching body growing weak from exhaustion. Backdraft slows, turning toward the loud pounding and voices to our right when a metal hatch slams open. A rush of fresh air whooshing in along with Aero’s welcomed voice and a rope ladder.

“This way,” Aero shouts down. “Would have been here sooner but this place is crawling with fire rescue and police. Took Hashtag a while to find another way in. We have to move fast.”

“You first, Little Lamb.” Backdraft hoists me up until I can reach the rungs. The twisted strands of woven rope are rough in my palms, but I grip tight and climb out through the safety hatch.

The gentle breeze feels like a soothing balm against my heated skin. I suck in a deep breath of crisp fresh air into my lungs and roll onto my side. Backdraft wraps his arms around me, pulling me close. We lie there for a minute until our shaky breaths gradually return to normal.

“Let’s get out of here before we’re questioned,” Aero says seriously, pulling us from the first peaceful moment we’ve had all night.

Backdraft helps me to my feet and slips his cut over my arms to cover my still trembling body as I look at the hotel as more of it collapses into a cloud of dust.

“Did everyone make it out?” I ask, my voice barely audible over the wailing sirens of the numerous first responders on the scene.

“Yes. Thanks to your warning,” Aero adds.

“What about Brie and Cal?”

“Back at the Clubhouse waiting for you.”

I nod to Aero, relief flooding over me like a tidal wave although my mind is a million miles away thinking about everything that's happened in the past few days.

With my hand tucked into Backdraft’s, I follow him to his bike. Before I know it, I have a helmet strapped to my head and I’m seated behind him, my arms snaking around his waist. I slide forward, straddling his hips with my thighs. Our bodies are flush, my front pressing against his back. With a quick rev of the engine, we take off, the wind brushing against my flushed skin as we speed away from the destruction, leaving my old life, the man I believed to be my father and the man whose cold eyes will haunt me for a long time, buried under the rubble. But with Backdraft at my side, I know there’s a whole new life waiting for me.