Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
"You better hope you're right. Because we'll be split down the middle."
Chapter Fourteen
Finley
The storage facility at the harbor is a massive complex housing countless dozens of shipping crates. It's a maze unless you know where you're going. Domani, Mattia, and Rafe seem to know exactly where they're going as they lead me through the maze, heading toward some building they claim is on the far side.
Several of Rafe's men have scattered throughout the complex, taking up positions to help keep an eye out. They're our backup. Luca, Diego, and a man named Alessio are on the way to my uncle's house along with the rest of Rafe's men. At exactly fifteen minutes after midnight, they'll make entry, killing everyone they come across.
Gabriel is back at the mansion with their wives, responsible for protecting them with his life. I don't think Rafe or Luca wanted him involved. I get the sense that he's in this life only by necessity. He doesn't fit like the others do. There's a shadow over him, as if the things he does for this family cost him greatly. I think maybe they might. But he does them anyway because there's not much he wouldn't do for those he loves.
The smell of the water is strong here. So is the stench of oil. The combination makes my stomach churn. Or perhaps that's simply the fact that in an hour, my uncle will be here. One way or another, this will be over.
I'll either be permanently in heaven or sentenced to hell.
I've never cared for the heat.
"This one," Rafe says, stopping suddenly.
Mattia and Domani stop too. I glance at my husband, not sure why they seem to know what Rafe is talking about, but I don't.
"Thanks," Domani says.
Rafe nods and then he and Mattia continue on, leaving me and Domani alone.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"Do you think you can remember this crate, mio sole?" he asks.
I glance at it, brows furrowed. It looks like all the others. It's bright blue and massive. There are dozens more just like it. "I don't know. Why?"
"Because this crate never moves. It's been here for years, hiding an emergency access hatch to the drainage system below the harbor," he says. "It's dark and wet, but the system lets out all over the city. Everyone has forgotten this access exists."
"Everyone except Rafe."
"Yes."
"He doesn't forget much, does he?"
"No, he doesn't. He's held onto this entire complex because of this hatch." Domani taps the side of the crate. "It's been useful."
"In what way?"
He meets my gaze.
"Oh," I whisper, reading the truth on his face. They use it to move bodies. I guess the water here holds more than just the trash and pollution the people of Chicago have dumped into it. I suppose it's better than choking the city with the smell of their burning flesh, but it's gruesome in its own right.
"I need you to remember this crate, tesoro. If anything goes wrong, you have to make your way back here. This is how you'll get out of here."
"Domani, I'm not leaving without you."
"You will," he says, pressing his finger to my lips. "If it comes down to it and it's my life or yours, you choose yours, Finley. I need you to promise."
"I can't."
"You can."
"If he gets his hands on you, you'll beg for death, mio sole. The life you lived before is gone. He'll never let you go back to that. Not once he realizes that you chose us. He'll torment you every day just because he can. Just because that's the type of monster he is. I can't let you go back to that. You have to promise that, no matter what, if it comes down to a choice between saving my life or ending up back in his hands, you'll run."
"Domani," I cry, tears welling up and spilling over. "I don't want to make this promise."
"I know you don't, tesoro. But I can't do what I need to do until I know that, no matter what, you'll fight like hell to stay out of his hands. You don't belong in a cage. I need you to decide right now that you're never going back to one. I can't make the choice for you. Only you get to decide what you're willing to allow." He brushes the tears from my cheeks, touching his forehead to mine. "You have to set yourself free, amore mio."
He's right, damn him. He carried me out of my uncle's house, but he can't set me free. Only I can do that. I'm the only one who can take back the piece of me still trapped in that fucking house, held hostage by terror.
"Fine," I whisper, one piece of my heart breaking while another heals. "I'll do it, Domani. If it comes down to do it, I'll leave you there to keep him from getting his hands on me." I pull back to meet his gaze. "And I'll spend the rest of my life mad as hell at you for leaving me here alone. I'll never forgive you for it." My bottom lip quivers. "And I'll never stop loving you."