Cane

She came down to the kitchen on her own the next morning. I loaned her a pair of my sweatpants and one of my t-shirts so she would have something to sleep in. Somehow, she made the baggy and unflattering clothes look sexy. She’d showered and braided her hair over one shoulder. I’d never seen her with makeup, but I knew she didn’t need it. She had a natural beauty to her, the kind of brilliance that only stars possessed.

When she came into the kitchen, she could look at me this time. Yesterday, she avoided me, like crossing my path would mean certain death. After thinking about it for a while, I realized she was just embarrassed.

She was embarrassed that she enjoyed sucking my cock.

She was embarrassed that she wanted me to fuck her.

She was embarrassed that she wanted me.

I didn’t have to be a victim to understand the conflict. She’d been tortured and raped by scary men. She shouldn’t enjoy being desired by another man who was just as cruel. She struggled to accept her lustful feelings, as natural as they were.

I poured a mug of coffee and handed it to her, with a little cream and sugar. As a custom, I noticed little details around me all the time. I studied people’s habits so I could understand them better. For instance, I knew Crow was right-handed, but he always held his fork in his left hand. I suspected it was so he could grab his knife at any moment and stab someone in the throat—if he had to.

She stared at the mug in surprise before she took it. “Thank you…”

“I had some leftover eggs. You want them?” I ate two eggs every day, but I prepared four because I thought she might be hungry. I didn’t go out of my way to do anything for anyone. But for some reason, I wanted to make sure she was comfortable in my home.

“Yeah, sure.”

I scooped them onto the plate and set it on the kitchen counter. “Need anything else?”

“I think I’ll make some toast.” She took a slice of the Italian roll on the counter and shoved it into the toaster.

I moved to the table in front of the window and looked through the newspaper, always interested in the crimes that happened throughout Italy. I knew all the members of the big mobs, including the Skull Brothers, and I usually knew about the big jobs before they hit the press.

She sat beside me with her eggs and toast and ate quietly, hardly attracting any attention. It seemed like she wanted to disappear, not to make any sudden moves for fear of what I might do to her.

She was preoccupied with her food and didn’t notice that her coffee was sitting at the very edge. If she accidentally bumped it, it would crash to the floor. Just when I had the thought, she shifted her arm and tapped it.

I threw my arm out and caught it just before it tipped over.

Adelina instinctively threw her arms in front of her face and protected her body. She stiffened and quickly scooted to the other edge of the seat, darting out of the way of an attack that wasn’t coming.

I held on to the mug and stared at her, feeling like shit.

She breathed hard then slowly lowered her arms when she realized my fists weren’t flying at her face. She finally brought her hands to her chest and looked at me with embarrassment in her eyes, realizing what actually happened.

I cleared my throat and returned the mug to the center of the counter where she couldn’t accidentally knock it over again. I’d never forget the way she twisted away from me, ducking for cover like I was about to turn her into a punching bag.

I remembered the way Pearl lay on the ground inside of Crow’s mansion. Blood was everywhere, and she was cold and blue. It didn’t matter how weak she was. It didn’t stop me from striking her again, from wanting to cause her as much pain as possible.

I closed my eyes and cleared the thoughts, feeling guilt surge deep inside me. I was offended Adelina assumed I would punch her, especially for no reason at all, but I knew she had every right to feel that way.

I’d nearly killed an innocent woman.

I sipped my coffee just so I had something to do. Now it was awkward for both of us. She was obviously scared of me the same way she was scared of Tristan, but I couldn’t assure her I was any different.

I was no fucking different.

She finally grabbed her fork again and started eating.

I stared out the window and was at a loss for words. I wanted to ask how she slept the night before, but the words wouldn’t form on my tongue. I wanted to tell her she looked beautiful that morning, but I couldn’t get myself to say that either.

So I didn’t say anything at all.

The doorbell rang from the front of the house.

Adelina stiffened again. “Who is that?”

“How will I know until I answer the door?” I said like a smartass. I got up and pushed the chair in.

“Did you send Tristan for me?” The terror in her voice made me stop in my tracks.

“No.”

She relaxed again, closing her eyes and dragging her hands down her face.

I felt bad for her—again.

I walked to the front door on the other side of the house and checked the peephole.

It was Crow. And Pearl.

“Shit.” I knew I couldn’t run from him forever. He was bound to track me down one way or another. Now that I was certain I was keeping Adelina, I had to come clean to my brother. I just wish Pearl weren’t there to witness the conversation. Her goodness always made me feel like shit.

I opened the door and walked out, making sure the door shut behind me so Adelina couldn’t overhear the conversation. “Beautiful day, huh?” I placed my hands in my pockets and smiled at Crow, trying to ignore the furious look on his face.

Damn, he looked mad.

“What the fuck, Cane? Why are we shipping weapons to someone who’s only paid half?” He was in a black t-shirt and dark jeans with a gun on his hip. He obviously expected to shoot me again.

Pearl hung in the background, trying to be quiet since this really didn’t concern her.

I was surprised she was there.

“Fuckface, I asked you a question.” He stepped closer to me to get my attention again.

“Don’t worry about it, alright?”

“Don’t worry about it? I’m out ten million dollars just because?”

“Tristan keeps his word. We both know that.”

Both of his hands formed fists. “That doesn’t matter. We don’t make exceptions for anyone—period. Now that we’ve done it for Tristan, we’ll have to do it for others.”

“No, we won’t. Chill.” I wasn’t going to bring up Adelina unless I absolutely had to. Pearl would rip my eyes out of my head. Not to mention, her disappointment would kill me.

“I’m not gonna chill, asshole. I’m flying out there, and I’m getting the other half of our payment. End of story.”

No, that wasn’t gonna work. “Crow, let me handle it. I’ve got this deal taken care of. The money will be here in less than a month.”

“Less than a month?” he asked incredulously. “We have employees to pay, Cane. When did we stop being a business and turn into a charity? None of this is making sense. You’re always such a hard-ass, and now you’re soft?”

“I’m not soft,” I said with a growl.

“Then why did you let Tristan get away with this?”

There was no answer I could invent that would make any sense. But I didn’t want to come clean about the trade I made. Maybe if Pearl weren’t standing right there, it would be different. Crow would understand. After all, he fell in love with his own slave, and now she was his wife. “Pearl, give us a moment.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m a Barsetti too. I’m not going anywhere.”

I turned to Crow, silently asking him to get rid of her.

He only shook his head. “Tell us what’s going on, Cane. There’s something you aren’t telling me. You can either fess up like a man, or I can rip it out of you. What’s it going to be?”

I ran my hand through my hair as I stared across the Tuscan fields. My neighbors in the distance had a large vineyard, so I had a nice view from the front porch. The olive trees in front were in full bloom. “Look, here’s the deal…”

Crow narrowed his eyes. “Better be good, Cane. You better justify why I’m out ten million dollars.”

He definitely wasn’t going to be happy with my explanation. “I was at the airport when I saw this woman. I couldn’t stop staring at her, and when I finally went over to make my move, she wouldn’t speak to me.”

Pearl looked just as confused as Crow did.

“I gave up on her and moved on. I got to France and met with Tristan. I saw that same woman there…who’d been trafficked. He told me to have a go with her before we sealed the deal.”

Pearl’s face slowly contorted into a look of rage. She was about to explode like a volcano, lava shooting out everywhere and directly into my veins.

“She said no, so I didn’t go through with it, alright?” I said before Pearl could jump to conclusions. “But I did other stuff with her instead.”

Crow wasn’t surprised by this conversation at all. His face looked like a wall of stone.

“Tristan said he couldn’t pay the second half up front, so he offered her as a loan for thirty-one days. When he gives me the money, I hand her back. That’s the deal.”

Crow dragged his hand down his face then squeezed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “So, let me get this straight. You traded ten million dollars to fuck some woman for a month?”

When he put it like that, I didn’t sound so great. “Yeah…”

He rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the ground. There was so much rage in his frame that he didn’t know what to do with it. Normally, he just insulted me because that came naturally. But this was a new kind of rage. “Cane…this is ridiculous. We’re taking her back to Tristan, and we’re getting our weapons or the money.”

“Whoa, excuse me?” Pearl placed her hands on her hips and glared at my brother. “We’re taking her back? No, we’re doing no such thing. We’re getting that woman home where she belongs.”

Crow kept his eyes on me and ignored his wife. “Button, not now—”

“Not now, what?” she hissed. “This is unacceptable.”

“I’m not taking her back.” I told Adelina I would keep her from Tristan for the full thirty-one-day period. She’d already done stuff for me, so I couldn’t go back on my word to her. “The deal has been made, and we’re sticking to it.”

Crow shook his head. “You’ve got that wrong. I’ll handle this if I have to.”

“Crow, I’ll cover your cut.” I had more money than I knew what to do with. If he needed that money up front, then I could wait until Tristan came through.

“That’s not the point,” Crow hissed. “That’s not how we do business.”

“I made an exception this one and only time,” I said. “And I’m not going back on it. I’m prepared to take the hit if that’s what it comes down to.”

Pearl crossed her arms over her chest and stared at me with a look I’d never seen before. She’d been terrified of me once before. She’d been uncomfortable around me many times. But she’d never hated me like this. Even when I nearly killed her, she still didn’t hate me. That look made me feel lower than dirt. “I can’t believe this. After everything I’ve been through, you’re gonna turn around and rape some poor woman?” She got in my face and shoved me as hard as she could, making me stumble back slightly.

I didn’t touch her out of respect for my brother.

She slapped me across the face, hitting me so hard on the cheek I knew my skin would turn red.

But I still didn’t do anything.

“How can you possibly think it’s okay?” she demanded. “I’m your sister.”

“I haven’t raped her. I’ve never made her do anything she didn’t want to do.” I kept myself calm even though my instinct was to push her back. “Everything between us is consensual.”

“You expect me to believe that?” She pulled her hand back again.

I grabbed her by the elbow and steadied her. “Crow, handle her before I do something to get shot.”

That fired her up more, and she lunged at me.

“Button.” Crow grabbed her by the waist and dragged her away. “He’s right. Enough.”

“He’s right?” She tried to get back to me, but Crow’s body blocked her path. “You should be hitting him harder than I am.”

Crow didn’t let his personal beliefs interfere with his work. It didn’t matter how he felt about the situation. He wouldn’t intervene. He kept her away as he turned back to me. “I want the money in my account tomorrow morning.”

“Fine.” Whatever got him off my back.

“And we’re never doing a deal like this again. You understand?”

I knew it was a stupid deal. But when I saw Adelina, I wanted her. “Got it.”

Crow grabbed Pearl’s hand and pulled her away. “Let’s go.”

She twisted from his hold and turned back to me. Her hands were balled into fists by her sides, and her eyes were terrifying. Somehow, she reminded me of Crow when she looked that angry. It seemed like she couldn’t find the right words to insult me. Nothing was good enough to explain the pain of my betrayal. “Today, I’m ashamed to be a Barsetti.”