DEACON
Sleep was hard to come by these days. Not because I was afraid Emelia might sneak out on me – that wasn't something that concerned me one little bit. I knew she didn't want to go. No, what had me feeling a little skittish was what might happen if her father did actually do what I'd demanded – what might happen if he actually killed Tony Bellini.
There I was, afraid of actually getting what I'd fought for – and all because of this girl. This girl who at first was nothing but a piece on the gameboard for me to move around as I saw fit. But there she was – already becoming something more to me. I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair, not entirely sure how I'd gotten myself into this mess.
Emelia looked so peaceful curled up in the blanket, snoring softly, her naked body partially exposed. She stopped sleeping in clothes once we'd fucked for the first time, and I had to say, it was something I could most definitely get used to.
Yes, I could get used to her being around. And that was hard. I promised her I'd do everything in my power to keep her free from her father, and I'd meant every word of that. But once she was free, she was going to have to decided whether or not she really wanted to be with me. Or was it all about being free of everybody – including me – once and for all?
I couldn't keep her prisoner forever, I knew that. And I hated to admit it, but I was starting to fall for her. Her sweet, gentle fierceness. She wasn't like other women I'd met – especially those who'd come from the Italian crime families. She was fierce, tough, and intelligent as hell. But she also had an innocence about her that I absolutely adored. It was hard to find any woman – especially in my world – who still believed in things like true love and whatnot. And while I'd initially found it all pretty lame and naive, I couldn't deny that it was growing on me.
Or rather, she was growing on me.
My phone rang, which snapped me out of my thoughts and made me jump. Emelia's eyes opened, sleepily, and looked over at me.
“Go back to sleep, love,” I said. “It's just Colin.”
I slipped out of bed and padded downstairs so that Emelia could sleep a while longer, and answered the phone.
“Yes?” I growled. “It better be important.”
“Oh, it's important alright,” Colin said. “Just wanted to let you know that we've made a deal with Antonelli.”
“I know that,” I said. “You were just working out the details last we talked.”
“No, I mean we've made a deal with Antonelli. As in Sean and I. Another deal entirely. Would you like to hear the details of our deal?”
“What do you mean another deal?” I snapped. “Stop playing fucking games, Colin. You have no right – ”
“Well, you see here, brother – some of us aren't too happy with your leadership lately. Or your obsession with this stupid fucking girl,” Colin said, “And we believe, Sean and I, that we can run things better. Especially with Antonelli's help. He's a shrewd, smart man, that one.”
“Why you fucking – ”
My mind was racing as I tried to calculate all the damage Colin could do. He was my right-hand man, the one I trusted more than anyone else. He knew more than anyone else – knew where the proverbial bodies were buried – and to have him running his mouth to Antonelli was a bad, bad thng. It would only be a matter of time before they were on our doorstep.
“You see, Antonelli had a counteroffer for us when I called,” Colin went on. “And since you've been too busy spending time with that slut, we decided to take him up on it. Your head – or your other body parts – delivered to him.”
“And what are you getting in return, huh?”
“Control over the fucking Brotherhood, man,” Colin sounded on the verge of laughter. “Don't you see? You're out. I'm in.”
“Do the others know about this? Besides, your idiot brother, that is?”
“Not yet, but they will soon, Deacon,” Colin said. “But for now, I really must be going. Sleep well.”
The line went dead in my hand and my blood was boiling as I paced the room. I needed to think. Needed to plan. But first things first – we had to get out of there, and fast.
“Emmy,” I called to her, “We should probably be going, love.”
“Why?” she muttered from the loft. “Has my father found us?”
“No, but there's a host of other shit headed our way,” I said.
Emelia came down the stairs in nothing but my t-shirt, her hair all over the place. Never before had she looked more beautiful to me. I couldn't believe that I was falling so hard for this woman – and that was trouble. Especially now. Things were going to be complicated on their own when I went to war with Colin – and I would be going to war with him. But not only did I have Antonelli on my ass, now I had some of my own brothers on it as well.
And I had no idea who I could trust in all of this.
“Do we even have a car?” she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“Yes, we do actually,” I said.
No one, not even Colin knew about it. But yes, we had a car, hidden in a garage off the property. See, he'd thought we were stranded out there when he'd driven off. But I was a prudent and cautious man. It was how I'd risen to the position I was in. So, Colin may have thought he'd left us without a ride, but he didn't realize that I would never allow myself to be stranded anywhere.
“Have all your things?” I asked.
“What things?” she said. “I literally only have the clothes I wore when you scooped me up and nothing else.”
I tossed her a pair of pajama bottoms – and of course they were much too large on her. She pulled the drawstring as tight as they would go, but she still had to hold them up on her tiny little frame. Still, it would work well enough for the moment – we'd worry about getting her something proper to wear later. In that moment, we had to get moving quickly.
“Come on,” I said, motioning for her to follow me out.
It was hard to believe that just days before, I'd been worried she might try to escape. Now, I let her walk freely, trusting she'd follow me. I glanced back, just to make sure there was no doubt in her eyes, and there wasn't. Only fear.
“If not my dad, then what?” she asked. “What's going on, Deacon?”
“I'll explain on the road,” I said.
We walked into the woods, and it was a trek to get to my hidden vehicle. Poor Emelia was shivering from the cold, but it wasn't like I had a coat to give her. I quickened our pace, just to reach the warmth of the vehicle a little faster. And once we finally got to the garage, I opened the lock and we stepped inside to find my dad's old Impala. Nothing fancy, but it would get us the hell out of there and it was a trusty old brute. I'd been sure to keep it properly maintained in the event she was needed. And right then, she was needed.
Emelia climbed into the passenger seat on her own, there was no forcing her. It all seemed so surreal to think that I'd kidnapped her, forced her to come with me, and yet, there she was coming willingly. I didn't even know how all of it had happened, but somehow, she trusted me. Or at least, she trusted me more than she trusted sticking around to see what kind of trouble was coming for us.
Once in the car, we drove out the back of the garage and down a dirt road that was hardly ever used anymore. I drove with the headlights off though, just in case. Colin might not be far and better not to alert him of our hasty exit with bright lights – even though I doubted he knew about the road we were on in the first place. Still, I was a cautious man.
Had Colin known everything and had it all figured out – like he thought he did – there'd have been no escaping in time, I was sure of it. But his betrayal was one reason I found it so very hard to trust anyone, even my best friend, and had to make secret contingency plans for myself. I gripped the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles white, and Emelia just sat beside me, quietly waiting for me to fill her in on everything going on.
“It's Colin,” I said finally. “He's gone rogue.”
I sighed and knew I had to give her the option. If she wanted to be released, to go back to her father, she could. I had bigger shit to deal with in that moment – bigger problems than this deal with the Italians. I needed to get control of my own men and my own organization back. Oh yeah, and I needed to put two into the back of Colin's head for his betrayal.
“So, what does that mean?” she asked, her voice soft.
“Which means, I can drop you off somewhere, if you'd like. And you'd be free to go,” I said.
“Go? Go where? Back to my father?” she said.
I nodded, staring straight ahead as I turned onto the paved road that led us away from the cabin. I let out a small sigh of relief – there was no sign of Colin. Not yet, anyway. Either he was at the cabin already or he was further away than I thought. Either way, I was glad to be gone.
“I don't want that, Deacon,” she said quietly. “You promised me I wouldn't have to – ”
“Shhh,” I said, calming her down. “I didn't say you had to be, but I'm giving you a way out. I felt like you deserved to have a choice in all of this. Things are about to get ugly, Emmy, and I hate for you to be in the middle of it.”
“Too late,” she said. “I already am, whether I like it or not. And I'm not going home now. Not to my father, and most certainly not to Tony.”
“You could go anywhere, you know that?” I said. “Anywhere you'd like. No one said you had to go home and you certainly don't have to go with me if you dont' want to. What I'm trying to say is that you're free, love.”
She was quiet for a few moments and I thought she might take me up on the offer. Yes, part of me hurt just thinking about it. Despite my best efforts, I'd already grown rather attached to this beautiful, young woman – even though I knew it was the worst idea in the history of bad ideas.
“No,” she said after a few moments. “I don't think so. I'm going to stay with you, if that's okay with you?”
As much as I loved that idea – I was also terrified by it. I wanted to believe I could protect her. Keep her safe. But the truth of the matter was, when the bullets started flying – and they would eventually – nobody was ever truly safe. I knew that it was going to gut me if anything happened to her.
Still, she was free to make her own choices and if she chose to stay with me, so be it.
“Whatever you like, Emmy. Like I said, you're free now. You're no longer my prisoner. So any choice you make is yours – good or bad.”
“I'm your partner,” she said with a smile. “Your partner in crime.”