Eva

––––––––

Inside Roman’s office, Liam is standing in front of the desk with a guard beside him, pointing a gun at his temple.

“Stand next to him and keep your hands in front of you,” Roman hisses as I’m propelled inside, stumbling forward.

“What is this?!” I gasp and swivel around, but Roman clutches my shoulders and shunts me toward Liam as my panic reaches new heights.

Roman strokes his chin thoughtfully. “I have a bone to pick with you and him—”

A knock interrupts as a shiver goes through me, and I realize that Carmine and I were never in the clear.

“Yes,” Roman answers.

The door opens, and Gwen sails inside conceitedly, glowering at me. “Good. You have her. Why is she so chummy with Carmine? I told you that none of the escorts are to entertain him.”

Roman dismisses Gwen wordlessly with a flick of his hand. “If he shows interest in her, that’s not my fault.”

Gwen frowns as she tramps around us to the desk, taking a seat in the chair behind it.

Roman levels his gaze on Liam. “When I get deceived in my own house, then I lose all patience.” And he glances at his guard.

Lighting fast, the guard curls his arm around Liam’s neck and pushes him face-down onto the desk as Roman addresses Liam, “Don’t you know you can’t get anything past us? What did you do last night?”

With flailing arms, he defends, “What are you talking about? I was with Eva.”

Gwen interlocks her fingers in her lap as Roman comes up behind me.

“I don’t repeat myself, so shoot his hand,” Roman orders in an even tone, and the guard clocks Liam to disorient him before he slams his palm onto the desk.

Then he directs his weapon, with a silencer attached, and pulls the trigger, the thud resounding just as Liam shouts and blood gushes from the center of his hand as he slouches to the floor. Red splatters on my legs and feet, and I see Gwen wince as I start sobbing.

“That’ll teach you not to lie,” Roman spits, and abruptly, he tangles a hand into the back of my hair and shoves me onto my knees before pushing me forward until my cheek is pressed onto the cold surface of the wooden desk.

“Stop!”

I struggle while Roman squeezes my neck and powerfully yanks my head back by my hair, stretching my throat as pure horror courses through me.

“Be careful. We might still need her,” Gwen warns Roman, yet he tightens his hold, forcing me to look at her.

“Something happened between Carmine and Eva, I’m telling you. They were murmuring to each other at breakfast,” Gwen informs Roman, and suddenly, my head is thrust forward and my nose crashes against the wood as an explosion of pain spreads through my nostrils.

“Arghhh...” Tears scald my skin as I pant for breath, shocked by Roman’s brutality.

In the meantime, Liam is crying, staring at his hand in disbelief.

Roman pulls my head back again, and I taste the metallic tang of blood streaming from my nose into my mouth. “Finally, some fear on your stoic face.”

Gwen holds my blurry gaze. “You have one chance to answer, Eva. What happened last night between you, Liam, and Carmine?”

“N-Nothing,” I stammer, dazed from the torture.

“I swear to god, I’ll shoot one of your ears off,” Roman cautions with gritted teeth, “if you continue to lie. Let me be clearer than my sister. Were you with Carmine last night?”

“Y-yes.”

“Why?” Gwen adds.

“Carmine and Liam made some deal, and Liam handed me over to Carmine.”

“Did you fuck him?” Roman constricts his grip in my hair.

“No.”

“Why did he want you?” Roman demands.

“He thinks you’re using me for something, and he wanted to keep an eye on me.”

“Wait.” Roman unexpectedly yells, tugging my head back so far that the agony shoots down my throat. “Did he already know you aren’t my actual girlfriend?”

I swallow, feeling my upper lip swelling, and confess, too afraid of the consequences if I’m not honest, “Y-yes.”

Roman clenches his jaw and releases me harshly.

I grasp the edge of the desk while still on my trembling knees as he hovers over me like an ominous shadow and snarls, “So this entire game was useless, you little bitch. You’ll regret this.” He backhands me across the face, blurring my vision as I almost topple backward.

Then, out of the blue, Roman demands from Gwen, “What’s that look?”

“I told him the truth – that I requested you to help me, so I could talk to him.”

Roman’s dumbfounded for a second before his face reddens in annoyance. “Goddammit! Why?”

I’m slumping against the desk, pulling air into my lungs as she replies, “To gain his trust.”

“Gwen, you’re so infatuated with Carmine that you ruined my plans! I held the cargo that long and lied to the Syndicate by telling them that I was abroad because I wanted to force a meet at this party, not only so that you could see Carmine as you asked, but also because I needed inside intel on the Syndicate, which is why I ordered Eva to get to his phone – that’s what’s between them. I helped you because I want to renegotiate my deal with Carmine. The Syndicate won’t like what you’ve done; they’re Italians who think they’re gods.”

“He didn’t mind that much. And if I date Carmine, I’ll be part of his inner family; that will solidify our business and give us more leverage to renegotiate the deal in the near future.”

“You mean Carmine didn’t threaten to kill you due to your little game?”

“No,” she says but lowers her eyelashes as if she’s lying. “I told you we have something together.”

He sends her a disappointed glare. “It looked as if he had something with her, Gwen.” He gestures toward me irately, and I recoil on instinct.

Gwen sneers at me. “Eva probably enticed him because you commanded her to steal his phone and she flirted with him to do so. Why else would he want her over me? She’s nothing but a tramp.”

Her insults don’t faze me as I peek at Liam, who’s crying like a baby, and I fear there’s no way out for me anymore.

Gwen continues to Roman, “Whatever happened between them doesn’t matter. We explained everything to Carmine and covered our ass; I will seduce him further. And she’ll never see him again anyway.”

Roman peers down his nose at me. “Your lack of obedience has annoyed me ever since you got here. Perhaps mentioning your brother will remind you of your shitty situation.”

Which it does, and terror bursts inside me. “What do you want from me?” I gingerly touch my nose with a quivering hand. “Everything is so confusing. You’re all playing each other.” Then I wipe my tears, needing to pull it together.

“Oh, so you do know something,” Roman retorts. “What did Carmine tell you? Because something must have happened in that room...”

“He asked questions about you, but I never said anything. I tried to get his phone,” I reply hurriedly.

Roman assesses me while asking Gwen, “Did Carmine say anything about Eva?”

“No.”

“And where is he now?”

“He left. I’ll meet with him this week and you’ll see that there’s nothing to worry about. But what will you do with these two?”

Roman’s lips thin into a hard line. “They’re nobodies. I might eliminate them.”

Liam and I lock eyes for a moment while Gwen’s brows shoot up. “Roman, no—”

He shuts her up with a simple stare. “Don’t argue with me in front of others.”

So she closes her mouth, glimpsing at us. My only chance to get out of here alive might be the sliver of humanity left in Gwen.

She speaks in a calm voice, “I’m merely explaining our options. If they’re nobodies, we can release them. I doubt they’ll cross us again.”

“No, first we need to know if Carmine believes you and how his boss reacted...” Roman lets his voice trail off.

“Do you not believe me?”

“I believe that Carmine is much slyer than you give him credit for. I can’t imagine a man like Carmine wasn’t furious when you revealed your foolish plan.”

Gwen seems irritated. “Let me handle Carmine and the Syndicate; you promised me and you’re interfering already.”

“You’re not in control of the situation, Gwen. Now we need to keep Liam and Eva because they could run to the Syndicate the moment we let them go.”

“Then for now, we imprison them in their rooms until I’ve spoken to Carmine and discovered how his boss reacted.”

“Well, you don’t really give me a choice, Gwen! I don’t like how dismissive he is to you. It seemed like he didn’t really recall your past time together. Did you not see it?”

“He’s just closed off, Roman.”

Roman mulls over his options, and then he and the guard pull Liam and me up by our arms. “Get the doctor to tend to Liam’s wounds and lock him in his room.”

Before I know what’s happening, Roman propels me out of the office and hauls me down the hallway to my own room. After throwing open the door, he hurls me onto the bed while I sniff and flinch from the throbbing in my skull. With a scowl, he reaches around to his back pocket and produces a white envelope. When he chucks it at me, I bring up my arms in defense and it hits my elbow before it lands on the mattress.

“I’m a man who keeps his word – there’s your money. Clean your face; you’ll be here until Gwen and I can confirm we’re in the clear with Carmine and that you didn’t betray us somehow. If you try to escape, I’ll kill your brother and bring him to you in little pieces. Do you understand me?” he threatens, and I nod with a shiver, too afraid to speak.

He moves to the bed and reaches underneath it for my bag that he or someone else must’ve hidden there, zipping it open and rummaging through my few pieces of clothing until he locates my phone, which he stores in his back pocket. Then, without another word, he walks to the glass door that opens onto the patio, takes his keys from his breast pocket, and locks it shut before he leaves the room, bolting the bedroom door as well.

Shuddering, I peek inside the envelope and count two thousand dollars. However, the hell I’ve gone through isn’t worth it. More importantly, if I don’t survive this, my brother will be all alone in this world. But I’m in so much physical pain that I can’t even think straight.

I ease into the bathroom and stare into the mirror hanging above the sink, seeing my swollen, red nose. Turning on the faucet, I rinse my face and although I’m cleaning the blood from my chin, the violence is etched in my brain.

With a pounding headache, I lie in bed, refusing to cry but wondering how to get the money to Brandon. If I pay the outstanding bill, then at least he’s safe inside Orchard Children’s Institute for another month. Unfortunately, I have no choice but to wait until someone comes into my room, yet no one visits to bring food or for any other reason for the rest of day.

By the time the sun is setting, I’m thirsty, so I steal a bottle of water from the mini fridge as the minutes tick by, and eventually, I fall into a fitful slumber.

***

On Monday morning, I start to think that they’re going to starve me until a guard brings me a plate of scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee, which is my only nourishment for the day.

By Tuesday, I’m fatigued and really beginning to freak out. Brandon hasn’t heard from me for two days, and Kayley will also be worried and will start to blow up my phone.

While I’m descending into a state of utter alarm as I’m perched on the bed in my jeans and a sweater, the door unlocks and I surge up just as Gwen steps inside. She’s motionless for a moment when she’s confronted with my black and blue nose that still throbs like hell.

To my surprise, she blurts out, “Are you okay? Didn’t anyone tend to your nose?”

“No,” I whisper and push everything out of my mind to form a plan of action. Inching closer to her, I plead, “Gwen, I need your help. I have a brother who’s in a children’s institute, and if I don’t pay his bill this week, they’re going to kick him out.”

She holds up her hands. “You should’ve thought about that before you decided to mess with us.”

“I didn’t mess with you. I have no idea what’s going on, and Carmine wanted nothing from me except information about this party that I didn’t have.” As I talk, my injured nose pulls tight and I wince. “I’m not your enemy. I’m just a whore who needs money and got caught up with the wrong people. Carmine doesn’t care about me. I’m not your rival.” Deep down, I hope my admission will dissolve the unwarranted jealousy she harbors toward me.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she glances away before saying, “Roman isn’t a bad man, you know. This underworld changes people; it makes you distrust everyone.”

Roman is a bad man, but I keep my mouth shut since the one thing we do have in common is a love for our brother.

“I don’t trust you,” she mutters.

I have to look up because she’s much taller than I am, even more so in her stiletto heels. “You don’t have to trust me. My brother has Down syndrome. He’s only thirteen and innocent in all of this. I get how you want to protect your brother – so do I. I just need to pay the bill, and I swear I won’t try anything. Also, if I don’t stop by Brandon’s boarding school soon, people will start to ask questions. Has Roman thought about that?”

Her eyes widen, betraying that they didn’t cover that part. “I’ll have to discuss it with Roman first, but he’s not here.”

I need to talk her into this right away before her brother has a chance to dissuade her. “Why can’t I just leave now with a guard? Please...”

As she studies my battered face, she relents, “Okay, but I’m going with you.”

“Fine.” I don’t care as long as I can get the money to Brandon.

I snatch the envelope from the nightstand and follow Gwen as she leads the way out. In the foyer, she gets her coat from the rack and as two guards pass us, she orders, “You’re coming with us. Let’s go.” Then she turns to me and signals toward the front door.

I walk ahead of her, glad I wore my own jeans and sweater and not the skimpy dress as the ice-cold wind hits my cheeks when we step outside and go down the stairway to a black SUV parked at the bottom.

I’m pushed into the back seat with Gwen next to me. “I have a gun, Eva, so don’t try anything. Where do we need to go?”

“Orchard Children’s Institute,” I answer and don’t need to say the address since the guard is checking his smartphone and entering it into his GPS before he even starts the engine.

***

Twenty minutes later, we park at the end of the street from where Orchard Children’s Institute is located.

Gwen leans forward and instructs the guards, “I’ll wait out here while you go in with her. She’s allowed to pay the money and talk to her brother, Brandon. After that, you come back with her immediately.”

“Is she paying cash?” the guard asks, and Gwen looks at me.

“Yes. I’ll hand the money to the receptionist and she’ll give me a receipt.”

“What’s her name?” Gwen inquires and I frown. “You clearly know the receptionist, so who is she?”

“Kayley.”

“She’s only allowed to talk to Kayley and Brandon. He’s a thirteen-year-old with Down syndrome.”

The guards nod before they get out of the car and Gwen motions for me to move. I jump out and they trail me to the white brick building where we go through the revolving doors, but Kayley isn’t behind the reception desk.

When the two men flank me, I explain, “It’s not Kayley, but I can just pay her.”

One places his hand on the small of my back. “Don’t signal her. If you do, I’ll shoot both of you.”

Choking fear has me obeying. As we reach the desk, the blonde freezes for a split-second when she sees my bruises, but I ignore her reaction.

“Hi, I’m Eva Conley and have a payment for Brandon.” I set the envelope on the desk.

“Oh, yes, Kayley told me a payment might come. Is this the entire amount for the upcoming month?”

Thank god, Kayley told her what’s going on. “Yes, it’s two thousand.”

She takes the envelope, counts the cash, and after she types something into the computer, the copier behind her prints out my receipt. “Here’s your proof of payment.”

“Thank you.” I accept it as she rotates around in her chair and stashes the cash in a safe, glancing at us repeatedly.

The guard on my left instructs his colleague, “I’m waiting here. You take her to her brother.”

“It’s down the hall,” I comment and walk ahead of him.

When I get to Brandon’s room, I see that the door is open and he’s lounging on his bed, scribbling in his purple notebook he always has with him.

Inhaling an encouraging breath, I enter and he scrambles off the mattress.

“Eva!” He flies into my arms and I hug him as if I’ll never let go – and currently, I don’t want to – but he pulls back.

“Where have you been—What happened to your nose?”

“Nothing. I was clumsy and fell at work.”

“Does it hurt?” he asks sweetly.

“No.”

“Have you been at work?”

“Yes, I’m a bit swamped this week, so I might not be able to visit every day. But it’s only this week, okay?” I make a promise I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep, but I refuse to make him worry about me. Pushing myself to stay strong, I put on a fake smile, but when I hear the guard coughing, I see an opportunity for some privacy and say, “You can get something to drink from the machine midway down the hall.”

“Keep the door open,” he states.

I nod, and as soon as he marches away, I clutch Brandon’s shoulders. “Listen to me. When Kayley comes, tell her I’m at Roman’s.”

“Is that where you work?”

“Yes,” I lie. “Do you understand me, Brandon? It’s very important that you tell Kayley I’m at Roman’s.” I hope Kayley will understand that I’m a captive in that mansion.

Brandon bobs his head.

“Tell me with words; what do you tell Kayley?”

“Eva is at Roman’s, and you have a bruise.” He hugs me and then a bell rings. “Lunch is ready.”

“Perfect. You go eat.” The lunch will distract him. Also, his organized life here keeps him calm, so I know Kayley will explain it away when I don’t drop by daily.

I kiss the top of his head before he skips out, blissfully unaware. Then I remember Brandon has an old phone stashed in his dresser. Rushing to it, I slide open the drawer, shifting Brandon’s clothes out of the way and seeing Carmine’s watch while searching for the mobile.

Without warning, I hear a noise and whirl around to be met with Carmine’s whiskey glare pinning me to the spot.

“No!” I cry, not understanding how he found this place. “Did the guards see you?”

Carmine stares at me in shock, so I tread forward and he snaps out of it, his gaze moving from my battered nose up to my eyes. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Please tell me first if the guards saw you, because if they did, we have a huge problem,” I implore, gripping the lapels of his suit jacket, but he steps back, out of my reach.

“No, they didn’t see me. Are they Roman’s guards?”

“Yes,” I reply, trying to figure out how to get him out of here ASAP. Turning around, I yank the silver watch from the drawer and hurry back to Carmine. “Here’s your watch.” I press it into his hand.

He freezes before folding his fingers around it.

“Don’t look so surprised. I’m a whore, not a thief, contrary to what you might think. I was planning on giving it back the day after I found it, but obviously, life got in the way.”

He doesn’t respond as he studies the watch and then me with a deep scowl. “Roman told me you left suddenly on Sunday; I thought you’d played me,” he hisses, appraising me like I’m the enemy.

So that’s how Gwen and Roman covered their asses.

“Don’t judge me. I’m not playing anyone,” I mumble again, my lips trembling since no one believes me.

Yet instead of coming back with a sharp retort, he surprises me by sounding as if he gets me and saying, “I’m not judging you. Trust me, I’m no better than anyone else, and I understand how this life works. We make choices to survive and take care of the ones we love. Now tell me what happened.” Gesturing at my nose, he adds, “Did Roman do that because of me?”

“Yes, partly,” I confess, broken, and a muscle begins to tick in his jaw as if he’s mad for me.

But I have to get back, and I’m pursing my lips to keep from crying, which evidently makes Carmine uncomfortable as he pockets the watch.

“Why?” he asks.

“Who cares, Carmine?” I throw my hands up in the air in frustration because the clock is ticking and I don’t know if Carmine knows about Brandon or if he maybe just followed us. And if the Syndicate does find out about my brother, they’ll use him against me like Roman has. “You have your watch, please go.”

“I care!”

“No, you don’t! Everything is just a game with all of you so that you can manipulate people.”

“Everyone does that. Even you. I prefer to keep you close until I figure out what the fuck the weekend was truly about.”

“Oh, my god, that’s what you all seem to want to do,” I cry and start bawling, finally cracking under the pressure. “I don’t know what to do anymore.” Tears stream down my cheeks as I spit, “I don’t know all the details. But I do know that Gwen told her brother you’re fine with how she got you to the party or something and she’s working on seducing or dating you. And Roman wants to renegotiate your deal. Is that what you want to know?! I’m just a nobody whore; why doesn’t anyone believe me?! Now you need to go because if Gwen sees you here, she’s going to think I am betraying them.”

Carmine’s brows hit his hairline as though I just solved the puzzle for him. “Is Gwen here?”

“Yes,” I admit when we hear heels clicking down the hall outside. “You have to go.”

For a second, Carmine hesitates until I whisper-shout, “That must be Gwen coming to get me since I’ve been gone too long. Don’t trust her, Carmine!”

“Fuck!” he grumbles, staring at me with doubt.

Dread crawls up my spine that he’s going to ruin it for me. But then he hurries to the bathroom with three big strides and shuts the door quietly right before Gwen darkens the doorway and scans the space with a distrustful gaze.

“What’s taking so much time? And where’s your brother?” Gwen questions, searching around the room.

“Brandon just left. I was waiting for the guard,” I reply, and she sneers at the man when he returns before getting a curious look on her face and stopping in front of the closed bathroom door.

An alarm goes off incessantly in my head, and I swallow through my dry throat as I hold my breath.