Sold to Moretti Mafia

Lucca

Six months, six fucking months, and I still haven’t found her. I should have known she would leave. I showed her the worst part of me that night I took her virginity. I should have known it would scare her off.

If I was a better man, I would let her go, but I’m far from it. I won’t ever let her go, and I will find her. If Felix would get off his high horse and help me, I would have pinpointed her location the day she left, but the fucker insists on letting her go if that’s what she wants. Asshole.

I’ve spent every waking moment either on the run from Julian or looking for Claire. Unfortunately, she has learned too much from me with staying off the grid. I know I need help. I just don’t know how to get it.

At least I didn’t until Carter called me last week telling me about a gang of Volocove’s associates trying to make a move on Julian. I would normally trust that he can handle it himself, but their plan is actually pretty good, and they might have a chance.

That’s why I’m here, at a Christmas fundraiser for the rich. As I had feared, they took Elena, leaving Julian in a frenzy to find her. This is my chance, my only shot at redemption. Either I’ll help him and get back into his good graces, or I’ll die today.

Julian turns the corner and stops dead in his tracks when he sees me. Shock quickly turns into anger, and I know he is thinking about killing me. I know normally, he would pull the trigger and end me in a heartbeat, but right now, he has more pressing matters on his mind.

He knows I’m not here by chance. He knows he needs me, and that’s the only reason I’m not on the floor in a puddle of my own blood.

I can see the moment Julian’s temper flares and gets the better of him. He lunges for me, fisting my shirt, and slams my back into the closest wall.

“The only reason you’re breathing right now is because I know you have something to do with her disappearance.”

“I know you have no reason to believe me, but I didn’t touch her. I came here to help. I might be out of the loop, but I’ve heard the rumors. I heard that some associates of the Volocove’s family were going to strike tonight. They are still pissed about you messing with their operation. I came to warn you, but it seems I’m too late.”

“Warn me?” Julian hisses before he slams me against the wall once more.

“Let me help you find her. Let me prove myself,” I offer, not fighting back at all.

“There is nothing to prove,” he spits, looking like all he wants to do is smash his fist into my face.

“I can get her back. I can find her. They think I’m a traitor already. They’ll never expect me to be helping you. Let me do this. If not for you, for Elena.”Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

“And why should I trust you? You betrayed me.”

“You shouldn’t. I did what I had to do for the same reason you’re doing what you have to do right now. Love has that effect on people. I didn’t want to betray you, but they had her…”

Julian shakes his head, but releases me. He takes a step back, putting space between us. His entire body trembles, no doubt with the need to kill me.

I sag against the wall for a moment before straightening and gathering my wits. “Have they left yet?”

“I have my men posted everywhere, and none have said anything.”

“Follow me.” I smile, knowing exactly where they are. “They most likely went to the basement. They know your men are here and that they wouldn’t be able to get away without you knowing.”

His intense stare tells me he is considering this to be a trap. Lucky for me, his concern for Elena overrides his thinking.

“Lead the way,” he orders impatiently.

My heart thunders in my chest with each step we take, each beat becoming louder, making it hard for me to hear or feel anything besides that heavy thumping. The door leading into the basement is unlocked, and as we head down into the darkness, I reach for my gun.

It’s hard to make out, but several doors lead into what I assume are rooms. I move along the wall, slowly twisting the knob of each one and shoving the door open.

Then we hear it. “Don’t cry, sugar. You have nothing to cry about… yet.”

Julian springs into action beside me. Taking a step forward, he’s ready to go in, guns blazing.

“Whoa, slow down.” I hold up my hands, hoping he is going to listen. “We need a plan.”

“We go in, kill everyone who is not Elena. Plan over.”

“That’s too risky. Think about it. Chances are she is going to get caught in that crossfire.” He knows I’m right, and he hates it too. “I need you to trust me, okay?” I whisper, knowing exactly what I’m asking him to do.

“Then what’s your plan?” he grits through his teeth.

“Be smart. We both don’t want anything to happen to Elena. You go in and assess the situation. Make sure she is out of harm’s way. I’ll come in as a surprise. We’ll take them down together.” I’m not lying. I might not love Elena like Julian does, but I don’t want anything to happen to her either. No matter what happened between Julian and me, I still see him as family, which makes Elena family as well.

“Fine, let’s do this,” he growls, knowing he’s forced to put every ounce of trust into a man that had previously betrayed him. A man that he wants to murder.

I stay back and watch Julian enter the room. Elena sees him first and mouths something I don’t catch.

“Well, look who finally made it to the party.” One of the men chuckles, while another lifts his gun and presses it against the back of Elena’s head. “Julian Moretti himself.”

“You made a lot of mistakes today. Taking my wife. Hurting her. Threatening me. You know you’re going to pay with your lives, don’t you?”

“I don’t see how you are in any position to deal out threats. I’m the one holding a loaded gun to your whore’s head, aren’t I?”

“For every word you speak, I’ll add another minute of torture before I finally kill you.”

The three men laugh, but I know Julian is deadly serious.

I plaster a smug smirk on my face and walk into the room. “See, I told you he would fall for it.”

The room erupts into more laughter.

“We figured he wouldn’t fall for it a second time. I’ll give it to you, Lucca, you must be one hell of an actor.”

“You son of a bitch,” Julian growls. His face distorts into a mask of fury as he lunges for me. Before he can even get two feet, two of the masked men tackle him to the ground. A guttural scream rips from Elena’s throat, but it’s muffled by the gag. I glance over at her just long enough to see the panic in her eyes.

Dread overtakes her features as three men drag Julian to the spot in front of her. The gun that was pressed against Elena moments ago is now pointed at Julian’s head instead.

Elena whimpers and tugs on her restraints, making the guy next to her chuckle. “Want to say something, sweetheart?”

He grabs the gag and pulls it from her mouth.

“Please…” she croaks.

She’s crying so much now that all I want to do is tell her it’s okay. I’m on your side, but I need to keep this up a little longer. Julian stares at his wife, and I can see the profuse love and guilt in his gaze. He thinks he failed her.

“Please… Don’t do this. Take me instead,” Elena begs for her husband’s life.

“How cute that you’re willing to give up your life for this piece of shit, but no can do, sweetheart,” one man replies.

“It’s time to die, Moretti-”

“Hold on. Let me do it,” I interrupt at the last second. “He’s been hunting me like an animal for two years. I want to be the one to pull the trigger.”

“I suppose we owe it to you. You led him right to us.” One of the men holding Julian chuckles. “He’s all yours. We’ll take his wife as payment.”

Elena shakes her head profusely, her hair sticking to her tear-stained cheeks.

I move toward Julian and pull my gun from its holster as I let a wicked smile spread across my face. Raising my gun, I aim at Julian’s head for a split second before lifting it higher and pointing it at the guy holding the gun in his hand.

I pull the trigger. The bullet flies, hitting its intended target. With a hole between his eyes, the guy falls to the ground. Before his body hits the floor, I fire my gun again, hitting the second guy. Another shot rings out, then another, until every single one of my enemies is on the ground in a puddle of their own blood.

“Open your eyes, Elena,” Julian coaxes his wife.

Her eyes fly open, and she takes in Julian kneeling in front of her with wide, teary eyes.

I untie her restraints while Julian runs his hands over her body like he is checking for injuries.

As soon as Elena is free, she falls into Julian’s arms and buries her nose into the crook of his neck. He tugs her into his chest, pulling her close into his protective hold.

They whisper something to each other I don’t understand until Julian pushes Elena away a few inches. “Baby?”

“Yes, baby. I was going to wait until tomorrow morning to tell you. It’s hard to give a man who has everything a Christmas gift. I bought some blue baby shoes and wrapped them up.” She sniffles.

“Congratulations,” I interject, reminding them I’m still here.

Julian pulls Elena to her feet but keeps his arm around her. I shove my hands in my pockets and watch as they both stare at me for a few seconds. All three of us ignore the dead bodies in the room.

Elena finally breaks the silence. “Thank you.” Julian simply grunts, and she gives her husband a little jab in the side, making him roll his eyes.

“You betrayed me… but you saved us today,” he finally says. “We both owe you.”

I grin. “I was kind of hoping you’d say that. Because I could really use your help with something.”

“Is that so?” Julian huffs, clearly not happy about this development.

“Yes. Like I told you earlier, I only betrayed you because Lev’s family had someone I cared about. I’ve been protecting her ever since. Unfortunately, she just ran away from me.”

Julian’s eyebrows lift, and I know he is wondering why she is running if I’m only protecting her. Regardless, he is considering my request.

“What do you need help with?” Julian asks.

“I need help hunting her down.”