Relentless Sinner

Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

Jaxon

I grab my jacket from the hook on my office door and shrug into it.

I check I have everything I need for the day and my flight later.

Phone, wallet, keys, gun .

Intel found a possible lead that suggests Salvatore is in L. A.

Cillian, Micah, and I are heading down there to check it out. I’m taking them because I need people I can trust.

It would be just like that rat to go into hiding across the country.

At least I have a lead to go on now. It’s something to keep me moving. Something to keep me distracted.

Last night was the first in a long time that I've been without my wife. Since she’s been in my life, the only times I haven’t slept next to her were when I’ve been working late.

I don't even know how I managed to sleep. If ever there was a night that I stayed up and entertained the demons, it would have been last night. But I think I conked out because I was so tired from having been awake for the last two days straight.

Now that I’ve set this new path of mine in motion, I don’t know how I’m supposed to start forgetting Gabriella. How do I go back to life before her? I’m not so sure I can. Or if it’s even possible.

Yesterday was hard.

The first day of anything is usually the hardest, but yesterday was painful for me. Watching her drive away from me not knowing when I was going to see her again sliced open my heart.

I checked in as often as I felt reasonable with the staff at my father's house, and it seemed that I spoke to everybody except her.

It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to her. It was just too hard .

I'm hoping the next time we see each other, I’ll be able to tell her some good news about her father. I’d like to be able to assure her that neither she nor her sister has to worry about him ever again.

I don't know if I'll kill him yet. With the trouble he’s caused, death feels too good for him, but I'll make the decision when the time comes and let my heart tell me what to do. If it’s still working.

These days, I'm not sure I can rely on my heart. The conflict that’s been living there has made me do things I would never normally do.

Like fall in love.

Me, fall in love . It feels so weird to even think those words. But I fell for Gabriella hard and fast.

I was so sure I wouldn’t fall for her that I didn’t even worry about it. But love snuck up on me like the devil, then obsession did the rest.

A knock sounds at the door. I open it to find Eve standing in the hallway.

She’s aware of the situation and is not happy about it, but so far, she’s been understanding—probably because she knows I’m right.

“Morning,” she says, bringing her hands together.

“Hey there.” I step aside so she can come in.

“I’m heading to the market, but I wanted to check if you were seeing Gabriella off at the airport later.”

I shake my head. “No, I’m flying to L.A. In any event, I don't think it’s best we see each other.”

She frowns. “Jaxon, she’s going to Russia, and you don’t know when you’ll see her again. Don’t you think you should see her off?”

“I can’t.”

“I'm going to be there.”

“I want you to go. She'd like that.”

“She’s still your wife, Jaxon.”

“Eve, please don't make this harder for me. It's already hard enough as it is. I can’t go. Watching her drive away in a car was bad enough. I can’t watch a plane fly her away from me.”

Her chest caves and sympathy fills her eyes. She walks up to me and rests a hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“Me too.”

“I understand why you're doing this. I do. But are you sure it's the right thing?”

“No. I’m not sure of anything. Only that this way keeps her safe.”

“How do you know that?”

“I don’t. But, Eve, I’m a mafia boss.”

“You knew that all along. Have you considered that she could be safer with you? I feel that someone should tell you that it is better to live one lifetime of happiness than one of loneliness and grief. Your mother wouldn't want that for you. Your mother was with your father and she knew what he was going to be well before she married him.”

My mind feels like it’s been tossed around on the sea in a storm.

No one can guarantee anybody's safety. The loved ones I’ve lost are testament of that truth. As Eric laid out the consequences of living the life I live, I knew I couldn't guarantee anything. But this doesn’t feel right, either.

“I need to get through the next few weeks.” Perhaps I'll be able to think more clearly when I get Salvatore off my chest. Doing so may open the door for clarity. Until then, I'm sticking with this plan. “Then I’ll think about it.”

I don’t think I’m going to change my mind, but I won’t burn the bridge just yet.

Eve sighs and gives me a little smile. “You came to the answer in the end, didn't you?”

I'm not sure what she's talking about. “What answer, Eve?”

“The answer to the question of: do you want a wife or a business arrangement?”

I nod. “I wanted a wife.

Her smile widens. “I know. Maybe that was the answer all along. And it still is.” She taps my arm. “Think about it. I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Okay. Be careful. Take a guard with you.”

“I will.”

She heads out and closes the door behind her. I stare at the closed door and think. This is the first time in my life I’ve ever been torn about a decision, but perhaps now isn’t the time to decide.

My phone rings, cutting into my thoughts. I grab it from my back pocket and see it's Nero calling. He’s the head of the Creed guards.

I answer straightaway, hoping everything is all right at my father’s house. “Hey, Nero, what’s going on?”

“Just reporting back to let you know we've got your guy. The men are taking him into custody now.”

“You got Salvatore De Costa?” Hope sparks inside my heart.

“No, Pedro de Loza,” he replies.

I narrow my eyes. “What are you talking about, Nero? I don't even know who that is.”

“Eric gave us strict orders from you that we were all to head to New Jersey and get him. He said Pedro was involved in the deaths of your uncle and cousin and that he tried to poison your father.”

Holy fucking shit. What the fuck is happening? “No, Nero. Those weren't my orders.” My blood runs cold when there's silence on the phone. “Where are you now?”

“We're still in New Jersey.”

Damn it. They’re miles away. It will take them at least three hours to get back to these parts. “Where are Gabriella and my father?”

“Back at the house. Eric and his men are there watching the place.”

“Okay. Get back to my father’s house now.”

“Alright. We’ll be a while, but we’re on our way.”

“I’ll see you when you get there.” I hang up, then rush out the door.

Why would Eric do this? And who the fuck is Pedro de Loza?

With Eric’s new role as my second-in-command, he would have had my implied permission to authorize the guards to go on this mission, but why didn’t he call me first? Or even tell me who this Pedro de Loza guy is.

I head outside and jump in my car then call Eric. There's no answer.

I call again. Still no answer.

I pull onto the road and decide to call my father. But there’s no answer from him, either.

I call Gabriella last. Nothing.

Now I’m worried. They all always answer the phone to me. Always. Especially her.

I know she’s upset but not that upset that she wouldn’t answer the phone.

I speed up, driving past the speed limit, and reach my father’s house within fifteen minutes.

The first thing I notice that makes me worry even more is that there’s not one single guard in sight. Not even at the gates.

I drive onto the property, get out of the car, and head inside, finding it like a ghost town. Usually at this hour, the house is busy.

When I reach the middle of the hallway, I call Eric again. This time, he answers. I’m relieved to get him, but the fire of rage burns through my skin.

“Eric, what the hell is going on?”

“Calm yourself, my boy.”

“I just got to my father’s house and all the guards are gone. Where are you? And who the fuck is Pedro de Loza?”

“A small-time drug dealer I sent the men to get.” He speaks in a voice that doesn't sound anything like him.

“Why would you do that?”

“I needed the men off the property so I could take your wife.”

My mouth drops and my stomach plumets, smashing on the floor like delicate china. “What are you talking about? Where's Gabriella?”

“Things have changed.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Oh, don't worry. I'll explain it to you. This is a plan that's been in the making for the last nine years. I've been the observer, waiting and plotting for the right time to strike. Do you remember what happened to me nine years ago?”

“Of course. Your wife and son were killed.”

“Yes. What I never told you is that it was your father’s fault.”

My lungs twist at this information. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I chose not to tell anyone that I knew the truth, including your father, because I wanted revenge. Imagine I devoted my life to this family and your mother’s, and I raised you like my own. My repayment was having my wife and son gunned down in our home as if they were nothing. All because of a business deal that I did for your father falling through. I confided in him, but he double-crossed me to save himself. Instead, our enemies came after my family to teach me a lesson.”

My God. This is my father all over. His numerous sins have come back to haunt us. But of all the people he could have double-crossed, why Eric? Now look what’s happened.

“Eric, I’m sorry for what he did. You know I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”

“I know, Jaxon. And I accept your sympathy. That’s why I won’t punish you the way I plan to with the others. But your sorrow is not enough.”

Fuck. “You have to give me back Gabriella. Why would you take her?”

“Because she’s part of my plan now. I’m going to marry her to get her fortune.” His words cut into my soul like a sword and I realize he played me. He fucking played me to get to her.

Everything he said was bullshit. And he knew exactly what to say to me to make me break up with my wife. “You can’t do this. Don’t punish me for what my father did.”

“My boy, I vowed retribution on my family’s graves, and the only thing that will suffice is getting the leadership.”

“ The leadership ?” My scalp tightens with this news.

“My plan is to wipe out the line of Bortsovs.”

Oh my God. With no Bortsovs left to take the leadership, his family would be next. He would get it. So far I’m the only Bortsov he needs to worry about. Father is dying, Damian and Yuri are dead, and Magnus and Levka are incarcerated. Sickness and imprisonment, especially for the attempted murder of a leader or murder of a family member of the elite, make you ineligible to take the lead.

“Eric this is madness.”

“No. This was always about justice. So the first thing I did to get back at your father was take his beloved Jacob.”

My legs buckle like they’re going to crumble beneath me. I have to clutch onto the wall to keep myself up. “What are you saying to me, Eric?” The anguish in my voice is palpable. “You? You had something to do with Jacob's accident? It wasn’t a car crash?”

“It was. I just fiddled with the mechanics on the car. That’s why he crashed over the side of a ravine.”

My insides dissolve into nothing and numbness takes over that drains my energy. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I don’t want to believe it. Everything I thought about this man was a lie.

“How could you? You killed Jacob. He was my brother. The only member of my family who loved me.”

“I'm sorry, Jaxon. But he was a means to an end. I knew I had to cause a rift in the line of leadership, and it started with him. Had he lived, I would never have gotten my chance, so the next best thing was to bump you up the line. And your father played right into my hands.”

“How so?”

“That bastard started showing signs of his sickness many years ago yet never got checked out. He swore me to secrecy because he was so scared to lose his position. That asshole sacrificed his health and I let him. I just waited for him to get worse, and that’s exactly what happened. I knew he would make you work for the leadership and pit you against Levka.”

“Yet you acted so surprised.”

“Part of the plan. I knew your uncles would fight against you and try to push Levka ahead of you for the role so they could be moved up the line, too. And that’s exactly what they did. But they didn’t involve Levka as a precautionary measure. I knew about Gabriella’s kidnapping even before you did, and I knew about the bombing. I watched you all to see how everything would play out and create an opening for me.”

Motherfucker . “You bastard.”

“Yes. I had to become the bastard to pull this off. It was me who poisoned Damien and Yuri, then I made it look like Magnus and Levka were involved because I knew you suspected them. I almost managed to poison your father, too, but his expertise saved him.”

Father smelled the poison. That’s what saved him. Had it been any other poison that was odorless or undetectable, he might not have been so lucky.

“Why did you want me to get close to my father?” It doesn’t make any sense that he would do that.

“I genuinely wanted to give you closure. It is my gift to you. You’ll need it where you’re going.”

“Where the fuck am I going?”

“I’m sending you to the island.”

Holy fuck . The Bratva island. The place where no one will ever see me again and I will never make my way back from. It’s worse than death, but he thinks that’s better than killing me.

“After all we’ve been through, that’s what you’re going to do to me?” More disappointment cuts into my heart.

“Sorry. But this is the only way to get rid of you without anyone finding you.” He sighs, and I imagine him shaking his head in that habitual way of his. “I’ll take over once the men give up the search for you. Then I’ll marry your wife. Also securing my position on the Creed.”

“You have no authority to marry her.”

“Actually, I do. Salvatore will resume his executorship over her estate once you’re confirmed missing and presumed dead. Then he’ll transfer everything to me. She’ll marry me if she doesn’t want to be sold.”

Another bomb drops in my heart. “You were working with Salvatore?” Fuck , the rat was Eric. He told the men we’d be in the Hamptons. They probably struck when they did because they thought they’d be more successful.

“It’s a recent partnership. I waited until he was desperate enough to need me before I approached him. How about I let him take it from here?”

Footsteps echo on the floor behind me. When I turn around, something sharp flies into my neck. It feels like a needle. My skin stings and I try to wipe it away but whatever it was has embedded under the surface.

Suddenly, Salvatore comes into my view and my blood heats.

“Hello, Jaxon.” A broad smile is stretched across his fucked-up face.

Son of a bitch . He didn’t fly off anywhere. He tricked me. He was here all along.

I growl and make a move to go for him, but the room spins and I trip over my own feet. The ground is falling away from under me.

Salvatore rushes toward me and starts kicking me in the gut and cursing. I can’t hear what he’s saying. All I can see is his lips moving and the rage on his face.

Whatever the fuck stabbed into my neck is doing a number on me. It’s not poison. It’s a drug. Some kind of concocted shit to mess with my mind.

My limbs grow heavy and my mouth slack. I try to crawl away but can barely move.

I make it to the doorway of the large hall and as I look ahead, I see my father slumped to the side of his wheelchair.

“Fath…er.” I cough.

The room spins, then I see nothing more. Before the darkness swallows me whole, I think of Gabriella.

And how wrong I was.

I should have never let her go.