For Logan (Chicago Syndicate Book 5) (28 page)

“I’ll tell her the truth. You can’t intimidate me.”

A sardonic twitch appears at the corner of his mouth. “I knew you’d be difficult to persuade. But I’ll inform Adriano that you killed Mykhail. Who do you think he’ll believe? Me or you?”

“Then tell him,” I bluff.

“I also anticipated that smug reply, so don’t worry, I have more to convince you. Do you know how Nana has been doing today?”

I jerk my chin out of his hand and violently attempt to wrestle free again. “What the fuck have you done with her?”

James gives me a blow to the ribs, and I gulp for air.

“Nothing. But my guard is with your grandmother now.” He shows me his phone screen with Nana lying in her bed and today’s newspaper next to her head as she sleeps.

I clench my jaw, finally holding still.

“One wrong move from you, and I’ll execute her. I want this relationship with my daughter to stop right now. Don’t even consider double-crossing me. I’ll be watching you like a hawk.” In a flash, he snags my phone from my pocket and replaces it with another. “Here’s your new phone. It’s actually one you provided us, equipped with
Zeus
software. It’s impossible to disable the location, and I can track or block any messages you try to send or calls you try to make. I’ll be instructing you from now on, until I’m convinced that you’ve cut all ties with Rosalia, and a guard will be with you.”

“Are you going to watch me twenty-four seven?”

“If necessary.”

My old phone vibrates in his hand, making James grunt. I see
Rosa
flashing across the screen.

James demands, “What the hell have you done with her that she’s so infatuated with you? You better discourage her.”

“She’ll never believe it!”

However, in this moment, I realize I must oblige. I’m screwed either way. The Syndicate will take James’s word over mine. This is a James I didn’t know existed. I underestimated his protectiveness over Rosa since he accepted Cam and Adriano. For now, I need to pacify him until I can ensure Nana is safe. Then I’ll need to conjure a plan to contact Rosa without James knowing. He can’t monitor me around the clock. In addition, he forgets who I am – an agent. I have connections as well. Reassessing the situation quickly, I keep quiet.

The men don’t release me as James goes to the front door. I’m heaved out of the apartment and into the back of his SUV with a gun pointed at my head.

The guard speeds like a maniac through the darkening streets of the Loop, and it seems we’re heading for Club 7, but I’m too concerned about my grandmother to care and just want James to let me go so I can check on her.

James occupies the passenger seat and addresses me without bothering to turn around, “You make Rosalia believe what she already suspects; that you ended Mykhail and don’t want to be with her, understood? She’s at the club now.”

“What kind of fucking father are you? You want me to break her heart because you’ve decided that I’m not a good match for her? She’s an adult and makes her own choices.”

“Which are foolish choices. In the long run, she’ll understand that.”

“You were boss for too long. You think you can play God.”

“I don’t have any patience for you anymore. I’m done with watching this play out while you and she get closer.”

Fury bleeds through my veins.

***

A
t the club, James propels me inside through the back entrance and thrusts a girl in front of me.

How many minions does James have? At least two guards and one girl are more loyal to him than they are to Adriano and me, and they’ll be dealt with later.

“Rosalia’s coming and you’ve forced me to take drastic measures. She’ll hate you if she sees you with another woman, so take her downstairs to the third room, and don’t even think about trying to outsmart me; I’ll be spying on you from the adjacent room.”

“Is this a joke?” I retort, my throat burning.

“Don’t play dumb. You’re a master at being someone else. Break it off or the last thing Nana sees will be a bullet.”

I want to leap forward, but he brings his phone to his ear. “Want to take that risk?”

A low growl escapes me before I storm into the club with the woman in tow. One of James’s guards scrutinizes me continuously – my hands are tied.

My heart pounds in my chest when I spot Rosa, scanning the place with an anxious look on her face. Her caramel eyes are swollen with anguish, and her pain affects me more than my own. Without time to think, I charge downstairs with the woman, toward the designated room, and of course, Rosa trails me.

Inside the room, I play my part flawlessly. My mind is in overdrive about how to give her a message, but it’s impossible to risk it with these thin walls and James right next door.

I lie to her while my soul fractures with every disappointed glance she sends me. We argue as she rants. She spews her emotions, and I study her, yet her words aren’t resonating with me until she mentions Adam, whisper-soft. Thank God she’s quiet enough that there’s no way James could hear it. He can’t discover she has Adam; I need to buy her time to figure out how she’s going to protect him. So I school my expression and simply lash out in the hopes that she’ll get out of the room. After my callous words, she takes the last ray of light in my life with her when she leaves.

In these first seconds of complete stillness, I lose it. Outraged, I whirl around when James and a guard enter.

James commands arrogantly, “Now you avoid her.”

“You son of a bitch! You’re messing with lives because you’re too damn selfish to see that she’s a grown up!”

“You don’t know my daughter like I do. You’re the forbidden bad boy but not a man to protect her for life. Don’t think I believe for a second that you love her.”

I lunge at him. “Well, fucking believe it!”

We topple to the ground, and I smash a fist into his cheek. The guard lifts me off him, hooking his arms around mine from behind and pulling me straight up.

James slackens his jaw calmly and raises his fist. Then my head snaps backward from the force of his punch before the guard lets go of me, and I drop to the floor on my hands and knees, wiping the thin trickle of blood from the corner of my mouth.

James tugs my hair, forcing me to look up at him. “Your other option is that I tell Adriano how you killed Mykhail, and then I’ll still murder you and your Nana. Get it fucking together, or I’ll stop being compassionate. And remember that I know your every move. Furthermore, Rosalia’s phone is being monitored, and any contact you initiate with her will be blocked.” He releases me harshly, taking a handkerchief from the inside of his jacket and swiping his hands before he exits.

I sit back against the wall. My emotions are in a clutter as irritation blisters inside me. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt hopeless or stifled.

Grimacing, I rise and lift my dress shirt to see my torso is turning black and blue. Disregarding the pain, I decide to rapidly do damage control. I need to get my grandmother away from that nursing home.

***

O
utside Club 7, I take a cab, examining my new phone and discovering that everything’s being tracked. Rosa’s number and all her contact information are blocked, and when I send an e-mail to her, it gets returned to my inbox. This device is indeed one I gave them with
Zeus
programmed on it, and I don’t know how to disable it. I grip the phone in aggravation as the cab pulls up to the curb of the nursing home on this horrendous evening.

Rushing inside, I burst into Nana’s room where a nurse I don’t recognize is standing beside her bed.

“Who are you?” I stop opposite the brunette.

“I’m new on the night shift, sir.”

My eyes narrow before I scan Nana sleeping without a scratch on her. “I’m transferring her to another home.”

“I don’t think so, Logan,” the nurse counters unexpectedly.

My gaze shoots up and I snatch my gun from my pants just as she points her Glock between my eyes.

She cocks her head with all ten fingers wrapped around the black handle. “You’re to obey Syndicate orders, Mr. Wade. Nana will stay here until James is satisfied.”

“You fucking bitch,” I hiss.

When Nana stirs, we both look down at her, then back at each other. She raises a brow, waiting for me to lower my aim. Having no other options, I drop my arms.

She stands down too, hiding her gun behind her hip when another nurse comes in and announces, “Sir, visiting hours are over.”

Christ!
I have to leave. “Yeah, I’m going.” I peer at Nana, silently promising that I’ll be back soon.

Once I’m in the cab again, I head back to the penthouse while another vehicle trails me without bothering to hide it. Rubbing my temples, I contemplate how to resolve this situation while avoiding endangering Nana or Rosa any further.

I grab my phone and change the settings, hoping to overwrite the
Zeus
software before I send a message to Henry.

Logan: We need to talk.

When I reach my residential tower, another fucking guard is at the front entrance. Brushing past him, I open the door and slam it in his face. These guards have probably been promised a promotion from James, and they’re still loyal to him due to the fact that he was their boss for a long time, but I’m head
Capo
. Once I’ve discovered a way to get revenge, I’ll slaughter both of them.

My phone beeps as I tiredly ascend in the elevator and enter my penthouse apartment, which is still not fully furnished. Instead of Henry, James has answered.

James: Don’t think Henry can help you. I know everything you do.

My message to Henry got intercepted as well. Infuriated, I fling the phone across the living room, against the floor-to-ceiling windows, and it clanks to the floor but doesn’t break. This situation is a huge disaster of which the circumstances have spiraled out of control within a few hours. Approaching the window, I lean my arm against the cool glass surface and rest my forehead on my clenched hand, glaring at the Chicago red-gold night lights.

The one woman’s heart I never wanted to destroy has now been shattered by her own father. Knowing that Rosa’s out there believing that everything between us was a lie is something I’m incapable of surviving. Losing Rosa isn’t an option for me; that’s the simple fucking truth.

The entire evening my mind churns with possible solutions.

***

U
nfortunately, a resolution seems further away with each day that passes, and I’m obliged to live under surveillance twenty-four-seven. I visit the club every night for almost a week, though Rosa’s never there – my two guards are. Still, work continues as usual. James pretends everything’s fine when we have our meetings, and I receive assignments outside of the Loop and hurry back to Nana to confirm she’s unharmed for six consecutive days.

I have to live in the apartment where curtains that Rosa ordered are delivered and hung. And I miss her with every fiber in my being, worrying about what she and Adam are doing, her absence hitting me hard.

Until Saturday, the first chance I get to talk with Rosa in secret. Yet it doesn’t go as planned. In fact, it paves an even more destructive path. It unleashes the brute inside me that’s being controlled by James.

Rosalia

––––––––

O
n Saturday night, my black hair is down, curled loosely, and I’m wearing my rose-colored floor-length gown with a sweetheart neckline. As I look at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I think about how I’m absolutely not in the mood for Cam’s surprise party. Besides, I haven’t seen Adam the entire day, and I miss him a lot. I contact Mary, who’s with the babysitter at her apartment, dressing for the party, and she sends me a picture of Adam watching
Cars
. The smile on his face appeases me slightly.

A year ago, I was partying every weekend, and today, I’m caretaker to a three-year-old. Although, honestly, he’s been my saving grace. Without Adam, I would’ve almost certainly wallowed in misery and heartbreak over Mykhail and Logan.

All I’m left with are regrets and the memories Logan and I made. Yet now, a layer of deceit stains them. Nonetheless, I repeatedly relive the day Mykhail died. There’s a part of me that basically can’t grasp what happened or how I could’ve misjudged Logan. Thankfully, the mayhem of the day blocks out my incessant thoughts.

As I’m finishing up, two of my cousins wander into my house, and one yells, “Rosalia, can I use your bathroom to do my makeup?”

“Sure. I’m done anyway.” I pull up the neckline of my dress so my breasts don’t pop out and pass her as I walk out to make room. “Lock the door when you’re done,” I tell them as I slide into my beaded sandals, sans heels, of course.

Then I move out into the decorated garden where dozens of guests are gathered. Lilies and candles are floating in the pool, and the trees are strung with white lights. At the back door, a bar is set up where drinks and appetizers are being served while we wait for Adriano to arrive with Cam.

“Rosalia, you look beautiful,” I hear from behind me.

I turn around to greet Fallon. “Hey! Thank you.” She’s the only other person, apart from Henry, who’s close to Logan – I consider whether or not to ask about him.

But she surprises me by saying, “Logan’s here.” And she adds carefully, “With a date.” Apparently, she either knows or has a suspicion about Logan and me, and the words are a dagger to my already fragile heart.

“Oh,” I manage to utter, snapping my gaze around the garden.

Within seconds, I find Logan as he steps outside with a redhead. My nightmare dressed like the man who supposedly loved me in a neatly pressed black tux, who scrutinizes me before looking away while I’m frozen to the spot.
That’s all I get?

He strolls to the bar, where my father’s standing, and doesn’t spare me a second glance for the next half hour while I’m continuously aware of him. I snatch two champagne glasses from the bar and down one, tracking him like a stalker, confronted with the scene I hated before he started dating me; the majority of the women competing for his attention. I finish the second drink in my hand and get a third, needing the alcohol to get through the next few hours. Every time I careen around the pool, Logan skillfully shifts farther away from me. When the girl hangs on his arm and he whispers something into her ear, my fingers constrict around the glass. I watch Logan adjusting his cufflink, mesmerized by the smooth action of his finger, and berate myself. I’ve become one of those girls who yearns for him while he’s already moved on to the next, so it seems.