Death wish, p.4
Death Wish, page 4
Forgettable.
“Della?” I ask, hating that I have to speak to him. I still refuse to make eye contact. “Where is she?”
He sighs heavily, like my frostiness is irritating to him. “Kitchen. We should talk—”
“Get out so I can dress,” I snap. “Unless I’ve lost that right, too.”
Sparrow remains, an unmovable statue, and for a minute, I think he won’t leave. Finally, he storms off.
My backpack I brought with me, filled with our barest essentials, having been brought into the room by someone, sits on an armchair in the corner of the room. I unzip it, finding the picture of Mom stuffed between a pair of jeans and Della’s pajamas. Pulling it out, I try not to let the emotions overwhelm me.
She’s gone.
Mom was everything to me—to my sister.
Sometimes, the hurt of losing her is such a gut punch, hitting me out of nowhere and debilitating me. Sucking in deep breaths, I blink back my tears of despair and frustration. I’m not going to cry today. I’m done being pitiful. Della needs me to be strong.
I stare at Mom’s beautiful smile, press a kiss to it, and then push it into the backpack for safekeeping.
Don’t worry, Mom. I’m going to fix this. I’m going to save your girls.
I grab some clothes and quickly dress. Hygiene can wait until I’ve seen Della, insuring she’s okay this morning, though I know—deep in my gut—Sully stayed true to his word and kept her safe for me.
I make my way out of Scout’s room and toward the sound of voices. The scent of bacon in the air makes my stomach grumble. It’s disorienting seeing all three men, identical copies of one another, moving about the space together. Della sits on the counter, her pink cat resting in her lap, as she watches Scout cook.
I know it’s Scout because he just stands differently than his brothers, favoring his bad leg. Sully is easy to spot because he’s doing something on his phone, making a face of concentration, much like whenever he’d try to teach Della. Sparrow sits at the bar, eyes burning holes into me, actually having the audacity to be annoyed, like I’m the problem here.
I had no clue they were three different people, but now that I know, it’s so obvious. Last night, I saw Scout’s incredibly tattooed chest, and it makes me wonder if the other brothers have ink or not. I never saw them undressed, and now I know why. I’d have been able to determine who was who because it’s doubtful they all have the same tattoos.
Walking over to Della, I cup a hand beneath her chin and lift her head to meet my eyes. She’s not crying and doesn’t appear to be upset, but I ask anyway.
Are you okay? I sign, frowning at her.
Three Fords, she signs back.
Don’t worry. We’ll get out of here soon. I stroke my palm over her messy hair. Promise.
She shakes her head. I want to play with Heathen.
You can play with Heathen, but when it’s time to go, I need you to be ready. Since she ignores that statement, I grab her attention again, forcing her green eyes to look at me. Did they tell you their names?
Sully is the real Ford, she says with her hands, as though that’s obvious. Sparrow is the dummy. Scout is the maid.
I bite back a laugh. The maid?
She gestures at him cooking.
Smiling at her, I pull her off the counter and kiss her head. Go find Heathen, sis.
As soon as she scurries off to terrorize the poor cat, I edge to the corner of the kitchen where I can keep all three men in my line of vision. Sully has pocketed his phone and now studies me intently.
“Tell us what happened,” Sully says, his words directed mostly at Scout, but he’s looking at me.
Scout turns slightly from his skillet and smirks at me. “Landry ran away from her prison tower and I gave her a place to run to.”
My blood boils at his stupid answer. “I thought I was meeting Ty. How did you manage this anyway?”
“Ty’s my new bestie,” Scout says with a shrug and goes back to cooking.
I glower at his back. “That’s not an answer. Was Ty in on this? Did he betray me, too?”
“Your sweet little Constantine was clueless,” Scout replies with a dark chuckle. “He doesn’t even know he’s been played.”
“You said last night that I was part of a job. What job?”
Sully approaches, palms up as though if he makes one wrong move, I might bite. I might. He better walk carefully. Wisely, he stops a couple feet away from me.
“We do jobs for our uncle,” Sully explains. “It’s stupid, but he gave us a place in his family when our mother went to prison.”
“I thought she died,” I choke out. “You guys led me to believe she died.”
“She may as well be dead. Winston Constantine made it so she’ll never leave that hellhole,” Sparrow growls.
“Why is she in prison?” I shake my head. “Forget it. I don’t care. I want to know how I tie into your fucked-up games and why I’m here.”
Sully sighs, taking another step toward me. I narrow my eyes, warning him from getting any closer. “There’s this ongoing war between the Morellis and the Constantines.”
“So you’re Morellis?”
“Technically,” Sully agrees, “but legally, we’re Mannfords.”
Mannford.
Ford Mann.
Oh my God.
If I would have just googled Ford Mann, I might have eventually discovered the truth. I was too afraid of Dad finding what I’d search out, and when I had the opportunity, I was more concerned with finding an escape from my father, not researching my boyfriend.
Boyfriend?
Dumb girl. You were played by three evil twats.
“The Morellis hate the Constantines. We, specifically, hate the Constantines. So, when our uncle asked us to meddle in your dad’s life, since Winston Constantine was planning to do some business with him, we jumped at the chance.”
I sidestep Sully, unable to look at his face. My gaze finds Sparrow. “And it was in the plan to fuck me? I bet you guys had so much fun laughing at my expense.” Swallowing hard, I fight the tears forming in my eyes. “I feel so stupid.”
Sparrow slides off his stool, but I don’t want him near me either. I step backwards and bump into Scout. He wraps an arm around me, pulling me to his chest. Sparrow and Sully watch with matching jealous expressions on their faces.
“Don’t feel stupid, prickly princess,” Scout says, breath hot near my ear. “We’re really good at deceiving people. Been doing it our entire lives.”
“Scout,” Sparrow spits out, a warning in his tone. “Stop.”
“Stop what, little brother? Being real with her?”
“Stop antagonizing her,” Sully grumbles. “It’s…too much.”
“Don’t tone story time down for my benefit.” I seethe, my blood boiling over with fury. “Scout’s right. Give it to me straight. I deserve that. You know I do.” I want, no, I need to feel every blade of betrayal cutting through me so I don’t fall for their charms ever again. Or anyone’s for that matter.
“Our uncle set us up with fake IDs and gave us our jobs.” Sully gestures to himself. “I was in charge of, uh, infiltrating the home.”
All the hairs on my arms stand on end. A shiver of disgust ripples through me. Scout mistakes it for me being cold and he hugs me closer. I don’t want to be in his grip, but he’d probably force me to stay there anyway. It’s better I’m staying by my own choice.
“I was to be with you at school,” Sparrow mutters. “Hence our same schedules.”
“And you?” I ask Scout, slightly turning my head to look at him. “What was your job? Or was kidnapping your part?”
“That was just a bonus.” He grins at me. “My job was to befriend Ty Constantine.”
I wish Ty were here. At least he’s innocent in all this. All he wanted to do was to be my friend. Apparently, he trusted Scout, too. I’m putting together the pieces pretty quickly. Scout obviously used Ty to get me here.
“Ty was going to help me leave my dad,” I admit, frowning. “We made a plan on our date.” I chew on my bottom lip thoughtfully. “He was going to give me some money to get away.”
“How did you get here?” Sully asks.
I attempt to extricate myself from Scout. He squeezes me tight for a second and then releases me. Curling my arms around my middle, I back away from the three of them until my butt hits the counter behind me.
“Since they’re besties,” I supply, enunciating the word, “he obviously intercepted Ty’s message to me—”
“Beat him to the punch,” Scout interjects. “Go on. You’re good at these guessing games. It’s a shame you didn’t put it all together sooner.”
I want to kick him in his bad knee. Asshole.
“I came here thinking I was going to Ty’s. I thought I was going to get away.”
“You did get away,” Sparrow says, stepping toward me. “You’re safe here.”
Is he serious right now?
I was split up from my sister and forced to sleep naked with a monster. How is that safe?
“Don’t touch me,” I warn, scowling at him.
“Laundry,” he murmurs, eyes flashing in pain.
Unreal.
“You don’t get to call me that, Sparrow. You don’t get to look like the victim here. Fuck you. Fuck all of you.” I plant my palms on his chest and try to shove him, but he’s built like a brick wall, going nowhere.
“It wasn’t all a job for me.” Sparrow’s maple-syrup eyes dart back and forth, willing me to understand. But I don’t. It’s so stupid and wrong. “You and me—”
“There was me and Ford, but there was never me and Sparrow.” I move away from him and look at Sully. “Have you seen the news? What are they saying?”
His lips press into a firm line and he drops his gaze to the floor. “Nothing.”
“What do you mean nothing?”
“No Amber Alerts. No missing person reports. Nothing. No one’s looking for you.”
He’s wrong.
If my dad isn’t taking this to the news, that means he’s trying to fix this before it becomes a thing. Quietly. Efficiently. Him going to the news would be a last-ditch effort.
Dad is looking…
And I dread thinking about him actually finding us.
Being trapped with these three liars isn’t ideal, but it’s still better than being at home. I can breathe and think. I’ll get me and Della out of here.
The triplets used me.
My turn to use them back.
Chapter Six
Scout
She’s so pretty when she’s mad.
Her blue eyes lose their softness, electrifying until they practically glow. The plump pink pillows of her lips twist into a sneer and the skin on her neck and face turns crimson from the emotions stampeding through her veins.
It makes me want to pull her close and twist my fingers in her golden locks, tugging and pulling until she’s forced to face one of the monsters in her life. I want to fuck her while she glares at me, drawing pleasure out of her that forces her snarls to be replaced with needy moans.
Landry Croft is sneaky.
Sneaky in the sense that I wasn’t prepared for her.
I was fixated on Ash Constantine—a fading ghost from my past. So distracted by the stale memories of what I thought I wanted that when something fresh tickled my nose, I wasn’t ready for my every sense to be invaded.
That’s what Landry did.
She chased away those old desires, replacing them with something heart-pumping and addictive. Too easily she lured me away from what I thought I wanted.
Now, she’s all I see.
And we have her.
I didn’t just do this for me. I did it for my brothers, too. I could see how they wanted her. How they cared. Either we each tug at a piece of Landry, none of us giving an inch, or we play nice and share.
Mom would have forced us to share when we were kids.
Since Mom’s not here, I’m stepping in.
We have Landry in our home and no one knows where she is. At the end of the day, she’s ours.
Not Ty’s. Not her father’s. Ours.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, distracting me from my thoughts. I pull it out and read the text.
Ty: Dude. Shit has gone down. Can you meet up? I’m so fucked.
Me: Yeah. At your office?
Ty: God no. I need to get out of here. There’s a coffee shop on the corner.
Me: I know the one. See ya in twenty.
I tuck my phone back in my pocket, my eyes darting back to Landry. She’s sitting next to Della at the table, signing something to her. They’re carrying on an entire conversation with their hands. It’s fascinating to watch. Where Sparrow and I watch in rapt interest, Sully intently stares at them, understanding on his face. Since he doesn’t appear to be alarmed, I assume it must be benign whatever they’re discussing.
“Looks like Sparrow is on dishes,” I say, pushing back my chair. “I’m meeting a friend and I’m going to find out how much Alexander knows.”
Landry abandons her conversation with her sister to glower at me. “Ty?”
“You think he’s my only friend?”
“Your brothers don’t count,” she drawls out, face flickering in a bitchy way that gets my dick really hard. “Me and Della are your captives.”
“Spoiled captives,” I say with a grin as I stand. “I made the kid extra bacon. No one’s tied up here or gagged, though it can be arranged.” I motion at the kinky fuck in the room. “Right, Sparrow?”
Landry shoots me the bird and Sparrow huffs in exasperation. I wink at Della who’s watching me with interest.
“Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone,” I instruct. “If the captives escape, I won’t be happy if I have to hunt them back down.”
Landry’s glare is sharp enough to cut glass. If she knew how much that look turned me on, I doubt she’d use it on me so frequently.
* * *
The coffee shop is bustling with people. While I wait for Ty to arrive, I sip my mocha latte and people-watch. I’m quite relaxed. Having Landry in my possession feels like a win—a win I’ve been chasing after for five long years. Victory is as sweet as the chocolate syrup drizzled over the top of my latte.
A bell chimes, barely audible over the hum of businesspeople buzzing around, aching for their next caffeine fix, and my gaze darts to the door.
Ty fucking Constantine.
His features are twisted into an expression of pure panic. He even looks a little green, like he might puke his guts up at any second. I take another sip of my latte before waving to garner his attention. Relief causes his shoulders to bleed away some of their tension and he forces a grim smile for me.
I’m his…friend.
Friends talk to each other through problems and offer advice when they can.
“What’s up, man?” I say, grinning at him as he takes a seat.
I push the coffee I ordered him closer to him. Cream, two sugars. I’m his bestie, so naturally, I know how he takes his coffee. He flashes me a grateful smile and then sips the hot liquid before relaxing further.
I like to think I have a calming effect on people.
Though, I’m sure few people would argue that idea.
“So?” I ask, leaning toward him. “Did you do it?”
He scrubs his palm over his face. “I didn’t get the chance. We had a plan, but she must have just left, Ford.”
Ford.
Ah, yes. My name.
“Left?” I furl my eyebrows together. “Where did she go?”
“Hell if I know.” He sips his coffee again, face going stormy. “He must have done something to upset her last night. She didn’t wait for my message, which I was going to deliver today, and just left. Took Della with her.”
“How do you know all this?”
His face pales. “Alexander. I got into the office this morning and I overheard him on speakerphone with his assistant.”
“The assistant I fucked?”
It’s too bad that Ty is just an easy person to lie to. The fucker believes every damn thing out of my mouth.
“I knew it was that old hag,” he says with a grimace. “Anyway, he told her his girls are missing. That he won’t be in the office until he figures out where they went.”
“Did he sound pissed?”
“No.” He groans, pinning his stare on me. “He sounded calm. So self-assured. Like he knew he was going to find them and very soon.”
“And you think because he sounded calm, he’s already figured out you were involved in her disappearance somehow?” I arch a brow in disbelief. “He’s cunning, but I mean, that’s a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?”
“You don’t know this guy,” Ty grumbles. “He’s just so…intense. Knows things before they even happen. His ironclad control on every aspect of his life is intimidating. Like on our date…”
He’s blathering on about Landry and the movies, but I’m overwhelmed with jealousy. Imagining him alone with her in the theater, especially now that she’s officially ours, has my blood heating to inhuman degrees.
“Did you hear me?” he asks, cocking his head to the side.
“Hmm?” My jaw clenches with barely checked anger.
“She had no money,” Ty explains. “She’s out there with nothing. No money, no shelter. And, worst of all, she has one of the most rich and powerful men hunting her down. When he finds her…”
He won’t.
He can’t.
She’s ours.
We have her and no one will be taking her away from us.
I don’t care if I have to throw Ty Constantine under the bus because I will. If he’s a casualty in our war against her father, so be it. And, if I need to do more shit for Bryant, like burn the entire goddamn city to the ground just to make all this go away, I will.
“I’m just fucking worried,” he grunts. “I wonder how long it’ll take for them to realize the timing of our date and her disappearance are suspect.”
“But they won’t find anything,” I assure him, “because I gave you the money in cash and she’s not at your place. You never had a chance to send her a note. Stop freaking out, Ty.”
