Chapter 155: Not Alone
- DEX -
All of the internal anxiety and dread revolving around this situation with Rory being taken increased exponentially when Raya showed me her phone. It was supposed to be her. I knew it. I fucking knew it. And the bastard is still trying to get her.
Now we’re speeding to meet Luciano. There isn’t much time to figure out a quick plan and get to the mill before the deadline Raya was given. But I know Luci is bringing the guys he has with him, and I have a feeling I’m not going to be able to keep Raya in the dark about my family after today.
It’s going to be pretty obvious that this isn’t just a hobby Luci has—carrying weapons and having an intimidating, obedient crew with him that doesn’t seem to care about law enforcement or laws at all. I tried to get her to stay with Will at the club, but she was adamant that she had to be here.
Raya’s terrified she made the wrong decision by revealing the texts to me, I can see it in her eyes—in the way she froze up when I was reading them. Regardless of what happens, I’m positive I’ve never been more grateful for anything than I am for her honesty right now. I can’t even allow myself to imagine what would have happened if she had tried doing this alone.
But Rory has to be okay. She has to be okay, because I also don’t want to imagine what Raya’s going to go through if she isn’t. She will blame herself. She will blame me. She will think she made the wrong choice telling me about the texts, and then that will put this connection we have into question.
"You did the right thing, angel," I tell her now, squeezing her hand and swallowing back the tremendous gratitude that wells when I realize how she has trusted me with this—with this truth and ultimately with her sister’s life.
Raya just nods in return. Her expression says everything. She’s too riddled with worry to speak at all at this point, and she isn’t convinced yet that she can agree with me that this was the right thing.
This has to be flawless. It’s going to be flawless.
We meet up with Luci on the side of the road a few miles from the mill. He has three guys in his SUV, all stone-faced and ready for some action.
"What’s the plan?" I ask, standing at the passenger door where Luci is sitting. He has someone else driving.
Raya walks up behind me, and I bristle internally wondering what she’s going to hear and how I’m going to explain it. I owe her honesty in return for the honesty she entrusted me with today, but I’m not ready for the ’My family is the mafia’ talk yet either.
"Hear me out," Luci says, eyes flitting Raya’s way. "We send her in first."
"No." No. Absolutely not.
"I’ll do it," she says behind me, and everything in my body goes cold. Everything. I can’t even feel my limbs anymore.
"Absolutely not," I growl.
"Dex!" She starts to object, but Luci beats her to it.
"He’s not going to do anything to her the moment she walks in," he says. I can see him twisting a silencer on his gun. Thankfully Raya is too short to fully see into the vehicle. "I know fuckers like this. They want to have fun with their victims first."
"That doesn’t make me feel any better, Luci," I say, hands curling into tight fists at my sides.
"You think I’m going to let anything happen to your girl?" He asks, shooting me with those pitch black daggers in his eyes. When I don’t answer, he goes on.
"She goes in, makes him think he’s won. If he’s working with someone else, he sends the message that all is well. Whatever it is, the moment he thinks the plan worked, his guard is down. That’s what we want. He’s sure as hell not going to be expecting us to show up."
And by ’us,’ he means the mafia. There’s an arrogance to it I recognize.
"I’ll do it," Raya says, and I don’t mean to growl at her, but I do. "Dex, let me do this. Please." Her voice sounds so desperate that it claws at my heart. "It’s my sister. The only reason she was taken is because of me."
"She’s got balls," the guy driving says with a chuckle.
"We don’t have time for anything else," Luci tells me. "If we did, we’d do it different. But this is it."
"She goes in, and then what?" I ask through clenched teeth.
"I say we all pile into one vehicle with her and hide going in. This isn’t a big operation. This is one, maybe two guys. And it’s a rush job. They don’t have cameras at this place to make sure she’s alone. We can sneak up, surround them, take them by surprise."
Fuck, I hate this. I hate this plan. I sigh and rake a hand over my face. But Luci is making it clear there’s no better option.
"He’s not going to kill her as soon as she walks in," Luci says. "Fuckers like this have to get off first."
"Fuck, Luci!" I snarl, dropping my fist against the window opening. "Is that supposed to convince me?"
Everyone in the vehicle goes rigid except my cousin, and I know it’s because of how I’ve spoken to him—the rage I’ve let slip. No one speaks to the boss that way. No one questions him like this. I’m getting away with something most wouldn’t.
Luciano may not be the boss yet, but he’s close. It’s a position that’s waiting for him. He’s like a prince to these guys.
"It’s good," Luci says, glancing back at them, and then everyone relaxes. But there are now three sets of very angry eyes all directed at me.
"Let me just say this," Luci says, leaning toward me. "Rory is not the target. She’s not the favorite, which means right now, she’s the one in danger. She’s alone. She may not even be at the mill. But Raya is not alone. She has you. She has us. Let’s get the one in danger out."
