If Lopez García isn’t helping Alex, then they aren’t aligned with him. So Alex wasn’t involved in my capture.
My breath catches. A part of me wants to believe it—desperately. But another part, the one still raw and bleeding from the inside out, refuses to let go of the doubt. Then why did he buy me? Why did he make it so dramatic? Why didn’t he come for me sooner if he knew where I was the whole time? Was Rachel in on it as well?
I shove those thoughts aside. Answers can wait. Right now, Alex and Rachel need me, and I will be damned if another Starr brother hurts Rachel.
“Well, then let’s go get them,” I say, determination hardening my voice. “You make the calls and get Dad to work his sources. I'll get out of these pajamas and strap up.”
I don’t wait for his response when I turn on my heels and sprint to my closet, yanking off my pajamas as I go.
I mentally go through my checklist as I get dressed. Dark, form-fitting jeans—on.
Black shirt—on.
Tactical harness—strapped tight.
Two guns—holstered– loaded.
Leather jacket—slid over my shoulders.
Two more guns— holstered on the inside of my jeans—loaded.
Boots—secured.
Knives—slid inside their sheaths and strapped in.
I glance at myself in the mirror, my chest rising and falling with adrenaline. My fingers curl into fists.
No one threatens what’s mine, and I will make sure the whole world knows that!
Oliver and I pull up to the Silver Serpent. The parking lot is packed, forcing us to drive past it to the empty dirt lot in the back. Gravel crunches under the tires as Oliver parks and kills the engine of my Cadillac.
“Call Alex. Let him know where we are,” I say, scanning the area. “And where the hell are Dad’s guys?”
Oliver gives me a pointed look. “They’re my guys, too, Liv. I am Dad’s underboss.”
I freeze.
The words hit me harder than I expected, cutting through my focus like a blade.
I am Dad’s underboss.
This is the first time Oliver has admitted—flat-out—that he and Dad have been living the mafia life without me, keeping me out and excluding me from it.
My chest tightens, stinging more than I'd like to admit. But I shove it down. Rachel and Alex need me right now; I don’t have time to think about my feelings.
I force a nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Fine. Just tell me they’re coming.”
“They’re coming. Calm down, Liv.”
Just hearing those words makes something in me snap.
I let out a short, humorless laugh. “Calm down?”
Then the dam breaks, and I let it flow.
“CALM DOWN?” My voice erupts, raw and unfiltered, shaking the air between us.
“I was physically held captive and raped by the biggest drug lord in Southern fucking California and his right-hand man! Then they put me up for auction like I was cattle! I fucking lost the two loves of my fucking life! All because I don’t know who’s telling me the damn truth and who’s not! And now? Now I find out you and Dad have been lying to me my entire fucking life about our family being the MAFIA! And on top of all of that, dumbass, Andrew’s brothers are gunning for two of the most important people in my life. So please, Oliver, please tell me to ‘calm the fuck down’ again! Because I have every right to be pissed! Every fucking right not to be calm!”
