My fingers subtly adjust on the phone, and I find myself leaning forward as he captures my attention. “Explain.”
“Well, you have Elena. She’s alive, protected, and under your name. Every major family wants her for leverage, alliances, and control. But right now, you’re the one holding the card they all want.”
“She’s not a card,” I say automatically before absently stroking my jaw. “But, isn’t that a bad thing in my position?”
“It could be, but only if you don’t work this right. Whether you like it or not, she’s an important piece. The only difference is, you didn’t take her to hurt her, so don’t go running in circles worrying about morals like you tend to do,” Patch says, making far more sense than he has any right to. “You’re not using her. You just took her out of circulation, and as a byproduct, the ball is in your court.”
The words sink in, warring with my lingering doubts. Glancing toward the hallway where Elena is locked away, likely still angry and plotting my death, I sigh.
This could either be exactly the leg-up I need, or the biggest goddamn mistake of my entire life.
“And, ergo, you’re in control.”
Closing my eyes, I try to imagine that outcome becoming reality. Control.
That’s what I lost tonight. At least, what I thought I lost. But in Patch’s thinking, maybe it’s the opposite.
“The Lukovs aren’t known for asking questions first…how do I know this won’t blow up in my face?” I ask, still guarded against the idea. “And the others?”
Patch huffs out a vaguely amused breath. “You’re definitely on their shit-lists now, or at least, whenever they all find out on their own time. Now I guess you’ll have to resurface a bit sooner than anticipated.”
“That wasn’t the plan.”
“Plans change,” he says casually, and I’m sure it’s accompanied by a shrug. “Especially when you make unexpected moves.”
He’s right. God, he knows exactly what he’s talking about.
I have been looking at this all wrong, only seeing the dangers and threats, not the opportunities right in front of me.
Elena isn’t just a liability. She’s proof of influence, and if I don’t let this crush me, she could be important in more ways than one.
“What about Lily?” I ask, not recognizing my own voice for a moment. “You think she’ll make it out of this?”
Patch’s tone shifts, turning into something more understanding. He knows my sister is the foundation of everything, and he has never once questioned it. “If the Lukovs are smart, then this might be the fastest way to get her back.”
My heart clenches painfully at the thought, and I force myself to swallow.
I didn’t just take Elena to screw over Vito or the Grimaldis. I did it because I couldn’t watch another woman be traded like an object, measured by the profit she might bring them. Because I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else sitting in the same chair as my sister.
And now, I’m supposed to use Elena myself to make all of this worth it. Not for monetary gain, but as a means of getting my sister back.
The idea of leveraging her very life sits wrong and heavy in my gut.
“She didn’t ask for this,” I murmur, tasting notes of defeat in my words.
“Neither did Lily.”
That does it, pushing me into a position I can’t come back from.
Squeezing my eyes shut, the old but familiar ache blooms in my chest all over again, reminding me of everything I’ve done up to this point. Every alias, every detail, and every drop of blood I’ve spilled…all for one thing.
All to rescue Lily.
With another deep breath, I open my eyes again, feeling as resolve settles where that panic and concern had been.
“I won’t hurt her. Regardless of how this ends, Elena won’t be a casualty.”
“And she doesn’t need to be. Not if you leverage her for Lily. A sister for a sister,” Patch says simply, pointing out what I should’ve seen all along.
