Her arms wrap around me as I lose it, tears falling as the pain takes over. I’m not worth loving. It’s all I want, and I thought he’d be the one person to see the bright light I choose to hide the pitch-black darkness I fight every single day. But if I don’t get out now, he’s the one who will bring the darkness out again.
The only chance I have to save myself from more pain than I’m in already is to remove myself from the situation with no other outcome but death. Whether literal or figurative, it doesn’t really matter. Either way, it won’t be long before I’m hit and bleeding out on the floor.
And Tucker will just step over me and walk away like it’s nothing. Because he can’t love. I’ll be nothing but a shell again, and I don’t think I have the strength to build myself up a second time. Not after letting him destroy me from the inside out.
“I need a way out,” I whisper, clinging to her. “I can’t be with him anymore. Please, Sarah. Please help me.”
“Anything. I’ll do anything, Phoebe. Shh, don’t cry. It’s going to be okay.”
Except it won’t. None of this is okay. I just hope I’m getting out in time to be okay myself again. It might already be too late.
Chapter Fourteen
Pacino
Standing in front of my brothers like I am makes me anxious. I called Scotty to stay with Phoebe and Sarah before getting a ride to my place to get my bike and calling Jethro for an emergency meeting. But this is beyond just me at this point.
“What’s up?” Zep asks, taking his seat.
I can’t sit. I have to stay standing because I can’t stop moving. This whole situation has me restless, and I never thought I’d have to deal with my family ever again.
Everyone sits and stares at me with expectations. I never do this. I’m the one called for help, not the one asking for it.
It’s very uncomfortable, and I don’t care for it.
Here goes nothing. “I need…” I have to stop and take a deep breath as I swallow my pride. This has never been my strong suit. Even before Jo, asking for help was weak. And I wasn’t weak. “…help.”
As I sit there, feeling like the world might open up and swallow me whole, I try to recall the last time I managed to ask for help. Aside from childhood, I’m not sure I ever have.
I learned early on from my fucking father that asking for assistance was a weakness. A way to become indebted to others. If I don’t, though, Phoebe might end up dead for no reason other than getting my attention. And regardless of what I told Ryan, I can’t stomach the thought of that.
“What’s going on?” Jethro asks. “Did you finally figure out who owns all the shell companies? Do you know who’s trying to hurt the baker?”
The baker. I almost laugh. That’s all she should be to me, but she’s not. She’s everything and more, and that’s what makes this even scarier.
No one knows about my past besides Capone, and he only knows because he was there. Our families were once friendly, but like the Daredevils and the Venom, they turned into rivals. And it’s the exact reason I sided with the Grecos over my own fucking family.
“Have you heard of the Archioni family? From Vegas?” I ask.
Everyone but Capone shakes their heads no, and I know he understands. He knows what’s going on.
“No, why?” Jethro asks.
“The head of the Archioni family is Benito Vega,” I say, waiting for them to put it together. When no one reacts, I sigh. “And Benito is my father.”
“I thought you were from Reno,” Zep says, his brows furrowed as he frowns at me.
“I was born there. But my father… he took over the head of the family when Marlo Archioni died.”
Rooster holds a hand up. “Wait, you’re from the… mob? Like, the real mob?”
“And you chose to come here and join a motorcycle club?” Penn asks.
“My father’s a son of a bitch I wanted to kill but wasn’t allowed to. He double crossed me, and I left without ever looking back.”
Leaning forward, Jethro blinks at me. “I don’t think I quite understand. What does that have to do with anything?”
“My father wants me back. At least to talk, but I know what he wants. They targeted Phoebe. Just to get my attention because they knew conventional methods wouldn’t work.”
