“I’d rather take that chance and get shot. Don’t you see that?” she stated sternly as a tear slid down her cheek. “I’d rather die than go through what they plan on doing to me,” she sobbed.
My chest hurt at the sight. I walked toward her and grabbed her again, squeezing her in an embrace.
“I’m doing what I can to get you out of here, Sophia. I promise I am. But I don’t want you to die. I don’t want them to have any reason to hurt you more than they already do.”
I pulled back and rested my hands on the sides of her head, rubbing my thumbs under her eyes to wipe away her tears.
“Please, trust me. I need you to trust that I’m working on it. Okay?”
She closed her eyes, forcing more tears to fall, and nodded in agreement. I leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
I hated this. I hated all of it. Every single time she cried, I wanted to fucking kill John. A part of me just wanted to do it. I’d suffer the consequences, but lives would be saved. He deserved to die after everything he’d done, and with the way my thoughts were starting to go, I didn’t doubt I’d be able to pull the trigger.
Walking away from Sophia, I grabbed the comforter and pillows off the bed and made a pallet on the floor.
“Come on.” I gestured with my hand. “Come sit and watch a movie with me. We can pretend we’re on a date.”
I winked at her and she laughed before lowering herself down beside me.
I didn’t know what kind of movies she liked, so I’d picked out a popular romantic comedy. She lay in my arms and watched the movie as I stared off at the wall, trying not to think about the things I’d done to try and win her freedom. The cut I’d given myself first thing that morning was beginning to ache as I lay with my hip against the hard floor, yet I didn’t move.
I deserved to feel the sting.
*
Present
I let out a sigh as the memory washed through me. It took everything I had that morning not to pick up a razor. Every time I had a dream of the past, I’d wake up with those feelings fresh in my mind. It consumed me to a breaking point. The only escape was the pain.
That morning, I fought through it. I pictured Emma’s face when she saw me that night. I pictured Luke’s pity and remembered his words.
The memory faded, but it left me with a rage in the pit of my stomach which I had to work out on my bag. Anger was better than the darkness lurking in the back of my mind.
Looking up at the clock, I reined in my thoughts and grabbed my things. I had a meeting to get to, and I hoped like hell Victor would be there.
Thirteen
Mason
I arrived at The Deli Shop twenty minutes later. My heart was pounding in my chest, and the thought of leaving and going home crossed my mind as I pushed open the door.
I was nervous. I’d never spoken a word about the things I’d done and I didn’t plan on telling Victor, but anything I said could be detrimental to me.
Tony was behind the counter, and I gave him a small smile and nod before looking around.
I spotted Victor immediately. Men in suits didn’t frequent The Deli, and there was no missing his head full of grey hair. His thumbs typed away on his phone as I approached.
“Afternoon,” I greeted him, taking a seat across from him.
He glanced up and met my gaze with a smile, placing his phone down next to the coffee mug that was half-empty.
“Mason, my boy, how have you been? It’s been a long time.”
I chuckled. “Yes, it has.” I folded my hands together and placed them on the table. “How was court?”
“Eh, you don’t want to hear about my day in court, son. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
I was trying to deflect and gradually bring the topic up, but I should have known better. He wasn’t one to beat around the bush.
Lifting a hand, I ran it across my forehead, then looked up to meet Victor’s gaze as I let out an encouraging breath.
“First, I need to know that whatever is said here will stay between us, unless discussed otherwise.”
If my whole idea went downhill, I needed to know he wouldn’t say anything to John. And even though it was a high possibility, I had to take my chances. I made the decision to change. It was almost like cleansing my soul.
“Of course.”
“You and John have known each other for a long time. You’re friends; you’d have to be in order to go in as partners, right?”
“‘Friends’ is a loose term when describing the two of us,” he stated after taking a sip from his mug. “When things first started out, when you were younger, yeah, I’d say we were friends. But now, I’d just say we are partners. He’s the one who keeps the company in the green every year.”
I nodded at his words.
“Yeah, but how involved are you with the things he does?”
I didn’t want to just blurt it all out because I had no idea what he knew or even if he knew anything at all. When I was younger, it was drilled into my head to keep my mouth shut. Even though I was older and had control over my own life, it still made me nervous.