See No Evil (Brotherhood Trilogy #1)(62)

Christiana



I crash behind the desk, cowering as another bullet hits the glass behind me. It punctures a hole through the window, cracks instantly forming. If the person shoots again, I’m going to be covered in shards. Crawling across to the wall, I scramble into the darkest corner and hunt for an escape. The framed picture above me smashes as another bullet fires inside. I scream and cover my head. Glass rains down around me, nicking my bare arms and catching in my hair.

“Shit,” I whimper and scramble to the opposite edge of the room.

The door bangs open, a pane of glass wobbling and shattering at my feet. I pull my legs away, pressing my back against the wall as Robbie’s sister steps into the room. Her heels crunch over glass. She walks in and spots me on the ground. Swiveling to face me, her upper lip curls with disgust as she aims the gun at my head.

“A life for a life,” she mutters.

I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the blackness.

Robbie’s twitching foot flashes through my mind. A dark look from the devil as he crouches over him. Then it’s all wiped away by Trey’s sweet smile, the touch of his fingers on my face, the way he tastes on my lips.

“Chris,” he whispers.

If it’s the last sound in my head before I die, I don’t mind so much. He’s overtaken my heart; it makes sense that he’s filling my head when I take my final breath.

A squeal of tires makes my eyes pop open.

I’m looking straight down the barrel of a gun.

And then a shot is fired.

I think it’s hers.

I flinch, expecting pain…darkness…light. Whatever’s supposed to happen after death.

But instead the gun falls away and her body drops to the ground. Her head lolls to the side, staring straight at me with a chilling, lifeless gaze.

Blood oozes from a wound in her forehead.

I cover my mouth with my hand, my entire body convulsing. I can’t take my eyes off her inert face.

“Christiana?”

I freeze.

“Christiana!”

Dad?

He rushes into the room, his face white with fear as he scans the chaos. His eyes connect with mine and his shoulders sag with relief.

I take his outstretched hand and he helps me off the floor, cradling me against his broad chest and cupping the back of my head. “It’s okay now, bambina. You’re safe.”

I want to cry, to curl into a ball and nestle in his embrace until I wake up from this nightmare.

But I can’t quite do it.

Because I’m still in the middle of this storm and I know things about this man trying to comfort me, things I probably always suspected but never wanted to admit.

I go stiff when he wraps his coat around my shoulders and guides me outside. A black SUV is parked on an angle near the containers. Dad’s driver is standing in front, a gun at his side.

The back door of the vehicle whips open and Mom rushes out from behind the tinted glass.

“Ana,” she sobs. Pulling me into her arms, she kisses my cheek and squeezes me to her. “We’ve been looking for you for weeks.”

“How’d you find me?” I mumble against her shoulder.

“We’ve been tracking the Candellas ever since this happened,” Dad answers. “I knew they’d come after you. They don’t care who shot their son. They’re just using it as an excuse!” he spits. “I’ve had someone on the inside, watching their every move.”

Brutus lumbers out from behind the car, giving me a hard glare before resting against Dad’s SUV.

He works for my father? Then why the hell did he let me get beat so bad?

Why did he chase me?

Dad reads my angry expression and interprets it correctly. Patting my shoulder with a gentle smile, he explains. “He couldn’t risk giving himself away. I told him to make sure you stayed alive. But we need him to remain on the inside.”

I glare at my father. He doesn’t even look sorry.

Brushing his finger over my swollen eye, he gently whispers, “Bruises heal, bambina. You will be fine. You must understand, we always have to watch them. That’s how we stay ahead.” Mom rubs my back while Dad keeps talking, his voice hard and unforgiving. “They cannot be trusted. They are crooked in business…and in life.” His voice cracks.

I pull away, looking up at Mom’s broken expression before turning to my father. “She said I had a brother. Is that true?”

Mom whimpers and covers her mouth.

“Why did you never tell me?”

“It was too painful.” Dad’s face crests with unresolved agony. “Your mother was distraught and could not move on until we wiped him from the house. When you were born, we decided it was best to treat you like our one and only.” He smiles and pats my shoulder, but there’s still something in his gaze that’s holding me back. “Enough talking now. We need to get you home.”

Mom gently tugs my arm, urging me to the car.

I stand my ground. “I can’t go home.”

Mom whips back to face me. “Christiana, no!” she snaps, fear dancing across her face. “Stop this craziness.” Her eyes dart to my father, then back to me. Her gaze is bright with desperation. “Please.”

I look away from her, silently begging my father—one last thread of futile hope that what I think is true actually isn’t. “This has to end. I know he’s your brother but he killed an innocent—”