Heartless (Merciless 2)

Sammy nods once and immediately gets to work.

“How long until he turns on us?” I hear Jase’s question from behind me and I turn to face my brother.

“He’d already turned on us, remember?” I remind him and Jase only smirks at me.

“He was still willing to deal with us while ripping us off. But I imagine that’s going to change now.” He leans against the wall and slips his hands in his pockets as he watches the men clean up the room.

“Both Talvery and Romano will come for us. You know that, right?” Daniel asks as he moves to join us. Declan follows and the four of us form a circle in the corner of the room.

“As long as they don’t join forces, it doesn’t matter,” I respond without thinking. My thoughts immediately go back to Aria. Consequences be damned; this was for her.

“What’s to stop them from doing that?” Declan asks. He wasn’t concerned before tonight. Of all four of us, he’s the least interested and the least informed. Because of that, I imagine he was the most shocked as well.

“A decade-long feud, greed, arrogance?” Jase answers.

“All of this, and for what?” Daniel’s question comes out harder. “It was for her, wasn’t it?”

Silence engulfs us for a moment as I watch my brother.

“There was no reason to go about it like this. To make a scene and piss off Romano like that.”

“It had to be done.” Jase is quick to answer and firm with his response.

“But we didn’t have to make Romano an enemy. Not now, not when Talvery is coming for us.” Daniel’s anger is evident, but more so, he’s scared. Scared because Addison is here with us.

“She’s safe,” I tell him, moving to the heart of his concern.

My brothers are quiet as I take in Daniel’s stance. He’s tired and anxious. “I want this shit to end, but now we’ve added gasoline to the fucking fire.”

Jase answers before I can. I’m struck by the fact that I never considered Addison. I didn’t care what the cost was for giving Aria the revenge she so desperately needed. “The guns are in, we just have to spread them and hit them hard.”

“Who are we hitting? Talvery? Or Romano?” Daniel asks Jase, but then all three of my brothers look at me. All of them wanting to know.

Daniel doesn’t hold back his concern as he says, “I know you’ve been lying to us. And now you brought war to our doorstep for her.”

“I never lied,” I mutter, and my words are a harsh whisper. Anger seeps into my blood as I watch the chaos in Daniel’s eyes heat.

“What does she mean to you?” he asks as if my answer will assuage all of his fears.

Only if I answer truthfully.

Jase’s gaze moves to the men behind us and then back to me with a subtle unasked question and I nod my head.

“Leave us,” I call out and wait to speak until the sounds of men shuffling out of the room subside. My brothers are patient. Not speaking and holding back until we’re left alone.

“She’s getting to you,” Daniel speaks softly. “You’re making calls for all of us, but she’s clouding your judgment.”

His words feel like a knife in my back.

“You’re questioning me?” I ask him, not holding back the bite of anger, but deep inside I know it’s for me. I’m angry because he’s right. My brow pinches and I force in a deep breath and then another, staring behind my brother at the soft gray wall where bright red blood is smeared.

“She saved my life,” I tell them while turning to look away. Guilt washes through me. I know I was thinking of her, not of us. But this was meant to happen. I can feel it ringing inside of me like a singular truth never has. “And I hated her for it.” The confession comes out with a gentleness and careful touch.

The silence from my brothers begs me to look at them. To know for certain their reaction to my confession. Although there’s a hint of shock in Daniel’s eyes, there’s something else there too. Something I can’t place.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Jase asks. “She saved you?” he adds for clarification.

“It was years ago, the night Dad had to call his friend in.” I know they know what I mean by the reference. There was only one night Dad called in a favor for me. One night where I almost met death.

“Shit,” Declan bites out and runs his hand down his face. He was only a child. It was so long ago.

“As long as I’m living and breathing – she will be mine.” My response is brutal and unmoving. “Whether she likes it or not.”

“You took her because you hated her for saving you?” Daniel asks although there’s no confrontation in his tone, nothing but genuine curiosity and concern.