You Belong With Me (With Me in Seattle 14)

“’kay.”

His breathing evens out, and I know he’s sleeping once more.Chapter 21~Carmine~I’m sitting in the screened-in porch of my home, waiting for my brothers to arrive. It’s a rainy day in the Pacific Northwest, mirroring my mood perfectly. In the week since we found Elena and all three of us took a beating from Archer, I’ve been planning.

Calculating.

I’m almost ready to set my scheme into motion, but I want to run my thoughts by Shane and Rocco. I’ll need their help if this idea is going to be a success.

“Hello?” Shane calls from inside the house.

“Out here,” I call back. I’m in gym shorts and a sweatshirt. No shoes. My third cup of coffee sits on the table next to me.

It’s barely eight in the morning.

“It’s fucking early,” Rocco mutters as he walks out onto the porch with Shane, both holding steaming mugs of coffee from my kitchen.

“Help yourselves.”

“We did,” Shane says and sits opposite me. Rocco stands with his shoulder against the railing and sips his brew.

Both of my brothers have black eyes, faded from purple to a sickly green now.

I know my face doesn’t look any better.

“He really fucked you guys up,” I mention casually and cross an ankle over the opposite knee.

“Looked in a mirror today?” Rocco asks.

“He gave as good as he got,” Shane adds. “It doesn’t feel good, but I have to respect that. He’ll protect Elena.”

I nod in agreement. “Which leads me to why I asked you to come over here. I’ve been thinking.”

“Whenever you start thinking, I get my ass kicked,” Rocco mutters, glowering into his half-empty mug.

I ignore him.

“We’ve known for a while now who is responsible for Uncle Vinnie’s death. It’s time we did something about that.”

“Why now?” Shane asks.

“A few reasons. Elena’s home, so it’s time to close that circle completely. Avenging her parents’ deaths will do that.”

“And?” Rocco asks.

This is the sticky part for me. The bit that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

“I have to earn Pop’s trust, remember?”

Shane’s eyes narrow. “Pop was being a dick when he said that.”

“He knew where Elena was, and he lied about it and then sent us all on a wild goose chase. It fucking pisses me off. I’m too old to play these games with him. So, I’m going to settle the score all around.”

“How?” Rocco asks.

I reach for a photo lying next to my coffee mug, flip it over, and toss it back on the table. Both of my brothers lean in to get a look at the tall, willowy blonde in the picture. She’s wearing sunglasses and a short skirt. Her hair is long and straight, and her lips are painted a bold red.

“Nadia Tarenkov” Shane asks with a raised eyebrow. “You’re going to infiltrate the Tarenkov family through the boss’s daughter?”

“Balls of fucking steel,” Rocco mutters as a slow smile spreads over my face.

“What’s the saying about revenge?”

“Revenge is but a small circle?” Shane asks.

“Dead men tell no tales,” Rocco adds.

I laugh and shake my head, lifting the photo of Nadia and studying it.

“I was thinking more along the lines of paybacks are a bitch.”Chapter 22~Elena~“Your breakfast, my lady.” Archer steps onto the deck at his beach house in Bandon, his arms laden with pancakes and all the fixings.

Including bacon. I think the man keeps the pork industry in business all on his own.

“You didn’t have to make breakfast,” I say as I accept the plate and set it on the arm of the chair next to me, already salivating at the smell of the deliciousness before me. “But I’m grateful.”

“We worked up an appetite last night,” he says with a wink and takes a huge bite of his pancakes. “We need the calories.”

I watch him as I eat, relieved to see that the bruises have faded away. Unless you look closely, you’d never know that he’d been beaten so badly just two weeks ago. Archer kept his word, he healed from the injuries quickly. I had to order, bribe, and beg him to stay in bed longer than two days so he’d heal faster, though.

“I missed it here,” I say as I take a deep breath and enjoy the salty air. The water’s a little choppy this morning, and birds fly over the waves in search of their breakfast. “We got lucky with the weather this weekend.”

“I watched the weather app last week, and it looked like a few storms blew through Bandon. They got it worse here than in Seattle.”

I nod and chew my bacon. “I’m going to really miss living here.”

He frowns at me. “We own property here.”

“Speaking of which, I need to get my cottage cleaned up and ready to put on the market.”

“Are you sure you want to do that? You could rent it out. You don’t have to sell it.”

“I don’t know how often I’ll be in town, and I don’t want to hassle with a rental company. Plus, since it got ransacked, it just doesn’t feel like home anymore. It’s time to sell and turn the page on that chapter. Are you going to keep this place?”