Page 45 of Her Wicked Men

“If his intentions are true, then yes, we will,” Zane said carefully. “Don’t cry, everything is going to be okay.”

I heard the muffled voices of Enzo and Kieran in the background, and I let out a shaky breath.

“Vee, hey, are you okay?” Kieran’s voice took over, and I managed a small chuckle.

“I’m okay.”

“Did they hurt you?”

My smile faltered as I flicked my gaze to Thomas, who looked like he was waiting for a bomb to go off.

“I’d rather not talk about it, Kieran.”

Silence greeted me for a moment before he drew in a sharp breath.

“Vee, if they hurt you, we need to know. I need to know.”

“Please, Kieran, I don’t…”

“Topolina,it’s okay. We’re coming for you, you’re going to be okay. Everything will be okay.” Enzo’s voice was gentle, and I sighed as I rubbed my temple, a throb starting to set in.

“Thank you.”

“Can you put Thomas back on?” Zane’s voice was back, although there was a sharpness to it.

I handed it back, and Thomas hesitated for a split second before putting it to his ear.

“Yes, I understand. I can do that. She’ll be safe.”

He listened for a few more moments, nodding along to Zane’s muffled voice before it finally ended.

I’d half hoped I’d get to talk to them more, but perhaps they were worried about there being bugs on the phones or something.

“I’m taking you to a motel they want us to meet them at. The roadblocks are no longer in effect, but they’re on the lookout for Moretti vehicles and listening in to the chatter. There’s been no news on you going missing from them, which makes me wonder if they’ve reported it yet or not,” Thomas said as he started the truck up. “The Slades will be at the motel in a few hours.”

I nodded, deciding to eat the chocolate bar in case the throb in my head was from a lack of food or sugar.

I knew it was likely stress and tension, but one could hope.

Relief was flooding through me, but I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. Until I saw the brothers, I wasn’t going to think I was out of the woods yet.

“They care about you a lot,” Thomas stated as we pulled away from the gas station.

“Yeah.”

“I was raised to not even think of them as people, just enemies, but it’s not an easy thing to do.”

I frowned at this as I took another bite of my chocolate bar.

“The motel is only about thirty minutes from here. It’s apparently run by someone they trust. The manager will even deal with my vehicle for me,” he said as he cleared his throat, as if he was regretting his statement about the Slades.

What would the brothers have been like if they’d grown up in a normal family and not the mafia? It was clear Thomas was still torn in some areas, his mother and uncle having different views on how he should be living.

I closed my eyes, imagining the three of them as if they were farm boys. The thought made me smile stupidly.

It wouldn’t suit them at all.

18

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