Page 55 of Burning Bridges

“Then come and see me because you’re my sister and you owe me at least this. I have spent my life trying to take care of you and protect you, and you repay me by falling for the man who betrayed me.” Guilt eats at me, and I look to Leo for answers. He shakes his head like it’s a definite no.

“You have teamed up with the man who sent me to a mental hospital,” I throw back at him, knowing he won’t feel the same guilt of betraying his family that I do, but there was a time when family was the most important thing to me. It was ingrained into me from such a young age, and it’s hard to walk away from that completely.

“So, we’re even. Come and see me. I have something for you, then you can go on with your life as a Rivera. I won’t bother you again.”

“Okay.” I sigh, giving in. Like I always do. “Where are you?” I feel Leo’s grip tighten around my waist, and I know he doesn’t agree with me. But I need this. I need closure after everything me and my brother have been through.

“At the house. Come alone. If I get a whiff of Rivera blood around here, he won’t make it off the property. Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” I huff, already knowing Leo won't listen to me.

“See you soon,” Tony says before disconnecting the call.

Leo turns me to face him. “You’re not going alone, Piper. We're all coming with you.”

I pull away from him, needing the space. He doesn’t get how important this is to me, and I don’t want him messed up in my problems. But I need to see Tony, he’s the only family I have left. “You heard him. I’m not having you die because of me.”

“We won’t,” he tells me like it’s non-negotiable. I can see the cogs turning of how he intends to be there, protecting me without being seen. It’s thrilling and scary at the same time watching this man work.

Halfanhourlater,I pull up to my old house, leaving my Ferrari in the turning circle out front. Part of me can’t believe I get to see my brother after all this time. The other part is scared shitless about what I’m going to find. I already know he's changed; I can hear it in the way he talks to me. Whatever he has been through while in hiding has made him detached from the person he once was.

I walk into the living room and stop dead in my tracks when I don’t see Tony, but Kylo instead. My skin prickles with fear. Did fucking Tony set me up again? I’m going to kill him myself if he did. “What are you doing here?” I stutter out.

“Surprise.” He smiles, like the psychopath he is.

“Where's Tony?” I glance around the room, looking for any sign of him. If they are working together, surely he's here as well. This is our old family home.

Kylo takes a step closer to me. “Sorry to disappoint you, little princess, but you just get me.”

I take a step behind the couch, creating distance between us. “What? I don’t understand. Where’s Tony?” I ask, unsure if I really want to know the answer to my own question. I’m already getting a sinking feeling that nothing is what it seems.

“In chunks rotting at the bottom of the ocean or fish food, I presume. He blew himself up, remember?”

I feel like I have been shot in the chest, pain radiating through my entire body. Tony’s not alive? But I just talked to him not an hour ago.

He smirks, shoving the heavy leather chair out of his way aggressively. “I guess you’re wondering who you've been talking to the last few months?”

I back away from him. “How did you…”

“Technology is so fucking smart these days. All I needed was a small snippet of your brother’s voice from an old recording a buddy of mine gave me and voila.” He pulls out a device and talks into it. “Hello, Piper, this is your brother,” he says, and the voice coming out of the thing sounds just like Tony. Kylo cracks up as if this is all a joke.

A silent sob escapes me. How could I have been so fucking stupid. It was Kylo the entire time. This was a sick game of his. “How could you do something so cruel and make me believe my brother was alive?”

“Oh, Princess, it was business, nothing personal. Oh, wait, actually it was very personal. You stole years of my life from me, and messing with you over the last few months has brought me so much satisfaction. Imagine my surprise when I left prison to find out all the Acevedos were dead except for you. It was almost too easy to work out how I was going to get the retribution I was after.” He closes the gap between us, grabbing my face in his meaty hand. I try to push him off me, but he holds me strong, his cold steely gaze going right through me. He’s dead inside, that much is obvious. “My luck couldn’t get any better, could it?” He runs his finger along my cheek, sending a shiver in its wake.

Panic washes over me in a wave of nausea as I try to think my way out of this mess. Leo and his brothers aren’t far away, but they must not be able to hear what is going on or they would be here already. I might have been told to come alone, but there is no way Leo was going to let that happen, and I’m grateful for his protectiveness now—and the wire he forced me to wear.

Gunshots ring out around the property, making me jump. Maybe Leo is trying to get to me. It’s just harder than we assumed it would be. We weren’t prepared for this.

“Looks like your boy toy has arrived. Too bad for him this place is now secure as Fort Knox.” He chuckles, the vibration of his laugh going right through me. “Don’t look so frightened, little princess. I’m not going to kill you today. I need you. You’re my bait to get to the man I really want. The two of us will stay here in your house while I establish myself in this town, picking off each of my enemies one by one.”

He takes my arm, dragging me through the house with him. I dig my heels in, not wanting to go anywhere with this man.

He tugs at me again, getting frustrated. “I have something to show you. Trust me, you’re going to want to see it.” He stops pulling me when we get to my father's den and instead shoves me inside in front of him.

The safe that no one has been able to open has its door ajar. “How did you get it open?” I stutter, not believing my eyes.

“Your father didn’t have the combination. Mine did. They were thick as thieves, our fathers. And this little safe held the key to all our futures. Until you and your brother fucked it up.” He picks up a black notebook and kisses it.

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