Page 92 of Dare To Free Us

“I seem to remember you making a call to Shura as well,” I countered.

“I also told you that to your face like a man. My intention was to stop the war, not to have you and your men slaughtered. I would’ve gained nothing by your death, only traded a real leader for a spoiled, entitled little shit to conduct business with.”

My lips flattened into a thin line. “And Storm? He won’t answer my calls.”

O’Connell waved a hand through the air. “Storm is out. He pulled his MC out of Boston. Said that we are too much drama. Plus there is a rival MC giving him major trouble down south at their main chapter. He said he needs to focus on that.”

“So, no distribution,” I pointed out.

“Not necessarily. The people in this area that moved product still want the money. He gave us freedom to use his connections as a recompense for pulling out.”

I pondered for a moment only to seem like a gave a shit, because very soon none of this would be my problem. “Ok, I can live with that.”

“So can I.”

We were quiet for a moment and I could tell O’Connell was working up to something bigger by the way his fingers fiddled on the arms of his chair.

“What’s on your mind old man?” I asked.

“Old man?” He pretended to sound offended. Then he eyed me closely. “I want to discuss your future.”

My gaze narrowed. “I didn’t realize you were concerned about that.”

He nodded slowly. “I’ve been in this game a long time, Matteo. I know the writing on the wall when I see it. The moves you’ve been making, not just damage control but preparation, you’ve made sure to clean up the mess but haven’t put much effort into making your illegal businesses whole again. You’ve also refused to give your small business associates an estimated time of when they can expect things to return to normal. To me it points to one thing. You plan on getting out.”

He was so casual in his delivery my stomach tightened with caution. “Oh really?” I wouldn’t confirm or deny it.

O’Connell leaned forward in his chair. “If you start lying now, my opinion of you will go down a notch.”

Like I cared. “No one gets out. Everyone knows that. Unless it’s in a body bag or eaten by the fishes.”

O’Connell barked out with laughter as he leaned back heavily in his chair. I failed to see what was so funny about that. “If that were the case I’ve waisted a shit-ton of money on my retirement home in the Florida Keys.”

“You know what I mean,” I growled.

His expression turned serious. “I do. I know as much as any man that as a solider you are bound for life, but we,” he gestured to the both of us, “there are more options. At least for someone who wants out for the right reasons.”

“Meaning?” I arched a brow.

“Retirement only costs you power, where to disappear will cost you everything. Isn’t that why Luca had to fake his death?”

I froze and tried to ignore the tingle of adrenaline settling in my fingertips. Had Vinny or Steven leaked information? Was it Eduardo? My heart thumped hard enough to feel it in the scars on my chest. O’Connell watched me closely, waiting to see how I would react.

When he reached into his jacket I tensed, waiting to see if it was a weapon. The pictures were limp in his hand before settling them on the small table between us.

I looked down at the photos. They were dark, taken at night, but Luca and Becka were clear enough. I recognized Luca’s tux and Becka’s custom dress from the night of Arianna’s birthday party. The same party Becka was kidnapped at, also where Luca and I devised to fake their deaths during the fire when we went to rescue her. They’d gone out a back door and went to a safe-house where I met them later.

“Did you know?” O’Connell asked staring straight in to my eyes.

It was a challenge. A test.

“Yes. I helped them.” This was why I didn’t tell Arianna I was alive. Luca knew mountains of information about a lot of people. Me helping him and Becka escape put many people at risk in their opinion, which meant I would be seen as a traitor, and all traitors die. I knew Luca would never talk, but no one else would believe that, and now it very well could cost me my life.

O’Connell nodded again. “I assumed as much. For them to disappear the way they did I knew they either had help or Luca was well prepared. Which would not surprise me either.”

“Where did you get the pictures?”

“The security camera on the building belongs to a friend, where he stores stolen items of great value. He sent me the pictures out of pure curiosity after the fire. He saw my vehicles heading to the warehouse on that same camera and wondered if they were people of interest to me.”

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