Page 73 of The Players

A low growl erupted from Sy’s throat, but she didn’t dare reach out to him. She feared if he gave her even the slightest bit of sympathy, she would crumble at his feet.

“After a while, I began to think that it was me. That I was responsible for the beatings, that I ‘asked’ for it. I was young, and naive, and believed that if I did everything he asked, no matter if it turned my stomach, it would make the beatings stop. So, when he suggested we go to a club, I agreed.”

“Red Velvet.” Vince sounded grim.

She wasn’t even going to ask how he found out about it. All she wanted was to get this over with.

“That night, at Red Velvet, he introduced me to a business partner of his, Dwight.”If, by introduced, you mean handed him a whip to beat me with while I was bound and gagged.“When it was time to go into a private room, I chickened out. I got a drink to calm my nerves. Next thing I knew, I could barely stand on my feet.” She swallowed. “Franco took me to a private room in the dungeon. More men were there and they… Please, don’t make me say it.”

Vince grabbed her hand. “The pictures have been taken care of. You never need to worry about them again.”

A crushing weight she hadn’t known she carried with her lifted off her chest.

If she wouldn’t spit everything out right now, she never might again. “After I regained consciousness, I made a run for it. I got lost in the dungeons of the club and that’s when I met Marni.” She told them the story, just as she’d told Tess.

Sy cursed, while Vince looked ready to commit murder.

“I need to find her.”

“We will,” Vince reassured her.

“It’s the only way I can make amends. It’s my fault that—”

“You didn’t know—” Vince started.

“Don’t defend me! I went with Franco voluntarily. I could have gone straight to the police that night, but I was scared. Can you believe that? I’m the kind of woman who had to think all night long how to help a little girl while protecting my own ass. I called the police the next night with an anonymous tip, and nothing came out of it. And how could it? They didn’t have a solid lead. It’s not like I could give them the location. What I should’ve done was give them Franco.”

“He would have killed you,” Sy pointed out.

It didn’t matter. Nothing was more important than protecting the innocence of a child. She swallowed. “I didn’t do everything I could to help that little girl, so I got punished by losing my own baby.”

Those words were the hardest thing she ever said out loud. No matter how the guys told her this wasn’t true, deep in her heart, she knew the truth. She hadn’t deserved her baby, because she hadn’t protected someone else’s child when she had the chance.

She wiped away the tears after that confession. However, there was no time to break into pieces. “I failed her back then, but I won’t this time. I think I saw her tonight.” As she looked at the men she loved, she finally realized she was no longer alone.

It was then she finally understood. The penthouse above the club, the IOUs, him offering his protection. Vincenzo Detta did it all for her. Her first IOU had been to face her fear of a BDSM club, the second about the pictures. He had gone above and beyond to redeem himself for a deed she’d already told him he wasn’t guilty of. She didn’t deserve him, yet she wanted to keep him—both of them—anyway.

But what if they didn’t want to keep her? What if, after the third and final IOU, they decided their housing situation was over? Sy had already left before. What if he did it again?

Waiting for the ax to drop was no way of life.

With a dull pain in her chest, she decided to just rip the bandage off.

“And there goes the second I owe you,” she whispered. “Only one more left.”

Sy grunted. “Yeah, about that. I’m calling it.” He locked his eyes on Vince. “See, I’ve done some counting these past days. Thinking back on when you were about to elope with Vince, how you ended up with Franco, and then those pictures. It’s all happened about ten years ago; right when Vince and I met.”

Vince narrowed his eyes. “Don’t.”

“Oh, but I’m gonna.” Sy sounded grim. “If we share, we share everything, if you know what I mean.”

Something was going on between the two that went over Carmen’s head. Vince had his jaw locked, which made Sy take a deep sigh.

“Whatever.” He then looked at her. “Final I owe you. Tell Vince how you felt when he didn’t show up ten years ago.”

“Gutted.” The word burst from her mouth before she could stop it. She grabbed Vince’s hand in an apology. “I’m sorry. We’ve discussed this and you know I don’t blame you anymore. It was unfair to you to begin with.”

“Funny you should say that.” Sy smirked. “Get this. Ten years ago, I was delivering a package for my brother, when I see a bunch of Morelli’s men sneak up on Vince. It was at the old cemetery. Now what kind of idiot goes to a cemetery, alone, before dawn?”

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