Chapter 26: Chapter 26

“Hello? Anyone home?” Gabriella peeked her head around the corner and found me lounging on the sofa in our living room, waiting for her.

Her eyes brightened when they met mine. “Hi! How’d your training go today?”

Ever since I’d messaged her, we’d been meeting regularly at my place. Sometimes she’d come in time to sit in on my lessons with Sam and Rob, while other times, like now, she’d meet me after, when I wasn’t doing anything.

We’d gotten closer during the last few weeks, and now she truly felt like a friend.

“It was eventful. My legs ache from all the running, though,” I said.

“Ugh. I know how you feel. Ronda has been making me run laps as well.”

“You too?” I asked in surprise, my eyes narrowing in thought. “Do you think it’s related to the games?”

She lay back on the sofa and closed her eyes. “It could be. Maybe we’ll be running an obstacle course or something.”

I chuckled. “That’s kind of comical if you think about it. Us running courses like we’re in the army, training to be wives instead of soldiers.”

“Soldier wives. It has a nice ring to it.”

I glanced at her in amusement. “Let’s stick to mafia wives.”

“If the shoe fits,” she said with a sigh. “Do you have alcohol? I need a break from all this worrying and overanalyzing of what the next game is.”

“I’ll get you some wine.” I shot her a pointed look. “Day drinking isn’t good, you know.”

“I appreciate your concern, babes, but setting a time on drinking while we’re out here fighting for a better life will make you depressed. I’ve had enough of that.”

I laughed. “I can’t argue with that. Maybe we should have something stronger than wine. Hypnotic?”

“Please.”

I quickly retrieved bottles from Stefano’s liquor cabinet and mixed drinks for the two of us before settling back down in the living room.

Gabriella took a sip of her drink and sighed. “Sometimes, I still can’t believe my life. This experience has been…honestly, great so far. At least now I know I’ll die for a purpose.” Her eyes clouded over as she sank into her memories.

It made me curious. I’d joined the games for my aunt and sister. What about her?

“Why did you join these games?”

She blinked and looked over at me, a bitter smile lifting her lips. “To get away from my abusive boyfriend.” She took a sip of her drink before continuing.

“It was an impulsive decision. He’d come home that night drunker than usual. He was shouting, throwing things. He even punched a hole in the wall. I was terrified.”

“Why didn’t you leave before then?” I asked.

She chuckled humorlessly. “I’d been thinking of leaving for so long, but whenever I gained the courage, I’d take one look at him, and my body would freeze. I was so scared of him, of what he would do to me if I ran and he found me.”

The glass in her hand trembled, and I quickly moved to sit beside her to take it away and rest it on the coffee table. I held her hand in comfort and squeezed.

“Oh, honey. I’m sorry.” I had no idea what I was apologizing for, but I’d never thought that she’d have such a past. She’d been so lively since we met, and this was the first time I’d seen her so rattled.

“He came at me that night. His eyes… For the first time, I realized that I might die. Before I knew what I was doing, I shoved him. He fell, hit his head, and passed out. I panicked. I knew I had to leave before he woke up.”

I wrapped my arm around her, offering what support I could as she continued her harrowing tale.

“I couldn’t wait around to see what he would do to me. But I had nowhere to go. He controlled everything about my life. Where I worked, who I was allowed to hang out with. Because of him, I was estranged from my family and friends, and I had no money.”

She took a deep breath to steady her emotions, but her eyes still glossed over with tears.

“I remembered seeing red ribbons on doors on my way home from work, and in that moment, it all clicked. It was the night of the taking. Honestly, I had no hope that I’d be chosen, but I desperately needed to leave before he woke up. I tied a ribbon on our door, and two hours later, Andrei came.”

Her smile finally had a shine to it, and I could tell that Andrei’s presence had meant a lot to her in that moment.

“What happened to your boyfriend?” I asked.

“Ex-boyfriend,” she corrected me. “I’m Andrei’s fiancée now. Anyway, Andrei asked me if I wanted to keep him alive, and I said yes. I want to grow stronger, then take my own revenge.” Her voice thickened with her resolve.

I felt a connection to her like never before. Her statement resonated with me. It was similar to me swearing to find my aunt no matter what.

“So, how are you and Andrei? I know getting out of an abusive relationship can be tough, but you had no time to grieve before you jumped right into another one.” I pointed out my concerns, but she wasn’t offended at all.

She shrugged, her smile deepening.

“I’m glad Andrei was the one who found me that night. He’s an amazing man. We’ve decided to wait until I’m comfortable before we get intimate. Of course, Krystie is trying to seduce him, but Andrei is more conservative than you’d realize. I don’t mind spending the rest of my life with such a man.”

I chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that, and I’m so glad that you got out of that relationship.”

“So am I. Where’s that drink?” She blinked away the residual tears and went straight back to sipping her liquor.

I chuckled at the way she brushed off the situation and fell back into her cheery self. She was really strong for that, and I appreciated her opening up to me.

“So, what about you?” Gabby asked. “I heard that you and Stefano dated before you joined the games. Did you join for him?”

I snorted, thinking about how different our circumstances were. Since she had been honest with me, I reciprocated.

“I actually didn’t plan on participating in the games. Stefano was my ex. We had long since broken up before he kidnapped me.”

Her eyes widened, and she gasped. “No fucking way!”

I nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I didn’t sign up for this, but I stayed because he promised to help me find my aunt.”

“Your aunt?”

I nodded again and went into detail about when my aunt and her boyfriend went missing. The two had left for a date, and they never came back. I was in college, and Selena was in high school, so I had to take care of her.

There were no signs leading up to their disappearance, so I knew they hadn’t run away. Jalen and I had searched everywhere. We utilized his connections and still found nothing. But I hadn’t given up, nor would I ever.

“And is that the only reason you’re participating in the games?” Gabriella asked, her eyebrow cheekily quirked up in question.

I took a sip of my drink before replying. “Well, let’s just say we never had problems in the bedroom.”

Gabby chuckled and wiggled her eyebrows. I turned on some mindless TV as a distraction, and we spent the rest of the afternoon speculating about the upcoming games.

***

Later that night, I’d settled in bed with a book when Stefano finally returned home. He entered the room and gave me a distracted smile, but his focus was on the phone attached to his ear.

“Any leads? What about the cops?” he asked the person on the other end as he paced the room.

“How many of them were working for us? Make sure their families are heavily compensated.”

I put my book aside and watched as he made another loop.

Stefano nodded and blew out a breath. “Good.”

He hung up the phone.

“Good news?” I asked.

He turned to me and climbed into bed. After placing a kiss on my forehead, he rolled onto his back and sighed.

“The latest movements of the Volkov family are suspicious, but they have their information on a tight lock. It’ll take time to figure out what’s happening on their side, and we haven’t been able to connect them to the hijacking. In the meantime, we paid the cops and families off to keep the incident quiet from the media.”

“Do you think the Volkov family did it?”

“It’s too early to sa—”

His phone started blaring again. I placed a hand on his chest as he answered the call.

“Brother. What is it?”

I could faintly make out Alex’s voice on the other end of the phone.

“I just found out what happened. Do you need help?” Alex asked.

Stefano frowned. “What could you possibly help with? Aren’t you too busy running that sex club of yours?”

“Isn’t this a family problem? I should be included.”

“I’d never exclude you,” Stefano said, “but you’re never around to be informed. How’d you hear about it anyway?”

“Mom.”

Stefano sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why are you really calling me, Alex? I take care of this family, so I’m allowed to be arrogant. What’s your excuse?”

The murmuring on the other end went dead, before it picked up again.

“Do you want my help or not?”

Stefano’s voice dripped venom as he replied. “You can’t even help yourself. When’s the last time you took the red tonic?”

“Why?”

“When?”

“…Last night.”

A ridiculing chuckle slipped past Stefano’s lips. “Addiction isn’t a game, Alex.”

“I don’t need you to baby me, Stefano.”

“Someone has to. Go back to your women. I don’t need your help.” He hung up the phone without waiting for a reply.

I leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Are you guys close?” I asked, already guessing the answer.

Stefano shook his head with a frown.

“It is because of the succession?”

Stefano snorted. “Alessandro isn’t a suitable leader for this family. My father has already given up on him. He’s a druggy that does nothing but cause problems. The only reason he’s not dead is because he’s my brother.”

I inhaled sharply and looked at him in shock. “You would kill your own brother?”

He turned to look me in the eyes, and despite the sincerity, I could also see a bit of reluctance as he said, “If he becomes a threat to my life or to the lives of those I love, then yes.”

A part of me wanted to ask, ~Would you really?~, but instead, I leaned into him to offer what comfort I could.

I also had a little sister, so I knew that Stefano still had hopes for his brother.