Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Elnora’s eyes flicked from the laptop to Marcy sitting across from her, then to Donni beside her. She gave Marcy a small nod before her gaze drifted back to the feeds streaming through the drones. The parker drones were already under Giorgio’s control, but she couldn’t stop herself from watching them, an unease gnawing at her insides. The more she thought about Mason, the deeper that unease dug in. She hadn’t known him for long, but she knew he was a man of his word. When he promised her no more interruptions, she desperately wanted to believe him. But how could he keep that promise in a world as chaotic as his?

Maybe this was something she’d have to get used to—sharing her man with his dangerous extracurricular activities. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but she was already feeling the agitation build, gnawing at her peace of mind. She’d scoured every corner of Eden with cameras and hadn’t seen Mason since the Russians cleared out. The audacity of the attack on his stronghold only hammered home how precarious their lives could become. It scared her, but the fear didn’t deter her. Not anymore.

“Is something going down at Eden?” Donni’s voice cut through her thoughts, snapping her back to the present.

“No. The Russians left,” she said, shaking her head, though the worry still simmered beneath the surface.

“But you look like something is wrong,” Donni pressed, his brow arching in question.

“It has nothing to do with any of this.” She snapped the laptop shut and turned her attention to the helipad as the chopper began its descent.

“~Porco cane~, I don’t have to do the feelings thing with you, do I?” Donni sighed heavily, his exasperation almost making her laugh. “Not what I signed up for, signoria. Isn’t that why your friend is here?”

Elnora’s eyes flickered to Marcy, who chuckled at Donni’s irritation. She studied Marcy, gauging her reaction to Donni. If Marcy wasn’t recoiling from him, maybe he wasn’t the one who’d… tortured her. But did she really want to know who it was? Knowing might just make her hate them, and she wasn’t sure she could handle that right now.

“Best friend stepping in here,” Marcy said. “How are you doing, El?”

“I’m fine,” Elnora replied, though the words felt hollow. “How are you?”

Marcy’s eyes squinted slightly, studying her like she could see right through her façade. “I just need to lay in bed for a week or more, and then I’ll be fine,” Marcy murmured. “But you’re worried.”

“There’s always something to worry about, Mace.” Elnora shrugged it off, not interested in diving into the mess of thoughts and fears swirling in her mind. Especially not with Donni watching her like he was waiting for her to spill her guts even though he had said he wasn’t interested.

The truth was, the thought of not having Mason here with her was making her insides twist. Since he seemed to have little regard for his own safety, she would have to find a way to protect him—whether he liked it or not. Because the alternative was unthinkable. She would die of worry.

“There are hostiles on top of the building. I’m pulling us out,” the pilot announced.

Donni, who had been calmly watching her, peered out the window and immediately drew his pistol. Elnora felt the pressure in her chest intensify, her pulse quickening. Not again. She leaned closer to the window, needing to see what was going on despite the dread tightening around her heart.

“Signoria, please get away from the window!” the co-pilot shouted, quickly leaving his seat to join them in the back. He positioned himself between her and the door, moving her closer to Donni before she could fully process what was happening.

Elnora took a long look at Donni, who remained unsettlingly calm. “They have a launcher,” she said.

Donni nodded, his expression unreadable, no hint of fear or concern in his eyes.

“What?” Marcy’s voice shot up in a shriek, her eyes wide with terror. “They’re going to kill us!”

Elnora winced, massaging her temple as she tried to push the panic down. She leaned over Donni to get a better view of the men on the helipad. Twelve of them, all armed and signalling for the chopper to land. They weren’t bluffing; they’d shoot them down if they didn’t comply.

“They’ll shoot us down if we don’t land,” Donni said, his grip tightening around his pistol. He glanced at the soldier beside Elnora, then back at her, his eyes betraying a flicker of concern—a first. “We have to land, Signoria.”

These men were waiting for them, knew exactly where they’d be. How did they know that? She didn’t know who they were after—Donni, Mason’s trusted lieutenant, or her. But one thing was clear: everyone on this chopper was now at risk, including Marcy, who was staring at her with wide, frightened eyes.

“If Marcy and I weren’t here, how would you handle this?” Elnora asked, her tone colder than she had ever heard it, the chopper still hovering as they awaited Donni’s command.

“We’d take our chances and try to get away, ~signoria~,” the soldier beside her replied.

“Then why not do it now?” Marcy asked.

Donni’s eyes met Elnora’s, and she could see the conflict in them. She scoffed, understanding his hesitation. He was afraid. Not for himself, but for her. If they tried to escape and were shot down, he didn’t want to be the one responsible for killing his boss’s woman. The weight of that responsibility was written all over his face.

“Take us down,” Elnora ordered, making the call Donni couldn’t bring himself to.

Donni’s jaw clenched, a flicker of regret passing over his face before he set his weapon on the chopper’s floor. He signalled the other soldier to do the same, then, with a quick, furtive movement, he pulled a small foldable knife from his pocket and pressed it into Elnora’s hand.

“They’ll separate us from you and your friend,” he whispered. “If you get a chance, use it.” A grim smile tugged at his lips, a ghost of reassurance.

Elnora nodded, slipping the knife into her right boot, the cold handle pressing against her ankle like a promise she wasn’t sure she could keep. She tried to understand what Donni expected her to do with it. As the chopper began its descent, she turned back to her laptop, fingers flying over the keyboard, scrubbing the system clean before they landed. If she was going down, she wouldn’t leave any loose ends.

The instant the skids touched the helipad, the doors were yanked open, and men with guns stormed in, weapons aimed directly at them. Elnora’s breath caught in her throat, fear tightening its grip around her chest. She almost passed out, her vision narrowing as her heart hammered in her ears. Marcy, with a look of weary surrender, lifted her good arm, her face twisted in pain.

“Get out,” one of the gunmen barked at the men, pointing the barrel of his rifle at Donni and the other Italian.

They complied, stepping out under the watchful eyes of the gunmen, who then pulled the pilot out from the other side. Elnora watched them force the pilot and the soldier to their knees behind the chopper. Donni was dragged away into the building, leaving her and Marcy alone in there.

Then, out from the side, Joe appeared, a smile creeping across his face as he looked at Marcy. “Hello, my love.”

Elnora’s blood ran cold. Of course, it had to be him—the fucking, bloody fraud. Marcy’s eyes darkened with a fury that was murderous, and Elnora knew that if Marcy weren’t so injured, she would have launched herself at Joe without a second thought.

“You asshole!” Marcy spat. “I could just kill you! Ugh!” She winced in pain, clutching her ribs as the effort tore through her.

When Joe turned to her, his eyes gleamed with a wickedness that made Elnora’s skin crawl. There was something in his gaze, a twisted satisfaction that unsettled her to the core. Had he always hated her? He had hidden it well if he had, playing the long con like a master.

“Get Marcy out of here and have the doctor examine her,” Joe ordered the men, his voice cool and detached. Then, with a casual wave of his hand, he beckoned Elnora to him.

“Wait a minute! What are you planning to do?” Marcy’s voice trembled as she struggled against the men helping her out of the chopper. “Joe, don’t you dare touch her, do you hear me? Joe!”

A sinister smile spread across Joe’s lips. Elnora’s throat tightened, words dying on her tongue as she stared into the crazed depths of his eyes. What was he planning? The dread pooling in her stomach was sickening.

“I’ll give her the same courtesy her boyfriend gave you,” Joe said before going to press a soft, almost reverent kiss on Marcy’s forehead. With a cold tilt of his head, he signalled for his men to take her away.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Marcy spat, her voice trembling with fury. “Joe, she didn’t do anything to me. Don’t you fucking hurt El!” Her voice broke as they forced her out of the chopper, her screams echoing through the hangar. “Joe, I swear, I’ll kill you if you touch her! Get your fucking hands off me!”

Elnora sat frozen, her heart pounding in her chest as she watched Marcy being hauled away. What did he want with her? Torture? Revenge? He already knew everything about Enrico; she had nothing left to offer him. She honestly had no idea what this was any more.

“What exactly do you want?” she finally forced herself to ask.

Joe took a step back from the chopper. One of his men climbed in, grabbed Elnora’s arm with a bruising grip, and yanked her out, dragging her to face him.

“I want Enrico De Lauro,” Joe said, his tone almost casual as he stroked her chin with a sinister smile. “And now that I have you, it’s only a matter of time. Thanks to your boyfriend, you’ll be treated the same as Marcy.”

The fool still didn’t have his facts right. Not only was Enrico no longer her man, he’d pissed off the worst person by bringing both her and Donni here.

He turned to walk away, but Elnora’s fury flared, overriding the fear threatening to choke her.

“You care about Marcy? Is that what you’re trying to sell me?” Her voice trembled with righteous anger. “Marcy’s suffering because of you! The Castelli family thought she was responsible for your crimes because you made it look like it was her to cover your tracks. Don’t blame me, Enrico, or anyone else for what you did! At least have the balls to admit you were too much of a coward to hack me without using Marcy as your scapegoat.”

Joe’s jaw tightened, his eyes darkening with rage as her words hit their mark. He slammed the door of the chopper shut with a force that echoed through the hangar, the sound like a death knell. Then, with slow steps, he stalked back toward her. Elnora instinctively backed away, only to collide with one of Joe’s armed thugs, who shoved her roughly forward, straight into Joe’s waiting grasp.

He caught her by the shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh with a viciousness that made her wince. The scream lodged in her throat, trapped by the icy terror that gripped her.

“Keep running that mouth of yours, Elnora, and I’ll hurt you myself.” His voice was low, each word laced with barely restrained violence. The anger in his grey eyes burned hotter as he tightened his grip, the threat in his tone hanging like a guillotine over her head.

Joe grabbed Elnora by the shoulders and spun her around, forcing her to face the soldier and the chopper pilot.

“And don’t think for a second that being Marcy’s friend will save you,” he snarled, his breath hot against her ear. “I’ll put a bullet in your head if you provoke me again.”

Elnora whimpered as his fingers dug into her skin, the pain radiating through her body, making Mason’s shirt feel like it was suffocating her. Her mind raced as she watched his men approach Mason’s soldiers, who were still kneeling, their eyes vacant with acceptance.

No. Not like this.

The sharp cracks of gunfire split the air, and she flinched, squeezing her eyes shut against the horror she knew was unfolding before her. But the images in her head were just as gruesome—Anderson’s lifeless body flashed in her mind, and a shiver of fear rippled through her chest. Her eyes snapped open, forcing herself to confront the carnage. Blood pooled around the bodies of the men who had tried to get her to safety, and her breath hitched.

A brutal reminder of something she had to accept. She was part of the collective in a way that would only bring more death.

Her mind churned with the sickening realization that Donni could be next, and she understood why she was worried earlier. Like a sixth sense or something.

Joe shoved her aside, and she staggered, catching her balance as she massaged the sore spots on her arms. The anger that had been simmering beneath the surface now boiled over, twisting her stomach in knots of disgust as she stared at Joe, his grin a perverse mockery of her pain.

“You’re going to pay for this, you miserable wuss!” she spat, her voice trembling with of fury and revulsion.

Joe’s grin widened, eyes glinting with dark amusement. “Don’t you sound precious, all riled up?” He laughed, the sound grating against her nerves.

Elnora smirked, letting her gaze sweep over him with a contemptuous flick of her eyes. “You think you’re something special, don’t you?” Her voice was low, steady. “Just because you’ve got a few men who can pull a trigger and you piggyback on other people’s hacks, you think you’re all that? You have no idea who you’re up against. Threaten me all you want, Joe. The most you can do is kill me, and I’ve just made peace with that.”

Her words stung, a challenge she didn’t need to vocalize. Joe’s smirk faltered for a split second, a crack in his otherwise smug demeanour, and Elnora felt a small, cold satisfaction settle in her chest. He may have the upper hand now, but she wasn’t done fighting. Not by a long shot.

When Joe sauntered back toward her, Elnora’s pulse quickened, though she kept her expression steady, locking eyes with him as her heart hammered against her ribs. She was not backing down from him.

“Careful, Elnora. I take insults personally.” He warned.

A slow, defiant smile curled her lips. “That’s exactly why you’ll lose, Joe. This tough-guy act? It’s all for show. If you were really as dangerous as you pretend to be, you’d have gone after Enrico by now. You know where he is, so what’s stopping you from getting your revenge?”

For a brief moment, his eyes twitched—a minuscule, almost imperceptible tell—but it was enough. She hadn’t noticed it before, back when they were ‘friends,’ but now it was clear as day. Joe wasn’t just a fraud; he was a sociopath.

Joe’s gaze darkened, the brief flicker of doubt vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. “Take her to the car,” he ordered his men. “Let’s see how much you’ll talk after they’ve rearranged that pretty face of yours.”

His eyes roved over her, assessing her like she was a piece of meat, before he turned on his heel and started to walk away.

“Joe.” Her voice cut through to him, stopping him in his tracks. He sighed, his shoulders stiffening as he glanced back at her.

“What now?” he asked with impatience.

The idea of being tortured scared her to the bone. But there was something else driving her now—a confidence that Mason would come for her, and when he did, Joe would pay dearly and she would get the chance to deal his reward.

“You don’t know it yet,” she said, her voice calm, almost serene, “but you’re already dead.”

As the men dragged her away, her mind clung to the image of Mason, relentless and unforgiving, tearing through everything in his path to get to her. The fear that had once gripped her was now overshadowed by anticipation—a dark, thrilling expectation of the chaos that would ensue.