Page 46 of Merciless King

I stand and fix her with a hard stare, my voice low and dangerous. "You don’t think my hands are dirty?” I laugh, and it must be menacing because she flinches. “I guess you were too young to remember how I earned my access to Caruso. Access Dad didn’t have. He’d be fucking jealous of me. Don’t mistake my attempts to do business strategically as a sign of cowardice or weakness. I can be merciless when I need to be, and that includes with you, little sister.”

For the first time, I see fear in her expression. A part of me is glad to wipe her smirk off her face, but at the same time, I don’t want her thinking I’m going to kill her in her sleep.

“If you want to stay a part of this family, live in this house, have input on business, and live in the luxury you’ve grown accustomed to, you will talk to me with the respect I deserve… that I’ve earned.”

“Fine.” She bites off the word.

“So, what’s next?” Matteo asks, likely trying to break up the tension between me and my sister.

“I shower and change, and then we go to the police station.” As I pass Lana, I stop. “You can come if you want.”

She sucks in an indignant breath. Like how dare I suggest that I have a say in whether she can go or not. But she’s the one who is pushing me to be an aggressive leader. I wait a moment to see if she’ll say anything. She presses her lips together, clearly fighting a retort. She knows I can and will make her stay home if she disrespects me again.

With a nod, I exit my office heading up to my room. In the shower, I wash away the tension. I learned a long time ago, calm and cool goes a lot further in getting what I want over asshole behavior, Lana notwithstanding. The idea that others might see me as weak doesn’t bother me so much. It’s easier to fuck up someone who underestimates me. And right now, someone has severely underestimated me. I’m going to find out who and deal with them.

19

PIPER

Ilie in bed now alone, staring at the ceiling, feeling hopeful. For the first time in a long time, I have a chance to make a change. A change for Elysse. The sun is peeking through the curtains, and it’s a metaphor, I decide. A new day is dawning. Light is finally going to chase away the darkness.

Even so, the idea of leaving Gabriel fills me with uncertainty and dread. I've tried to leave him before, when we were in England, but he found me. It wasn’t hard. I’d gone to my parents’ house. I suppose I was naïve in thinking he’d take a hint and let me go. Why would he come after me when he so obviously thought I was worthless?

Of course, he was apologetic and made promises, begging me to come home. I didn’t want to. I knew by then who he was. But my parents insisted I needed to return to him, to give him a chance. The more I tried to tell them the truth, the more they said I was selfish. Elysse needed a stable home. I was lucky that Gabriel was willing to be her father.

I can remember like it was yesterday, their saying I have no way to support myself if I leave him. I told them they could give me Mr. D’Amato’s money. After all, I was the one he wanted to get rid of. I was the one carrying his son’s child. My parents didn’t see it that way, but the truth was, the money was gone.

I had no job. No place to go. And so I returned to Gabriel.

The memory of his rage, the bruises he left on my body, the scars I still carry, sends a shiver down my spine. But worse than that, I remember his threat—if I ever tried to leave again, he'd hurt Elysse. He knew that was the one thing that would make me behave. And it is, because the thought of him laying a hand on my daughter makes my blood run cold.

I have one chance to escape and I have to take it. I've agreed to accept Elio's help, but a part of me questions the wisdom of being with him. It's been so long. Do I really know him anymore? He’s been kind and sweet, but so had Gabriel when I first met him.

And then there's Elio’s work, the danger that comes with being involved with the Mafia. Is it fair to bring Elysse into that world?

Despite my fears, I know Elio is right. I can't stay with Gabriel. Every day I spend with him is another day I'm risking not just my life, but Elysse's as well. She deserves better than this. We both do. I have to trust that Elio is the man I remember. He is, after all, Elysse’s father.

I get out of bed to prepare for the day. I shower and dress, then strip the bed to wash the sheets. I realize that if I’m leaving today, I don’t need to cover my tracks. But I still need to consider how I’m going to leave. There’s no doubt that I can’t talk to him alone and expect him to let me leave. If he catches wind of my plan, he'll stop at nothing to keep us here, hurting Elysse to insure my compliance.

I should just pack up Elysse and slip away without a word. However, that feels cowardly. My heart clenches at the thought of not confronting him, of not looking him in the eye and telling him that we're done, that he no longer has power over us. But how can I do that? The risk is too great. He's too volatile, too dangerous.

Once Elio gets here, we can wait for Gabriel, and I can tell him I’m leaving, tell him he can’t hurt me or Elysse ever again. I shake my head. Gabriel will get angry, and I can see Elio doing something drastic, like killing Gabriel. I don’t want Elio to get in trouble.

I pull out a bag and start packing just the essentials. My hands tremble slightly as I fold clothes and gather toiletries. It’s partly fear, but partly excitement at being free.

I hear Elysse stirring in her room and go to her. She's rubbing sleep from her eyes, her hair a tousled mess. My heart swells with love for her. I’m doing the right thing, letting Elio take us away. I now wonder why I ever questioned it. It doesn’t matter whether I have a choice in this. The most important thing is her.

"Hey, baby," I say softly, sitting on the edge of her bed. "We're going to go on a little trip, okay? I need you to pack some of your favorite clothes and toys."

She looks at me, confusion in large, dark eyes, eyes like Elio’s. "Where are we going?"

I brush a strand of hair from her face. "Somewhere safe, sweetie. Somewhere we can be happy." I don't want to burden her with too many details, to scare her unnecessarily. She's been through enough already.

She watches me for a moment, and I can see a glimmer of hope in her expression. Even without the details, she senses a change.

She nods and gets out of bed. I help her pack, guiding her to choose her most cherished possessions.

Paranoia has me hiding the bags in the hall closet as we go downstairs for breakfast.