Chapter 27 Necessary Evil
Jeremy
Nico was standing by the window, watching Miguel with the kind of calm that preceded violence. "What's the play, boss?"
"We wait. Nina's coming to get the girl. Once she's gone..." I looked down at Miguel. "Then we have a conversation about what happens to men who put their hands on women under my protection."
"I didn't know!" The floor muffled Miguel's voice. "I swear, I didn't know she was—"
"Shut up." I crouched down next to him. I was close enough for him to see my face. Close enough that he could see I wasn't bluffing. "You're going to tell me exactly what you wanted from her. Every detail. You should include every name you planned to sell information to. Everything."
"I don't—"
Luca pressed harder on his back. Miguel gasped in pain.
"Try again," I said quietly.
"Okay! Okay!" Miguel's words came fast now, panicked. "I have debts. Gambling debts. To the Volkovs. They said if I could get information about Santoro operations—names, locations, anything—they'd wipe the slate clean."
My blood went cold. "The Volkovs sent you after her?"
"No! They don't know about her specifically. I just—when Elena said she was helping some blind girl who used to work at Crimson, I thought—" He stopped.
"You thought you'd use her," I finished. "Threaten her. Assault her if necessary. All of this is to pay off your gambling debts.
"I wasn't going to hurt her! I just wanted information!"
"Her dress is torn. She has bruises. You had your hand on her throat." I stood up. "That's not 'not hurting her.' That's attempted rape."
"I didn't—"
"Luca. Break his arm."
"Wait! Please! I'm sorry! I'll leave the city; I'll never come near her again. just please—"
A knock on the bedroom door stopped me.
Elena's voice was shaking. "Someone's at the front door. She says her name is Nina?"
"Let her in," I called back.
The bedroom door opened slightly. Elena peered out, her face pale. "Who are you people? Really?"
"People who protect their own," I said. "Nina's here to take Amelia somewhere safe."
"Safe? You're sending her back to Crimson? Where those girls almost killed her?"
"I'm sending her to neutral territory under Marco's protection. It's temporary."
"Temporary until what?" She asked. But this girl is so irritating with her many questions. Then I thought it was a good question.
Until I figured out how to keep her safe from the Volkovs, from information brokers, and from my own family, who would see her as a weakness. Until I could move her somewhere better without Antonio finding out and using it against me.
"Until I sort this stuff out," I said instead, pointing to the apartment.
Elena stared at me for a long moment. Then she moved to the front door and opened it.
Nina stepped inside, taking in the scene with practised efficiency. Broken furniture. Miguel on the floor. Blood. Three armed men.
"Cristo," she muttered. "What happened here?"
"The boyfriend happened," I said. "Amelia's in the bedroom. Elena will explain. I need you to take her to Crimson. Marco's expecting you."
Nina's eyes narrowed. "She's going back there? After what happened?"
"It's the safest place I can put her right now."
"Safe." Nina shook her head. "You have a strange definition of safe, Santoro."
"Can you do it or not?" I asked coldly.
She looked at Elena. "Is the girl hurt?"
"she has bruises. Torn clothes, and she is terrified." Elena's voice cracked. "He tried to—"
"I get the picture." Nina's expression hardened. She looked at Miguel with disgust. "You're going to kill him, right?"
"Eventually," I answered.
"Good." She moved toward the bedroom. "Let me talk to her."
AMELIA
I sat on Elena's bed, my hands shaking so badly I could barely hold my cane.
I could hear voices in the other room. Santoro's voice—cold, controlled, terrifying. Giving orders like this was normal. It was as if men being pinned to floors and threatened was just another Tuesday.
"Amelia?" Elena's voice was gentle. "There's someone here. Her name is Nina. She's... she's going to take you somewhere safe."
"Nina?" The name was familiar. "From Crimson?"
"Yes."
No. No, I couldn't go back there. Back to that place where the girls had beaten me and thrown me out. Where I'd served drinks to dangerous men and been kissed by—
By Santoro.
Who is in the other room right now.
Who had found me somehow.
Who had said I was under his protection.
"I don't want to go back there," I whispered.
"I know, honey. I know." Elena sat beside me. "But these men—they're not safe to be around right now. And Miguel knows where I live and knows my schedule. Even if they—even after they deal with him, it's not safe here anymore."
The door opened. Footsteps.
"Amelia." Nina's voice. I recognised it from my brief time at Crimson. "It's Nina. Remember me?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry about what happened to you. I regret the actions of the girls. Marco should have done a better job of protecting you. She sat down on my other side. "But things are different now. You'll have an ensuite room. No one will bother you. Marco's orders."
"Why?" My voice came out small. "Why would he—"
"Because Santoro asked him to. And when a Santoro asks for something, you don't say no." Nina's hand found mine. "I know you're scared. I know this is the last place you want to go. But it's temporary. This arrangement is only temporary, lasting just until they find a better solution.
"I don't understand any of this."
"You don't have to. You just have to trust that right now, Crimson is safer than here."
"How did he even find me?"
Nina was quiet for a moment. "He's been looking for you. Since the day you left. He hired investigators, followed leads. He found Elena, and Elena led him to you."
He'd been looking for me.
Why?
"I don't—I can't—"
"You can." Nina squeezed my hand. "You're stronger than you think, Amelia. You survived the streets. You survived Crimson the first time. You fought off Miguel today. You can survive this time too."
I wanted to believe her.
But I was so tired of surviving.
"Okay," I finally whispered. "I'll go."
Nina helped me stand. Helped me find my cane—bent now from hitting Miguel, but still functional.
Elena hugged me tightly. "I'm so sorry. About Miguel. About all of this. I should have—"
"It's not your fault," I said. Even though part of me wondered if it was. If I'd brought this danger to her door.
"I'll check on you," Elena promised. "As soon as it's safe, I'll visit. I promise."
Nina guided me toward the door.
I heard Santoro's voice as we passed through the living room. "Nina. Take care of her."
"I will."
"Luca, Nico—stay with me. We're not done here."
I didn't want to know what "not done" meant.
Nina led me down the stairs, out into the street, and into a car that smelt like cigarettes and leather.
As we pulled away, I heard a sound from Elena's apartment.
A scream.
Miguel's scream.
Then silence.
Nina's hand found mine in the dark. "Don't think about it."
But how could I not?
Santoro was in that apartment. Doing things I couldn't see. Couldn't imagine.
All because of me.
"Why does he care?" I asked quietly. "He doesn't even know me."
Nina was silent for a long moment. "I think he's trying to figure that out too."