Chapter 17 What Protection Costs
Elena woke at dawn to complete silence.
No phone calls. No movement from the living room. She sat up, her chest tightening as she slipped out of bed and opened her door.
The living room was empty, couch untouched. Then she saw Pierce was still at the kitchen table, slumped forward with his head on his arms, completely out. Papers were scattered around him, laptop still open, phone dark besides his hand.
Elena stood in the doorway, watching him sleep. He looked younger like this,his dark hair fell across his forehead, and his breathing was deep and even.
He looked nothing like a monster.
She found herself moving into the living room, grabbing the blanket from the couch.
She approached the table quietly, careful not to wake him. The blanket was soft in her hands as she draped it carefully over his shoulders.
He didn't wake. Just kept breathing. Elena's hand hovered near his hair, fingers almost touching the dark strands that fell across his forehead. She wanted to brush them back, wanted to...
What was she doing?
She jerked her hand away like she'd been burned, stepping back quickly.
This was Pierce Diego. He was a Mafia boss, a criminal, a liar. The man who'd destroyed her life.
Suzie appeared from nowhere, jumping gracefully onto the table and then onto Pierce's lap. She circled once, twice, then settled down with a loud purr.
Pierce stirred slightly, his hand moving unconsciously to rest on Suzie's back.
The cat purred louder, completely content.
Elena watched them, this dangerous man and her traitor cat, and felt something crack in her chest.
Elena turned away before she could think about it too much, heading back to her bedroom.
She climbed back into bed and stared at the ceiling, trying not to think about the blanket on his shoulders.
Trying not to wonder when she'd stopped hating him quite so much.
She rolled onto her side, trying to force the thoughts away. Trying to remember why she hated him. But all she could see was the exhaustion on his face. The burden in his shoulders.
Elena squeezed her eyes shut and willed herself to sleep.
It took a long time.
When she finally drifted off, her sleep was restless, filled with fragmented dreams she couldn't quite remember.
She woke to the sound of her phone ringing.
Elena groaned, reaching blindly for the nightstand. Her fingers found the phone and she squinted at the screen through sleep-blurred eyes.
ANNIE CALLING...
Her heart stopped.
She sat up fast, suddenly wide awake. The clock on her phone read 4:17 PM. Which meant it was... she did the math quickly... 6:17 AM in Tokyo.
Annie was calling at dawn.
Something was wrong. Annie never called this early unless something was wrong.
Elena answered on the fourth ring, her voice rough with sleep. "Hey."
"Oh thank God." Annie's voice flooded through the speaker, warm and familiar and so achingly normal that Elena felt tears prick her eyes. "I was about to call the police. Do you know how many times I've tried to reach you?"
"I know." Elena groaned. "I'm sorry. Work's been..."
"Busy." Annie cut her off. "Don't give me that work excuse. You sound terrible, Lena. What's going on?"
Elena closed her eyes. "I'm fine. Really. Just tired."
"You're lying." Annie's voice was gentle but firm. "You always do this thing with your voice when you lie. It gets all tight. You're doing it right now."
"I'm not..."
"Elena." Annie's voice cracked slightly. "Please. Talk to me. You haven't answered my texts in days. You haven't posted anything on Instagram in two weeks. You always post your cats. What's happening?"
The concern in her best friend's voice broke something in Elena's chest. She curled tighter, pulling her knees to her chest.
"It's complicated," she whispered.
"I don't care how complicated it is. Just tell me."
"I can't."
"Can't or won't?"
"Both." Elena wiped at her eyes angrily. "Annie, I'm okay. I promise. Things are just... messy right now."
"Messy how? Work messy? Family messy? Guy messy?"
Elena let out a sound that was half laugh, half sob. "You have no idea."
"Then explain it to me." Annie's voice was insistent now, worried. "Lena, you're scaring me. This isn't like you."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing and start talking!" Annie's voice rose. "Are you in trouble? Do you need money? Should I come home?"
"No!" The word came out too fast. "No, you can't come home."
"Why not?"
"Because..." Elena stopped, her throat closing. How could she explain? "Because I need to handle this myself."
"Handle what yourself? Lena, you're talking in riddles."
"I know. I just... I need you to trust me right now."
There was a long pause. Elena could picture Annie in her Tokyo apartment, probably pacing, probably chewing on her thumbnail.
"This is about a guy, isn't it?" Annie said finally. "You met someone."
Elena's breath caught. "What?"
"You have that sound in your voice." Annie's voice softened. "Is he... is he treating you okay? Because if some asshole is hurting you..."
"He's not..." Elena stopped, pressing her palm against her forehead. "It's not like that."
"Then what's it like?"
"It's complicated."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true!" Elena's voice cracked. "Annie, I can't explain this over the phone. I just need you to trust that I'm okay."
"But you're not okay. I can hear it."
"I'm alive. I'm safe. That's all that matters."
"That's not all that matters!" Annie's voice broke. "Lena, you're my best friend. If something's wrong, I need to know."
Elena felt tears spill over. "You can't help with this one."
"Let me try."
"You can't." Elena wiped at her face. "You're in Tokyo. You have your dream job, your amazing life. You can't just drop everything."
"Watch me." Annie's voice was fierce. "I'll be on a plane tomorrow."
"No!" Panic flooded through her. "Annie, no. You can't."
"Then tell me what's going on!"
"I can't!"
"Why not?!"
"Because it's dangerous!" The words burst out. "If you come here, you could get hurt. And I won't let that happen."
The silence was deafening.
"Dangerous," Annie repeated slowly. "Elena, what the hell is going on?"
"I can't explain." Elena's voice was barely above a whisper. "Just... stay in Tokyo. Stay safe. And trust me."
"Okay," Annie said finally, voice tight. "But Lena? If you need me, anything at all, you call. I don't care what time. You call me."
"I will." Elena's voice was low. "I promise."
"I mean it. One word and I'm on a plane."
"I know." Elena's voice cracked. "Thank you."
"I love you."
Elena pressed her hand over her mouth. "I love you too."
They said goodbye, and Elena lowered the phone, staring at it.
Annie was her lifeline. Her connection to the person she used to be. And she'd just lied to her.
"You could've told her."
Elena's head snapped up.
Pierce stood in her doorway, expression carefully neutral.
"What?" Elena's voice came out sharp.
"Your friend. You could've told her what's happening." He crossed his arms. "She'd come help you."
"Exactly." Elena stood, anger flooding through her. "She'd come here. She'd try to fix this. And she'd end up in danger because of me."
"So you lied to protect her."
"I lied because I had no choice!" Elena's voice rose. "Just like everything else! My job, my apartment, my phone calls, you control all of it!"
Pierce's jaw tightened. "I'm keeping you safe."
"You're keeping me isolated!" Elena threw her phone onto the bed. "Annie is the only person who actually cares about me. And I had to lie to her. Had to pretend everything's fine when it's not!"
"I know this is hard..."
"Hard?" Elena laughed bitterly. "This isn't hard, Pierce. This is prison. And you're the warden."
Pierce flinched. "Elena..."
"Get out." She turned away. "Just get out."
For a moment, he didn't move.
Then she heard him walk away.
Elena sank onto her bed, grabbing her phone and pulling up Annie's messages.
She curled up, clutching her phone to her chest, and let herself cry.
For Annie. For her freedom. For the life she'd had before everything fell apart.
Outside her room, she heard Pierce moving around. Working already.
Elena closed her eyes and tried to remember what normal felt like.
But she couldn't.
That Elena was gone.
And she didn't know if she'd ever get her back.