Chapter 85 Chapter 85

Chapter 85 Chapter 85
Yuri smokes his cigarette perched by the window. Mom and Dad return to their murmured exchange.

I drift off in the chair I’m seated in. 

Massimo’s face appears first. Then the rest of his body materializes. His size as hulking as I remember him, his tattoos and muscles on display. He walks toward me, eclipsing me within seconds. I’m his again. 

In my dreams, it feels so real. His lips touch mine and his palms maraud my body. It’s too good to be true. Which is why I sink deeper into the dream, realizing I don’t ever want to wake up.

Yuri’s bearish snores force me to anyway.

I spring up in the office chair to find the room dark and the others fast asleep. Yuri’s nodded off in a chair like me. Mom and Dad have chosen the sleeping bags on the floor. I sit and listen to the soundtrack of chirping crickets and Yuri rumbling out snores. But it’s still not enough to drown out the startled thumps of my heart.

Forcing deep gulps of air, I blink out of my drowsiness and realize the dream wasn’t real. Daunting reality settles in, and I remember where I am and with who. I’ve left Massimo because Mom and Dad needed my help. They wanted to ensure our family’s survival.

…or so I thought.

I hadn’t counted on the premonition plaguing me. I’m not relieved to be back with my family, I’m uncomfortable and on edge. I’m in the dark on whatever’s really going on. Mom and Dad seem satisfied leaving me oblivious.

How could I be here when my rightful place is with Massimo? 

Is he already out scouring the city for me? Does he miss me? Would he want me back?

I don’t think. I have to find out. If there’s even a chance…

After checking Mom and Dad are still knocked out in their sleeping bags, I rise off the office chair and tiptoe across the room. I’m not sure what I’ll do once I make it out of the warehouse. Vague memories of the last time I’d tried to flee like this come up—I’d found out Massimo had bought me out of my contract and I had tried to escape my dorm building.

Halfway through the room, I stop to snag the to-go bag I’ve brought with me.

As I come up on the door, there’s a real chance it could happen again. If Massimo’s already started looking for me, he could spring out any second and jam another syringe in my throat. I wouldn’t protest if he did…

But he doesn’t show up. He doesn’t impede me on my escape attempt.

Instead, Mom jerks awake from her sleeping bag and shouts, “Ayanna! What are you doing?”

A metaphorical spotlight  shines on me.

Dad sputters awake. Yuri flips out of his office chair and smacks into the ground.

Mom hops to her feet and darts for the light switch.

When the light does come on, it nearly blinds me. I squint against the sudden brightness. 

Really, it’s the horror of being caught.

Mom marches up to me with suspicion narrowing her eyes. “Were you about to leave?”

“I… I was going to the bathroom,” I stammer.

“With your bag?”

“I have personal items in here—”

“You think I don’t know when you’re lying? I carried you for nine months, Ayanna.”

Dad and Yuri have now risen to their feet and lurk in the background as spectators. Both seem lukewarm to the display that’s happening before them—a mother accosting her daughter about a late night trip to the bathroom. 

This is not where I belong…

I clutch my bag to my chest and sharpen my tone. “I’m a woman. A married woman. I don’t owe you an answer about my whereabouts.”

“You don’t owe me any answers?” Mom hacks out a laugh in my face. She edges closer and I ease back, touching the surface of the door.

“You’re not capable of making your own decisions, Ayanna. You’ve been sheltered your whole life. You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if you walked out that door. You’d be in tears begging to come back after a couple hours.” 

“I would be fine!”

Mom’s lips pull into a patronizing smile. “You cry when people raise their voices, Ayanna. You have never been the strong type, like me and your father. You can’t even do us this favor and help us. Instead you try to run scared.”

“Niece,” Dad says. “Not too hard. Ayanna knows her limitations. She knows she’d never risk it out there. She doesn’t have a death wish.” 

“She could barely ride the subway. I used to have to have her partner Darren ride with her.” Yuri gives a disapproving shake of his head. 

“That’s not true!” I snap. 

“Go ahead then, Ayanna,” Dad says calmly. “Turn your back on your family.” 

Uncertainty makes my pulse tick faster. I resist the urge to back down like I’ve always done the few times I’ve tried to stand up for myself. It sweeps in and almost overtakes me. Then I look into Dad’s eyes and see the coldness there. 

His disapproval just because I’ve gone against him for once.

He doesn’t care what happens to me. He’s upset because he sees the code slipping through his fingers.

“It feels more like you’ve turned your back on me, Dad. It feels a lot like both of you care more about a prize than your daughter.” I spin on my heel and twist the doorknob

“Ayanna, don’t you dare!” Mom starts, then screams.

I’ve opened the door to a handful of men with slicked hair and dark clothes. But it’s not their faces I pay attention to so much as the guns in their hands.

Salvatore’s crew.