“Good. Now, keep that neck clean. I’ll come back in a few days to check on you.”
“You don’t need to do that, Nic. I’ll call if I need anything.”
Sebastian groans. “Don’t start this bullshit, babe. We’ll come back either way and you know it.”
I roll my eyes and watch as the two Widows drop down into Nic’s car and disappear around the corner of the Carrington mansion. As I watch them go, I quickly realize that every time I watch them drive away, the sting hurts just a little less.
“Are you okay?” Colton murmurs, curling his arm around my waist and pulling me into his warm chest, right where I belong.
“I, umm … I don’t know. I’m still processing.”
“How can I make it better?”
I shrug my shoulders and tip my head up to brush my lips over his. “Cheap Chinese takeout and a movie night on your big ass couch will go a long way to helping me forget that a gang leader wants to drag me into an insane gang war and use me as his personal rat.”
“Okay,” he promises, slipping his hand down to cup my ass. I feel his smile against my lips. “Anything you want, Jade, is yours.”
Chapter 21
The bandage sits heavy at the back of my neck and I’m more aware of it than anything I’ve ever been aware of before. It’s a constant reminder of what went down, a reminder of my future, of what’s going to happen.
Every slight move I make, every soft brush of my hair, every tiny little thing has my stomach turning. I’ve never felt pain like this. My skin burns and I feel as though I’m in a constant sweat which is just another reminder that my whole future has been taken away.
I didn’t sleep one bit, despite the boys’ reassurances that they’ll take care of it. Somehow, I feel it’s an impossible task. Especially when it comes to a man like Mikhail Russo. What he wants, he gets. It’s that simple and it’s not humanly possible to have someone watching over me every second of my life. Eventually, a back is going to be turned and when that happens, I’ll be snatched away like the last pair of black pumps during a half-off sale.
Colton stayed with me all night, holding me as I dreamt of being branded over and over again. I felt the hot sting of Russo’s ring pressing against my skin, I could feel the powerful burn, smell my flesh singe while being held down with no way out. My dreams were so realistic. It was as though I was living it over and over again every time I closed my eyes.
I walk out of the Carrington mansion and start making my way down the sixty-six steps.
It’s been a long morning. Getting dressed and doing my hair was an absolute pain. I’ve never noticed just how many times I touch the back of my neck. I had to come clean to Mom and let her know what happened so she’s been fussing over me, wanting to make sure that I'm alright. She helped me redress it after my shower this morning and I’m sure she’ll be there waiting with a new bandage in hand when I get back this afternoon.
The news of what happened nearly killed her. It’s one thing to learn her husband was a killer in a gang, but to learn that her daughter is only a few short months away from being dragged into that same world couldn’t have been easy.
I don’t know what I’m going to do. I trust Nic, the boys, and Colton to come through. I won’t be joining the Wolves despite their mark on my neck, but there’s always the chance that something can go wrong.
I want to go to college and have a normal life. I’ll never get that if Russo gets his hands on me again. I can't let it happen. I can’t fall down that hole. I’ll never make it out.
The thought seeps out of my mind as I get to the bottom of the stairs to find Milo very impatiently waiting for me. “Heard of a phone?” he calls through the window. “You didn’t answer my call last night. I told you I had tea to spill.”
I cringe, remembering the exact moment he told me he was going to call. “I’m sorry,” I say, walking around the front of his car to the passenger side. I drop down into his car and get comfortable. “It completely slipped my mind. I had a bit going on yesterday.”
“What could possibly be more important than me?” he questions, hitting the gas and speeding down the drive. His momentum has me falling back against the chair of his Aston Martin and a low groan comes tearing out of me.
“Hey,” he snaps, ignoring the question that just flew out of his mouth. “That better not have been a stab at my driving. I’m a fucking badass bitch behind the wheel. Keep your shitty groans to yourself.”
“It’s not your shitty driving I’m groaning about, dumbass,” I say, adjusting myself in the seat. “I had a little … accident yesterday.”
His brows furrow as he slows his car to a comfortable speed so that he can stare at me without being the cause of another little accident. “What kind of accident are you talking about?” he asks, scanning his eyes over my body and stopping at the big white bandage peeking through my hair. “What the fuck is that? What happened?”
Milo reaches to grab my bandage and I slap his hand away before he can do any damage. “Don’t touch it. It’s a bandage, you moron. Who just grabs at bandages?” I grunt before getting on with my explanation. “I had a run-in with some dickhead gang members after school yesterday and—”
“What?” he squeaks, his eyes bugging out of his head as he cuts me off before I can get any further with my recap. “Your boys did this to you?”
A strangled grunt comes tearing out of my mouth and I gape at him in horror. “The hell? No. My boys would never do this. It was the Wolves.”
“The who?”
I stare at him blankly. “Where the hell have you been? What do you mean ‘the who?’”
“I mean what I mean, now stop pussyfooting around the topic and tell me what in the sweet hell happened to you yesterday.”
I groan and settle into my seat, having to adjust myself again. “I cut through the back of the mall on my way home and was cornered by the leader of the West Side Wolves, Mikhail Russo with four of his douchebag henchmen. They’re the gang my father belonged to and they wanted to make a point that I belong to them.”
“They what?” he breathes, unable to believe what he’s hearing.
I press my lips into a tight line and finish my explanation. “They branded me with their mark using a ring and a blow torch. I have a third-degree burn at the back of my neck that will eventually heal in the shape of a wolf. They fucking held me down and claimed me like a prize then promised they’d be watching me.”
Milo pulls off to the side of the road and brings his car to a stop before looking at me with wide, teary eyes. “I’m so sorry,” he says with his heart on his sleeve, looking guilty as shit. “I was supposed to drop you home but I bailed for a fucking dick appointment. I left you vulnerable and you got hurt. I should have been there. I should have stuck to my word and driven you home like I said I would.”
I reach out and take his hand from his lap. “It’s not your fault, Milo. Russo said he’d been watching me for a while so whether it happened yesterday or a week from now, he would have eventually got to me. There’s nothing neither of us could have done to avoid it. It was inevitable.”