Deadly Mafia Bonds

Chapter 5 - Valuable information

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Lucah

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“I’m fine; the doctor was not for me. And there’s no need to apologize. Even I didn’t know I would have to leave so soon. I had an emergency too, so I understand. We’ll get a drink next time, though, I promise. Thanks again for your help and for not mentioning it to you know who.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Listen, someone’s here. I have to go.”

Who was that?” I ask my sister as she places her phone on the countertop, looking guilty after realizing I was standing behind her the whole time.

“You need to stop doing that, Lucah,” she replies, walking to the fridge, disregarding my question.

“Back at the hotel, who did you reach out to for the doctor?” I ask again, following behind her.

“It wasn’t him. It wasn’t Oliver,” she replies, now taking out some milk, “I’m making tea. Do you want some?”

“No, thank you. I have to go meet up with pops. I hope you’re not lying to me, Luna.”

“I’m not,” she replies, still not looking at me. I know she’s lying, but I decide to let it go. “I have to go. I’ll see you later if you’re still up. If not, then goodnight,” I tell her, placing a kiss on her cheek, and she smiles, still looking away. “Good night,”

I turn around and walk away, but she calls me just as I’m about to exit the kitchen, and I stop, turning around to face her.

“Thank you for helping Elle and allowing her to come with us,” she says, facing me this time. “Yeah, sure, but just don’t try to go back on your word now. You promised to find another place for her to stay. She can’t stay here with us.”

“I know, and I’ll organize her a place, I promise.”

“Okay, then. Later, I’m out.” I walk out after that.

“Give my regards to grandpa!”

“Sure thing!”

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Elle

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“It’s okay, Caitlin, you’re okay. You are safe now. It was just a nightmare. You are okay,” I repeat, whispering to myself, scooting up on the bed to lean on the headboard. My whole body is drenched in sweat, and I’m still trembling. My ears are still ringing with my baby’s cries as my father ripped him from my arms before handing him over to the orphanage people.

I look down at him before slowly leaning down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. A smile makes its way onto my face through the tears, looking at how angelic he looks. Before him, I never knew it was possible to love someone this much. If this is how parents feel about their children, how could my dad even think of taking him away from me? Would he have let someone take me away from him? How was I supposed to carry on after that? I place a hand on my chest, on top of my heart, and feel it slightly calming down. But my throat feels dry, so I decide to get up and get myself some water.

I step out into the passage, but I’m not even sure which side the kitchen is on. I was exhausted when we got here, so Luna took me straight to the room to rest. There’s a staircase at the end of the passage, and I head to it. The place is beautiful, with a modern, elegant design that screams money. Just how rich are they? I wonder if they’re all staying here or if it’s just Luna.

My thoughts are cut short as a gasp leaves my mouth, marveling at the beautiful paintings lining the wall. I lightly brush my fingers against each one as I walk past, careful not to damage them. I’m a bit of an artist myself, and painting is my therapy. It transports me to a beautiful world where loneliness and pain don’t exist. A world where my dreams are real, and all I need to do is just reach out and touch them with my hand.

“This has to be the kitchen,” I mutter, walking inside, but I scream, startled when someone speaks behind me, having not expected someone to be here. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you saw me,” Luna says, quickly getting up from her chair with an apologetic look on her face. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault; I just had a terrible dream, and my nerves are shot.”

“I’m sorry. Sit down; I’ll make you some tea. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, but thanks for the offer. I can’t. I need to get back to the room. Alaric might wake up. I just came to get some water.”

“Oh, yeah. Right. Just grab some from the fridge behind you. I’ll also have Liz stock your fridge in the morning. You must also be hungry; I’ll bring something to your room.”

“Thank you, but it’s late. You don’t have to trouble yourself, I-”

“It’s no trouble. Go, I’ll be up in a minute.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

I walk back to the room after that and find Alaric still asleep. There’s a large sofa next to the bed, and I decide to sit on it, not wanting to wake Alaric since I’m still expecting Luna. There are a couple of magazines on the table, and I pick one up and browse through it. After a couple of minutes, she walks in carrying a tray with a covered dish. She gives me a soft smile when our eyes lock together, and I return it, feeling truly grateful for her kindness.

She places the tray on the little glass table in front of me before taking a seat next to me. The mouth-watering aroma fills the room, making me realize I was hungry after all. I compliment the food after uncovering the dish. There’s even dessert. I ask her if she made the food, and she says she had their chef make it for me. “My nana always used to say there’s nothing like a decent home-cooked meal to make someone feel at home-” she starts to say but stops mid-sentence, her face turning into a concerned frown, “what’s wrong?” she asks, looking at my teary eyes, making me feel guilty for making her worry, but I can’t help myself. The kind of care she’s shown since we met makes me overcome with emotion. I don’t know what I would have done or where I’d be if they hadn’t found us and taken the chance to help us.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that you have done so much for us, and I haven’t even said thank you. Thank you, Luna. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.” I tell her, wiping the lone tear that managed to escape, and she reaches for my hand. “You’re welcome. You are very brave, Elle. I admire you. What you did takes courage. You’re a good mother, and I hope your stepparents rot in hell for what they did to you,” she says, giving my hand a light squeeze with a reassuring smile on her face, but something tugs at my heart as the guilt washes over me at her words.

I lied to her when I told her my story. I told her that my dad wasn’t my real dad. I was scared that if I told her the truth, she might not see the seriousness of my situation. I open my mouth, deciding to confess, but Alaric wakes up. “It’s okay, eat. I’ll get him,” she says, getting up and walking over to the bed.

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“It’s okay, Miss, really you don’t have to do any of this,” Liz says as I help her dish up.“Call me Elle, and I want to.” I tell her with a reassuring smile, and she nods, smiling back at me. I decided to wake up and make myself useful. It didn’t feel right to just lie in bed and wait for someone to come to serve me. I’ve never enjoyed being waited on, even when I had a choice. I loved helping our butler; sometimes, I think it’s what gave my stepmother the idea to turn me into the help.

“Good morning.” I hear Liz cheerfully greet someone and turn my head to find Lucah walking inside the kitchen, but my breath catches in my throat as my eyes shamefully trail down to his midsection, causing heat to creep onto my cheeks. His toned-tattooed-covered chest is on display, his joggers exposing his v-line as they hang dangerously low. I know I should look away, but for some reason, I can’t.

Eventually, after a serious mind and body battle, my eyes trail back to his face to find his lips moving, making me swallow hard before unconsciously tucking my lower lip between my teeth, X-rated scenes starting to play in my head. But a frown that slowly starts making its way onto his face snaps me back to reality, and I realize he's talking to me. “Are you okay?” he asks, his left brow raised in question, a glint of amusement now in his eyes.

“Ye-yes,” I stutter, blushing profusely, before mentally cursing myself. Grabbing the juice jar, I quickly turn around and walk out of the kitchen, wishing the ground would open and swallow me whole. “He must think I’m a pervert,” I mutter under my breath, but next, I find myself colliding with someone, and a scream escapes both of us as we fall on our asses on the hard floor. The jar also connects with the tiles and shatters to pieces.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I say, quickly getting on my knees, so I can move closer to her to check if she’s okay. “Ow!” she winces, rubbing her forehead, before raising her hand at me to stop.

“What the-? Are you okay?” I hear Lucah’s voice as he comes into our view. He helps the girl onto her feet, checking and asking if she’s okay, and she softly replies, saying she is, as he brushes her hair away from her face. I also get up just as he turns to look at me, “I wasn’t watching where I was going. I’m sorry.” I speak just as he opens his mouth.

“Are you hurt?” he asks, disregarding my explanation while casually pulling the girl to his chest.

“I’m fine,” I assure him, and just then, Luna comes rushing to us, concern immediately taking over her facial features. I speak before she can, telling her what happened and that I’m fine. Lucah and the girl, whom I assume to be his girlfriend because of the interaction I just witnessed between them, walk away. Liz comes over and picks up the pieces of glass, but I stop her. “I’ll do it, Liz,”

“No, you won’t. Come. Let’s sit down and have breakfast,” Luna orders, gently tugging my arm, and I don’t resist. We get to the table and sit down before Liz comes and serves us. After a couple of minutes, Lucah and his girlfriend come and join us too. The girl is introduced as Isabella Jacobs and, as I have guessed, Lucah’s girlfriend. She’s beautiful with her golden blond hair that stops at her waist and crisp blue eyes.

She politely smiles at me after being introduced, and I do the same, also apologizing again for what happened earlier. She doesn’t look angry, so I’m relieved about that. A message comes through on Luna’s phone, and she smiles, looking at me with a glint of excitement in her eyes after checking it. “I organized a sitter for you, and that was her. She should be here in 20,” she states, her smile widening, but it doesn’t last long, probably due to the slight frown that's now found its way onto my face. I don’t want a sitter; I’m happy just fine looking after Alaric by myself. Lucah glares at Luna and opens his mouth to say something, but his phone rings, causing him to stop and step away from the table to take it. “I want us to go shopping, so you can also have your own things, and before you say anything, we’re not going to leave him behind, but I thought bringing a little help would be a good idea,” she says taking my hands in hers and I smile, “I would love that, thank you.”

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Miranda

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A text comes through on my phone, and I pick it up. It’s Declan; he’s replying to a message I sent him earlier. I’m supposed to be relieved after he told me he destroyed the footage before Oliver’s men could get their hands on it, but I’m not. Something is still amiss. Who are those men carrying her in the picture? And where did they take her? If they had taken her to the hospital, we would have known. I’ve asked Declan to look at all the dump sites and undergrounds, but there’s no sign of her.

I’m snapped out of my thoughts by Carter as he comes into my view. “You look terrible,” I comment, looking at his disheveled state.

“I had a rough night,” he says, opening the fridge and retrieving some water.

“Don’t tell me you were out all night, searching?”

“No, he decided to numb his senses with alcohol, forcing me to join him.”

“Please tell me you seized the opportunity to find out what we needed to know.”

“Oliver’s not an i***t, mom. And can hold down his liquor. He doesn’t blurb when drunk.”

“So I take it you didn’t get anything, then.”

“I did, but only because he decided to tell me.”

“And?” I ask, growing impatient all of a sudden.

“You were right. He’s the father.”

“What?” I ask, shocked. I suspected he might be; a part of me was even convinced but hearing it being confirmed. I’m shocked. “Dammit! This means we have a new problem on our hands.”

“Nope! It doesn’t,” Carter casually replies, plopping on one of the chairs, and I frown at him, confused. He sees my confusion and explains himself, shocking me even more. I always knew that Oliver was a piece of work, but still, I would never have expected this. “Even so, Carter, he’s still a problem for us. He only wants to get rid of the baby, but we want to get rid of both of them.”

“I know, and I’m still going to keep track of his moves. But knowing he doesn’t want the child does bring some relief. Did Declan find anything about the men in the photos?”

“No. It’s like they just vanished into thin air. And I can’t help but have this bad feeling at the back of my mind. I’d feel better if I knew where she was.”

“Yeah, well. I need a shower,” Carter says, getting up from the chair and walking to the exit. But I see him stop before walking out and turn to look at me. “This information about Oliver needs to stay between the two of us. Clint can't know about this, mom.”

“I’m not stupid, Carter. Besides, why would I give away such valuable information?”