“Not good enough. You think that you deserve to be placed in the middle of this shit? What did you do to deserve this? Tell me that? How do you know that this isn’t a person from Jett and Flynn’s past that wants revenge? Maybe someone from their days as agents.”
“It doesn’t matter. Jett and Flynn are my bosses, that’s all,” Adelina said, and then closed her eyes as she looked down.
“Bullshit, woman. You love them. They’ve just been too damn stupid to make a move,” Tia Rose added, and the others agreed.
“They will go crazy when they find out this Raymond guy hurt you,” Chiara said.
Adelina looked up and shook her head.
“They won’t find out. I’m not telling them, and neither are any of you. You can’t tell your boyfriends either.”
“How are you going to handle this Raymond guy and what he wants you to do?” Toni asked.
“I’m going to do what he says. I’m going to protect Bryer and Kaitlin just as I’ve always done, and then I’m leaving New York. He’ll never find me. He’ll never be able to put his hands on me again.”
Chastity cleared her throat as Kaitlin shook her head and felt the tears roll down her cheeks. Her sister was out of her mind. She was so worried about Kaitlin and Bryer that she was willing to sacrifice herself and then run. How did things get so bad, so quickly?
“You can’t run from these types of men. They have resources, abilities, and methods of taking complete control over you in every way. Raymond won’t stop until he finds you, until he gets his revenge on Jett and Flynn and succeeds with his agenda. Men who kill do not back down, Adelina. Men who have killed do not respect life, or anything or anyone. They want complete control.”
Adelina stared at Chastity as she felt the tears rolled down her cheeks.
“He already has control of me, Chastity. I was blindsided by his methods of seduction. I nearly slept with him. I was beginning to trust him, when he did what he did to me. It wasn’t the same man. I know what I need to do. I just need to buy some time, and secure Kaitlin and Bryer so that Raymond can’t kill them.”
“He threatened to kill them?” Toni asked. Adelina nodded her head.
“Adelina, Jett, Flynn, and our men can protect all three of you,” Chiara began to say, but Adelina shook her head.
“I won’t let them get hurt because of me. I’ll handle this, even if it means defying Raymond, accepting his punishments, and dying.”
Chapter 6
Adelina did not want to be at work. And why was it that wearing heels made her back feel worse with every step she took? She had to wear a very tight dress that reached her upper back, but was strapless because she couldn’t wear a bra. The material stretching across her back caused pain.
She leaned against the bar, knowing that she needed to begin her job of sabotaging the club. And no matter how she tried to sugar coat it, that was what she was doing. She was sabotaging The Phantom.
She popped the two painkillers into her mouth and then took a sip from the bottle of water. Murph scrunched his eyebrows at her, and he knew she was in pain. He had asked her what was up three times since she got there, and she lied to him.
She heard the voice in her earpiece and nearly jumped out of her skin. Flynn’s voice commanded her to come upstairs to the office. He said he had something to speak to her about.
She swallowed hard and then turned off the device. She knew that she had been careful to not look suspicious, but the guilt she felt could choke a cow.
She told Murph where she was headed, and he gave her a look. It was an expression of both concern and anger. Could he suspect that Raymond had hurt her? She shook the possibility from her mind and headed toward the elevator.
* * * *
Flynn was pacing the office, and Jett was leaning against the doorframe waiting for Adelina’s arrival.
“Stop pacing. We’ll get to the bottom of this. We have to make sure she realizes that we’re the good guys.”
Flynn stopped and stared at Jett. “We have to find out if she’s working against us to set us up? I’m seeing fucking red. The info from Al is pretty concrete. She went there to see Sergio. Sergio works for Margliado, the man trying to sabotage Uncle Vick and us. I’d say that our instincts had been right in not pursuing Adelina earlier. If we had slept with her, brought her into our hearts, then w
here would we be right now?”
Jett felt so sick just thinking that Adelina could do this to them. For crying out loud, I care so much for her. It hurts so deeply to think that she betrayed me. Why did I fall for her? Why did I let myself hope that she was the one for us? Why?
They heard the knock on the door and Jett walked over to open it.
He stared at her and then motioned for her to enter. Flynn thought she looked stunning, as usual. But she was walking funny. Murph called up and notified them.