After Guido was strapped to the table, his mouth duct taped and one side of his head shaved and sterilized, Max outlined the word on his head then used a wider shader needle for fill work rather than one of the liners. Honestly, it was kind of him.
Max guided the needle in bold lines. Like a sewing machine, the needles moved rapidly up and down, depositing ink just beneath Guido’s skin.
When he was done, the word “rat” stretched from Guido’s temple in large, bold letters. Even when his hair grew back, the R would be visible—the brand would never be fully hidden. I administered a sedative after Max finished the tattoo, and Dante unstrapped Guided then handed him over to one of his guards waiting outside. With our business concluded, they were gone before Hailey or anyone else saw him.
We were nearing dinner, but I didn’t want to hang around anymore. Something told me that Hailey and Sofia might have cooked up a plan that I wouldn’t like. I’d left her with my sister and the others before our discussion had been settled—well, it had been on my part, but I wasn’t blind to the anger brewing on hers. There would be repercussions. And she would probably get whiplash when I told her there was no way I was letting her out of my sight now, even though I’d tried to make her leave before. If I let her walk away, she was at a greater risk than she was by my side, given how Guido wanted to hurt me through her. I couldn’t—wouldn’t—let that happen.
I led the way into the living room, the guys on my heels. I spotted her between my sister and Emiliana on the couch. El, Lil, and Summer were scattered on the other armchairs. All but Summer had a glass of wine. The sight of Hailey hit me hard. She was beautiful, but I’d known that. What struck me in that moment was how she fit with me—and my family. I could see it clear as day. And at that moment, I realized there was no way I could ever let her go.
“Hey.” I went over to her, prepared to grovel if need be because there was no way she wasn’t angry with me, especially with the rest of them egging her on. I suppressed a shudder at what they could have advised she do. My family was creative. “Let’s go.”
Her lips pressed into a line, and she did that chin-tilt thing—sexy as hell, but it spelled trouble. I said our goodbyes while practically lifting Hailey to her feet and locking her to my side. Sofia followed us to the front door.
“What’s the rush?” Mischief swirled in my sister’s eyes.
“Stay out of it, Sof.”
She winked at Hailey, and I couldn’t stop cringing. They had obviously talked about retaliation. Not good.
Sof grabbed her mane of wavy chestnut hair, swept it to one side, then tossed an envelope my way. I snatched it out of the air. My name was on the label, nothing else.
“That was delivered through a service for you. It just came.”
I frowned. I wasn’t expecting anything. “Was it checked out?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course. Security scanned it. It’s not a bomb.”
I hugged Sof then practically shoved Hailey into her coat.
“Thanks for everything, Sofia.” Hailey grinned, and I swore I saw my punishment in that smile. “I’ll talk with you later.”
Before I second-guessed myself and questioned them about what they’d discussed, I ushered Hailey through the door and into the car.
“Where are we going?”
“Home.” I exited the driveway and turned onto the road, pointing us in the direction of the highway.
“You’re taking me to my house?”
“No.” The sky was dark, the thick, white clouds hidden from view. The days were short, with sunset coming too soon. “I’m sorry about earlier. I was afraid of anything happening to you if you were by my side. But after the incident with Guido, it’s clear it’s more dangerous if you aren’t with me.”
“I can take care of myself. Take me home.”
“Even if it was safe, Hailey”—I looked away from the road long enough for her to see the sincerity behind my words—“I want you with me, whether you’re in danger or not.”
“Then what was that bullshit about staying away from me earlier? I’m not Teresa, and I’m not innocent.”
I chuckled, loving that she thought she was a badass. In a way, she was. “I was trying to keep you safe, even if it was from myself. We’ll talk more about what was going through my head, promise. But right now, I just want to get you back to the townhouse.”
She leaned back in her seat, and we made the rest of the trip to my place on the lake in silence. After we arrived and took the elevator to our floor, my stomach was growling. “I’m going to heat something up. Are you hungry?”
“I could eat.” She wandered over to the living room, sat in front of her laptop, and flipped open its lid. I tossed the package on the table next to her then went into the kitchen and heated some pasta for us and poured the wine. I took the whole meal over to where she was and set a plate in front of her. She pushed the computer aside to eat.
I inhaled my food, preparing to have a lengthy chat about earlier when the small package Sofia had given me caught my attention. I snagged it from the coffee table and tore the edge of the padded envelope open. Inside was a small USB stick that could be connected to a phone on one end and a computer on the other. I turned the envelope around to check the front to see who it was from. There was no return address. Rather than getting my computer, I grabbed the laptop Hailey had been working on and plugged in the small drive.
Hailey leaned over to where I sat on the couch. I opened the file and clicked play as a sick feeling settled in my stomach. The image that appeared on the screen was Allen lying on his side on a bed, a sheet—thankfully—covering his lower half. He was naked from the waist up. The camera angle cut off where another person was most likely in a mirrored pose.
“That’s not Mom’s room. Or any place in the house.” Disgust laced her words. “Why do you have this?”