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The threat in his grey eyes makes my skin prickle but I keep my face emotionless.
He continues, “I should’ve killed both of you for running away. I’m nice enough to offer you to pick up where you left off. You won’t be fighting for me forever. I have big plans for you. It’s your choice only, whether you accept my offer or not. If not, good luck.”
And here we are ladies and gentlemen, Mateo Bianco’s special offer. The specialité du chef: pretend it’s your choice when he’s backed you into a corner.
He gives me one last poisonous smile and lays back in his chair. I hadn’t even realized he had moved forward to talk to me.
“Take your time to decide. No rush.” He slowly extends his left arm from his chair and below the table until I know it’s resting on Rose’s leg from her eyes squeezing shut.
Nate frowns and scratches slowly behind his right ear, his head slightly to the side, like every single time he’s trying to think fast.
“We’re meeting with those kids from the North Shore of Silver Falls today. We shouldn’t leave too late,” my brother suggests to his boss.
That’s his only way to get us out of here since he’ll never actually stand up against Bianco. I guess that’s his way of being nice to us.
Bianco nods at him and indicates behind me in a head gesture. He smiles at me politely.
“You can leave now.”
I can’t help the sardonic chuckle from escaping my lips. He was fine with us leaving all along, he just wanted it to be on his terms. He wanted to summon us and order us to leave at his will. He is so predictable.
I get up slowly, taking my time to walk around the table, and put a hand on my sister’s shoulder. “Let’s go, Ozy,” I whisper.
She gets up in a rush, pushes my hand away, and hurries out of the room. I don’t hesitate to follow her.
“I want to talk to you two,” Bianco orders Nate and Sam but the latter shakes his head and gets up from his seat.
“Later,” Sam growls at Mateo in his low voice before following me and Rose out of the room.
As soon as the door closes behind us, Ozy lets out a heavy breath. As if she had stopped breathing the whole time we were in there. She has to put a hand on the wall next to her to hold herself as her other palm rests on her heart to calm herself down.
“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuck,” she keeps whispering in panic.
I take a step closer, but she looks up at me and her dark eyes stop me in my tracks. She straightens back up and takes a step toward me to push me with both hands.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?! What were you playing in there? This is no fucking joke, Jake.” She pulls her hair with both her hands at the roots, messing up her ponytail. “Why are you trying to get us killed?” Her voice falters when she says her last word.
I take another step towards her, but she turns around and bumps right into the arms of Sam waiting behind her.
Her fucking knight in black armor. Black and covered in sins. He wraps his tattooed arms around her skinny frame and leans down to whisper something in her ear. I can’t hear what he says but she nods, her head nestled on his shoulder. He pulls away and looks up.
“Get in the car, I’ll be out in a minute. I’ll drive you both home.”
As soon as both car doors are closed, I turn to my sister. “Let me see your wrist,” I say in a soft voice.
She’s already done being mad at me because she smiles at me and shakes her head.
“I’m fine Jake, honestly.” She makes sure to keep the ends of the sweater sleeves over her wrists, holding them with her fingers.
I’ve never been the kind of person who shares their feelings. My sister is exactly the same. Rose is not one to open up. She never will. She never explicitly said what happened all those years at Bianco’s house, only that he was obsessed with her. Nothing else.
She never told the police, never told the social workers, never told her best friends Chris and Luke, never told her precious girl Rachel. She never told me.
It hurts but that’s how it is. Some things she can only survive if she pretends they didn’t affect her, and I can respect that. But how can we keep going if what we ran away from catches up with us? Could she take it all again without saying anything? I sure as hell couldn’t.
“Ozy,” I start but the driver’s door opens, and Sam sits behind the wheel.
He doesn’t say anything, just gives us a look through the rearview mirror before starting the car. We drive in complete silence.
