Page 42 of A Game of Survival

“You know she really must be something special to have all of these men in such a twist. First my brother, and we all know how that turned out and now look she’s got three sadistic men wrapped around her little finger who would kill for her at the snap of her finger. Four including you. The overprotective older brother. Tell me Mr Costello, does it pain you to know your father did this to her? Kidnapped her son and cut you off without even blinking because you were too much of a pussy to run the business the way he wanted.”

I grit my teeth, the strain of my jaw threatening to crack my teeth at any moment as I ignore his taunts. “Do we have a deal?” I ask again, staring him straight in the eye, daring him to give me one more reason to crack my elbow into his face again.

We stare at each other, the ticking of the clock growing louder with every second that passes by before Marcus finally sits back and reaches into the back pocket of his pants, placing a recording device on the table between us. “The only person I am interested in is Ronan Costello. If you give me what I want, nobody else will suffer,” he breathes, flicking the switch on the side of the device to record.

With my arms finally free and a hot coffee in front of me, I take my time answering every question and divulging every secret of Ronan’s empire. When it really came down to it, I had no regrets in what I was doing. His actions solidified my reasons to talk. His actions prove that he was completely unhinged. Never in my life did I think that he would be capable of the recent events. Lucille was like a daughter to him, and he was a role model to me for the majority of my life. That was until I took over my own portion of the business and he was vocally unhappy with the way I ran it. His methods were old fashioned and brutal, and although I have the blood of many on my hands, his reason to kill became much more of a fetish than a lesson.

After a few hours of back and forth, going over vital details with a fine tooth comb, Marcus agreed to have me returned back to the Salvatore house.

“How did you know where to find me?” I ask as he switches off the recording device and slips it back into his pocket.

“Cole,” he simply states as if it should have been obvious. Marcus stands to make his exit. “I will get Josef to take you back.” With his hand on the door handle he stops, turning back to look at me with a grim expression on his face. “Mr Costello, I think it’s obvious now that who I am must remain between the two of us. It is of great importance that until I am able to make my final move, Ronan suspects nothing and for that to happen the fewer that know, the less chance he has at finding out. I dare say, our lives depend on it.” I nod my head in understanding. “Oh and one more thing. Ronan found out about Cole double crossing him to save the boy. I’m sure you can imagine what that means for him. I will do what I can without attracting too much attention to myself, but I’ve seen first hand what Ronans methods of torture are. Though I feel he may surpass them considering the betrayal he feels with what Cole has done.”

I push myself up immediately, my hands fly into my hair with a desperate panic already beginning to settle itself into my bones. “Where is he?” I demand as Marcus watches my brain implode with the news.

“He’s at one of Ronan's abandoned properties on the edge of town. But you need to be quick, it’s going to be a game of survival for him from here on out.” With that he leaves the room and my stomach tightens into such a furious knot that I’m forced to double over in an attempt not to vomit.

Josef, who turns out to be the stocky guy with the mustache who arrested me, walks into the room a few moments later, narrowing his eyes at me, quite obviously unhappy with the fact that he’s been lumbered with taxi duty. “This way,” he huffs, throwing his head in the direction of the corridor, waiting for me to follow him out.

The entire ride back is spent in silence, though I'm thankful for the time to think. How the fuck am I meant to pass the information about Cole on to Silas without letting on anything about Marcus and his investigation into Ronan? What in the fuck am I meant to do?! I’m exasperated and exhausted by the time Josef orders me to get out of the car at the front of Silas’ house and the only thing I know for certain is that Lucille can not know. She’s already been through too much.

The front door opens before I have time to reach it and Lucille almost knocks me off my feet as she barrels her way through it and into my chest.

“What the fuck happened?” She gasps, kissing my face and wrapping her arms around my waist.

“Oh you know, the usual good cop, bad cop routine. They have nothing, it’s just a power play.” I smile, hoping she’ll drop it without any further explanation. “Come on, I need a drink.” I add, breaking our embrace to see Silas and Linc standing in the doorway, their eyes narrowed at me and standoffish.

“I was almost hoping that would be the last time I’d have to look at your face, Irish.” Linc smirks as we all make our way to the kitchen and Lucille tuts loudly at his remark, muttering profanities under her breath.

“Is that because I’m better looking?” I laugh, immediately breaking the tension as we all laugh together. Weirdly enough, being welcomed back here feels almost like home now. I shake off the thought turning to Lucille before a loud knock at the door sends a sense of dread through my body. We look at each other, not knowing what to expect. Silas clears his throat heading for the door with Linc shadowing his footsteps with his gun pulled ready for the possibility of an attack. I stay back with Lucille, her grip on my arm now a deathly tight vice cutting off the blood circulation to my hand. Is this what life is going to be like for her from now on? I was right when I told her to get out of here and I’d gladly tell her again if I knew she’d fucking listen.

Silas and Linc walk back into the room cutting the tension with a knife. “Just a parcel.” Silas laughs waving a small cardboard box around as he eyes Lucille's pale complexion and she nervously laughs in response, trying to shake away the nerves I can feel humming through her fingertips.

“I’m going to check on the boys,” she whispers, leaving the room before any of us can respond.

“I’ll see if she’s OK.” Linc offers, moving to follow her but before he leaves the room, I know my time to tell them is now or never. They will most likely kill me if they ever find out I knew about Ronan keeping Cole prisoner and didn’t tell them.

“Wait,” I call loudly enough to catch both of their attention. Linc walks back over to the kitchen island and Silas grabs a knife as he begins to open the package addressed to him. “I need to tell you something,” I add, “it’s about Cole.”

At the same time as the words leave my lips, Silas roars, throwing the package onto the breakfast bar. “I’ll fucking murder him!” he rages, flying his fists across the kitchen surfaces, smashing into everything in his path.

“What the fuck?” Linc shouts as we both lunge for the parcel, peeling back the opening to reveal a severed finger on the inside and a handwritten note on the inside of the box.

“Traitors will be punished”

Before I have time to think, Linc slams me against the wall, pinning me by the front of my shirt. “What about Cole?” he seethes, his spit hitting my cheek. Silas stands beside him, obviously fighting a fine line between distraught and outraged.

“Ronan’s going to kill him for his betrayal in helping you rescue Teddy.” I sigh, finally saying it outloud to not only them, but to myself, making the situation all too real. I was hoping that it would feel better passing on the information, but taking in the grim and helpless expression on both of their faces, it only makes it so much worse.

Chapter 23

Lucille

The evening Max returned back from his interrogation with the FBI went past in a blur with broken glass, raised voices and suspiciously hushed conversations. And since then, the atmosphere around the house has been so tense you could choke on it. Both Silas and Linc have been avoiding me, shutting themselves away in Silas’s office from morning until night, only leaving the house to run business errands. I forget sometimes that between the rest of this chaos, they’re still running an empire. And although Max has been present, joining in while I play games and watch movies with the boys, his focus is elsewhere. What has them so distracted that I seldom get a hello? They can barely look me in the eye. Could it be Cole? Are they planning on making another rescue mission to get him out and keeping me in the dark about it? If that is the case, I’ll be pissed. I thought I made it clear that we needed to be in this together. Not one of them has asked how I’m coping with this. I don’t underestimate that it must have been hard for Silas to leave his brother behind but this is what they do isn’t it? Live for the cause, die for the cause, or whatever rules they live by. Besides, Cole was the one who turned his back on us. Fuck, what am I even saying? I can’t think straight anymore. The mental strain from the last 24 hours has been nothing short of exhausting.

“I need to lie down,” I mumble, already on my way out of the room.

Max stands to follow me. “Are you alright?” he asks, reaching out to stop me.

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