“Why would they challenge you if they’re outnumbered?”
“Because they thought they could take Cato, get me to cooperate, and wipe us out. But since their plan didn’t work, they have to kill us off now. So, they’ll be looking for Cato. They’ll know he’s in the UK because the healthcare is the best here. But it’ll still be difficult to pinpoint his location.”
“Couldn’t they see he’s been checked in to a hospital?”
“He’s under a fake name.”
“Oh…that’s good.”
“Cato asked me to take care of you while he’s indisposed. So, you’re going to have to listen to me for a while…even though you probably don’t want to. I need you to stay here and don’t draw any attention to yourself.” He fished in his pocket and pulled out a phone. “Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay.” I took the phone and slipped it into my pocket.
He stared at me for a while, like there was more he wanted to say. “You have bigger balls than I do, Siena. No one else would have the strength to go down there and do what you did.”
“Love makes you brave. Love makes you feel like you can do anything…because you have too much to lose. Even if that had turned out differently, I still would have done it. Seeing Cato like that…I never want to see him like that again.”
“Hopefully, you won’t have to.” He stepped away. “I’ll call you when I know something.”
“Alright.” I watched him walk out the door and leave us alone in the living room. I stood with Martina in my arms, the only comfort I had after the horrible things I’d just experienced. I felt like I was stuck in a nightmare. I couldn’t wake myself up, and I was subjected to the horror indefinitely.
I looked down at my daughter. “Daddy is going to be okay…we’ll have him back in no time.”
15
Cato
My eyes were closed, but I felt my consciousness rise. I heard my brother talking on the phone.
“Claw, Micah took out a hit on Cato. We managed to get out of there, but Cato is too injured to fight. I need you guys to help us take out Micah once and for all.” He sat at my bedside, keeping his voice low.
Claw was audible over the phone. “You want our help?” he asked, somewhat comically.
“He took out most of our men. When we draw them out into the open, we need your assistance wiping them out for good. I know you have all the weapons to make it happen—since I paid for them.”
Claw responded, “Just because you gave us a couple loans doesn’t mean we owe you. You have to make it worth my while. The loans are eradicated.”
Bates chuckled into the phone. “So you basically want eight hundred million for your trouble?”
“Depends. How much do you want to get rid of Micah?”
Bates considered the question for a while. “I’ll cut the total loan in half. Four hundred million. Same interest rate on the reduced amount. Take it or leave it.”
Claw didn’t hesitate. “We have a deal. Call me when you’re ready.”
Bates hung up.
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. It took a moment for my eyes to focus. Everything slowly came into view, the white walls of the hospital room and the monitor to my left.
The first thing I thought about was Siena.
I sat up to look for her.
Bates grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back down. “She’s at my apartment in the city with Giovanni. Perfectly safe.”
“Why isn’t she here?” I asked in a raspy voice.
“I thought she would be safer somewhere else. Micah is probably hunting you down as we speak.”
That was true. Siena had escaped and made him look like an idiot. He wouldn’t be happy about that. “She’s okay?”
“Perfectly okay.”
“Martina?”
“She’s with her.” He patted my arm. “You’re going to be here for a few days. They had to give you a few blood transfusions because you lost a third of your own blood. You have internal bleeding, a few broken ribs, and fractures in your arms. But the good news is, you should be okay.”
I didn’t feel okay. I felt pain everywhere. “What the fuck happened, Bates? Why the hell did Siena take my place like that? You better not have been a part of that.”
He lowered his gaze and didn’t make eye contact with me.
“If I weren’t so weak, I would kill you right now.”
“I tried to talk her out of it, I swear. But she was going to do it with or without my help, so I decided to help her.”
I shook my head and felt the pain throbbing in my body. “You helped my woman get raped to save my life?”
“She was never raped, Cato. She got out of there before anything happened. That was the plan all along.”
That took away all the pain inside my chest. I feared my woman had been pinned down by another man, that he’d taken advantage of her when he had no right. I would rather die than let that happen. I would have taken that hammer to the ribs a million times rather than accept that fate. “How did she escape?”