“What?” Chiara gaped at me after I finished telling her what had happened between Seth and me. “I don’t know if I got this right, but you’re basically saying he tricked your father and passed all his strict background checks so he could snoop around and find proof that you killed John?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” I took a deep breath as I plopped on the sofa. After Alice assured me Seth would be okay, but that she’d be giving him stronger sedatives, I’d hidden the gun and made sure Seth wouldn’t be easily getting to any weapons. “He was a bit confused, but yeah, I think he was telling the truth. I’m sure there’s more to it, but...”
“Un-fucking-believable.” Chiara’s eyes were wide. “What are we going to do then? We should leave and never let Seth come anywhere near us. Add him to the list of our enemies. He saved my life, but this...”
“No, I need to talk to him again. Once he wakes up. He has information we need. If John was really killed, then there has to be proof, and if Rubio or anyone else had something to do with it...” I clenched my fists.
“Do you think Rubio killed John because he thought that John had no heirs and that there wasn’t a will?” Chiara frowned. “I mean, it has to be Rubio, right? Who else would have a reason to do it? Everyone loved John. Except for the bad guys who wanted his club, and he never wanted to give it to them. If it had been anyone else, they would’ve already come for us.”
“Yeah.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “But why wait two years to make a move? Rubio sent his offers before, but before kidnapping you... I don’t know. It’s weird.”
“Maybe he had a different plan. He prepared everything perfectly and set up the accident scene, but then you happened, and the club didn’t end up in his hands, so if he’d acted immediately, you would’ve suspected him. Everyone would have. Now they won’t. It’s been too long.”
“He could’ve arranged another accident for me.” My father would’ve believed I’d been driving recklessly, and since he didn’t know about John, he would’ve never made the connection.
She shrugged. “Another accident would’ve been even more suspicious. If people started talking, he’d be risking a lot. Who’d go to the club if they knew Rubio had done such a thing? If he just peacefully took over the club or inherited it—if he planned to fake John’s will—then people would eventually accept him. He’d convince them his way of fighting was better, or he’d ease them slowly into his style. But if everyone hated him...”
“Maybe. Or maybe once he found out about John’s will and realized someone inherited the club, he thought I’d give in easily or just get tired of the club, so I’d be willing to sell it to him.” I scratched my head.
“Yeah, and if it was someone else... We don’t know if John had other enemies. It might not have been about the club at all. He certainly never told us about Seth, and it looks like they knew each other pretty well if Seth’s willing to go so far to avenge his death.” Chiara’s gaze met mine as she picked up a coffee mug from the table and took a sip.
“Shit. This is getting way more complicated than I thought it would be.”
“Do you think Seth knows anything that could help?”
“I hope he does.” I leaned back into the sofa. “Although, it seems like everything was nicely covered up, or he would’ve figured out I’m not the one he’s looking for.”
“Yeah. It would be impossible for us to search John’s home or what was left of the car now.”
I nodded. Seth was our only source of information, and if I knew where he kept potential evidence, I would try to get it without even talking to him, but he must’ve hidden it well so I or anyone else wouldn’t find anything.
It was a surprise he’d left that note in his jacket, but maybe he’d gotten it from his car and had been planning to use it to get me to talk. John’s house and all of his other possessions had been sold and the money given to charities. He’d had no children or any family or relatives. At least none that we knew of.
“You should talk to Seth, then, but maybe we should tell Alice to get some cuffs or something... if he attacks you again...”
“It’ll be fine. I already made sure he can’t get to another gun, but I’ll be careful. The sedatives should still work. He should be well enough to talk but not able to move too swiftly.” At least that was what I hoped. When his mind was clear, he’d have to realize he’d attacked me for no good reason. “As long as it’s not the sedatives that are making him hallucinate or something.”
“And if Rubio really is behind John’s death? What are we going to do then?” Chiara bit down on her lip. “We already don’t know what to do about him, and if he’s the one who...”
“I don’t know. I suppose we should find evidence pointing to Rubio and hand it over to a cop who isn’t easily bought.” Or we could just pay him more, although it was unlikely any of Rubio’s cops would go against him since they all knew what he was capable of.
“Even if Rubio goes to prison, that won’t go down well,” Chiara said. “He has friends and family protecting him. He’ll either be out on parole somehow or the charges against him will be mysteriously dropped, because there’s no way in hell he’d have a fair trial... I don’t believe it would even get that far.”
“Then what should we do? We don’t have a gang to back us up, and if we ask the Cobras for help and they’re crazy enough to do it, then they’ll get in trouble and there’ll be a war.” If Rubio was still out there, he could do a lot of damage, and we... I didn’t know how long we could resist, as he was sure going to get more impatient and bold. Maybe he’d even risk the club’s reputation and just aim to destroy it to get back at me for ruining his plans. And if we made a move against him... I didn’t know how we could win that war.
“Seth,” Chiara said, a slow smile budding on her lips.
“I don’t understand.”
“Seth can take care of Rubio for us.”
“Take care... You mean, kill him?”
“Yeah. We both know Rubio won’t stop, and there’s nothing we can do that can stop him permanently... unless you want to turn the club into a restaurant or something legal and public that would attract a lot of people, but yeah, that’s a joke... Anyway, Seth held you at gunpoint and was ready to kill you to get revenge, so why don’t we let him get what he wants? If it turns out Rubio’s responsible for John’s death, and we strongly suspect he is...”
“I don’t know.” I wrung my fingers. “Seth said he wasn’t an assassin. Maybe he was only trying to find evidence and not really kill me.”
“But he had to be aware your dad would get you out of trouble even if he provided evidence.”
“The way you say it, it sounds like I’m some crime boss’s daughter,” I muttered.
She gave me a deadpan look. “Well, almost. And you don’t always know what your father’s doing, so...”
“Yeah, right, but do you really think that, if Seth had found proof, he would’ve killed me? Do you think he’s a hitman? Despite what he said?”
“Well, he’s not a bodyguard, right? And he went alone against Rubio’s men to save me... Let’s not pretend just about anyone would do something like that. He is or was involved in some weird shit. Please don’t tell me you disagree.”
I supposed she was right. Seth was mysterious, but the scars on his back, all the guns he had in his car, the fact that he’d been able to fool my father... “So you want us to use Seth to get rid of Rubio? And then what? Rubio’s family will come after us. That’s even worse.”
“Not necessarily. They’re probably not as interested in the club as Rubio is. They prefer their drugs and weapons business. Earns them more money. Fighting is... Rubio’s little obsession. The club would be safe with him gone. And if Seth’s a good hitman, no one will find out he did it. And if they do, he’s just your bodyguard... Go somewhere safe and if they start looking for you, claim you didn’t know and that Seth tricked you. I’m sure Seth can get as far away from here as possible, and since you’re nothing to him, they won’t be able to use you to get to him or have a reason to kill you. If they ever even figure out there’s a connection. Besides, his family doesn’t really believe women are capable of anything. I heard things about their wives and what they have to go through...”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen their...”
“Exactly.” Chiara gave me a pointed look. “They’re like slaves. Given to the Wolves by other crime families to strengthen their relations. Nothing more. They don’t have a say in anything. The Wolves don’t trust them.”
“Does Rubio have a wife?” I asked.
“No, he doesn’t. Not yet, at least. Why?”
“Well, if he actually had someone he cared about, we might’ve used that info to blackmail him, but...”
“You’re talking about a guy without a heart. That one can’t love anyone other than himself. He’s just not capable of it.”
“True.” If Rubio had a heart, he wouldn’t be pitting men against each other in fights to the death, and he wouldn’t be willing to do whatever it took to get some club just because it had occurred to him one day that he wanted it.
“But don’t tell Seth any of this. I mean, that you want him to kill Rubio for you.” She lowered her voice. “Just give him all the info about Rubio and let him do whatever he wants. If I believed Seth’s innocent and hasn’t already killed plenty of people, I’d never suggest anything like this, but I don’t think you’ll have to do much to convince him.”
“Yeah, if he doesn’t assume I’m helping him just so I’d divert attention from myself.” I couldn’t know what Seth was really thinking or how he’d react.
“If he proves to be a threat for us, then we should both run as far as possible from him.”
I bobbed my head. This whole conversation seemed so surreal. Was Seth really an assassin or something like that? He’d claimed he wasn’t, but he hadn’t exactly said he hadn’t killed anyone before. Maybe he’d lied to me so I wouldn’t run screaming from him.
But if he’d suspected me the whole time, then why help me at all? Or maybe it was to get me to trust him so he could find out more about me. It was a shame Seth was such a mystery to me, even now. Would I ever find out the real truth? I supposed time would tell.