Page 48 of Sweet Revenge

Mikel and Vin both hurried over to hug me and Elisa.

“I told you guys this fucker wasn’t dead,” Vin said, punching me playfully in the gut.

These guys were my family, all of these loyal bastards who were standing around here grinning to see me again. Elisa was quickly becoming part of that family, too, but it sure was nice to see Vin and Mikel.

“We were beginning to think your brothers were lying when they said they’d spoken to you. But here you are. We should’ve known,” Tilda said with a laugh. “You’re like a cockroach. You never die.”

“Uh, thanks.” I shook my head, thinking she meant well, but the language barrier was a problem.

“So now that we’ve found you, where the fuck is Dezzy?” Mikel asked.

I looked from him to Vin. “I need to talk to you guys in private for a minute.” I glanced over at Elisa, and she nodded that she’d be all right, so we headed over to a supply closet.

Both of my brothers were quiet as we walked inside, likely bracing themselves for the worst. It seemed like I was telling them that Dez was dead when I told them what had happened. I didn’t leave anything out, rehashing what happened with the cake to remind them. Then, I told them about going to the cabin, which they’d both figured out. They didn’t know about Raven coming after us there. I told them about how we’d gone to Boston to pick up Alex, and then I told them about the trap.

“Dezzy showed up to kill you?” Vin slumped down on the edge of a desk. “Seriously?”

I nodded. “Yeah, and then he told me that Alexander La Rosa is his father.”

Both of their mouths dropped open. They stared at me for several moments, not saying a word. I let it sink in.

“Wh-what?” Vin finally said. “No fucking way.”

I nodded. “That was his claim—and his reasoning for betraying me to La Rosa.”

“I can’t believe this.” Mikel dragged his hand down his face. “If you told me Dezzy was dead, that would be better news. What the fuck is he thinking? Turning his back on you for some crazy bastard? Who gives a shit if he’s his father?”

I’d already been through all of this and didn’t have time to go over it in my mind again. “All of this is leading up to tomorrow.” I filled them in on the trade I’d made and explained how I’d give back Alex and Dezzy if he agreed to get out of Chicago and leave Ma alone.

Before I even finished speaking, Vin was shaking his head. “That’ll never work. The bastard will just try to kill you.”

“Of course, he will.” I already knew all of this. “But we’re gonna do the same. Finally take the old bastard out. And we’ll have the edge because we’ll be on our turf, ready for him. I haven’t told him when or where it’s all going to go down yet.”

“So where are we gonna do this?” Mikel still looked dazed, but he was coming around again.

A sly smile slipped onto my face. “Warehouse K, obviously.”

Vin chuckled like the maniac I knew and loved. “That’s perfect! The killing warehouse.”

“Exactly.” I smiled right back. “Now, let’s go get ready.”

CHAPTER29

ELISA

Istayed behind, talking to Tilda, while Daemon got caught up with his brothers. It was difficult to be away from him for even a few minutes after we’d spent practically every moment together over the last few weeks, but he needed the opportunity to tell Vin and Mikel about Dezzy in private, without me or anyone else sticking their nose into his business.

“Who’s in the back of the van making all that noise?” Tilda asked me after several minutes of me nervously waiting for Daemon to reappear.

“Well, my brother Alex for one,” I told her. I wasn’t sure how Daemon planned on letting everyone know that Dezzy was a traitor, so I hesitated. Tilda arched her eyebrows and stared at me, waiting for me to continue. “And someone else.”

“Someone else?” Her expression didn’t change, but I couldn’t find the words.

“It’s a tragedy really.” Janis had changed his shirt and entered the main warehouse from one of the back rooms. “I never would’ve thought Dezzy would be so disloyal.”

“Dezzy?” Tilda spoke so loudly that she drew the attention of many of the guys standing around. “Are you serious?”

“No way Dezzy’s a fucking traitor,” a muscular man with a large forehead chimed in. “He’s Daemon’s best friend.”