"Your father seems quiet. No movement on his end," Sal started. "Rumor has it you killed the last Harlow. No missing reports on the girl yet."
I looked right at Stella and her eyes were wide. I smirked at her and she glared. Now she knew no one was looking for her, and the only people who were, wanted her dead.
"Good. Tell Larry and Tim that I killed off the whole family."
I heard Stella gasp as Sal and Tony exchanged a look.
"Those two idiots?" Tony asked me.
"Those two idiots are perfect," I answered. "They have the biggest mouths and word will spread fast. The only man who will argue that fact is someone wanting the credit themselves."
I saw it click in my men's heads and the confusion all over Stella's face. Little did she know that only she held the real answers. I was fishing in a pool of sharks. There was blood in the water and no one was safe. Only the biggest fish would survive. I had to be smarter and one step ahead of the rest of my family. I needed the truth out of the girl I had locked away in my house.
"And Hector has been asking to see you," Tony added.
I groaned and rubbed my temples. Hector had been trying to get together for weeks, but I kept blowing him off. There was no specific reason other than I hated the fucker. He was creepy and more evil than even my old man. It made my skin crawl just being around him, and I had been around some of the worst of men.
"Nice work," I told them. It took over a year to find guys I could trust. Other than Ace, they were the only people I ever trusted.
They left the room and Stella waited in the corner quietly for me. She looked at me with so much hate and pain. Normally, I loved seeing that look. It was much better than seeing hurt and betrayal on her face. I wanted to erase that look. She may not have believed me, but I was looking for the same monsters under the bed.
"You?" she asked. Her voice cracked. "You killed my parents?"
"You know damn well I wasn't the one who pulled the trigger that night," I said, walking over to her and placing my hands on each side of her on the arms of the chair.
She shook her head at me and tears welled in her eyes.
"You saw who was in your house that night. Tell me, Stella. Who did you see?"
Stella shut down. It was like watching the Christmas lights go out on the tree. They all dimmed at once, and the room was thrown into darkness. She wouldn't look up at me, and when I titled her face to mine, her eyes were void. She had checked out. I wouldn't get any answers from her.
I walked back to my desk and spent a few hours getting some work done. There was money to move, people to contact, and leads to chase down. Tapping into security cameras was one of the best ideas we had, but it was tedious and time consuming to go through all the footage.
"Stella," I called over to her. She looked at me with a blank stare that I couldn't handle another second.
I pushed off the desk so hard my chair hit the bookshelf behind me. She didn't even flinch. Taking her face in one hand, I took one second to savor how soft her skin felt. After that, I smacked her. It was nowhere near as hard as I could, but just enough to wake her up.
"Listen to me very carefully, Little Star," I said, looking deep into her eyes. "I will only say this once."
I waited until I was sure she was with me. Her breathing accelerated like it usually did when I was near, and the pink tint returned to her cheeks.
"I am not going to kill you and I did not kill your family. I want to know who did. You know who did. Now can you see the connection?"
Stella chewed on her bottom lip, and I watched in fascination. I was sure I knew everything about this girl. I knew her clothing size, her favorite coffee, that she preferred boy shorts to thongs, and she loved dance music. I didn't know she chewed on her lips when she was deep in thought. I didn't know that she slept on her stomach or that she was tough as nails.
"You need to tell me what you saw that night," I urged her.
"No. I didn't see anything," she lied. I saw the fear all over her face. She was smart enough to know what would happen if she told anyone.
"I heard you in your sleep, Stella. I know that's not true. You need to tell me."
"You seriously expect me to trust you?"
"Kinda," I admitted giving her a grin that usually worked to get my own way with women.
"Want to know who I trust?" she asked.
I didn't really want to know where she was going with this. I could tell she was getting worked up for some righteous rant that I didn't have the time for.
"My dad, who believed the law existed for a reason and that no one was above it. My mother who stood behind her man and supported him and her children no matter what. My brother who would have protected me against the evil likes of you."
I sighed and rubbed my face. I needed to shave and this wasn't going well. I knew the girl would be a handful because her brother was more than that, but I never thought she would be this fucking difficult. I didn't want to have to break her, so I needed to change her mind. Breaking her, and making her fear me so deeply that she gave in, was my last resort. Some sacrifices were necessary for the greater good. One lost to save many.
"You may not have a reason to trust me," I agreed. "But know that your brother did. Ace trusted me with his life."
"Right," she laughed harshly. "And we see where that got him. That life he trusted you with is gone!"
Stella raised her hand to strike me. I had plenty of time to stop her but I let her punch me in the chest. I let her smack at me and pound on my body until she ran out of energy. Even with all her might, it didn't hurt enough to make her stop. This was her letting it out. In the ten months since her parents’ death, I had never seen her lash out or let out the anger. She quietly cried in her sadness and grief. She hid in fear but never let out the anger and hate she had.
When she finally wore herself out, Stella fell limp in my arms. When I put my arms under her legs and carried her from my office, I could feel her shaking against me. I took her down the hall and into her bedroom. She didn't look at me as I placed her in the bed and covered her up. I didn't stay to watch her. Instead, I turned off the lights and locked the door from the outside, giving her privacy to get herself back together.
I headed back to my office where I paced the room for about an hour. Every day having her here was a risk. If anyone ever got wind that Stella wasn't really dead, then I would be next on the hit list. Even my own dad wouldn't bother to save me. In our family, your place is determined by loyalty, not by blood. I'm only his golden son because I was everything he ever raised me to be.
Much to my own surprise, I actually developed a set of values and skills on my own. I grew up into a man who wasn't created by the great and powerful Mr. Omega. I may have killed, lied and stolen, but there was a thin line that I refused to cross. There was a point that I thought was too far into the depths of darkness. I also had the skills and the lack of morality to end it at the expense of my blood family.
IX
Stella
I had been captive in the house for almost a week before I was finally allowed to see outside. I was kept in my room with the door locked most of the day. Sometimes Atlas would make me sit in his office with him while he worked. I had no idea what it was that he was doing, but I didn't dare ask. If I didn't want to answer any questions then I should expect the same from him.