Indebted to the Mafia King
Failed Promise

Tony

Coming here was a fucking mistake.

Seeing Chloe did everything to me that I was trying to avoid. It just left me even more confused than before. We haven't spent more than an hour together, and I still managed to screw it up.

Being with her felt natural as if this was the only place I could be. Whenever I'm with her, holding her in my arms and feeling her close to me, everything just seems to go away. Every concern, every fear, every bad thought I ever had... I finally feel at peace.

That's the sort of effect she has on me.

But I was not expecting her confession. Hearing her say she loves me and not being able to say it back shattered my heart in ways I can't explain. The look on her face will haunt me forever. It seems to have become a pattern lately. I can't seem to be able to stop hurting and disappointing her. I know what she expects from me, but unfortunately, I can't give it to her.

It's clear to me that I have fallen for her, harder than I could ever have expected. It's a fucking nuisance-but also frightening. I don't know how to manage it. I don't know what to do with it. Everything is so new to me.

Leaving her behind was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. My entire body ached as I walked out the door and away from her.

But even if it makes her hate me, I can't put her in any more danger.

Or maybe this is indeed an excuse I've been using to convince myself to not be with her. Because the truth is... this feeling scares the shit out of me. Being this vulnerable, this dependent on someone... I am not used to it. And I'm not sure I'll ever be.

But as I drive back to the airport, something within me is urging me to go back. I can't explain or even understand what it is, but it's like my instincts are telling me that I'm doing something wrong.

Which I know I am. But I don't want to confuse Chloe any longer. And until I have things figured out with Mateo-and myself-it's unfair to put her through more pain and suffering. I need to understand my feelings first before I can commit to something more.

That's when a distinct but familiar bip on my phone pulls my attention. Initially, I didn't even look at it since it goes off every time someone walks into the safehouse. It's something I had installed on my phone so, even though I have my men watching over them twenty-four-seven, I can still know what's going on in there while I'm away.

Originally, it felt like a silly way to be in control of the situation from afar. But sometimes, it eases my heart when I go to bed at night, and I can check on them and make sure they are safe. It came in handy whenever I missed them dearly and needed to just look at them having dinner together or watching TV in the living room.

It gave me this peace I so desperately craved.

I grab my phone and open the app, checking the cameras at the house and notice something is off. The outside video surveillance and the front door camera are blank. Pitch black.

My stomach churns as I realize something is wrong.

My fingers fly over the screen as I speed dial Armando. He answers on the first ring.

"Did you guys turn off the cameras after I left?" I ask straightforwardly before he has the chance to say anything, my fingers tightening around the steering wheel.

"Boss," Armando answers in a deep voice, although sounding breathless. "I was just about to call you. After you left, two of our soldiers guarding the house got shot. Sal is taking them to the hospital in Vermont right now. One of them is badly injured," he informs me, the sounds of honks blasting behind him.

"Where are you?" I press, feeling my entire body stiffening. I swallow down the feeling of sickness washing over me.

"I'm heading to get Nicky and Ellie. I tried calling to check on them, but no one answered, so I thought it'd be better to just get there since I was close," Armando explains to me.

Fuck!

I can barely hear what he's saying, the blood pumping in my ears is so loud. I pull the car around, making a sharp U-turn in the middle of the highway, getting some curses and yells in return from the drivers I miss by an inch. But I can't replace it in me to care right now. I need to get back to the safehouse. I need to make sure Chloe is okay.

If the guards watching her were shot....

I can't force myself to think of what might have happened. If Mateo really meant it when he ordered his guys to kill Chloe on the spot, I can't even imagine what he'd do if he got to her himself and found her alone. Regret and guilt washes over me so strongly that I can't see straight. I'm driving on autopilot, barely registering what I'm doing as I speed down the highway.

"Boss?" Armando's voice echoes inside the car, and I shake my head, trying to focus on the road ahead.

"I'm on my way to the safehouse," I inform him, doing the best I can not to show my voice shaking with fear. "Just make sure Ellie and Nicky are safe. I'll go get Chloe since I'm still near the house. Where are the other guards?" I press through clenched teeth. Two of my men got shot, but I had an entire fucking task force come to Vermont to protect them.

"I can't get a hold of them," Armando replies, cursing back at someone yelling at him. "Some of them were on patrol, and our inner communication seems to have been cut off, too. We have no idea what's going on in the house."

I frown, biting the inside of my cheeks to keep myself from cursing loudly. How the fuck did Mateo manage to get past my security like this?

Guilt gnaws at me as I realize this is partially my fault. I told everyone to leave the house to myself so I could talk to Chloe alone. A few of them went with Nicky and Ellie, but since no one seems to be able to reach them, it's better that Armando is going after them to make sure they are all safe.

But Chloe was supposed to be with me. If I hadn't left the way I did, at the moment I did, Mateo wouldn't have gotten to her. I would be there to protect her like I promised I would. I gave her my word that he wouldn't get anywhere near her or Ellie, yet I failed.

I fucking failed the only promise that I made to her.

A couple of minutes later, when I spot the house in the horizon, my heart threatens to burst out of my chest, it's beating so fast. I jump out of the vehicle before I even pull it into park, noticing the front door is open.

I storm inside, looking frantically around, trying to replace any sign of Chloe or Mateo. But the sight that greets me is the foyer floor covered in blood.

"Chloe!" I yell, heading for the living room, then the kitchen, and finally, upstairs, realizing with terror that she isn't here.

Neither is Mateo.

Images of what might have happened pop into my head uninvited. I fight the urge to vomit all over the carpet.

Did he take her alive? Did he kill her and take her body to prove something to me? Or maybe she managed to escape?

However, blood all over the floor tells me otherwise.

I'm spiraling into a fucking show of terror inside my head as I consider what to do next. I need to think quickly, but nothing I come up with seems to make sense.

I can't stay here. I need to do something, to go after Mateo and make sure he pays for this.

But most importantly, I need to replace Chloe and make sure she is okay.

I can't accept any other outcome.

I can't even consider it.