Mila: The Godfather (Unholy Trinity Book 7)

MILA

“Say you won’t let go.” — M

“How didn’t I know this!” Maeve gasps as she types enthusiastically on her tablet.

“Why would you? I never told you.” I say it as a matter of fact.

She stops typing and looks at me sheepishly. It takes me a second to figure out why she looks guilty. “Riagan made you spy on me?”

“Spy? I don’t like that word. Think of it as me being your cyber guardian angel.” She winks and continues working on her tablet.

She’s weird.

The nice kind of weird.

She doesn’t make me nervous. Nor do I feel myself constantly trying to find things to say to her. She likes the quiet like I do, and when she does speak, she always has something interesting to say.

“When did you start doing this, and how did you do it? I hope you don’t mind me asking. It’s just that this is so much money.” She looks at me expectantly.

I like painting old things to make them pretty again, and Carlotta suggested I start posting anonymously on social media. She helped me with everything. She’s so smart and has a knack for marketing. Carlotta is the reason why my hobby is now a successful business.”

“What did you do with all that money? You haven’t spent a single dime.” She smiles. “Yes, I tapped inside your bank account.”

“I wanted to give it to Carlotta, but she refused, and so did my sister Kadra, so I left it there.”

“Do you want to do something with it?” she asks.

I think about it for a second. “I think I’d like to give some to charity,” I told her. The rest I can use to purchase gifts for Riagan that will make him smile. Just like he does for me.

“We could do that. If you want to, yes.” She leans back on the sofa, and I see her expression change. “I can also help you grow your business. It’s all about social media these days and finding sponsors. Your designs are fun and young. People eat that up.”

I listen to what she’s suggesting, but I’m not really into the business side of things. I just like painting and fixing old and broken things. The only reason I decided to post on social media was because it gave me a sense of freedom. It allowed me to do something for myself instead of depending on my sisters or my family’s name.

“It’s just for fun.” I blurt out. “I mean, it’s just something I do for fun. I don’t really care about the money.”

“Well, if you ever decide to make something more out of it. I—” She’s interrupted by the loud sound of an alarm blaring.

Men’s shouts are heard in the distance.

Maeve abruptly stands, and I see it on her face.

She’s not afraid, but there’s worry written all over her expression.

And I know.

I know there’s something terribly wrong.

I don’t have to guess because when I rise from the sofa, the door to the theater room opens at the same moment, and in walks Riagan’s father.

My heart stops, and so does my breathing when I see him covered in blood.

From the look on his face, I can tell that he’s angry. Furious.

“Maeve. Take Mila to the panic room, and don’t leave until I come to get you myself. Don’t open for anyone else.” He barks, startling me. Cathan has never raised his voice around me. Not even once.

“What’s going on?” I inch closer to him, worried about what all this can do to his health. Is the blood his? I don’t understand what’s going on.

His blue eyes, the same as Riagan’s, soften when they glance at me. “The security alarm has been disarmed from the inside, and we’ve been breached. You aren’t safe.”

Bad guys. Bad guys are coming.

“You need to go.” He gently urges me toward the door.

“I don’t want to leave you here on your own.” Where’s Riagan? My heart starts to beat erratically and not in a good way. My head spins with all kinds of bad thoughts. Is he hurt?

“We need you safe, honey. He needs you to be okay. He can’t get us out of this alive if he’s worried about you.” I know he doesn’t mean harm with his words, but they strike me.

“I’ll protect her with my life,” Maeve says while moving closer to the door. She has a look on her face that I can’t quite decipher.

“No. Wait” I cry out, scared for them. For my husband. “Riagan…”

“He’ll be okay. My boy won’t let anyone hurt you. We won’t let anyone hurt you. Any of you.” He nods at Maeve, and I watch a silent agreement pass between them.

“Watch your back and your brother’s back.” Cathan turns away from us and faces the armed men who appear at the door of the theater, his family, who were all looking at him. “Just like we do to all our enemies. We go after them and show no fucking mercy.” I watched as each of them nodded their heads, gripped their guns, and flicked their knives.

None of them looked scared.

Not even Maeve.

They’re used to times like this.

Some might even crave this kind of chaos.

My husband is one of them.

As kind and loving as he is to me I am not blind to his darker side.

He enjoys the thrill the chase gives him.

The same could be said of my father-in-law.

It’s evident in the way Cathan grips his gun with a determined look on his face. He almost looks giddy.

He throws a cig into his mouth, balancing it between his lips before winking at me and pushing both Maeve and me out the door toward safety. And all I can do is hope that he survives this. That we all do, and that Riagan comes back for me. “Hide, and whatever you do, don’t come out of that room until he comes to get you himself.”

“O-okay.” I tell him, not feeling good about this at all. I don’t want to leave him, but I also don’t want to be in their way.

“We’ll be fine. He’ll be fine. Come on.” Maeve gently leads me down the flights of stairs that lead towards the downstairs area of the mansion.

As soon as we’re safe inside a room I’ve never seen before, Maeve touches a keypad and locks us in.

“No one can come in here. It’s a panic room. We’re safe.”

“And him? Is he safe?” I lean my head back against the metal door. My heart is racing, and my mind is a mess.

“Of course, he is.” she scoffs arrogantly. “He’s the captain. The Godfather. He always comes out on the other side. Always.”

I know.

Deep down, I know that he’ll come out of this just like he has done countless times before, but something about this attack seems different. Seems final.

How did they breach the mansion when he had guards in every corner, and how come the system was hacked? That had to be an inside job, no? Someone on the inside, someone smart. Something that only a hacker could do. The moment the thought crosses my mind, the panic room’s system shuts down completely. Then, my eyes fall to Maeve, who is sitting at a desk no longer typing on her computer but looking at something or someone behind me. “No.” her grief is evident in her tone and in the lone tear that falls from her eyes. Turning, I look at the person who no doubt caused all this. Someone with a mind to match her own. “Con… why?”

Her twin brother.

What is going on?

I watch as Conor, one of Riagan’s men that I know very little of besides that he is a genius hacker and Maeve’s twin, steps inside the panic room while more men stand behind him, waiting with guns strapped to their chests.

Men I don’t recognize.

“I had no choice, Mae.” He walks closer to his sister and lowers his gun. “I made a mistake, and I was in deep.” I detect guilt. Yes, guilt in his tone. At least, there’s that. I alternate between keeping my eyes trained on him and his men. This was an ambush.

Does Riagan know?

Where is he?

Someone he trusted betrayed him. Someone who was close all this time. Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the Findɴovel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Then, I started to wonder if he was behind the vendetta against my family and the contract for my and Arianna’s heads. But I’ve never met this man in my life. What grudge could he hold against my family? This makes no sense.

“Was it money? Maeve cries as she slaps him. The pain in her voice is so raw I feel it in my soul. “Wasn’t all we had enough? Or was it power that you sought? Is that it? What was it? Answer me, dammit!”

“I wanted to see how far I could take it. It was just a game at first. The feeling was addictive. I, the little guy, got to stick it to the big man. I took from them, and they didn’t even fucking notice, and it worked, Mae! I fucking did it until I took it too far.” His eyes go crazy, then he points my way. “If we hand her over then it’ll all be forgiven. No one has to know. We let them take her, and we can walk away with more money than we could ever dream of. More money that we could ever make working for Cap.”

“And what, Con? And fucking what? We pretend you didn’t fucking betray the hand that fed us. The man and son who took us when nobody fucking wanted us. We walk toward the sunset with our pockets full of dirty money that comes from hurting an innocent girl. Who are you? How fucking could you!” She cries harder, and my heart breaks for her. “We had nothing! No one! Cathan gave us everything! The clan saved our lives. How could you?”

A moment of silence passes, her brother is clearly lost for words.

He not only betrayed Riagan but his sister.

His only family.

“I–I” Conor stumbles to get his next words out, and while he does, I take the opportunity to look at my surroundings to see if I can find something to use as a weapon. I might not be brave and a fighter like my sisters, but I won’t allow anyone to hurt Maeve or me.

But one not-too-subtle move gives me away, and then I have a gun pointing my way. Conor’s.

“I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you don’t cooperate.” He whispers harshly. Still, I don’t see evil in him, just greed and plain stupidity. That’s saying something since he’s a genius.

But tonight, he made a dumb decision.

One that will cost him his family and, if Riagan gets to him, his life.

When I think Maeve will think things through and choose her brother, she takes us both by surprise when she speaks. “Go, Con, before he finds out what you did.”

“You would turn on me?” Conor whispers incredulously.

I watch as Maeve stands up and moves at a slow pace without taking her eyes off her brother. “You betrayed me the moment you chose greed over me. Over the clan.”

“But we’re one.” He argues.

“I thought we were.” Her voice breaks, and she turns her back to him. She’s already grieving him. “You either go, or you fucking kill me, Con, but I won’t let you hurt her.”

“Mae.” Conor looks as heartbroken as his sister, but then an ugly look crosses his face. “You’re just like her. Choosing everyone else over me.” He shouts the last part. Hitting his chest with the hand that’s holding the gun. I’ve never noticed the anger that lives inside of him. But in truth, I never gave him much thought, thinking of him as just a quiet genius who was in no way a threat, but how wrong I was. And who is the ’her’ he is referring to?

“I’m saving your life, Conor. Even when your selfishness just put mine at risk.” She snaps, looking angry. Angry and broken. “Get out, Conor, before he finds you, and I have to bury another brother because of your selfish decisions,” she says brokenly. Then, to drive the nail deeper, she hisses. “And what would she think of you now if she saw what you became?”

The look of anger fades, and one of heartbreak takes over.

Her words about a dead brother and a mystery woman made him look at his twin sister as if she just shoved a knife in his chest. While I’m stuck watching the frightening and heartbreaking scene in front of me unfold, I almost miss the loud and angry shouts coming from upstairs toward us.

In my gut, I know it’s him.

It’s Riagan and the other men who in a short amount of time, become my family.

They’re coming fast, and the men that are closing in on us notice, too, turning to face their threat.

A threat I know all too well.

He came for me, and maybe these men weren’t anticipating Riagan getting out of this alive in time to get to me, but he did.

One by one, Conor’s allies fall to the ground either by gunshots to their heads or knives shoved into their eye sockets or neck.

Just one man does all of that.

Mine.

I no longer worry about what can happen to me, Maeve, or even my husband because he’s here. He’s here, covered in blood, and from what I can see, unharmed.

I let out a sigh of relief as my heart settles down, but it doesn’t last long because the room’s atmosphere changes as soon as Riagan’s eyes fall on me. It went from heartbreaking to chaotic.

Cianne, Byrne, Bain, and even Riagan’s father stand behind my husband, covered in blood with murderous looks. I’ve never seen the look like this, but I know this is who they all are deep down.

Savages.

Men who do what needs to be done to remain on top of the ranks.

I know this, and yet I do not care because I’ve seen other parts of them, too.

Their human side, even Byrne’s.

Right now, even though their eyes are angry and there’s darkness behind them, I also see the pain from when they walked in and saw Conor– someone they thought was a brother and a friend— betraying not only their leader but them as well.

It happened so fast that my head started to spin, but I tried to tune out the loud noise and focus on him.

You can do this, Mila.

Be strong.

The voice in my head that used to be my own changes into his. All I hear is Riagan telling me to be brave, and that’s what I do. Instead of falling to the ground in a fetal position like I would have done before, I stand strong and put all my faith in him.

It only takes a second for all hell to break loose.

When it does, shots are fired.

Fists are thrown, hearts keep breaking, and then I’m being pushed. “Maeve, no!” Someone yells, and I think it is Cathan, but I’m not really sure. It’s all a mess. I can’t see anything because my head starts to spin.

Then, I fall to the floor with another person’s weight on top of me. All I can see is pink hair.

Maeve.

But then I hear machine guns go off.

Loud, so loud, and grunts of pain.

Then there’s a scream.

Loud.

Desperate.

Heartbreaking.

A person is down on the floor crying and screaming until their throats hurt.

I didn’t realize the person screaming and crying was me until the world turned dark, and I could no longer feel anything.

My last thought is him.

His eyes.

His smile.

Just him.