Oath Bound (An Unbound Novel) (26 page)

There was so much Sera still didn’t understand...

“Ideas?” Ian glanced at each of us, but Sera didn’t know the city, I’d spent very little time there myself, and Kori seemed reluctant to say whatever she was thinking aloud, where Mitch would hear her. Finally, she leaned toward Ian and stood on her toes to whisper into his ear.

When she dropped onto the balls of her feet again he met her gaze with his brows raised. “Seriously?”

“You got a better idea?”

Before I could ask what the hell they were talking about, Ian shrugged, and Kori turned to me, then motioned for me to bend so she could whisper into my ear. She gave me an address, but it took me a second to realize why Ian was surprised by it. We were going to the east side. Cavazos’s territory.

“Can you find the place?” Kori said before I could ask the questions ready to tumble from my tongue.

I nodded. “But what about—”

“Just try to keep it quiet,” she interrupted, before I could finish my question. “With Sera there to jam us, no one will know we’re there, unless you announce it.”

Sera looked bewildered, but obviously understood that we couldn’t give her an explanation in front of Mitch.

I pushed my sleeve up and laid her hand on my right arm, so that her fingers touched my skin. I really wanted to hold her hand, but it wasn’t the time. Or the place. Or more than remotely likely to happen. Then I clicked off the safety on my gun, and though it felt strange to be touching both Sera and a weapon at the same time, I aimed right-handed at Mitch and pinned him with a scowl. “You so much as twitch on the way and I’ll blow a hole right through you.”

Before he could answer, I grabbed his wrist, touching as little of his flesh as possible, and nodded at Ian, who turned off the lights. I tugged both Sera and Mitch forward before either of them could object or ask anything, and a couple of steps later our shoes landed on thick carpet.

Even the sound of our breathing was different in this new room, muffled by carpet and furniture I could hardly make out in the darkness.

I let go of Mitch as soon as I was sure we were in the right place, but Sera’s hand didn’t leave my arm as I tugged her to the side—out of Kori’s path—and I made no move to disengage from her hand.

A second later, the quality of the air changed and two new, connected shadows stepped out of the greater darkness, their shoes whispering against the carpet. “Kris?” Kori said.

“Yeah.” Sera started to let go of my arm, but I put my free hand over hers and squeezed, a silent comfort in the dark.

“There’s a light switch between the door and the window. To your left.”

I turned and made out the rectangle of pale light outlining a drape-covered window, then felt on the wall for a switch. My fingers found it and flipped the switch on, and light flooded the room to reveal a small but expensively furnished apartment around us.

“Where are we?” Sera’s gaze hardly skirted Mitch as she took in our surroundings.

“One of Ruben Cavazos’s apartments on the east side,” Kori said. “It was supposed to be his love-shack for Liv, but she never gave it up. To him, anyway.”

The rest of us objected all at once.

“Shh!” She glanced at the walls. “You want the neighbors to hear?”

“Kori, this won’t work,” Ian said, practically tearing the words from my own tongue. “This is suicide.”

“Bullshit. It’s perfect. Cavazos has no idea we’re here, and Julia would never think to look on the east side. And she can’t track us, as long as we have Sera.” Her hard gaze took in Mitch’s astonished face, then slid to Sera. “Tell him never to mention this.”

Sera let go of my arm and caught Mitch’s gaze. “Don’t ever mention this apartment to anyone. Or tell anyone we were on the east side,” she added as an afterthought.

Mitch nodded, his jaw clenched in anger. Or frustration. Or both.

“Okay.” I glanced around the apartment, taking in the galley-style kitchen, open dining area and hallway presumably leading to a bedroom and bathroom. “This will work, for the next half hour, at least.” It was better than getting caught and slaughtered at Julia’s warehouse.

I caught Mitch’s attention and pointed at the table, which only had four chairs. “Sit. In the corner, where we can all see you.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, silently refusing to move until Sera rolled her eyes and said, “Do it.”

Mitch mumbled something angry and profane, but took the seat I’d pointed out. I sat in the chair across from him and pulled another one out next to mine for Sera. Ian took the fourth chair while Kori dug around for something in the kitchen.

“Okay. So you’re Jake Tower’s biological daughter,” Ian said, picking up the discussion almost exactly where we’d left it in the warehouse.

Sera set Mitch’s gun on the table, out of his immediate reach and picked at the fingernails of her left hand. “According to Julia, I’m his bastard.”

He gave her an infectious grin. “That means little, coming from a world-class bitch.”

Sera smiled, but I couldn’t really enjoy the sight because my mind had already kicked into overdrive. “That’s how you got in to see her,” I said, thinking aloud, and Sera practically squirmed with discomfort. “You’re family.”

“Of the illegitimate, publicly embarrassing sort, yes.”

Kori closed one cabinet door and moved on to inspect the contents of the next. “That’s the best kind of family.”

I ignored the grin she shot me.

“No, the best kind of family is the kind you can count on.” Sera frowned. “My mistake was hoping that Lia would help me, just because we share the same blood.”

“Your only mistake was not knowing enough about the Towers,” I insisted. “And that wasn’t your fault. But if you’d known them better, you’d have known they never do anything for free. Even for family.”

She nodded pensively. “You’d think I would have picked up on that from the way she and Gwendolyn were arguing when you broke into the house.”

“You should have
seen
how pissed off Julia was about that!” Mitch’s eyes shone with malicious amusement from his corner and I wasn’t sure which of us he was talking to. “You’d have loved it. The bitch threw a full-out temper tantrum when you two disappeared through the closet, breaking shit and yelling at people. The rookies were quaking in their boots.”

I’d bet money they weren’t the only ones.

“I’m sure she’s regretting that now.” Kori shot a conspiratorial glance at Ian.

“Why?” I was already irritated that I hadn’t figured it out yet.

My sister pulled a half-empty bottle of whiskey from the cabinet next to the refrigerator. “Because the best way to bury a rumor is to shut the fuck up about it.”

“That’s why you believed me when I told you who I was?” Sera frowned at Mitch, fingering the grip of his gun on the tabletop as I began putting the pieces together for myself.

Mitch nodded. “We all saw how furious the Tower bitch was, and when you told me she wasn’t Jake’s real heir, it just kinda clicked. Nothing in the world would piss her off worse than having her entire kingdom yanked out from under her.”

“That’s why she wants you dead,” I said, and everyone glanced at me like I’d just figured out why water is wet. “Cut me some slack,” I snapped. “The evil machinations of a usurped mafia queen are a little new to me.”

“Me, too.” Sera stared at the gun beneath her hand, but her gaze seemed to lose focus.

“Oh, shit!” I sat up straight as a devastating piece of the puzzle that was the Tower family tree fell into place.

“What?” Sera said, and they were all staring at me.

“Julia did it. She put the hit out on your family. Only she wasn’t trying to kill them—she was trying to kill
you.
”

“What?” Sera sat straight in her chair, confusion warring with disbelief behind her eyes. “How do you know that?”

“Because it makes sense,” Kori said, looking impressed by my insight for once, and I could only nod. “Who stands to gain the most from your death?”

“Lia...” Anger took over Sera’s features as comprehension set in. “She tried to kill me before I even came to her. And when that didn’t work—when she got my family instead—I walked right into her hands!” She closed her eyes and scrubbed her face with both hands. “How could I be so stupid?”

“You’re not stupid.” I pulled her hand away from her face and held it for one self-indulgent moment. “You just don’t think like a mafia queen. Personally, I think that’s to your credit.”

“But not to my benefit. If I’d understood what I was walking into, I never would have gone in there in the first place.”

“So, what? You needed a favor and thought Daddy’s side of the family owed you one?” Kori unscrewed the lid from the whiskey and dropped it on the table, and I couldn’t tell whether she thought Sera was ballsy or stupid. Or both.

Sera held her gaze. “I wanted justice and she’s the only connection I had who could get it for me. At the time.”

Mitch snorted. “The Towers aren’t in the justice business. They’re more revenge kind of people. Vengeance, if you’re lucky.”

Sera’s eyes flashed and I got another glimpse of the hellcat who’d tried to castrate me with a steak knife. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

“If you’ve really inherited a piece of the Tower pie, you’ll never have to beg for anything again. Once you get that target off your back.” Mitch leaned his chair back on two legs, balancing with one hand pressed against the wall. “Coincidentally, I happen to be in the market for a new job. Need some Skilled muscle?”

“I’ve got her covered,” I snapped, and both Sera and Kori glanced at me in surprise. “We,” I clarified, when I’d realized what I’d said, and how they’d probably—rightly—interpret it. “
We’ve
got her covered.”

Mitch shrugged and set his chair down, then launched into a pitch too polished to be spontaneous, eyeing Sera across the table. “What do you want me to do then? Personal chauffeur? No car needed. The dark is my highway, anywhere you want to go. Or maybe you’d like a more
personal
kind of service?” His brows rose and his gaze raked over her with the innuendo, and I wanted to beat him until his blood stained my cuticles and soaked into Cavazos’s expensive carpet.

“Ew, no!” Sera said, and I almost laughed at Mitch’s insulted expression.

“Like I said, we’ve got her covered,” I insisted, and then they were all staring at me again, and it took me a second to realize what I’d just said. “Not like that. This isn’t that kind of...”
Damn it.
I snatched the bottle of whiskey from Kori and started over, while Ian made no effort to hide a grin. “I mean we’ve already got two Travelers, and Sera doesn’t need you. For anything.” I tipped the bottle up and took two swigs, hoping they’d all think it was the alcohol that made my cheeks burn.

“Succinctly put,” Ian said, and his delivery was so deadpan I almost missed the sarcasm.

“But accurate.” Kori took the bottle back and turned to Sera. “So, what do you want to do with him? And make it quick. This is a very temporary hideout.”

Sera glanced at Mitch in confusion. “What do you mean? Why do I have to do anything with him?”

My sister frowned at me, then at Ian, and I realized that Sera truly understood even less about syndicate life than I did. “It’s like teaching a chimp to play poker,” Kori mumbled, then took a swig from the bottle while Sera bristled. “You own him.” Kori wiped her lips with the back of one hand.

“I
what?
” If Sera’s eyes got any wider, they’d take over her whole face.

“You own him. Metaphorically.” I reached down for the leg of her chair and turned her to face me. “Mitch’s binding is like a dog’s leash. You’re holding it. Ergo, you effectively own him.”

“Mitch is a dog?”

Kori laughed and nearly choked on another mouthful of liquor. “According to a couple of his exes, yes. But the point is that you can’t just drop the leash.” She frowned, then amended. “Well, you
can,
but if you just walk away from him, you’re responsible for whatever damage he does, or whatever damage is done to him.”

“I don’t understand.” Sera’s foot tapped rapidly under the table, as if her nerves knew Morse code.

Kori tilted the bottle up again in my peripheral vision and I turned to grab it, then slid it across the table toward Ian. “Do something with that, will you?”

He shrugged, then took a hit for himself.

Great.
If my sister had a superpower, it would be the ability to drive those around her to drink—at superspeeds.

I slid the whiskey lid across the table toward Ian, then turned to Sera. “Okay. Think about it like this—if a dog attacks someone, who do they hold responsible?”

“The owner...” Sera’s voice trailed off at the end of the word, and I could practically see comprehension surface behind her eyes. “But that’s not fair. He’s a person, not a dog.” She glanced at Mitch, who was watching our exchange with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting to see how this would play out. “He makes decisions based on thought, not instinct. He has upper-level reasoning—relatively speaking.” Mitch scowled, and Ian chuckled. “He has logic and free will!”

“But he doesn’t. Not really,” Kori insisted. “His will is yours, and if he hurts someone because you didn’t tell him not to, whether you’re legally responsible or not, I have a feeling you’ll have a hard time dealing with the guilt of not having prevented it.”

My sister’s words struck close to home, and I realized that Sera and I were in a similar position. Sort of.

“Which is why I told him not to hurt anyone,” Sera said.

“But that’s a problem all its own,” I said. “For instance, under that order, he can’t defend himself or anyone else without your say so. So if we leave him here, he’ll be dead in...what?” I glanced at Ian for a second opinion. “An hour?”

He nodded.

“Maybe less,” I added. “Julia’s extra pissy since your fortuitous arrival. Which means she’s probably trigger-happy. Metaphorically speaking.” Had Julia Tower ever even held a gun?

“Don’t assume she can’t shoot just because you’ve never seen her do it,” Ian warned. “That woman holds her cards close to her chest.”

Kori snorted. “Hell, they’re practically in her bra.”