Buttons and Grace Page 2

  He was scared.

  I cried on and off as the hours passed. Not knowing what was going on was the worst part. I wanted to take off to Italy, but I wasn’t sure what help I would be. The reason Crow sent me away was to protect me. It would make all of his efforts pointless if I handed myself over to the people he was protecting me from.

  My phone rang, and Cane’s name popped up on the screen.

  I answered instantly. “Please tell me you got him. Tell me he’s okay. Please…”

  Cane’s silence was the most painful answer.

  I started to cry.

  “I’m working on it, Pearl,” he said calmly. “Losing that signal has made things more difficult. But I promise you, I won’t stop until I find him.”

  “You have to get him back.”

  “I will, Pearl.”

  “I can’t live without him…” I sobbed between my words, an emotional wreck. “I can’t. You have to get him back.”

  “I know,” he whispered. “I will. I know he’s still in Italy. I’ve contacted all the air traffic controllers, and no private planes have taken off in the last day. So I think they’re hiding nearby.”

  “You need to narrow it down more.”

  “I know.”

  “What does he want, Cane?” I whispered. “Does he want Adelina?” I didn’t want to turn that woman over to the devil, not after everything we did to save her. But I didn’t want to lose my husband either. We’d both suffered so much. We just wanted a quiet life in the countryside where we could raise our child. Apparently, that was too much to ask.

  Cane was quiet for nearly a minute. “No, he doesn’t want Adelina.”

  “Then what is it? Money?” I asked. “Crow put everything into an offshore account. I can get all of that for you, and you can hand it over to him.”

  “He doesn’t want money.”

  “Then, what?” I pressed. “Whatever it is, just give it to him.”

  Cane sighed. “Pearl, he wants you.”

  The words fell on my shoulders like a ton of bricks. I felt the flood of fear, remembering the way Tristan looked at me when I went to his compound. He eye-fucked me then, and he wanted to make his fantasies a reality. He wanted to punish both Cane and Crow for crossing him. Taking me was the best way to accomplish that. Cane didn’t need to spell it out for me.

  In any other situation, I would have agreed to the trade in a heartbeat. I’d been a prisoner before, and I could do it again. I would find a way to escape, or Crow would find a way to rescue me. But now that I was pregnant, that wasn’t an option. Crow couldn’t protect our child.

  I was the only one who could.

  “I would…but I can’t.” My voice cracked. “Not with—”

  “I know. Crow would never want that. I can’t make the trade. I know my brother…and he’d rather die.”

  I knew that too. “You can’t give up, Cane.”

  “Never. I’m supposed to give my answer to Tristan in eight hours. I’m afraid he’ll kill Crow the second I say yes.”

  He might. “I would leave to help you, but I can’t make it back in time.”

  “No,” he said firmly. “Crow wants you there. You aren’t leaving. I’m sure the only thing keeping him sane right now is knowing that you’re safe. Trust me.”

  I knew that too. “Then what are we going to do? We need to figure out where he is. How do you plan to narrow it down?”

  Cane’s silence was disturbing.

  “You must have something.”

  “I think he’s in Rome, but it’s a pretty big place. It’s hard to narrow it down.”

  “Ask people in contact with Tristan.”

  “I have,” he said. “They haven’t heard from him since his compound was destroyed. He purposely laid low so he could take us out like this. Tristan is pissed. That much is clear.”

  Which meant he was doing terrible things to Crow. “There has to be something…”

  Cane was quiet, thinking furiously over the phone.

  My mind was drawing a blank, but that was because I didn’t do this sort of thing. Cane and Crow had been part of the underworld their entire lives. They knew how their enemies thought, knew their moves before they made them. I had nothing to offer other than the fact that I knew Crow the best.

  What would he do?

  “I guess I could do a satellite scan,” Cane said. “But by the time we get all the images, we won’t have much time to do anything with them.”

  An idea came to mind. “If they’re in Rome, Crow probably knows exactly where they are.”

  “I guess,” Cane said. “Assuming they didn’t pull a sack over his head.”

  “Why would they cover his face if they’re planning on killing him?” I hated to talk that way, but it had to be said.

  “It’s possible. But what’s your point?”

  “If you could talk to Crow, he could probably tell you where he is.”

  Cane sighed over the phone. “That would never happen. Tristan isn’t going to let that happen.”

  “Just hear me out.”

  “I don’t see the point.”

  “Shut up and listen. Tell Tristan that you agree to the trade, but you don’t know where I am. Only Crow does.”

  “I know we’re both stressed out right now, but that’s stupid. Crow knows I would never make this trade—not in a million years. If the situation were reversed and I was the one in there, he would let me die instead of handing my wife over.”

  “Exactly.”

  “What?” he asked incredulously. “What point did you just make?”

  “When he tells Crow that you agreed to the trade, Crow will know you’re lying.”

  “Hmm…”

  “Because he knows you would never do that to him. He knows you would never hand me over to Tristan.”

  “Even so, then what?”

  “You tell Tristan that Crow will only give up the coordinates if you talk to him personally. You’ll need to persuade him. Tristan will listen in on the conversation, obviously. But Crow might be able to give you hints of where he’s at without Tristan realizing it.”

  “What if Crow doesn’t have any hints?”

  “Then he just won’t say anything. But if he does give you some bogus location, then we’ll know he gets what we’re trying to do.”

  Cane mulled over my words before he responded. “It’s crazy…but it could work.”

  “We don’t have any other options. I know Crow. He’s been looking for an escape route ever since he got there. He would have taken in every single detail if he thought it could help him.”

  “You’re right.”

  “So, we’re going to do this?”

  “Yeah,” Cane said. “I think it’s our best option. I’m gonna take the men to Rome because I think that’s where Tristan is hiding. That way, we can move in quickly if Crow gives us any information.”

  “Okay.” God, I hoped this worked. This was the only ploy we had up our sleeves. If it didn’t work, I would lose Crow forever. I would raise our child alone, a widow who would be lost. It didn’t matter that Crow prepared everything for me to be taken care of. All the money made no difference without him beside me. I would never get remarried because I believed in one love per lifetime—and he was mine.

  “Pearl, I promise I’ll do everything I can to get him back—even if that means taking a bullet for him.”

  I knew Cane loved Crow as much as I did, just in a different way.

  “And if I can’t, you know I’ll be there for both of you until my last breath.”

  I knew that too. “Let’s not talk that way. I can barely breathe as it is.”

  Chapter 4

  Cane

  I still hadn’t spoken to Adelina since I left the house yesterday.

  There hadn’t been any time.

  Now I was on my way to Rome, driving in one of the black Hummers that was completely bulletproof. I was alone for the drive with endless thoughts swirling in my brain. I had to get my brother ou
t of there. Failure wasn’t an option this time.

  My phone rang through the car, and one of my other cell phone numbers popped up.

  I knew who it was. “Hey.” I hadn’t had much time to think about the uncomfortable conversation we had the other day. I’d put my heart on the table, making it vulnerable by pulling it out of my body. I’d sacrificed everything for this woman. At that very moment, my brother was a prisoner because he risked his neck to save the woman I loved…while his own wife and child were in hiding. Now I felt like an idiot for putting him in danger.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Adelina spoke with a beautiful voice, the kind that filled my dreams as I slept beside her. I loved the concern in her tone, the way she was affectionate with me while saying so little. I just wished it meant more.

  “I’m in the middle of a nightmare. Crow has been captured. I’m on my way to Rome right now to break him out… I’m just not sure if I can pull this off.”

  “No…”

  “Tristan took him.”

  “Pearl is still safe, right?”

  “Yeah. She’s not coming home yet.”

  “What are you going to do?” Adelina asked. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “No.” Just talking to her now was messing with my brain. A part of me resented her for not telling me she loved me. After everything I’d done for her, how could she not feel the same way? I wasn’t Prince Charming, but I obviously cared for her. I knew I was a criminal and I took her as payment, but that didn’t make me a bad guy. “I can’t talk right now. I’ll call when everything is over.”

  “Okay…please save him. He’s a good man.”

  The best, actually. “I’ll do everything I can. I can’t let Pearl be a widow. Crow is more scared of that than actually dying.”

  “I know how much he loves her. I see it on his face every day.”

  And I thought I saw how much she loved me. “I’ve gotta go.”

  “Please be careful, Cane. I need you to come back too.”

  “I’ll try.” I wanted to tell her I loved her just in case I didn’t return. I wanted her to know how much she’d changed my life for the better. She humanized me, made me realize I was capable of being more than just a monster. But none of those confessions emerged, either because I was too proud to say them or I was scared I would only be met with her silence. “Bye, Adelina.”

  “Cane…”

  I listened to the silence over the line, hoping she would say something I wanted to hear.

  “Please come back.”

  I felt stupid for hoping she’d say more. I shouldn’t have expected anything else. “Okay.” I hung up so I didn’t have to say goodbye again.

  * * *

  Tristan answered with his usual arrogance. “I hope I’m not going to have to kill Crow today. Seems like a waste of potential.”

  The second our lines were connected, the threats came spilling out. It wasn’t something I wanted to think about, the light gone from my brother’s eyes as he lay like a corpse on the floor. “I’ve thought a lot about it. Crow is the only family I have left. After our war with Bones, I don’t have anything left.”

  “Family is everything. I’m glad you see it that way.”

  “Crow won’t want to trade his wife for his freedom.”

  “Yes, he mentioned that. Seemed pretty stubborn about it. But that’s where you come in. Are you going to make this happen, Cane? Are you going to let your brother be tortured to death? I already started the process. Haven’t heard him scream once.”

  The blood drained from my limbs. Torture, violence, and blood didn’t faze me. But picturing my brother as the victim made me sway as I sat upright. “My brother would be angry if he knew I was doing this. But I have a problem.”

  “Make it go away,” he said simply.

  “You don’t understand. I don’t know where Pearl is.” I did my best to sound convincing. I was lying through my teeth, but I’d never lied so convincingly before. There was a lot at stake here. If Tristan suspected this was all a ploy, he would kill Crow to spite me.

  “You don’t know?”

  “He never told me. He didn’t tell anyone.”

  “And you can’t call her?”

  “She won’t tell me where she is. She destroyed her phone, so I can’t trace her location.”

  Tristan fell silent.

  He knew how close we were. He might not go for it.

  “Then I’ll have to kill him. That’s too bad.”

  “If you let me talk to him, I can get him to tell me where she is.”

  “Doubtful. He’s held up pretty well under torture.”

  I swallowed the bile back down my throat. “It’s different with us. I can persuade him. If you’ve already exhausted him, he might be more likely to tell me. If you really want Pearl, this is the only way it’s going to happen. I have to get my brother out of there, so I’m not gonna stop until I get that location.”

  Tristan considered what I said during a long pause. “And this isn’t some tactic to speak to him?”

  He wasn’t as dumb as I hoped. “I’m sure you’ll monitor the conversation, Tristan. I’d expect nothing less.”

  Tristan fell into a lengthy silence, his breathing hardly noticeable over the line. He was considering what I said, going over it from every possible angle. It wasn’t impossible to believe Crow wouldn’t tell me where Pearl was. Crow thought of every possibility, and he could have anticipated this situation. “Alright. I’ll let you speak to him. But if I get the slightest suspicion you’re up to something, I’ll shoot him in the back of the head. You understand?”

  I’d have to be even more careful. “Got it. Put him on the phone.”

  * * *

  “Wake him up.” Tristan’s voice sounded in the background. “He’s got a phone call.”

  I doubted he was asleep. He’d probably been knocked out sometime today. Hopefully, he would be coherent enough to understand what I was trying to do. Crow was much more intelligent than I was. If anyone could pick up on the plan, it was him.

  “It’s your brother,” Tristan announced. “Do anything stupid, and you’re dead.” The phone became muffled, and sounds were heard as it was adjusted and placed on a flat surface. The speakerphone must have been initiated because it sounded different.

  Here went nothing. “Crow, it’s Cane.”

  “What?” Crow barked in annoyance, probably because Tristan told him what I wanted. Maybe he was angry because he actually thought I was trying to swap him for Pearl. Or maybe he was just in a lot of pain.

  “Tristan told me the only way I can get you out of there is if Pearl takes your place.” I did all the talking right in the beginning so Crow would pick up on what I was trying to do. “I didn’t want to do it at first, but I realize you’re the only other Barsetti I’ve got in the world. I’ve got to get you out of there—”

  “Fuck you, Cane. I’d rather die a million times than let her take my place.”

  I pressed on so he wouldn’t say anything else. “You need to tell me where she’s at. You’re the only person who knows where she is, and I know you won’t tell Tristan. But you need to tell me. I know you love her, but she wouldn’t want this. Pearl wouldn’t want you to suffer. I don’t want you to suffer. Just because Pearl would belong to Tristan doesn’t mean she would die. It just means…”

  “Don’t say it,” Crow said in a terrifying voice.

  “It’s not worth dying over, Crow.” I hoped he understood the relevance of my statement. I knew exactly where she was. I knew what island she was on, and I knew the address to the place if I needed to go get her. There was no way I could have simply forgotten, not when he put it on a flash drive for me.

  “No.”

  “Crow—”

  “No.”

  Hopefully, he wasn’t so delirious with pain that he couldn’t think straight. Hopefully, they didn’t hit his head too hard. Otherwise, he was extremely convincing.

  “I can’t live without you, man
. You’re my brother. I need you…”

  Crow ignored my affectionate words. “Pearl is more important. If you really cared about my life that much, you wouldn’t have asked me to free Adelina. If you really cared that much about protecting me, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.”

  He would never say that to me under ordinary circumstances, even if he thought it. He’d definitely picked up on what I was doing. “I’m sorry. Now I’m doing what I can to get you out.”

  “Pearl has already suffered. When she was a prisoner to Bones, he did terrible things to her. The bruises, the broken bones, the trauma…it’s a miracle she didn’t lose her mind. I’m not letting another man repeat those actions.”

  Crow hated talking about Bones. He never even said his name. To go into detail about her captivity didn’t make any sense. He was definitely trying to tell me something. But what was it?

  “I’m not letting that happen again,” he repeated. “So this is it. This is the last time we’ll ever speak.”

  “Crow, come on. Just tell me.”

  “Forget it.”

  Tristan and the other men in the room didn’t interrupt. Tristan was probably hoping Crow would give in and hand over the address. Having Pearl would be the greatest revenge Tristan could possibly have. It would hurt both Crow and me.

  “Remember when we were kids, and Dad took us to that coffee shop down the street from the Colosseum?”

  We’d never done anything like that in our lives. “Yeah. You stole that pack of gum from underneath the register, and Dad spanked your ass for it. But he also spanked mine for tattling on you.” I had to make it more convincing that we weren’t speaking in a coded message. I knew Crow was trying to tell me exactly where he was.

  Crow released a faint chuckle. “Yeah. He knew what he was doing. And he taught me what it means to be a brother… I’ll never forget that.”

  “Crow, you know what’s going to happen if you don’t tell me where she is. I’m telling you, Pearl would want this.”