Page 76 of Entangled in Them

Ryan hugged me back. “It’s okay. You wouldn’t have left if it wasn’t for me.”

I shook my head, tears blurring my vision. “I was stupid. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“This was all going to come to a head at some point, Rue,” Kodee said, rubbing my back. “We were never just going to let you go back to the Capello brothers. Admittedly, we hadn’t figured we’d end up on the bad side of a different gang, but it is what it is.”

Dillon folded his arms across his chest. “Now, I suggest you tell us everything.”

I nodded, knowing I owed them that. I’d been trying to protect them, but from the first moment I’d stepped into their lives, they’d become entangled in this mess. And not only that, I’d become entangled in them as well. Just like the pendant they’d given me, there was no possibility of us separating ourselves from each other.

“A little over a month ago,” I started, “I witnessed Joe Nettie take down the head of a rival gang, Cisco King. He did the killing himself by shooting Cisco twice in the head at point blank range during a meeting. I was supposed to be the evening’s entertainment, and I don’t know if he just forgot I was there, or at least figured I’d keep my mouth shut, but I saw the whole thing. Word got around, and the Capello brothers figured they could use me to take Joe Nettie down. The cops were sniffing around because of King’s murder, and the Capello brothers sent someone in and got me out of there. Joe Nettie was arrested, and the Capello brothers swore they’d keep me safe so long as I stood up in court and told everyone what I’d witnessed. But then Joe’s gang learned about my location and my involvement, and they knew I wasn’t safe anymore. That’s when I came to you.”

“So, it was Joe Nettie’s men who were watching our apartment?” Kodee said.

I nodded. “Yes, they must have been.”

“And they want you dead so you can’t testify against their boss,” he confirmed.

“Exactly.”

Dillon frowned. “There must be people who can help. Someone who can keep you safe. What about the prosecutor’s office or the police?”

“I can’t trust anyone. Too many will take a bribe to turn a blind eye, and it’s not like they can watch over me twenty-four-seven.”

“What about witness protection?” Dillon asked. “Surely, they’ve got the power to hide you until the trial?”

“The Capello brothers won’t allow it. They think I’m going to go into witness protection and they’ll never see me again.”

Kodee cocked an eyebrow. “Would that be such a bad thing?”

“It would be for them.”

“We need to get her out of here.” Kodee addressed the others. “We need to make her a fake identity and take her out of the city.”

Dillon bit his lower lip. “We don’t have much time. Word is going to get around fast enough about what’s just happened. They’ll work out we were the ones to kill Joe Nettie’s men, and the Capello brothers will realize Rue is in danger again. They’ll want her back.”

Kodee nodded. “That’s okay. We can work fast. We’ll get in and out.”

I stared between them, hardly believing what they were saying. If they did this for me, they wouldn’t be able to go back again. They would be the enemies of multiple dangerous men in the city. “But you’ll have to leave everything behind. Your home. Your work...”

“None of that matters.” Kodee reached down and squeezed my hand. “They’re only things. We’ll all still be together—that’s the main thing.”

A painful lump constricted my throat. “You’d do that this for me?”

A hint of a smile touched his perfect lips. “Of course. I love you.”

“We love you,” Dillon confirmed.

Ryan nodded in agreement. “We’d do anything for you, Rue.”

I looked into each of their faces, my heart swelling in my chest. Love. That was something I’d never come across in my life before. Not from my mother, or from any of the numerous men who’d come after.

This situation was far from perfect. We each had our own baggage—some bigger than others—we were carrying with us, and that we’d need to work out, but we had each other.

“What about your rules?” I dared to ask.

No commitment. No saying I love you. No acting like this is forever.

Dillon grinned at me. “Fuck the rules. Now, let’s move.”

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TO BE CONTINUED...