Titanium Promises

Sixteen

TW: abuse

Unfortunately, I couldn't hold onto happiness for very long as the thought of the mafia came crawling back into my mind. Luke had bought a burner phone earlier, and called someone he trusted who was still with the mafia. The person said today was the day to come in if we were planning to. Luke's dad had just made a successful deal and was in a great mood.

"I think you should stay," Luke says. I grimace slightly as he places his gun into his jacket pocket.

"You know I'm going with you."

Luke smiles and kisses me on the forehead. "I know."

We get into the car, and all the air gets sucked out of my lungs as the reality of what we're doing finally sinks in. These people have no problem killing anyone, including me. If this goes badly, I can't just run.

It'll all be over.

"It's a decent drive," Luke says, distracting me, "you can get some sleep, if you want."

"No, thank you. I don't think I could even if I wanted to."

I look down at my hand and see how much it's actually shaking. I grab it with the other and massage my palms. I can't go in there as an anxious mess, that'll only give them more power over me. I need to walk in there like I could take on the world.

"What's the plan?" I ask, distracting myself. I know I'll feel better once I know what we're actually doing.

"They have to let me in first," Luke says, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "But I'm not worried about that part. Once we get in, I doubt anyone besides my family will even know who I am. The workers will just brush past us and get to where they're going. But if my family does see us—"

"Your mom, your dad, Maverick, and August?"

Luke smiles, impressed. "Yeah. If they see us, that might be an issue. I hope we run into my mom first—she's always been the most understanding. Though I'm sure she'll just beg me to leave.

"Mav and August will probably be with my dad," he continues, "and that's going to be one hell of a reunion. Then I'll convince my dad to leave us alone and we'll be on our way to California."

"It's that simple?"

"Best case scenario?" Luke says. "Yes."

"Great."

Luke fumbles with something in his pocket and pulls out a new burner phone. He must've set it up before we left, because he immediately dials a number and waits for the other person to pick up.

"Little bro," a sly and deep voice says from over the phone. "What are you calling us for?"

Luke's Adam's apple rises and falls as he swallows. "August." My heart sinks. "Where's Leroy?" Luke manages to keep his voice steady, but his face is panicking.

"Turns out he was the mole," August says. I can hear him smirking. "He's been...dealt with. You still planning on coming? Dad will be happy to see you after what you turned out to be. You know, right after you left, I heard Mom crying to herself about how you'd go to hell. It's a real shame."

"Fuck you, August," Luke barks. "And don't worry, I'm still coming."

"Great." There's a silence and Luke goes to hang up, only for August's voice to appear once again. "I hope you know what's going to happen when you come here. It's going to be messy, and there's going to be a lot of blood on your hands."

Luke taps the steering wheel with his two fingers. "I'm counting on it."

"I heard you talked with Mav back at LAX. You weren't really respectful to your oldest brother now, were you?"