Pick us back

chapter 17

The heavy iron gates of the estate loom ahead, a final barrier between me and a world I haven't truly been a part of in ten years. I slow the Porsche to a crawl, the engine purring impatiently, but my hands are frozen on the wheel.

"I don't know where to go," I whisper, my voice barely audible over the hum of the car. The sudden realization that I have no destination-no home to return to and no plan beyond running-hits me like a physical blow.

Marcus stays quiet for a long moment, giving me the space to breathe. He doesn't try to take the wheel. He doesn't even point.

He just reaches out and rests a hand lightly on the center console, close enough for me to feel his warmth but not touching me.

"That's the best part about having a full tank of gas and nowhere to be," he says softly. His voice is steadying, a stark contrast to the chaos in my head.

"You don't have to decide the whole map right now. Just pick the first turn."

He gestures toward the open road beyond the gate.

"Left takes us toward the city-noise, people, places to get lost in the crowd. Right takes us up into the mountains-quiet, air that doesn't taste like exhaust, and a view that makes everything else look small."

He looks over at me, his eyes soft. "Which one feels less heavy right now, honey?"

I look at the two paths. For ten years, every move I made was decided by someone else's hand or someone else's addiction. Now, the open road is staring back at me, waiting.

The Porsche is still idling, the gate beginning to groan open, when Julian suddenly appears at the side of the car.

He's breathless, his hair disheveled from the sprint. I roll down the window, the cool air rushing in, my heart jumping into my throat.

"Julian?" I start to ask, my brow furrowed in confusion.

He doesn't answer. He doesn't try to argue or beg me to stay. Instead, he reaches into the car and gently drops a heavy, matte-black card into my lap.

Before I can even look down at it, he leans in, his hand cupping the back of my head for a fleeting second. He presses a firm, lingering kiss to my forehead-a gesture that feels like both a blessing and a desperate anchor.

As he pulls back, his eyes are dark and swimming with an unspoken promise. He gives the side of the car a final, heavy pat, then steps away, nodding once to Marcus before retreating back toward the house.

I look in the mirror and see Ezra in the window he nods his head at me and turns away.

*Julian & Ezra*

We sat at the table , do you think he will get her off the edge or push her over Ezra whispers, Julian balls his hand into fist , if he f***s this up I'll kill him , they listen to the purr of the Porsche leaving the house and they go off to there own spaces.

"Nova & Marcus"

I look at him, my voice barely a thread of sound. "Can we do both?" I ask, the request feeling heavy and hesitant on my tongue. "I don't... I don't want to choose."

Marcus watches me for a heartbeat, his expression softening in a way that makes my chest ache. He doesn't roll his eyes or tell me we don't have time. Instead, he just reaches over and covers my hand on the gear shift with his own, his palm warm and solid.

"We can do whatever you want, Nova," he says firmly. "We'll hit the city first. We'll get you some clothes that aren't mine, maybe something to eat that didn't come out of a box in that kitchen. And then, when the noise gets too loud?

We'll drive into the mountains until the only thing we hear is the wind. How does that sound?"

I nod, a small, shaky breath escaping me.

"Good," he murmurs. He looks toward the gate. "Then floor it, honey. Let's get out of here."

I shift the Porsche into first gear and pull away from the estate. As the iron gates hiss shut in the rearview mirror, I feel the weight of Julian's black card in my lap and the heat of Marcus beside me.

The drive into the city is a blur of flashing lights and towering glass. People are everywhere, living their normal, oblivious lives, unaware of the girl in the oversized shirt or the man sitting next to her who was raised to be a shadow.

We stop at a high-end boutique, and Marcus doesn't even blink as he hands over the black card for bags of soft silks and heavy denim-anything to replace the memory of the blood-stained shirt I left on the floor.

But as the sun starts to dip, the city begins to feel like a cage of its own. The crowds are too close, the sirens too sharp.

"Ready?" Marcus asks, noticing the way I'm gripping the steering wheel.

"Ready," I whisper.

We head for the heights. The road begins to wind, snaking up the side of the mountain as the city lights shrink into a glittering carpet far below. The air gets thinner, colder, and cleaner. I pull over at a scenic overlook where the world just... stops.

I cut the engine. The silence is absolute.

"You okay?" Marcus asks, turning in his seat to look at me.

The moonlight catches the sharp lines of his face, making him look less like a soldier and more like the boy who used to protect me ten years ago.

Before I answer I hear my phone buzz The screen of my phone glows in the dark cabin, the light reflecting in my eyes as I read the words.

Julian: be safe ,if you need me text me I'll be there

I stare at the message for a long time. It's so simple, yet it carries the weight of the ten years he spent searching for me.

It's a tether, pulling me back toward the house and the complicated, dangerous family I just ran from.

Marcus notices the glow of the screen and glances over, his eyes catching the name at the top of the text. He doesn't look angry this time; he just sighs, a puff of white mist in the cold mountain air.

"He means it, you know," Marcus says softly, leaning his head back against the leather headrest. "Julian isn't much for words, but if you sent a single 'period' to that phone, he'd have a helicopter on this ridge in ten minutes."

I thumb the edge of the phone, the matte-black card Julian gave me still tucked into the center console. "He's the Mafia boss's son," I whisper, looking out over the flickering lights of the city below. "And you're the leader. Why does it feel like I'm the one with all the power right now?"

Marcus lets out a low, dry chuckle, but his eyes stay on the horizon. "Because you are. We've spent a decade building an empire, Nova, but we didn't have a heart until we found you. Everything we do now... it's all for you. That's a lot of power for one girl to hold."

He turns his head, his gaze settling on me with an intensity that makes my breath hitch. "You don't have to text him back yet. You don't have to do anything. Just sit here with me until the shaking stops."

I lean my head back, the silence of the mountains wrapping around us. My thumb hovers over the keyboard. I don't know if I'm ready to be their "heart," but for the first time since I got away from home the air doesn't feel like it's crushing me.