Trapped Together
Selena's POV
The coffee mug slipped from Selena's fingers and crashed to the floor.
She wasn't looking at the broken pieces. She was staring at the newspaper clipping that had fallen out of Rook's black bag.
Her mother's face smiled back at her from the yellowed paper. The headline read: "WIFE OF CRIME BOSS FOUND DEAD."
"What is this?" Selena whispered.
Rook froze in the doorway. He had just come back from checking the locks. His eyes went straight to the newspaper on the floor.
"You went through my things," he said.
"I was looking for coffee!" Selena's voice cracked. "Your bag fell over and this... this fell out."
She picked up the clipping with shaking hands. Her mother's picture was circled in red ink. There were notes written in the margins. Notes in Rook's handwriting.
"Why do you have this?" she asked.
Rook didn't answer. He just stood there like a statue.
Selena looked closer at the notes. Her blood turned cold. One word jumped out at her: "TARGET."
"No," she breathed. "No, no, no."
She grabbed the bag and dumped everything out. More newspaper clippings scattered across the dirty floor. All about her mother. All with those same red circles and notes.
But there was something else. A small notebook. Selena opened it and saw pages of her mother's daily routine. Where she went. What time she left the house. Who she talked to.
"You were watching her," Selena said, her voice barely a whisper.
Rook took a step forward. "Selena—"
"Don't!" She jumped back. "Don't come near me!"
Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might explode. Everything made horrible sense now. Why Rook knew so much about her mother. Why he said she was brave. Why he looked guilty every time her name came up.
"You killed her," Selena said. "You killed my mom."
"It's not what you think."
"Then what is it?" Selena screamed. "What is it, Rook? Because it looks like you spent weeks planning my mother's murder!"
Rook's face was like stone. But she saw something flicker in his eyes. Pain? Guilt? She couldn't tell.
"I had a job," he said quietly.
"A job?" Selena felt sick. "That's what you call it?"
"I was ordered to watch her. To learn her habits."
"And then what?"
Rook was quiet for so long that Selena thought he wouldn't answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely audible.
"And then I was ordered to kill her."
The words hit Selena like a punch to the stomach. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. The man standing in front of her had murdered her mother. The same man who had just saved her life.
"Get away from me," she whispered.
"Selena, listen—"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
She ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife from the counter. Her hands were shaking so badly she almost dropped it.
"I'll scream," she warned. "I'll scream until the whole building hears me."
"No one will come," Rook said sadly. "No one lives here anymore."
"Then I'll call the police."
"With what phone? I took yours, remember?"
Selena looked around frantically. He was right. She was trapped in this awful place with her mother's killer.
"Why?" she asked, tears streaming down her face. "Why did you do it?"
"Because that's what I do. I follow orders."
"That's it? That's your excuse?"
"I don't make excuses."
"You're a monster."
"Yes," Rook said simply. "I am."
His honesty surprised her. She expected him to lie. To make up some story about how sorry he was. But he just stood there, accepting her hatred like he deserved it.
"She was innocent," Selena sobbed. "She never hurt anyone."
"I know."
"She was kind. She helped people. She loved me."
"I know."
"Then how could you do it? How could you look at her and pull the trigger?"
For the first time since she'd known him, Rook looked away. "I don't know."
"That's not good enough!"
"It's the only answer I have."
Selena wanted to hurt him. To make him feel even a tiny bit of the pain she felt every day. "I hope you burn in hell."
"I already am."
Something in his voice made her look at him closer. Really look. She saw the dark circles under his eyes. The way his shoulders slumped when he thought no one was watching. The careful way he moved, like everything hurt.
"You don't sleep, do you?" she asked.
"Not much."
"Because of her?"
Rook nodded slowly. "Among other things."
"Good. You should suffer."
"I do."
They stood in silence, the knife still in Selena's hand. She wanted to hate him completely. It would be easier that way. But seeing him like this, broken and haunted, made it complicated.
"Why did Dad order it?" she asked.
"You'll have to ask him."
"I'm asking you."
"I don't question orders. I just follow them."
"That's the most cowardly thing I've ever heard."
"Probably."
Selena threw the knife on the counter. It clattered loudly in the quiet room. "I can't do this. I can't be here with you."
"You don't have a choice."
"I'll take my chances on the street."
She moved toward the door, but Rook blocked her path.
"Move," she demanded.
"No."
"I said move!"
"And get you killed? Your mother would never forgive me."
"Don't you dare talk about her!"
"She made me promise something," Rook said quietly. "Right before she died."
Selena froze. "What?"
"She asked me to protect you."
"Liar."
"She knew what was coming. Someone had warned her. She begged me to keep you safe."
"You're making that up."
Rook reached into his jacket and pulled out something small. A silver necklace with a heart-shaped locket. Selena recognized it immediately.
"Mom's necklace," she breathed.
"She gave it to me. Said to give it to you when you were old enough to understand."
Selena snatched the necklace from his hands. Inside the locket was a tiny photo of her as a little girl.
"She loved you more than her own life," Rook said. "That's why she made the deal."
"What deal?"
"Her life for yours. She knew someone wanted both of you dead. She bargained. One life to save another."
The room started spinning. Selena grabbed the wall to keep from falling.
"You're lying," she whispered.
"I don't lie."
"Then who? Who wanted us both dead?"
Before Rook could answer, his phone buzzed. He looked at the screen and his face went pale.
"What is it?" Selena asked.
Rook showed her the phone. A text message with a photo attached.
The photo showed her father, Enzo, tied to a chair in what looked like an abandoned warehouse. His face was bloody. Above the photo were five simple words that made Selena's blood freeze:
"YOUR TURN TO MAKE A DEAL."