His hold eases and he pushes me further up the hood of the SUV so that he can release me without dropping me in the process, but damn it, he doesn’t dare let go of his hold on my hand. He takes slow deep breaths as I come down from my high, trying to figure out how the hell I was able to handle that.
He meets my eyes and there’s a strange hesitation there that has my chest constricting with pain. He carefully pulls out of me, knowing I’m bound to be sore, and I try not to react. I’m definitely going to be feeling that tomorrow. “Are you okay?” he questions as he meets my eyes.
I sit up on the hood, feeling his warm seed seeping out of me, but that’s the least of my problems. Reaching up, I hook my arm around his neck and force him to hold my stare. “Are you?”
He swallows hard and a hint of darkness flashes in his eyes, but the strained anger seems to have subsided, allowing him to breathe easier. He gives a subtle nod, brushing his thumb over the top of my knuckles. “For now.”
Relief settles into my chest as I tilt my head forward, meeting my forehead with his. “Then I’m okay,” I tell him, catching sight of the burning mansion from the corner of my eye and knowing it’s bound to draw the attention of the authorities, especially with them already watching the DeAngelis family closely after both Antonio and Ronaldo’s murders. “I know you were hoping to get more out of being here, but we need to go.”
He nods and releases my hand before tucking himself back into his jeans. He helps me down and hands me my pants. As I take them from him, Marcus and Levi appear from around the corner of the burning mansion, both of their dark eyes coming straight to mine. Levi’s strained gaze is filled with anger, and he looks as though he could tear his brother apart for being so rough with me, while Marcus looks like he just came to the realization of what it truly means to share.
My stare drops away as a sliver of guilt tears through me, and without another word, the four of us get back into the SUV and leave the burning mansion behind, knowing that what just happened here will never be spoken of again.
19
The sun is just peeking over the mountains far in the distance when Levi’s voice sounds through the silent SUV. “Phillip’s vineyard is only thirty minutes south of here,” he says. “It couldn’t hurt to stop by and see what he knows.”
Roman keeps his eyes on the road as Marcus’ gaze swivels from out the window to the front seat. It’s been a long drive, and while long drives are becoming more frequent in my life, the silence in the car has made the past two hours seem like a lifetime. The tension in the car is thick. I mean, the boys knew that eventually Roman and I would seal the deal, but perhaps they were hoping it wouldn’t have been quite so soon. Though they don’t need to panic, despite how good and raw it was, I doubt Roman will slip up and allow himself to indulge in me again, because for that to happen, the two of us would have to put our differences aside and allow the other in, which isn’t as easy as it sounds.
A minute passes before Roman finally nods and veers into the outside lane, preparing to pull off at the next exit, unknowingly sending a wave of panic soaring through my chest. The last time I saw Phillip, I was playing dead on the dirty ground while listening to the sickening sound of him assaulting Ariana in the worst possible way. The last thing I want to do is see his face again, but I can’t possibly skip the opportunity to save her from the fresh hell that he no doubt rains down on her night after night.
“Ariana is there,” I remind them, though something tells me that they’re not the kind of guys who would simply forget something like that. “She saved me from him. We’re taking her home.”
Roman’s gaze meets mine through the rearview mirror and I see the indecision in his eyes, wanting to keep focused on finding his son. In the big scheme of things, Ariana is nothing but scum on the bottom of his shoe after her betrayal. She was once his rock, but that’s all in the past now.
“You know it’s the right thing to do,” I state, just in case he surprises me for the millionth time and decides to leave her ass there.
He rolls his eyes as the softest huff pulls from between his lips, warning me that he’s really not in the mood to argue right now. Though there’s no need, he’ll do the right thing. He always does … you know, when he’s not doing things like murdering people and kidnapping innocent women from their shitty apartments.
The added half hour to our drive is painful and I silently wish for Marcus to snap out of his jealous fury and allow the tension to seep away, but he needs time to stew. He’ll eventually come around … I hope. Levi on the other hand just stares out the front windshield, and every now and then I catch him curling his hand into a tight fist as he side-eyes his eldest brother. But just like Marcus, he’ll get over it.
We drive down a long, private road that gives Phillip plenty of warning that we’re here, though with our tinted windows, I doubt he knows it’s us. He probably assumes it’s Giovanni coming to discuss business after everything that’s been going down recently.
Roman slows as we approach the massive home, which was no doubt built with blood money and slave labor. It’s just as beautiful as Roman’s home was, and I can’t help but wonder if this was originally intended for Marcus or Levi.
The SUV comes to a stop right outside the door, and as we pile out of the car, the massive front door peels back. Phillip stands in a black business suit, and judging by the disheveled state of it, along with the heavy bags under his eyes and the glass of whiskey in his hand, he’s had a bit of a long night.
We walk toward the front door and as he gets a good look at his early morning visitors, suspicion creeps into his dark gaze. “Nephews,” he says in greeting, his back straightening with unease as his gaze flicks to mine. Surprise flashes in his eyes but he does what he can to mask it. He holds my stare a moment longer, realizing that not only am I alive, but that I know his dark little secret.
Phillip’s eyes narrow with a silent warning that I immediately disregard, and assuming he got his point across to keep my mouth shut, he turns his attention back to the boys, the clear threats that stand on his front doorstep. “What are you doing here?” he questions.
Roman eyes him cautiously before striding straight past and welcoming himself into Phillip’s home. Levi follows and Marcus pauses a moment to allow me to go first. Not wanting to hold up this little pissing contest, I scurry along, unsure of how this is going to go.
Following Levi into the big house, a shiver trails down my spine. This isn’t exactly a home that I want to be in, but we have a mission and I plan to see it through.
Despite Phillip’s disheveled appearance, he clearly still has a little energy to cause shit as his lips twist into a wicked grin when I pass him. “Come to see what you missed out on, hey?” he murmurs, his deep, low tone sending shivers down my spine. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
“What’s the matter?” I challenge, pausing to glare at him. “Disappointed that you never got a chance to fuck my dead corpse?”
His face drops and a flicker of anger appears in his eyes as his body goes still. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, girl.”