Our impromptu meeting in the kitchen breaks up, and the men follow Dom down to the basement to grab the extra weapons.
That leaves me alone with Victoria in the kitchen, and I shift uncomfortably as I glance at her. I may be willing to accept her as an ally, but we’re a far fucking cry from being friends.
Still, I find myself respecting her. Yes, she tried to blackmail Marcus into marrying her, but she’s relinquished her claim. She gave it up as soon as she realized the game was an illusion, and I have to respect how fast she’s adapted to an assault of new information.
She could’ve held on to old grudges or clung to her initial plan, but instead, she accepted the chance to work with us to take Luca down.
She even accepted just one sixth of the prize she thought she was fighting for.
This whole time, she hasn’t been playing the same game as anyone else. Her game has had one objective and one objective only.
To save Jaden.
It’s harder to hate her when I know she’s capable of the kind of love that makes a person willingly walk into hell. It’s hard to hate her when I see the same thing in her eyes that I feel in mine when I look at my men.
Fierce, protective, consuming love.
But that doesn’t mean I have any idea how to make small talk with her.
Fortunately, she saves me from having to worry about that by gesturing me over as she turns to the laptop.
“Come here. I’ll show you the layout of the cemetery. It’s the biggest one in Halston, so there are a few entrances and exits. I only have a general idea of where his wife’s headstone is, but I know there’s a giant angel statue above it, so it shouldn’t be hard to find.”
She taps a few keys and pulls up the website for the graveyard, clicking on a map that shows the network of single-lane roads that crisscross the large area. Then she points to a spot on the screen, presumably where Luca’s wife is buried.
“There.” She glances sideways at me, grinning slightly. “Seems fitting, doesn’t it? Under the statue of an angel, we’ll have a meeting with the devil.”
Chapter 20
The rest of the daylight hours seem to fly by.
I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, I’m anxious as fuck to get this over with already. I’m more nervous about our meeting with Luca tonight than I was about going to his party, and that’s saying something.
On the other hand, these last few hours before we leave seem precious. They’re the last hours that I know we’ll all be alive, that we’ll all be together and safe.
Whenever I let myself think about that too hard, I have an almost overwhelming urge to grab all three of the guys, drag them into the bedroom, and tell Victoria and Dominic to fuck off while I rip my men’s clothes off. But as desperate as I am to feel that connection with them, to revel in the fact that we’re all still alive, I know they’re as beat-up and exhausted as I am. And as tempting as an orgy sounds right now, it’s probably the worst possible way to prepare for a showdown with Halston’s most dangerous criminal kingpin.
So I just busy myself trying to prepare for tonight.
I fit the thigh holster to my leg over my borrowed jeans. It’s no longer hidden like it was under the dress, but subtlety hardly seems like it’s the goal anymore.
Victoria and I show the guys the ideas we came up with for where to enter the cemetery and how to arrange ourselves for the meeting with Luca. We also make contingency plans and map out where the biggest mausoleums are—anything that will provide the most cover.
After that, everyone splits up to either rest or shower.
And then, before I know it, the shadows are deepening and the light coming through the windows is turning golden with the approaching sunset.
We’re out of time.
And I’m not fucking ready.
The sun sinks even farther, and when it’s close to dark outside, Victoria peers out the window and gives a satisfied nod. She turns to look at the rest of us, who’ve all gathered in the living room.
“Let’s load out.”
My heart immediately picks up in my chest, a wash of adrenaline flooding me. My stomach tightens, clenching hard around the fast food Theo and Ryland ducked out to pick up earlier.
I know I needed to eat, but in this moment I kind of wish I hadn’t, because I might be about to barf it all back up.
Theo reaches down to me, taking my hand and helping me to my feet. But instead of leading me toward the door to the garage, he pulls me into his embrace, wrapping his arms tightly around me.
Then he drops his head and kisses me.
It’s soft, but there’s an urgency behind it that makes my toes curl. I feel every single emotion that’s crashing around in my chest reflected in Theo’s kiss, as if he’s trying to stamp this moment in time, make a marker we can always return to. As if he’s trying to preserve our love for eternity.
The kiss deepens and builds, and I don’t give even half a shit if Dominic and Victoria are staring.
I know my other men are.
I can feel their gazes burning into us, feel the need that rises in them as they watch us and the hungry patience as they wait for me to come to them.
And I do.
Of course I do.
When Theo and I finally break apart, he kisses me softly on the nose and then releases me. My legs feel a little jelly-like as I turn toward Ryland. He steps forward to meet me, slipping one arm around my back while his other brushes a small strand of hair away from my face. I borrowed a hair tie from Victoria and pulled my dark locks back into a messy ponytail after they dried.
After securing the stray piece of hair behind my ear, Ryland trails his fingers gently over the curve of my cheek, his touch so reverent it makes me shiver. Then he grasps my chin between his thumb and forefinger, using that hold to tilt my head up before he claims my lips in a hot kiss.
I fucking love when he kisses me like this.
When I can feel the urgency in him.
The violent desire.
I don’t just let it wash over me. I rise up to meet it, going up onto my tiptoes as I sweep my tongue against his, looping my arm around his neck to anchor myself to him as the storm rages inside us both.
His fingers dig into my back, his large palms moving over me roughly, pulling me even closer.
It doesn’t end softly, just like it didn’t begin softly. Instead, we tear our lips apart, both breathing heavily. For a second, his grip on me tightens even more, making it impossible to breathe. Then he releases me and steps back, a look of hard determination crossing his face.
I know that look. That determination.
I feel it inside myself too.
Marcus is there before I even have to look for him, the heat of his body warming my back as he steps up behind me. He turns me in his arms, not even bothering to pull me away from Ryland. I end up practically sandwiched between them as Marcus gazes down at me.
Brown and blue.
Earth and air.
It’s hard to remember a time when those eyes and the man behind them didn’t own a piece of my soul.
Maybe it’s because such a time never existed. Maybe Marcus held a piece of my soul before I ever met him. Before I saved his life. Before he saved mine.
I rest my hand on his chest, trapped between our bodies as he holds me in his embrace. His heart is beating hard and fast, but steady. Sure.