Fierce Monarch (Gilded Empire Book 3)

Chapter 23 – Mari

My head was still reeling from Nate’s confession and the unexpected orgasm he left me with when I finally slipped back into the kitchen.

Nate had infiltrated my home, my family, because he’d had no choice. Either he did it, or he condemned his mother to die. I wouldn’t wish that ultimatum on anyone, but could I forgive him, even if I would’ve made the same decision?

And that was only part of the problem. Even if I forgave him, could I ever forget? Could that trust we’d built be mended, or had we lost everything we needed to repair? If anyone but Nate had betrayed me, I’d have killed them on the spot, but I didn’t. Nate was different. He’d always been different, but that didn’t mean I knew what to do.

Slinking into the room, I wrapped my arms around Greyson while Dominic was grabbing a shower. Dipping, my fiancé kissed the top of my head. “You smell like sex, reina.”

Oh fuck. I’d run to the bathroom to clean up a little since I couldn’t exactly walk in with come dripping down my leg, but I hadn’t wanted a full-blown shower. I needed Nate’s scent on my skin for a little longer.

Note to self, stay away from Dominic.

When I stiffened, Grey kissed me again and pulled me tighter against him. “I take it we have a visitor?”

There was no anger in his voice, and I didn’t realize I’d been nervous about his reaction until then. With a happy sigh, I melted against him, grateful once again that Grey was there for me through everything. “He’s gone.”

“For now.”

Not knowing how to answer that, I took the mature route and ignored it. Dominic came back, making it much easier than I expected. “I thought we could watch a movie tonight.”

It’d been so long since we’d all just relaxed together, and I missed it. Despite the chaos looming, I wanted to enjoy my partners. The situation with Nate taught me there was no guarantee that tomorrow came with all of us alive.

We needed to celebrate every minute we had together.

Admittedly, it felt shitty to celebrate life when someone had just died, but Mama Ophelia had made that choice for herself. I had to believe that.

“Sounds great, baby. I’ll get the popcorn.”

In minutes, I was plopped between them on the couch, popcorn in hand and bickering over which movie to watch.

“We’re not watching some B-list mafia movie when that’s our entire life.” Grey rolled his eyes, and Dominic mimicked him back like a child.

“What’s wrong, Andrews? Worried you’re doing it wrong?”

“Oh, fuck off.” Greyson threw a pillow, and the two of them laughed.

“Are you going to start a naked pillow fight like at a real sleepover? If so, I want to be the judge.” I grinned, leaning back so I could have the best view. Both their eyes darkened, and like they planned it, each of them dropped a hand on my thigh.

“If you want us naked, baby, all you’ve got to do is ask.” Dominic leaned in for a kiss, but the shrill tone of my phone cut him off. “Motherfucking cocksucker.”

He leaned back and snatched it off the coffee table where we’d thrown all our devices in hopes of a quiet evening, scowling at the display. “It’s Cameron.”

Grey sighed, sitting back. “If it were anyone else, I’d say we could play, but he could have news about Joaquin.”

Ah, yes. My asshole uncle who’d been planning my demise as boss bitch of the Marcosas. Couldn’t wait for that update.

“We’ll play after.”

Dominic grinned, slipping off the couch and putting his big body between my legs. “Better hurry, mariposa. I’m getting hungry, and I’m not sure I can wait to start the feast.”

Hell yes.

I lifted the phone to my ear, wondering how fast I could get my cousin off the phone so our evening could continue. “Yeah?”

“There’s a fire!”

For a second, I was paralyzed, then I shoved Dominic out of the way and ran for the nearest shoes I could find, smashing my finger into the speakerphone icon. “What?”

“The Aces set my house on fire. Mari—” My cousin’s voice broke, something like desperation and resignation soaking into it. “Ash and I are inside.”

No.I stilled with one boot tied and the other’s laces wrapped around my ankle. This wasn’t the time for slip-on sneakers. Thankfully, the boys were hot on my heels as I worked the laces into the boot, shoving their feet into shoes and grabbing guns, all while barking down the phone at people. “Excuse me?”

“I was outside when I saw them running away like cowards, and I knew she’d be asleep. I went in for her, but we got trapped.” He paused, and I could hear the crackle of flames through the speaker. “I can’t get us out, Mari.”

Snapping out the address to the boys, I grabbed a gun and bolted for the elevator. “Why did you do that?”

“Because she’s my wife.” That was it, and really, there was no other reason needed. Ash was his, no matter what. Of course he went after her. Fuck.

“Cameron Marcosa, if you die?—”

The call dropped before I could finish, and I felt the screen crack under my unforgiving hand. Grey replaced it with his, and I dialed up a number I’d never used before.

“Chief McDaniels, it’s Marianna Marcosa.” Yes, I had the fire chief’s personal number, and I damn well used it. He promised to be there right after us, and I hung up as we raced to the car and through the silent streets of Seattle, but I wasn’t sure if we would be too late.

How far had the fire spread?

How long had Ash been inside?

Was she even alive?

Was Cameron?

A wave of grief tried to crush me, but I refused to entertain it. Until I was staring down at their bodies, we had time.

On impulse, I threw a text to Nate, knowing it probably wouldn’t do anything.

Cameron’s house is on fire. 4486 TeeTree Road.

I didn’t tell him we were going in; he already knew that. I just had to hope this was a rescue mission and not a recovery.

For once, I was grateful to be at the Celestine. If we’d still been at the mansion, we never would’ve made it in time. We’d blown through every light and stop sign we passed and cut the ten-minute trip in half, planning on the way even without any idea what we were walking into.

Grey and I took the time in the car to get ourselves as prepared as we could be, even working on Dominic while he drove. Damp clothes, gloves, snowboarding goggles left over from last year, and cloths around our mouths and noses. We didn’t have oxygen masks like the firefighters would, so we had to be quick and strategic. We had no room for error here.

Pulling into the driveway was like walking right into hell. The fire roared, and all I could hear under it was the groaning of the wood and the snapping of beams. Some cars were here already and I could hear the distant sirens of the fire engine, but no Cameron. No Aislynn.

The boys and I shoved out of the car, gathered what we needed and headed toward the inferno.

“The fire department and the rest of our men should be here soon. Grey, you’re out here coordinating. Dominic, you’re with me.”

Greyson didn’t argue; he just hooked an arm around my waist and pressed our foreheads together, clapping Dominic on the shoulder to keep him close. “Be safe.”

I didn’t promise to try. He already knew I would. My brain whirled as we got closer to the house, and the heat scorched my skin, so hot it chilled me. That’s not good. “Cameron said Ash was asleep when the fire started, so we’ll head to the east wing and start looking. Work our way down from the top.”

“We’ll be lucky to get up there without the ceilings collapsing,” Dominic said with a grimace.

“Then we’ll be lucky,” I said firmly.

I was almost to the door when he pulled me back. “If we think the house is going, I’m pulling you out, with or without them.”

There was no compromise in his eyes or gentle platitudes of we’ll go back in after on his lips. He was as unforgiving as the fire raging in front of us. Nodding stiffly, I bolted for the door and into the house.

Inside was like nothing I’d ever seen before. Everything was fire and smoke. There was no air, no safety. Just chaos and danger in every corner. The idea that anything had survived felt foolish as the flames curled wallpapers and destroyed curtains.

Refusing to give up, I motioned for Dominic to follow me when we finally hit the third-floor landing. Breathing as shallowly as possible was difficult, and rushing three flights of stairs in the stifling heat had both of us out of breath. The smoke was thick and acrid, seeping into my lungs and making me desperate to cough, to choke, to get the fuck out. But we were so close.

Almost there. Almost there.

Got it.

“Back up,” Dominic barked before I could try the door to their bedroom. I moved just in time to see him heft the ax he’d strapped on before we’d headed in, swinging for the door. The wood cracked near the hinges, and he took advantage, kicking the whole thing down.

The sight of the bedroom engulfed in flames was one I’d never unsee.

Nothing was untouched. The curtains were gone, fluttering to the floor in wisps of fabric, the closet was nothing but kindling, and there on the bed was a person-sized lump.

Tears pricked my eyes, but I blinked them away. There was no room for grief in hell.

“Cameron!” Dominic and I moved carefully, trying to be aware of the floor as we went, but we found nothing. The room was empty. “Cameron Alonso Marcosa, get your ass out here!”

No response.

“Where would they go?” Dominic asked, pulling me farther out of the room. Tears streamed down both of our faces despite the goggles, and my head was getting woozy. We had to get out soon or the smoke would get us before the fire did. “Mari, focus. Where would you go if you were in this?”

I tried to think like my cousin, tried to put myself in his shoes. My soaked shirt warmed to the touch, and I gasped, regretting it instantly when the smoke scorched my throat. “Bathroom.”

Cameron would’ve tried to get Aislynn ready to brave the flames, and that meant water.

Dominic stormed across the room and kicked the door in with no warning. It was a lot easier this time because the frame itself was barely standing. We had to get out. If the foundational points of the house were that easy to tear down, the house was going to fall apart around our ears.

“Here!”

Rushing in, I took stock of my cousin in the bathtub, rocking his soaked wife in his lap. Ash’s eyes were closed, her face a little gray, though I couldn’t tell if that was from the soot or something else. “Is she?—”

“Take her.” The rage in his eyes was barely tolerable as he held Ash up to me. I tried, but I was too weak already to carry her, so Dominic took her instead. Without Ash on his lap, I saw why Cameron hadn’t been able to get out.

His legs were a mess of angry skin and burned fabric. The burns looked bad, and given the number of them, I knew the clock to get him help was ticking fast. “Come on. We have to go.”

He grabbed on to my hand, hauling himself halfway out of the tub before collapsing. “I can’t.”

“You can. Try.”

“I can’t.”

I couldn’t pull him with us. He was too heavy. He had to get out on his own. “Please, Cameron. Try harder.”

“Mari!” Dominic’s voice cut through the screaming in my head. I was going to lose my cousin because I wasn’t strong enough.

“I’ll come back for him,” Dominic promised, but we all knew the house wouldn’t stand that long.

“No! Get up!”

Cameron grabbed me by the wrist and shook me. “Please get her out. She doesn’t deserve this.”

None of us did, and that enraged me more than anything. We hadn’t done anything to deserve this. My father had. Cash had. And we were paying the fucking price.

“Mari!” Dominic barked, and I knew if I didn’t move, he’d drop Ash where he stood and take me out instead. I couldn’t let that happen.

Looking back at Cameron, I felt my heart break. “We’ll be right back.”

“I have no doubt. Love you, cousin.”

“I’m not saying it back.”

Cameron smiled, something bittersweet and aching. “Okay.”

Forcing myself to turn away, I saw Dominic waiting for me at the edge of the room. “Go!” He hoisted Aislynn higher in his arms, and I had to force myself to look forward as we ran. Cameron would either be alive when we got back in or not, but Ash was our priority, like he wanted.

I had to believe that the universe wouldn’t take my final cousin from me like this.

I stayed on Dominic’s ass the entire way through the house and down two flights of stairs before the house gave up. It groaned a deafening noise, and the stairs collapsed with Dominic and Ash on one side and me on the other.

“Mari!” He twisted around, arm outstretched to reach me as the stairs wobbled.

“Go! I’ll be right there,” I promised, already trying to figure out a way down, but the gap was too big. There was no way down. Not without going up. “I’ll find a window. Just go!”

I was begging, and I didn’t care. He and Ash could still make it if he hurried. He could save her.

Please don’t stay and watch me die.

“I’m coming right back,” he promised, his voice dark with agony. With grief.

“I know. I love you.” It felt shitty to say it to Dominic when I’d refused my cousin, but I couldn’t let him walk away without it.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” he snarled. “You get out of this house alive, or I swear to god, I’m burning the city you love down.”

“I will. I promise.”

The house groaned again, and Dominic took a step back. “I love you, mariposa. I’m coming back.”

Then he ran out of the house with my sister in his arms.

Going down the stairs was impossible, so I went back up. A jump from the third story was a death sentence, but if I could find a soft place to land, I could make it out of the second story with some injuries. At least I’d be alive.

Bones healed; body bags didn’t.

Rushing through the second floor, I picked through the rooms, trying to stay as low as I could to avoid too much of the smoke. I’d already been inside too long and I knew it, but I was so close to getting out.

You can do this.

When I turned the corner, I realized I was right by Cameron’s office. Knowing him, he’d left a secondary exit just in case things went sideways.

I was right.

The window opened easily, and I had just hoisted one leg onto the ledge when the wall crumbled and the floor went out from under me. For a second, I thought I could hold on. I wasn’t strong enough to carry Cameron, but I could do this. I could get myself out that window.

But my gloves were soaked, and my grip was too weak.

It was a short, sweet fall to the floor. My hip ached at the landing, and the breath was knocked out of me, a dangerous thing when I was already struggling to breathe.

Disoriented wasn’t the word as I tried to get to my feet amid the flood of papers and books at my feet. The world felt underwater, and all I could think was, How did they get here?

Focus, Mari.

I could drag myself out, but I was sure I’d end up under the debris pile if I tried. Still, there was no way I’d give up, so I clawed forward as much as I could, fighting the light-headedness that threatened to sweep me away for good.

When I finally couldn’t move anymore, I flopped onto my back in a relatively clear area of the room, staring at the ceiling that looked like it was ready to come down on me. Every breath was a struggle, my eyes were barely open anymore, and I couldn’t catch my breath at all.

Maybe he’ll make it in time. If anyone was going to beat the odds, it would be Dominic.

Still, the possibility of death felt fitting that it would be like this. Maybe the fire would burn away the sins I’d committed in this life so I could be happy in the next.

My eyes closed, too blurred to be any help, and as I took another stuttering breath, arms came under me, hoisting me into the air. My head lolled into a broad chest as the sweetest words I’d ever heard floated over the chaos.

“I’ve got you, angel.”