Chapter Seven
Tessa
The weight woke me first. Something solid and warm across my waist, a body pressed against my back. My pulse spiked hard, my hands went flat against the mattress, and I was two seconds from rolling off the edge before my brain caught up with my nose.
Cedar. Gunpowder. A trace of expensive soap. Antonio.
I lay still and made myself breathe. I had to smile. I’d left my door unlocked just to see if he’d take the invitation I offered. I knew I could keep him out. He’d made a point that I had control over who entered my suite. Even him.
His breathing came slow and even against the back of my neck. Fully clothed. On top of the covers. How was this guy even real? His arm lay heavy across my waist, his body heat soaking through the blanket between us.
I think part of me had convinced myself Antonio wouldn’t come after me.
I still wasn’t sure what to make of his last statement.
How could he possibly be afraid of me? But he had come.
He’d stayed with me even though I’d told him not to.
I recognized Antonio had control issues, but I also knew his need for control stemmed from the need to keep his family safe.
Emotion formed a tight band around my chest and I hated it.
If I let myself fall for this man, I’d be so in over my head I’d never find my way up.
Actually, I might already be in over my head.
I was more than half in love with the man, and I wasn’t really even sure I liked him.
Try as I might, though, I couldn’t make myself push him away.
Most of all, I hated that it mattered so much to me that he’d come back to me.
Tonio had waited until I fell asleep, so I wouldn’t try to put on a brave face and deny I wanted him with me when I was completely terrified for him to leave.
I wanted him to see me as a strong woman, one worthy of a man like him.
Not as the weak link in his family. A liability.
I stared at the window where the silvery early morning sun tried to burn through the fog from the river.
Behind me, Tonio shifted. His arm tightened before he stilled again, and his breathing stayed even.
I turned my head, so I could look back at him over my shoulder until I could see his face in the darkened room.
The tension he carried when he was awake seemed to have melted away in his sleep. I had a moment to wonder if he’d intended to stay with me all night or if he’d thought to leave before I woke.
“I can hear you thinking,” Tonio rumbled softly next to my ear.
I felt him press his lips to the skin behind my ear and move down my neck.
I was in so much trouble here. I didn’t mind admitting Antonio was way the fuck out of my league, but I also didn’t have enough willpower to resist him. “Sleep. We both need it.”
“You’re the one who’s awake,” I said. My voice came out rough, sleep clinging around the edges, but I still smiled. “And you’re the one kissing my neck.”
His lips curved against my skin. I felt the smile more than saw it. “Seemed like someone needed to do it.”
“And you nominated yourself?” I shifted, turning onto my back so I could look at him properly.
The room was still dim, even with the large windows.
The early morning fog outside made everything soft and gray, but I could see his face well enough.
The beard. The dark lashes. The way his mouth looked softer when he wasn’t holding it in that tight line he used on everyone else.
“You don’t do anything by accident, Antonio Miles. ”
He didn’t deny it. His arm stayed across my waist, heavy and warm, and he studied me with those dark eyes that missed absolutely nothing. “You left your door unlocked.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
I held his gaze and made myself not look away. “Don’t you know?”
“Yes. But I want you to say it so we understand each other.”
I could have played coy or pretended like I’d left the lock disengaged on accident, but why? Why not just tell him the truth? Before I could change my mind, I laid it out there for him. “Because I wanted you here.”
He started slightly. “I didn’t expect you to tell the truth.”
“I think maybe I’ve just been insulted.”
He chuckled. “I like this side of you.”
“What? Sleepy?”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I do believe you’re not the least bit afraid of me. In fact, I’d go so far as to say I make you feel safe. You know I’ll fight your demons.”
“I don’t need anyone fighting my demons, Tonio. I can do that myself.”
“I know you can,” he said. “Doesn’t mean you have to.”
My throat tightened. I hated that. Hated how easily he could find the soft spots I worked so hard to armor over. I turned my head away, staring at the ceiling. “You should go. I’m fine. I’m sure you’ve got things to do.”
His arm didn’t move. “You’re not fine.”
“I’m not your problem.”
“You’re not a problem at all.” His voice dropped, and I felt the vibration of it through his chest where it pressed against my side. “You’re the only thing that’s made sense to me in months, Tessa. Maybe Goddamn years.”
I closed my eyes because looking at him was too much. Admitting how much I needed Tonio right now, about how I felt safe with him when I knew he was a dangerous man, would be blood in the water to a man like him. But I was drowning in Tonio’s presence.
“You can’t say things like that,” I whispered.
“Why?”
“Because I’ll believe them.” The second the words left my mouth I knew I’d given him more leverage than I could afford, but I couldn’t take it back. Not and make him believe me.
He didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then he raised his hand to gently stroke my cheek with the pad of his thumb.
“Then believe them,” he said.
I sucked in a breath to say… something, but he found my mouth with his before I could think of a single clever thing to say back.
His kiss was soft at first, almost careful, like he was giving me every chance to pull away.
Instead, I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer, and he made a sound low in his throat that went straight to my clit.
He kissed me like he had all the time in the world, which I knew for a fact he didn’t.
Neither of us did. But when his tongue swept against mine, I melted for him.
His hand slid from my jaw into my hair, and he threaded his fingers through the tangled strands.
He tilted my head just so, deepening the kiss until my toes curled against the sheets.
I kissed him back like I’d been starving for him, because I had. Because every time Antonio Miles touched me, something inside me that had been cold and locked up for months flash heated to a raging inferno.
Antonio pulled back first. He ended the kiss slowly and tenderly, and I felt the loss of him like a physical ache. He rested his forehead against mine and our breaths mingled.
“Don’t stop,” I whispered.
He closed his eyes. His jaw worked. “If I don’t stop now, I won’t.”
“I just said I didn’t want you to stop.” My frustration made me sound whiny, and I cringed, muttering, “Sorry.”
He rubbed his nose against mine and gave a resigned sigh.
“You’ve got nothing to apologize about. The very last thing I want to do is stop, but we’ve got to go see Knight.
I tried to give you as long as I could before waking you up, but you got me first.” He gave me a tender smile that melted my heart.
“He’s got something?”
“I think so. It’s easier for us to go to him, so, much as I hate to, we need to get up.” He pressed one last kiss to my throat. “Don’t worry, baby. We’re not done. Not by a long shot.”
I let out a groan that was entirely too dramatic and flopped back against the pillow. “You’re telling me we have to get up now?”
His lips twitched, amusement evident in his expression. “‘Fraid so, honey. But don’t worry. When we get back home, we’re going to come to an understanding.”
“Yeah?” I raised an eyebrow at him. “What kind of understanding?”
“We’re going to come to an understanding about how you’re mine now.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Sounds like an awfully one-sided conversation.”
“Yes. I’m Antonio Miles and I get what I want.” I got the feeling he was only half joking.
Thirty minutes later, we lifted off, headed back to a private airport near the Kiss of Death compound but away from the docks. A car waited to take us to the compound and ten minutes later we walked into Knight’s office.
“Coffee?” Knight gestured to a table with a large pot of freshly brewed coffee.
“I’m good,” I said, but Antonio grunted and Knight poured two cups anyway, passing them across the desk like communion.
Knight started without preamble, gesturing to the computer on his desk. “This is the primary. Most of his buyers and sellers work through intermediaries, but this one… this one’s direct. They want Raines.”
Antonio sipped his coffee and said nothing.
“Raines?” I didn’t recognize the name.
“Mercy Raines,” Knight said. He clicked a photo, and a woman’s face filled the screen.
She was maybe twenty, with hard, haunted eyes and a buzzed scalp.
There was a line of stitches across her left temple and bruises layered purple over her jaw.
“She went missing a month ago but I think she’s been gone longer.
Only reason anyone realized she was missing was because her brother insisted on a welfare check. ”
“And she’s at éclipse?” Tonio leaned over Knight’s desk, looking at images and other printouts lying scattered over the surface.
“Yes. Or she was as of six hours ago. I got a facial match off the building’s loading bay security. She’s alive.”
A cold rage threatened to build inside me. “Then we’ll get her out.”
“That’s the plan,” Knight said, like it was the easiest thing in the world. “But the timeline’s tight. You’re running against a clock.”
Antonio leaned forward. “How high up does it climb? Who’s on top?”
Knight’s mouth twisted. “I traced the money up through Iron. It should have jumped to a holding corp, but there’s nothing. It just… stops. No records, no comms, nothing after the transfer. It’s a clean cut.”
Antonio frowned. “That’s not possible. Everything leaves a trail.”
“I agree.” Knight rotated his monitor toward us. “I built a shadow trace using the payment gateway, but after Iron, it’s like the money got vacuumed into a black hole. No shell companies, no kickbacks, not even a personal account. I’ve never seen a laundering job this good.”
“Can you break it?” I said, maybe too hopeful.
Knight looked at me for a long second, then shrugged. “Give me twelve hours and I’ll have a name. But it’s going to cost you some favors, and I’ll have to burn a couple bridges.”
“Do it,” Antonio said. The fact he didn’t hesitate chipped away a little bit more at any defense I had left against him.
Knight went back to his keyboard. “In the meantime, you need to focus on the next run two days from now at Enclave éclipse. Same location, same security. Difference is, the buyer’s coming in person this time. Not an intermediary.”
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Don’t know. The guy’s never been photographed, never uses a real name.
He's Denton's closer. Goes by Rainman, and he’s already in the city.” He pointed at a text chain with the name “Rainman” attached.
“He basically takes an order and places the buy, delivering the package to whoever paid him. He’s definitely got a skill set outside the norm, so be ready for anything if you actually confront him. ”
Antonio straightened in his chair, his jaw tight. “You said two days?”
“Forty-two hours, if the itinerary holds. If they move up the timetable, I have measures in place to know immediately, but for now, assume it’s a hard clock.”
I looked at the image of Mercy Raines, at the numbers and files rolling past. “I’m going, too,” I said.
Knight stopped typing and finally smiled. “Would have been surprised if you didn’t.”
Antonio was less thrilled. “No.”
I stared at him. “If I can help, I’m not sitting this out. You don’t get to make that decision for me.”
He set his coffee down with a soft, deliberate thunk. “I do if I’m afraid it could get you killed.”
“Then you better keep me alive,” I shot back.
The silence was a challenge. I held his gaze, refusing to look away, and he relented first. “You stay with me every second,” he said.
“Deal.”
Knight coughed into his hand, covering a smile. “Family drama isn’t my favorite thing, but it’s top ten. I’ll pull together anything you need, Tonio. Just promise you’ll try not to get shot on my watch. For some reason, Brynn likes you.”
“Is she still doing well?” Antonio asked.
“Yeah,” Knight said, his face easing into something almost tender. “She’s nearly back to normal. Lavender’s good with her. Brynn asks about you all the time.”
Antonio gave Knight a warm smile. “I promise I’ll visit her as soon as this is over.”
Knight nodded, then cleared his throat and brought up a new file.
“Last thing before you go. They’ll know you’re coming.
Denton’s already spun up new security. If you want in, you’ll need an inside badge and a biometric.
Rourke’s old badge will get you through the first two doors, but for the main vault, you’ll need Denton’s thumb or his iris. ”
Antonio almost smiled. “I think I can manage.”
They talked for a while longer, going over a few things I needed to pay attention to, but I kept losing focus as I watched Antonio in his element.
After half an hour, we had a plan and a timeline but still sat in Knight’s office studying everything Knight had presented. Knight left us to it, and I waited until the door closed before looking at Antonio. He stared at the monitor, his jaw tense.
“You OK?” I asked.
“Denton’s too careful. This feels like a trap.”
“It probably is,” I said. “But we don’t have a choice.”
He took one hand off the table and turned it palm up, inviting me to slip my hand into his. It would take a stronger woman than me to resist taking that connection.
“You really want to do this?” he asked. “I can handle it with my men. We’ll be careful with her.”
I looked at him, at the lines around his eyes, at the raw exhaustion in his voice. “I’m in,” I said. “You can’t scare me off, Antonio. Not with this. If I’m going to be your woman, I need to feel like I’m part of your team.”
He held my gaze, then stood and pulled me out of the chair and into his arms. For a moment, I thought he’d try to talk me out of it again, but he just held me there, breathing in the space at my throat.
“We go in together,” he said. “We come out together.”
“Deal,” I said, and meant it.