Chapter 66
DANTE
I t’s another long day. My basement office is the easiest to secure, so we have set ourselves up in there for now.
A steady stream of soldiers comes in and out with updates.
At any given point, at least one of us is talking to someone on the phone.
Christian, despite his protestations, is grimacing and moving stiffly as evening closes in.
He knows a great deal about Ettore’s operation, so his contribution is valuable, but he also needs some rest.
The adjoining room is mostly empty. We’ve had a bunch of temporary cots brought in so we can sleep without needing to leave.
That he offers only a token complaint tells me he’s at his limit.
Earlier, I caught him taking more of the pain pills than he should. I don’t fucking trust him not to be stupid so I go with him.
“I’m on rations now, then?” He scowls at me as I hand over the dose.
“Yes.”
He chuckles at my blunt reply and rummages in his pocket. “Here. I’m out. You’ll have to do this.”
“This?” I take the clear plastic bag from him with a frown. There is a small square sealed package and a dropper bottle.
“It’s a Bluetooth tracker. Medical grade. The battery lasts for ten years before you need to replace it.”
A hot flush sweeps down my spine as I stare at the innocuous little device. “And you just happen to have one of these?”
“I got it before everything went south.” He sits down on the side of the cot with a grimace and kicks off his shoes. “Just in case she gets confused and runs again, yeah?”
I swallow.
“You good with this?”
Am I?
“Yes.”
“Good. The app is already on your cell phone.”
Now I’m confused. My phone has been in my possession all day. “It is? When the fuck did you do that?”
“Last year.”
“Last year?!”
“Not the app, the accessing your phone part,” he says, looking defensive. “I wanted to test it on someone.”
Lucky me… “I suppose you got the ‘how to unlock a cell phone’ off the dark web, too?”
“Huh? No. Unlocking a phone is really difficult.”
Well, alright then…
“I just swiped yours before the screen saver came on and put my fingerprint in it. Then I installed the spyware app.”
I must be projecting murder because he holds up one hand. “I’m really pretty fucked-up right now…” He gives me a shifty look. “The pictures that swimwear model used to send you went straight into my spank bank.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose wondering if there are side effects with his pain medication that make him overly chatty.
“I probably shouldn’t have told you about that.”
“No, you shouldn’t have taken them!”
He grins… of course he does. Then the smile drops and a deadly serious expression takes its place.
“You deleted them on Carmela’s birthday, right after you went down on her.
That’s when I decided to delete them, too…
Look, I need you to handle this for me. That blow job was fucking amazing.
I appreciate you setting that up. I’m rescinding my previous rule on a case-by-case basis.
It’s okay if you fuck her after you’ve done the deed.
The way your eyes glazed over when I mentioned the tracker, you won’t be able to help yourself either way. ”
He yawns heavily, then lies down like this was a perfectly normal conversation.
“Laters,” he mumbles.
Fuck! I should have read the warning signs when I caught him watching bomb making tutorials.
My brother is something else.
I’m not mad about it.
Leon is confused when I head back into my office and announce that I need to go and see Carmela.
His brows pull together. “Right fucking now?” He is talking to Mateo, who sends me a speculative look like he’s also not buying into my sudden decision.
“Yes, right now. It’s quiet—I doubt it will stay that way forever. We’ve planned for every contingency. We’re as ready as we can be. I’d like to see her tonight because tomorrow might not be as easy.”
“I’ll drive you,” Mateo says. He stands and snatches his car keys off a nearby table. “Leon, you’ve slept three hours in the last two days. You’ll start making mistakes if you don’t get some rest.”
“Fine,” Leon says. “You’re right.”
We take a car and two more men for the journey. I sit in the front with Mateo, and our soldiers sit in the back.
“You looked like a man on a mission when you came into the room,” Mateo says conversationally. It’s late. The roads are quiet, but he has the air of a man who’s hyper alert.
“So did you,” I say. “Was Leon boring you or something, that made you jump at a chance to get out of there?”
“Huh? Of course, not.” He shifts his hand slightly on the wheel. The movement draws my eye, almost like he’s uncomfortable… or likewise just needs some sleep.
“There are five spare bedrooms and a summer house. Once we arrive, pick somewhere, and get some rest too.”
He chuckles. “Yes, sir.”
The journey is incident-free. But it’s still a relief to pull into the gates.
The tiny little device is burning a hole in my pocket. Maybe she’s already asleep. Perhaps I won’t be able to do this tonight.
He said I could fuck her after I’d implanted it. Except now I’m home, I don’t know whether I’ll be able to help myself from fucking her, either way.
Mateo follows me up the front steps where a soldier stands on guard. He nods and opens the door for us.
I stop.
Mateo likewise stops. “Something wrong?”
“Do you have a knife?”
He raises both brows.
“Do you have a fucking knife or not?”
“Sure.” He unclips the sheathed blade from his waist and hands it to me. “It’s very sharp.”
“Good. Not much use to me if it’s blunt.” I slip it into my jacket pocket and head for the informal lounge where I can see the light is on. I find Carmela talking to her sister. Both their heads pop up. Jessica chews on her lower lip, and her eyes slide from me to Mateo and back again.
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” she says, rising from her chair.
Mateo clears his throat behind me. “Yeah. I had better… find somewhere to sleep.”
“I can show him,” Jessica says.
Her cheeks are a little flushed. I’m instantly suspicious about what the two women were talking about.
“Thank you,” I say. I’m more interested in getting Carmela alone than pursuing whatever was going on. “Time for bed, Carmela.”
She nods. “How is Christian? Is he… here?” She glances toward the door.
“It’s been a long day. He probably shouldn’t have gone with me, but he insisted, and I relented. He took some pain pills and is staying with Leon, but wanted me to come and check on you. He’s doing okay and just needs the rest… Have you drunk enough water today?”
She rolls her eyes. “Really, Dante, you’re checking how much water I’ve had?”
I smile, take her hand and pull her up from the seat. And then, because I can’t fucking help myself, I draw her into my arms and kiss her.
Her lips part with a moan. So soft. So inviting. My tongue sweeps straight inside, and I taste her, deepening the kiss. Her fingers sink into my suit jacket, clinging. My hand slides down to her ass, anchoring her to me, my other hand in her hair holding her still.
I’m hard in an instant.
Ready to put her on the floor and fuck her.
No one would stop me. This is my house, and she is mine.
But I have something to do first, so, reluctantly, I lift my lips.
She blinks up at me, her lips swollen from the kiss. She’s so beautiful. Sometimes looking at her almost hurts. I’m still dealing with what happened, grappling with the terror of nearly losing her. Christian is right. We need to protect her from everything, including herself.
“I’ll bring some water up.”
“Thank you.”
Her eyes slide away, reminding me there are unresolved matters between us: guilt, regrets, self-recriminations. Her father’s question about Christian still lingers in my mind.
I watch her go. My hands are shaking faintly. I’ve already stepped over lines with her. What’s one more?
All I know is that I can’t live through losing her again. Not if there are alternatives. We’re still on heightened alert and likely will be for months, maybe years; it could take decades before this is resolved, and I need her to be safe.
I find what I need in the medicine cabinet. Then I take a bottle of water from the refrigerator and add five drops into it. When I go upstairs, I find her in Christian’s room, about to get into bed, wearing one of his T-shirts.
I hand her the water bottle. She must be thirsty because she unscrews the cap, tips her head back, and drinks half of it.
Good girl.
She slips into the bed, blushing like she’s not the same woman who was sucking Christian’s cock this morning while I fucked her from behind.
“I won’t be long.”
Closing the bathroom door, I empty everything from my pockets onto the vanity. My dick is stone hard just thinking about what I’m going to do. I ignore it and step into the shower. No need to rush. It will take a while for what I gave her to kick in.
By the time I return to the bedroom, she’s flat on her back, eyes closed with the covers pooled at her waist.
“Carmela?”
Nothing. My pulse rate kicks up. I walk over to her and ease the covers further down.
Her chest continues to rise and fall, but otherwise there is no reaction.
I lift her T-shirt, and I squeeze her tit.
Still nothing.
I pinch her nipple lightly, and then with increasing pressure.
Still nothing.
I release her, step back, and pace.
She really is fucking out.
Pre-cum starts to leak copiously from my dick. This is far more compelling than I anticipated.
I collect my things from the bathroom and spread them out on the bed before carefully rolling her onto her stomach.
I push her T-shirt out of the way, use a sterile cleansing pad, make a tiny incision, and push the device under her skin.
Carefully wiping away the tiny spot of blood, I apply the liquid bandage, ensuring it’s completely dry.
And then I breathe—it’s done. I ease her T-shirt back down and get off the bed.
Jesus Christ. My dick is throbbing. I stare down at her prone body for long moments.