Chapter 21
Antonio opens the car door and gets in. The first thing I notice is the hat pulled down to cover his bandaged forehead.
My anger at Cecily flares, and even though she’s dead, it’s not enough.
After he’s situated in the vehicle, I head out, letting Antonio play with the radio as the blanket of silence between us remains tense.
Sighing, I give in first. “I’m sorry.”
Antonio deflates immediately, sending me a small smile. “Me, too.”
Nodding, I let the past go. We don’t need to talk about it in depth—our friendship is too strong for that.
Hell, it survived me shooting him. Harsh words may have dripped like poison in our veins, but our history overcomes it just as easily as the gunshot.
Thank fuck. It doesn’t feel right when we’re not in sync.
“What’s the plan today?” Antonio finally asks. I chuckle, as knowing that he came without any reservation says enough.
“I want to check in with Ely. Per Keegan’s orders, I did ask Leandro for an update, and was basically told to fuck off. He’ll let us know when he has something, and until then, don’t bother him.”
“Shit,” Antonio mutters, and I hum in agreement. “Lio is going to be pissed when he’s back fully. Leandro must be pushing it too hard. He wouldn’t expect us to step in, right?”
“If he does, then he’ll be disappointed. Let Leandro’s father deal with it.” My hands tighten on the steering wheel, anger coursing through me. It’ll be a while before I forgive Leandro—if ever.
Antonio’s fingers drum against his thighs and he shakes his head. “You know Lio won’t take that as an excuse.”
“You really think when Lio finds out Leandro knew Allesandro was being targeted, he’ll just forgive the kid?” I ask dubiously. “Hell, Lio was ready to kill Luca… I can’t imagine him just forgiving Leandro.”
Antonio shrugs. “I think it’s more likely he’ll forgive Allesandro for what happened, and not really focus on the fact it was Leandro who fucked up.”
“Are you going to be okay with that?” I glance over at him before turning my attention back to the road. “If he forgives Allesandro?”
“Yeah,” he says softly. “I’ve made my peace with that. And with Allesandro.”
“You do seem…lighter today.”
Antonio blushes as he shifts in the car seat. “Yeah…uh, I kinda get Lio’s whole Daddy thing now.”
I make a strangled noise in the back of my throat, unable to think of anything intelligent to say. Given the way he laughs, I’m glad my reaction amuses him. But fuck, I did not expect that.
“Uh…well, that’s good. I’m…uh…glad,” I stammer out. I’m not going to yuk his yum, but damn, that’s a plot twist I did not expect.
He laughs harder and I finally give in, chuckling with him as I shake my head.
Once he’s back under control, he adjusts his hat, making sure it’s secure before replying.
“Yeah…I’m not sure what made Jude think of it, but…
it was good. It felt right. I’m kinda excited to see what happens.
I mean, I don’t plan on going down the whole diaper route—at least, I don’t think so—but to have that level of care?
I get it now. He made me feel special. Like I’m worthy of more than sex, of more than, well… you know.”
My heart aches for my friend, and I reach over, patting his shoulder. “I’m glad. You deserve that. You give everything you can to others. I’m glad Jude is treasuring you like he should.”
“You totally were considering the shovel talk, weren’t you?” Antonio snorts, and I give him my best innocent expression. He’s right though. I haven’t interacted much with Jude, but I absolutely had planned on making sure he was good enough for my friend.
“Like you didn’t with Keegan.” Antonio blushes at my retort. “Yeah, Keegan snitched on you a long time ago on that one.”
He stiffens as he stares out the side mirror. “Did you tell Ely you were coming?”
“No,” I reply slowly. “You, Keegan, and Leandro are the only three I told. Why?”
“I think we’re being followed… That black car that’s speeding up? He’s been on us for the last seven minutes, always a few car lengths back, until now…”
“Fuck. Call Ely,” I command sharply. “We’re in her territory now.”
My heart hammers as the car gets closer. It makes no sense that anyone would be locked onto us. I mean…there’s still the Senator to take care of, but fuck, doesn’t he have enough shit going on?
I listen to the phone ringing, but keep an eye on the black car. He’s on my ass now that there’s nobody around. Ely must pick up because Antonio is speaking rapidly, hopefully finding us somewhere to go. This isn’t our territory, and I have no damn clue where the safest location is.
“Listen, you need to get out of here,” Ely blurts out, and I blink, realizing Antonio must have put it on speakerphone.
“Little hard,” I growl. “We’re being followed. What the fuck is going on?”
“Traitors,” she retorts grimly. “We’re taking care of the issue, but somebody picked up on our alliance and decided to make a name for themselves… It’s not safe for you here.”
My stomach sinks. “Are you safe?”
“She’ll be fine.” I breathe easier at Daniel’s harsh voice, but damn.
“Can we at least get some assistance to get the fuck out of here?” I grit out as I take a corner too fast, the wheels lifting on one side. “I want to know if this was someone’s idea of a lucky day catching us here, or if this is a coordinated attack.”
“We’ll send the bikes your way. It’s the best we can do,” Daniel grunts, and the phone call ends.
Antonio slams against the door, cursing, as I take another hard right. “How are fucking motorcycles supposed to save us?”
Sweat beads along my temples as I gun it, trying to get away from the car behind us as a shot rings out. “Fuck!”
I hold my breath, but thankfully, whoever took the shot must suck, because it doesn't sound like it landed. Antonio begins to unbuckle, so he can return fire. I grit my teeth, hoping the motorcycles show up soon—and with a fucking plan.
Between one heartbeat and the next, the world explodes… Images collide with each other, and I can’t tell what the fuck happened. I scream as the car flips, and I can only just make out the two cars that seem to have come out of nowhere. Fuck.
It’s only when we land—upside down—that I realize the shot was nothing more than a distraction, keeping me from realizing we were being pinched. Fuck. Whichever one hit us… I groan, my head pounding.
I try to form words, but nothing comes out, everything is too fuzzy. There’s the sound of glass shards being stepped on, revving engines, and a scream from Antonio…and then…nothing. Blackness overtakes it all, and I can only hope that when I wake up, the world will make sense again…