Chapter 38 Ignacio
The energy in the room is tense, a sticky, staticky feeling blanketing us all. I’m still not used to being sidelined, and it’s driving me crazy.
On the wall are two screens, each showing the outside and inside of where Roman and Lio are being held.
My eyes greedily roam Roman’s face, watching every inflection.
His mouth opens, and I wish I could hear what he’s saying.
Whatever it is, Lio isn’t responding, or at least not properly, as frustration is clear on my Love’s expression.
Fuck. I wish I could be there. All I want is to pull Roman into my arms and never let him go.
I can’t, of course, as the last thing I want is to smother him.
He’s too strong for that, and I can’t cage his flame, but fuck, I hope he knows I’m going to need to hold him for a long while.
I know the rest of his lovers are anxious to have him back as well.
We’re all so different, and yet, the same in our devotion to him.
From what Keegan told me, Benjamin is struggling with sharing Tennant. I can’t say I understand where he’s coming from, but maybe it’s yet another sign that we weren’t meant to be together.
I’d never try to keep Roman to myself. He’s my everything, but I can’t be his only.
His personality…it’s too large to be contained by only one person.
But what I can do is offer him a soft place to land when he needs it.
I can spoil him, and let him have all of me, even if he encourages me to play with Jayden.
The others can call to his strength, his stubbornness, and other parts of him.
I cherish all of him, but not even I’m foolish enough to believe that I can meet all of those needs.
I hope Benjamin figures out how to accept Tennant’s lifestyle. Despite my previous anger at the man, I can see how loyal he is, and he’s certainly intelligent. I look forward to when my body is stronger and I can pit my training against his.
Still, I don’t want my Roman hurt because of Benjamin’s inability to be flexible on this. He fell in love with a complicated man, and now he needs to learn to understand another. I just hope he doesn’t treat Tennant with the same carelessness he showed my own heart. Nobody deserves that.
Blowing out a breath, I focus on the screens again.
Marcus’s voice comes through the speaker, letting us know that they’re finally there, and beginning to stage for an attack.
My heart rate picks up, as I know that soon, he’ll lead the charge to give Tennant and Cristian time to get in—hopefully, unseen.
Fuck, as hard as it can be on the ground, this is worse.
There’s nothing I can do while stuck in this fucking room, except stare at the monitors and listen to chatter of what’s happening.
“We’re about ready to go in. Everything set?” Keegan’s strong baritone interrupts the muted conversations, and I lean forward, keeping my eyes set on what’s going on. I barely listen to Leandro and Hollis giving the affirmatives, as I watch them converge on the outside of the building.
“Heading for the little Bosses,” Tennant whispers, and if I didn’t know the plan, I probably wouldn’t have noticed the two men heading toward the back. They disappear from sight and I glance toward the video of the inside, desperately watching for them to appear.
For a moment, I think everything is going to be alright, and then suddenly, the camera goes blank, and the sight of my precious Roman is gone. Glancing over, I see the outside is still visible, and I struggle to stand. I’m not sure what the fuck I plan on doing, but damn. I can’t keep sitting.
“Fuck!” Hollis snarls, his fingers racing across the keyboard.
Leaning against the table, I glance over at him, demanding, “What? What’s going on?”
“We’ve lost the inside cameras,” he states flatly, as if I’m unable to see that.
Growling, I snap back, “But you’re able to get them back, right?”
“No, fucker, now sit down and shut up,” Leandro retorts, as his frantic typing joins in the cacophony of noise. “It’s like they just unplugged the whole damn thing. All the security is down. Gone. Why…”
Hollis shakes his head grimly. “I don’t know. Thankfully, we’ve got satellites for the outside, but we’re flying blind inside. Ten, be careful. I can’t guide you.”
“Of course, Tesoro. We’ll get our Boys back.” The deadliness in Ten’s voice sends shivers down my spine, even as fear floods me. Not only for the bosses, but for everyone on the ground. Something isn’t adding up.
Just as I think that, Marcus cuts in. “We’ve got a problem. Something isn’t right. We’re not seeing any guards, and we’re practically on the front steps now.”
“We took care of the few that were on the outer perimeter without a problem.” I don’t recognize the voice, so I assume it’s one of the guards, but fuck, none of this makes sense.
“We’re flying blind here,” Hollis growls, his hands pausing on the keyboard. “Fuck. Do we pull back?”
“Negative,” Marcus says. “We’ll proceed carefully. But we are getting the Bosses back.”
Hollis settles, and I breathe easier. I’m not used to seeing him unsure, and I wonder if Doc let him come back to work too soon. The men start disappearing into the house, calls of “Clear,” coming quick. Silence coats the room again, and then suddenly, Leandro is slamming his hand against the desk.
“PULL BACK! Pull back, now!” Leandro calls out. “Ten, Cristian, do you have them? You all need to get out! There are explosives!”
There’s frantic chatter, and I watch as some men come pouring out of the front, but I can’t keep a headcount going. There’s no response from Ten or Cristian, and I let my weight settle more heavily on the table. My legs aren’t steady at all.
“Ten, come in!” Hollis yells, and then the world explodes.
I fall into the chair as fire licks across the screen, explosion after explosion overtaking the scene. Smoke rapidly fills the area, until I can’t make anything out, and my stomach churns. Fuck.
Did they all get out? Did they manage to get Roman and Lio?
“Come in, Goddammit,” Hollis snarls, but he closes his eyes, as if he’s unable to watch what’s happening. Then again, there’s nothing we can make out anyway…
“Fuck. Are the comms down?” I whisper, hoping there’s a reason nobody is responding. But Leandro and Hollis don’t answer me. So I hold onto that thought, needing to believe that’s the issue, and that the silence isn’t something more, something far worse.
Hollis opens his eyes and stares at the screen with a bleakness that only increases my nausea. What the fuck? Have we lost? We can’t. That’s…that’s not possible. I glance around and meet Carter’s worried gaze. His skin has the same green tinge to it that mine must have, because how did this happen?
We’re finally united. We’re whole. Did we go through all of that just to lose?
Did the Senator find a way to win? The movies don’t say what to do when the villain wins.
Books have never told me how to process losing the war.
And yet, here I am, sitting with what may be the only ones of us left. And if so…what the fuck can we even do?
Our hearts…they were there on the ground, and all I can see is fire and smoke. No voices call out, the silence absolute. Fuck. Please, tell me this is only a nightmare, because I can’t think of anything worse… I’d rather Jax have killed me than this, anything than this…