Chapter 33
DIANGELO
Present
Fuck, I hate seeing Terina so out of sorts.
She’s practically skittish, and that’s not at all like her.
That’s not the same woman who stuck her finger in my chest while railing at me about what I do and don’t know.
That Terina demanded to witness a snake being killed and welcomed a growling Rottweiler into her open arms. This new Terina is timid and uncertain.
I’m responsible for that shift, and I hate it.
Fuck what I should and shouldn’t do. My conscience won’t allow me to leave her flailing.
I set down the glass, then, with the tactfulness of a blind gorilla, I wrap my arms around her and crush her against my chest in a hug. It’s not exactly romantic. I want to comfort her without tempting myself, and this is the only way I know how.
She’s still at first, then I feel her hands loosely wrap around my waist.
I take a long, steadying breath. “Rina, everything’s going to be fine.
What happened today changes nothing. Your family loves and respects you.
And trust me, they wouldn’t want their private lives broadcast to anyone else and won’t judge you for yours.
It’ll blow over. I promise,” I say as soothingly as possible.
I have to. I can’t stand to see her so rattled by something I did.
Her fingers curl ever so slightly tighter into my shirt.
Relief loosens the knot in my stomach.
“That’s better. Now, you good to eat? I’m fucking famished.” I pull back.
Pleasure like liquid sunshine in my veins fills my chest when she gives me her eyes and nods with a small smile. I’m blindsided by the urge to get her back on her knees, or even better, naked and cuffed in my bed.
I don’t want to lose her.
I want to simultaneously destroy whoever is threatening her while dragging out the situation just so I don’t have to let her go.
The craving is loud enough that I have to wonder if fighting it isn’t more of a distraction than simply giving in and claiming her. I want her safe. How can I protect her properly when I’m mentally at war with myself?
I’m not sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion I’ve been looking at this all wrong. It’s an entirely new angle I’ll have to consider.
After pizza, because fuck, I’m hungry.
Why the fuck is this guy here? I thought he only taught afternoon classes, but it’s ten in the morning, and fucking Chase is Terina’s class instructor.
I’m fairly certain that when we were in this class before, it was led by an Aussie woman with an obnoxiously high-pitched voice.
I’d prefer that over Captain Tentacles, who has to touch every person he sees.
People gather in the room and ready their spots as he walks around welcoming them one by one. I watch as he gets to Terina and places his hand on her arm. I nearly crush the water bottle in my hands when this asshole slides his hand down her arm instead of simply letting go.
You can’t fucking tell me that’s normal. That was a caress, and I’ll be goddamned if he touches her like that again.
The second he heads for the lobby, I’m in motion.
“Hey, Chase, can I talk to you for a minute?” I ask without inflection, motioning to the back hallway as I set the trap.
“Yeah, but I only have a second. Class is about to start.” His smile doesn’t erase the wariness in his eyes. Smart. My motives aren’t at all friendly.
“Definitely won’t keep you.”
The second he rounds the corner, I pounce, crowding him. I’m a good foot taller and have at least fifty pounds on him. I don’t touch him, but my features harden.
He pales.
“Here’s the deal, Chase. I see you’re a hands-on kind of guy.
” I lean in a tiny bit more. “Every time you consider putting your well-meaning fingers on Terina, I want you to pretend it’s me you’re touching.
And if you’re not comfortable doing it to me, then you better not fucking do it to her. Am I understood?”
Eyes wide, he swallows. “Yeah … uh, yeah. Got it.”
I give a curt nod. “Then I suppose you should get back to class.” I wait for him to realize he’s got to squeeze past me if he wants to escape.
It’s the most fun I’ve had in weeks.
Miraculously, Terina’s form must be perfect because Chase abstains from giving her any pointers. As if she needed any to begin with. She eats, sleeps, and breathes yoga—her body bends and folds as though she were a circus performer in a past life.
Well, fuck.
I may have just unlocked a new kink because seeing her work her subtle curves on center stage for me might be my new favorite fantasy.
I chide myself to focus and manage to keep from getting a hard-on during class. After that, I take Rina to her place to check on things and let her pick up anything she might have forgotten.
“We should probably empty the fridge. I completely forgot about that, and there’s no telling what might be rotting in there,” she says after piling a bunch of random toiletries into a tote bag.
“Already took care of it last week. I had one of the guys come by.”
“Oh,” she says, surprised. “Thanks.”
I nod, holding her stare while a myriad of questions pass inscrutably behind her eyes.
“I guess that’s it, then. I think I have everything.”
We lock up and head back to my place. She cooks shrimp scampi for dinner while singing along to music playing on a mini speaker.
I work on my laptop at the table, as though I don’t have an office a few feet away.
I don’t want to hide away in my office. Not when I can be endlessly distracted by the goddess in my kitchen, though I try to hide my fixation.
Our evening together is an odd mix of comfortable yet awkward.
We’re polite but distant—as though we’re both dancing around the elephant we’ve silently agreed to ignore.
We’re back on that knife’s edge as if we haven’t learned a thing.
I’m not sure the two of us can exist together with the intensity of our chemistry without giving in or combusting.
Nevertheless, we try.
An entire week passes in a holding pattern. We are planes circling the airport with fuel levels inching dangerously low.
Each passing day, pressure builds in my head with every empty word we exchange and incidental touch. I wonder if she can hear the ticking time bomb in her head the same way I can every time we’re in a quiet room together.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Counting down the seconds to something cataclysmic.
Whatever this is between us won’t survive much longer in its current state. Will the new order lead to something beautiful, or will it devastate all it touches?
I fucking wish I knew.
And on top of it all, that’s not the only obstacle to cross our path. Over two weeks have passed since the snake, and we still haven’t confirmed the source of the threat or which dealer obtained it.
The best news of the week was the return home of Renzo, Shae, and the new baby.
All are doing well. We have security detail on their house night and day.
I suggested they seclude themselves in a safe house for the next month or so, but Shae insisted she wanted to be in her own home with the new baby.
And when Shae makes up her mind, there is no changing it.
Aside from that, the week has been utterly unremarkable, which makes me especially hopeful when I see Renzo’s number flash on my phone.
Please, tell me you’ve had a breakthrough.
“Hey, man. How’s the new family?” I ask before jumping into business.
“Tired but good. Who knew that a baby who sleeps all the time could be so exhausting?” He sounds like he’s just finished his first triathlon. I have to laugh.
“Not sure you’re allowed to complain about being tired, seeing as how you didn’t push that baby out and aren’t waking up to feed it.”
“Just wait. You’ll see one of these days,” he grumbles. “Listen, I called because we got a message from Reaper. Says he’s not responsible.”
I sit taller, my eyes narrowing with concentration. “What kind of message?” We’d put out some feelers on the street, hoping to get word to the guy, but had no idea if or how we’d hear back from him. He’s not the sort to make a call or send an email.
He’s a fucking phantom.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me,” I urge.
“Asshole shot an arrow into the pergola on my back patio with a note tied to it. Even sealed the damn thing in wax.”
“You fucking kidding me?”
“Told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”
“What is he, fucking Robin Hood?”
“Hell, I don’t know.” Renzo’s exasperation is audible. “Maybe. According to the cops, he’s shut down a number of child trafficking operations.”
“He’s also bootlegging and running guns, as far as we can tell. Dude’s not a saint.”
“Either way, no real reason to trust him, but if we did take him at his word, he’s not responsible for the snake.”
I grumble. “Shooting arrows isn’t exactly the way to convince me you’re not the one sending venomous snakes. Those two tactics seem equally odd.”
“Good point.” He takes a slow, deep breath. “Simeon still insists any threats expressed by Pasha aren’t shared by him. I think Pasha blames us for his father's death, not out of loyalty, but because it led to his downfall. Right now, our best guess is it’s Pasha out for revenge.”
“Makes sense,” I agree. “Also makes him that much more unpredictable. Do we have any idea where he’s hiding?”
“No. You’re better at that sort of thing than anyone, and while I hate to pull you away from protection duty, I think it might be necessary.”
My hackles rise. “What exactly are you thinking?”
“Nothing major. I just thought it would be good to have someone fill in for a few hours so you can put your ear to the ground.”
I exhale my relief that it’s not a permanent shift. For a second, I thought he might assign someone else to protect her, and I’ll be damned if Terina moves in with some other asshole.
“Yeah. I can take a few hours, and maybe then we can put this to bed.”
I’d like nothing more than to get my hands on the man who thinks it’s fun to send deadly snakes to innocent women.
I have one particular acquaintance who could be helpful, but I have held off on reaching out.
It’s never good to ask for favors unless necessary.
In our world, help always comes at a price.