13. Astrid
Chapter 13
Astrid
Hours passed, and we didn’t hear from Theo. He didn’t come to the house to get me. It was radio silence.
Scarlett sat with me in the living room, her kids playing with their toys on the floor.
Axel couldn’t keep his eyes open much longer, so he’d gone to take a nap.
Scarlett watched her kids play before she looked at me again.
“I know he’s okay, but I don’t know what’s taking so long.”
“Call him.”
“He would have called me if he wanted to talk.”
“Anytime I called Axel, he always had time to talk to me. You know he’s okay, so call him.”
I was a bit disappointed that he hadn’t called. All I’d gotten was a quick text and nothing else. I left the couch and stepped out of the room to make the call. With the phone to my ear, I listened to it ring.
He didn’t pick up on the first or second ring. But he did pick up. There was a long pause because he didn’t say anything right away. “Hey, sweetheart.”
I closed my eyes as I treasured the sound of his voice.
He remained quiet as he waited for me to speak.
It took time to form words. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
He said nothing.
“Axel told me you were shot.”
“Don’t worry about it. I get shot all the time.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
There was no smirk in his voice. Just the same seriousness. “I failed you.” His voice was strong but full of defeat. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t fail, Theo.”
“He’s alive, isn’t he?”
“You’re alive. That’s all I care about.”
“That’s why I haven’t called. Didn’t want to have this conversation.”
“Theo…” My heart ached for him .
“Axel told you what happened at the house?”
“Yeah.”
“I want to come get you, but I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I need to transfer you in secret again. Just in case anyone’s watching. And they probably are.”
I was disappointed. So disappointed that I wouldn’t get to see Theo. Feel those big arms encircle me and make me feel safe. But I didn’t complain. I didn’t make it harder for him than it already was. “I understand.”
“I’ll make a plan with Axel.”
“He’s asleep right now. Was up all night.”
“I’m dead tired too.”
“Where are you going to go?”
“Home.”
“Even though Bolton’s guys broke in?”
“They didn’t break in,” he said. “They were let in.”
“What are you going to do about that?”
“Kill him. But that’ll have to wait. Got too much shit going on right now.”
There was nothing else to say, but I stayed on the phone with him, just wanting to be with him over the line, to feel connected in some way. I should let him go and get some rest, but I wanted to be selfish. “I’ll let you get some sleep.” It hurt me to say it, hurt to loosen my grip and let him drift away.
“I’ll call you when I wake up.”
“Okay.” I knew I shouldn’t say it. Just needed to keep my mouth shut. But I couldn’t help it, not when a bullet could have hit him somewhere else…and taken him from me. “Love you. Bye.” I hung up before he could say anything because I didn’t want to make it awkward, make him feel pressured to say it back.
I joined Scarlett again.
“How is he?” she asked.
“He seems okay. Says he needs to make a plan to get me back without anyone knowing.”
She gave a slight nod. “I figured that would be the case.”
“I guess it’s a good thing that Theo and Axel have always kept their relationship private.”
“Theo keeps all of his relationships private. Axel told me none of his guys even knew about Shayla. It’s a smart way to be when you’re in the game. If no one knows who you care about, they can’t be used against you.”
“Yeah.”
“Hopefully you’ll be reunited with Theo soon. I know this separation is hard for you. ”
Hard wasn’t the right word. Unbearable was a better fit.
The next day, Axel called me into his study. “Are you claustrophobic?”
“Uh…I don’t know.”
“Well, you’re about to find out.” He came around the desk in jeans and a t-shirt. After catching up on sleep, he didn’t have the bags under his eyes anymore. “We talked through a lot of different scenarios, but none of them were foolproof. So, I came up with this idea…”
“I don’t care what it is. I’ll do it.” I just wanted to go home to my man.
“There’re a lot of old tunnels and catacombs under the streets. And there’s one under my property.”
“I thought Paris was the one with the catacombs.”
“Well, if you knew your history like I do, you would know that’s not the case. What do you think?”
“You want me to crawl underground…like a rat?”
“You’re the one who said you’ll do whatever it is.”
“Sure, but this is the last thing I expected you to say.” I didn’t expect to crawl in the dark and get covered in mud…and whatever else was down there. “But I’ll do it. I think my tetanus shot is up to date. ”
“There are worse things than tetanus down there.”
“You mean rabies?”
“No.” He released a slight chuckle. “Don’t worry. I’m going to come with you. I’ve mapped out the tunnels and the exits. Theo’s going to have his guys pick you up on the surface. Then I’ll make my way back alone.”
I felt bad that he would have to walk back alone in the dark…with the rats. But this seemed to be the only way. “When do we leave?”
“Tonight.”
“Okay.” Instead of thinking about the horror of the sewers, I tried to think of what would be at the end of it. “Do you have a flyswatter or something?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “What are you going to do with a flyswatter?”
“I hate rats.”
He chuckled. “I don’t think a flyswatter is going to do much, but I think we have one around here.”
I said goodbye to Scarlett and followed Axel onto the side of their property. Stones had been dug up, and the dirt had been removed, showing a drainage system used to capture the rain and deliver it to the sewers below .
I stared at the hole and felt a tremor of terror.
He handed me a flashlight. “Don’t turn it on until we get down there.”
I couldn’t believe I was about to do this. About to descend into the fucking sewers.
Axel watched the unease on my face. “I appreciate the fact that you’re willing to do this. If Bolton doesn’t figure out the connection between us, that means my family is safe.”
He guilt-tripped me big-time, reminding me what was at stake if I chickened out. “Let’s do this.”
He grabbed on to the ladder and climbed down, disappearing into the darkness within just a couple feet.
I squatted down and waited for him to tell me to follow.
“Alright, it’s clear.”
I took a deep breath before I climbed down and became swallowed by the darkness. Running water that sounded like a waterfall was audible a moment later. The stench came next. I knew where the ladder ended because Axel had his flashlight on.
I stepped onto the concrete bank beside him.
He handed me his flashlight then turned on another. “You good? ”
“Yeah.”
He took the lead, a rifle slung across his shoulder, a handgun stuffed into the back of his jeans.
My flashlight scanned the ground, making sure there were no rats in the corners. The water in the center rushed by, full of waste from the city. The smell was so bad I had to breathe through my mouth instead of my nose.
“How far is the walk?”
“About two miles.”
That was a short walk on the surface, but down here, with the smell and the rats, it felt like a marathon.
Axel checked his map before he walked to the ladder that was mounted on the wall and led to the surface. “This is it.”
“Thank fucking god.” I’d seen a couple rats on the way and felt squeamish ever since.
“Wait here.” He climbed up first and reached the panel at the top. It had a wheel in the center that he had to turn, taking his hands off the rungs to twist it. It took several attempts before he got the wheel to turn and the door to unlock. It sprung open and revealed the night air above.
I couldn’t wait to get out of here.
He poked his head out and talked to someone. “Yeah, I’ve got her. Hold on.” He climbed back down and landed on the concrete beside me. “Octavio and the guys are up there. They’ll take you to Theo.”
Once I climbed up that ladder, it would be over. “Thank you for everything. I really appreciate it.”
A boyish smile came on to his lips. “It’s no big deal.”
“Well, it’s a big deal to me.”
He clapped me on the shoulder before he stepped away. “Go home. I’ve got to scrub the smell of shit off my arms so my wife will open for business tonight.”
“Yeah, I’ve got to do the same.”
“Knowing Theo, he won’t care.”
I climbed up the ladder, and the smell of the night hit me. Clean and cool, a welcome breeze hit my face. When I reached the top, one of the guys grabbed me and helped me to my feet. Then he made a face, like he could smell what I’d been smelling for the last hour. “I’ve got her.” He spoke into a comms unit in his ear. “We’re headed back now.”
We pulled behind the gates, and I walked inside the place I considered home.
Theo was waiting for me.
He stood there in his black sweatpants and nothing else, a bandage wrapped around his right shoulder. He looked the same except for the bruising down his right arm and torso. It was noticeable, even against the dark ink. His eyes ate me up like I was his favorite dinner.
I wanted to run into his arms and kiss him hard on the mouth, but I refrained.
When I didn’t come to him, he came to me, his eyes still steady.
“I—I smell.” It was such an awkward thing to say, but I didn’t want him to step into the cloud and recoil. “Let me take a shower first.”
“I don’t care.” His hand slid into my hair, and he kissed me, kissed me like I hadn’t just climbed out of a sewer. His arm circled my waist, and he pulled me closer, kissing me like we’d been apart for weeks rather than days. When he ended the kiss, he rested his forehead against mine. “I’ll shower with you.”
We stood under the water together. My clothes had been thrown away and my skin scrubbed with an entire bar of soap. I washed my hair twice, just to be sure.
Theo found the situation amusing.
“There were so many rats down there.”
“I’m glad that’s all you saw.”
“You don’t understand. These were big, fat rats. ”
When he smirked, his eyes lit up too. “You’re braver than most people.”
“Well, Axel was with me.”
“Even so. Most women wouldn’t have done what you did.”
“Well, I wanted to come home. Really wanted to come home. I missed you.”
Affection shone bright in the darkness of his eyes. “I missed you too.”
My eyes drifted down his body, seeing the bruising that couldn’t be ignored. “What happened?”
He didn’t glance to check the area, like he knew exactly what I was referring to. “I fell.”
“You fell?”
“Bolton released poisonous gas into the building, so I had to jump.”
“Jump where?”
“Out the window.”
“Oh my god.”
“I landed on the roof of a car. Got lucky, because if I’d hit the concrete, I probably would have broken a couple things.”
My hands automatically went to my face, and I closed my eyes as I tried to get the horrible image out of my head .
“Sweetheart.” His hands grabbed my wrists and gently pulled them from my face. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
“I’ve had worse, believe me.”
“Still not making me feel better…”
He smirked again before he released me. “In a couple weeks, it’ll fade, and we’ll forget about it.”
“How did you kill Carson?”
His lightheartedness immediately evaporated. “She released a gas grenade, so I had to take her mask or die. She didn’t think her plan through very well.”
“So, you ripped it off her face?”
“Yes. I don’t feel bad about it. I would have spared her if I could, but she gave me no choice.”
“You shouldn’t.” I felt bad for her, but for different reasons. I didn’t know what Bolton had told her, but it was probably all lies. “She made her choice.”
“I’m glad you don’t think I’m a monster.”
He was the size of a monster. He looked like a monster in some ways. But he was nothing like Bolton. “He’s the monster.”
We finished in the shower and moved to the bedroom. I’d only been gone for two days, but it felt so much longer than that. When I looked at the bed, it felt like I hadn’t seen it in years.
Theo set his things on the nightstand like he did every night, his phone and his watch. Then he pulled back the covers so he could get inside the sheets. He was buck naked, so he obviously didn’t plan to sleep. He moved to the center of the bed, sitting up against the headboard, his hard dick against his stomach. He looked at me expectantly, like a horse waiting for its rider.
I gently climbed on top of him, careful not to touch anything on his right side since he was bruised and had a gunshot wound in his shoulder. I focused on the left side of his body, placing my hands against his chest, looking at the hunk of muscle that was all mine.
His hands gripped my ass cheeks, and he pulled me in to kiss me. His lips moved with mine before he gave me his tongue, hungry for my kiss, hungry for my body. His big hands continued to grip my cheeks hard, pulling them apart. One of his hands curled underneath, and his long fingers reached my clit. That was how big his hands were, that they could snake around my body like that.
He rubbed my clit as he continued to kiss me, his big dick twitching in anticipation. His mouth claimed mine and took the lead. It would have been one of those nights where he did all the work if his shoulder allowed it. But it would take at least a couple days for it to heal enough for him to use .
His hand lifted me to where he wanted me, and he pointed his thick head at my entrance. Then he tugged me down and forced me to sheathe him, to squeeze him, something big being wedged into a small place.
I winced and breathed as I took him.
And he just watched. He guided me farther down until there was no more room for him. “Ride my dick, sweetheart.” His arms curled underneath my thighs like he’d done in the past, ready to support me so I could keep bouncing up and down his length without having to stop.
My hand gripped his good shoulder, while my other palm planted on his chest for balance. I moved down until it hurt then bounced up again, able to move at a steady pace because of the assistance he provided.
A quiet moan escaped his throat. “Just like that.”
I took his dick over and over, eyes locked on his, my breaths growing deeper and louder. When he started to really enjoy it, he forced me down a little farther, wanting to give me more of his dick even though it made me wince.
In unison, we moved together, my little channel taking his fat dick, breathing in sync and sometimes moaning in rhythm too.
I was tired and my legs started to shake, but it was so good I didn’t want it to stop.
“So fucking tight.” His arms started to move me faster, dragging me up and down his dick quicker than I could move. “You’re almost there. I can feel it.”
My nails started to come out and claw his skin. My breaths shook and turned uneven. Tremors moved through the muscles in my legs, but I pushed through it because it was so damn good. His dick was too big, but I wouldn’t change it. I wouldn’t change any part of him. I felt the heat of the sun before I was set ablaze. Then the flames burned me from head to toe, and I smashed his dick as I released my moans and my cries.
“There you go, sweetheart.” He thrust up from below, hitting me hard and fast, getting off on my tears. His dick hardened a little more, and then he released a moan that sounded like a growl. He filled me as he thrust, his eyes dark like the bark of a tree, his skin so red it looked sunburned.
The next thirty seconds were a blur, just moans and pleasure and tears.
When I made it to the other side, my body felt dead…but my heart had never felt more alive. My eyes focused on his face, and I cupped his cheek, kissing him like I was prepared to start over and do it all again.
His big hands squeezed my ass before he pulled me close, his arms circling me like the steel bars of a cage. His dick was still rock hard inside me as he kissed me, as he crushed me against his chest. “Damn, this pussy…”