Chapter 8
8
LAZARO
She’s far too cute for my peace of mind. Amara is studiously avoiding looking at me, and it only amuses me further. I should be helping her search, but I far more enjoy watching her. The woman moves quickly, but with a surety that many of our own trained soldiers don’t possess. Or maybe she just doesn’t want to face me, but either way, it’s working for her.
She moves her hands along the lower part of the wall, shifting upwards when she reaches the end and starts over, heading in the other direction. She’s so certain that there’s something here, and I hope she’s right, mostly so I can see her eyes light up again. It’s my new favorite expression.
Well, second favorite. The top spot belongs to a look I haven’t seen yet: one of rapturous ecstasy as I prove to her that I can fit.
I bite back another laugh. I’m surprised she didn’t notice anything when she punched me in the balls earlier. Still, I wasn’t kidding; it will take some work before she’s able to take every fucking inch of me. In my bed. Against the wall. Anywhere she’ll let me. I make a mental note to pick up some supplies when we get to New York.
Something tells me she’s not very experienced, though I can also understand that. After reading her background in the file, I’m surprised she’s adjusted so well. There is definitely information missing, particularly about the father and son in her past that the fucker in her salon mentioned, but I want her to tell me. Then I’ll know who to kill, slowly and painfully. Anyone else who’s ever dared to harm her will meet the same fate.
Watching her, I feel a surge of protectiveness. This woman will never want for anything again, including her safety, for the rest of her life; not if I have anything to say about it. I just need to convince her of that, and hope she’ll come to realize that the best place for her to be is with me.
“Aha!” Amara proclaims triumphantly, and I watch as she teases at another tiny notch in the wall and pulls it. There’s a low, mechanical groaning sound before, slowly, the wall starts to crack apart to reveal the outline of a door. Damn, these guys were clever. Amara steps back and gives me an expectant look.
I push open the door, shining my light inside to find that it’s another exit with a ladder leading up to a grate. This time, though, there’s no outside light. I wonder briefly if something has collapsed over the top of it, but I can still smell and feel a breeze coming through. “Stay here,” I order before I cautiously climb the ladder. When I reach the top, I peer out, but it’s too dark to see anything. It’s a risk to use my light in case anyone is lying in wait, but if no one has found the other exit or entrance yet, it’s unlikely they’ve found this one. Deciding to take the risk, I turn my light on and quickly realize we’re in a cave of sorts.
“What is it?” Amara calls up.
“It’s a cave. I’m going to check it out.” I push off the grate and hoist myself out, looking and listening. The cave is silent other than the soft sound of the breeze floating through. Following that breeze should lead to the exit, so I head in that direction, keeping my steps light. When I finally reach the end I stay tucked into the shadows along the wall, out of view, realizing that the mouth of the cave is halfway up the rock face, just above a short ledge. I carefully poke my head out, but I see nothing and no one. The sun is setting behind the cave, casting long shadows across the desert in front of me. The heat has lessened, but it’s still dry and heavy. I don’t want to stay out here too long. I glance around and spot what might have been a trail, though most of it has long since eroded. I follow it with my eyes but can’t see where it ends.
I make my way back down into the bunker and let Amara know what I’ve found. “Makes sense. They probably had another way down, but yeah, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to check the other rooms to see if there are any more doors. You coming?”
“Is that a hint for me to leave you alone so you can add more punishments to your tally by doing something dangerous?” I ask her dryly as we leave the bunker and make our way through to the next one.
Her answer is a glare up at me. Yeah, that’s what I thought.
We search the third bunker with no success, but we find another hidden door in the fourth. On the far wall, to the left of one of the big shelves, she finds a passage that leads to the same exit that sits at the end of the hall. And thank fuck I decided we should stay together, because the daft woman wanted to climb each shelf to see if anything was at the back of them.
Yeah, she and I are going to be having a long chat about her putting herself in danger. Something tells me that she’s going to try the same shit at Nico’s. And if she manages to get into his passageways, I don’t even want to think about what she’ll do. Probably map it all out so she can avoid me forever.
That’s not happening. I make a mental note to talk to Nico and Alessio; they need to keep their women from telling Amara about them.
Amara and I make our way back into the main bunker, and as we go, I turn everything off and shut out the lights. There’s no point in using up all our power. It’s been fine so far, but who knows how long it will last. No sense in courting disaster.
I shut the hidden door and turn back to find Amara yawning. Tenderness fills me. Of course, she’s tired. “You should rest, dolcezza,” I encourage her, stepping forward.
She gives me a sleepy look. “It’s too early to sleep,” she argues. “Besides, we’ll have to leave soon.”
“Not for another three or four hours, depending on how fast Alonzo rallied everyone to get here. You have time to rest. You’ve worked all day, run from Marco’s men, fought with me, and spent hours searching this place top to bottom. Anyone would be exhausted. Go and lie down on the bunk and rest. I’ll wake you when we’re ready to leave.”
She frowns. “Aren’t you tired?”
“Is that an invitation, dolcezza?” I tease lightly. I want nothing more than to hold her close as she dreams, but that will have to wait. I won’t be sleeping until we’re free of this bunker and in the air, on our way to New York.
Her face flames, even as she scowls. “No. I was just trying to be considerate. You might be tired too.”
I smile at her. She’s fighting this, but her feelings are already beginning to change. “I am, but I’m used to long days like this,” I assure her. “Go ahead and rest. I’ll watch over things.”
She hesitates but eventually walks over to one of the beds, wiping away the dust on the sheets and lying down. I watch as she curls herself up into a ball, her tired eyes closing once she burrows in. After a few minutes, I see her body relax and her breathing even out.
I watch her for another few minutes, thinking how positively tiny she looks in that bed. I usually find myself attracted to taller women; they can handle my size better—in all areas. This woman is far from tall.
Only, her size makes me want her more. She feels so small, so fragile, in my arms, but there’s a quiet strength and beauty to her. Like a bird; like one of the doves my mother used to feed and sing to when we were growing up. She would tell us to be gentle because they were fragile birds, but I never thought so. Maybe physically, but there was an intelligence in their eyes and a beauty in their flight.
Exactly like Amara. She might look tiny and delicate, but she’s smart as hell, and stronger than most men I know. Hell, she hasn’t once broken down in hysterics since this whole mess started, other than when Marco’s men were shooting at us. But that’s to be expected. Still, she was calm and collected, and pride swells in my chest.
It’s no wonder I want her to be mine. She’s a good fit for me, and I hope she comes to realize that. I don’t care how long I have to work to make it happen.
I resist going over to her, just to be closer to her for a moment, not wanting to wake her. Instead, I turn back to the surveillance system to see if Marco’s men have returned. There’s no one in the shop, and it makes me wonder if they’re lying in wait outside of it or if they’ve gone back to town to see if we doubled back. There’s no way they’ve given up, but we’re safe enough for now.
I move back to the chair and settle in to wait. The hours pass slowly, but finally, I get a message from Alonzo.
Alonzo: ETA five minutes. We’ll handle Marco’s men, but be ready to move as soon as we get there.
Amara is still fast asleep, curled up in the same position.
“Wake up, colombina,” I tell her, gently shaking her shoulder to wake her.
She startles with a scream, her eyes bursting open, and she sits up quickly, almost smashing her head on the bunk above her before I can put my hand between the two and take the brunt of the pain. She stares up at me with wide eyes, the sleep quickly clearing from them.
“Jesus, you scared me,” she gasps.
“You were sleeping pretty deeply. You okay?”
Her face flushes. “Sorry, I’m just not used to someone waking me up,” she explains awkwardly.
Pleasure fizzles through me at her admission. “You’ll get used to it soon enough,” I promise her. She just blinks at me, clearly not understanding my meaning. Damn, she’s too cute. “Alonzo’s almost here, so we need to get ready to go. You need anything before we leave?”
She hesitates. “I really need to use the bathroom, but a nineteen-fifties toilet is not my idea of a good time,” she admits. “And who knows if it even still works.”
I glance over at the bathroom, and then walk into it to check it out. I flush the toilet and wait, then turn on the sink to make sure it also still works. Other than a bit of a smell, everything seems to be fine. “It’s good,” I assure her. “And it’s a two-hour drive before we get to the plane.”
She doesn’t look convinced, but she must decide it’s the better option, so she goes in and shuts the door. I wait outside, and when she emerges, she jumps, realizing I’m standing there.
“Were you standing outside the door the entire time?” she demands, hands on her hips and glaring up at me.
“Yes.”
“That’s creepy.”
I give her an amused smile. “What? Did you expect me to go into the other room?”
“I expected you not to stand right outside the bathroom. It’s weird. Don’t do it again.” Then she walks toward the open door of the bunker.
I shake my head and follow her, turning out the lights and then closing the bunker door. We climb up to the landing silently, but I take her hand when she reaches to open the access panel.
“Not yet. We’re waiting on Alonzo’s signal first. Otherwise, we might step out into a gunfight.”
She stares up at me in exasperation. “Is this going to be my life now? Shootouts, fistfights, and bloodshed?”
“Not typically, but for a short while, it’s possible,” I hedge. “Until we handle your family and their need to make everything a war, it’s going to be hectic. But normally, no, it’s a calm existence, and things like this won’t touch you or our daily life.”
She doesn’t look convinced, and I notice she doesn’t comment on my assertion that it will be our life. Perhaps the idea is starting to grow on her.
My phone buzzes.
Alonzo: Neutralized. Let’s go.
“Time to go, colombina,” I announce.
“Okay,” she says, though she doesn’t look excited by the prospect.
I pause. “Everything okay?”
She doesn’t answer right away, she just stares at the door. Finally, she answers quietly, “It just hit me that as soon as you open this door, my life is done. Up until now, being down here, there’s been a chance that you’re wrong, and this is all a dream. Opening that door and going outside, that makes it real, and it means my life is over. Everything I’ve worked so hard to build for myself is finished.” There’s a sadness that leaks into her voice, and it cuts deep into my chest.
“It’s not finished, Amara,” I promise her, cupping her face in my hand. Her eyes hold so many different emotions. “It’s simply paused for now. When this is all finished, I promise we’ll make your dreams flourish again. I just need you to trust me for now.”
“You keep saying ‘we’,” she whispers, eyes searching mine.
“Because the two of us, we’re going to be so much more than you think, Amara. I’ll give you some time to get used to it, but I’m only so patient.” Then I bend down to kiss her quickly on the mouth before I force myself to pull away. We don’t have a lot of time, and we need to get the hell out of here.
I take her hand in mine once I get the door unlocked and open, pulling her out into the gun shop. I notice several things at once. First, Alonzo isn’t alone, and he’s currently glaring furiously at a woman while she glares back up at him, clearly not intimidated. Next, there’s a giant black dog, complete with a thick gold chain around his muscular neck, sitting at the woman’s side and giving a low warning growl. That thing is huge; if he launches himself at Alonzo, he’s a dead man. The only reason I’m not pulling my gun is that Alonzo doesn’t look the least bit concerned—about the dog, anyway.
Who the fuck are they?
“If you ever do that again, I’m going to beat your ass, you irritating little witch,” Alonzo hisses through clenched teeth. “You’re lucky I even brought you. I should have left you tied up on the fucking plane.”
“Try it and see what happens, Goliath,” the woman tosses back. “And I don’t need Hades to do the work for me. One hard knee to the balls and a good shove and we’ll be yelling timber. Then we’ll see if what they say about a tree falling in the forest is true.”
She looks somewhat familiar but I can’t place her. She’s a good four inches taller than Amara, with bleached blonde hair that’s almost white in color and sits just at her shoulders. She’s wearing all black and her sharp green eyes are thickly lined, but somehow it works for her. Her lips are painted a dark red, and right now they’re pulled down into a deep scowl.
Alonzo’s face goes red with fury. Shit. This woman is playing with fire. I don’t know whether to be impressed or worried. Alonzo can handle himself, but something tells me that this woman is a major pain in the ass.
“What the fuck is going on here?” I demand, pulling Amara behind me as we step further into the room.
Neither of them turns to look at me, too focused on each other, but the dog, Hades, does. His head whips around to look at us, his growl stopping as he takes us in. I can see the intelligence in his amber eyes. He must not see me as a threat because he turns back toward Alonzo, and the growling starts again.
“I told you to stay in the fucking car, and what do you do? You get out and start shooting. Putting yourself in danger,” Alonzo snarls at her. He bends forward so his face is only inches from hers. “When I give you an order, you obey. Do you understand?”
“I understand that you’re an idiot for thinking I’m going to sit back and let you have all the fun,” she sniffs. “Did you miss the memo that Hades and I are perfectly capable of handling ourselves? We helped you with the fuckers back in New York. Maybe you’d like another demonstration?” On cue, Hades lets out a snarl of warning.
“Enough!” I bellow, finally capturing their attention. I glare at them both and then order the woman, “Call off your dog. Now.” I pour authority in my tone, though she regards me dispassionately before she finally holds out her hand, signaling the dog to quiet. “Whatever you two have going on, I don’t give a flying fuck. Figure it out on the way back, because we’re leaving. Now.” I turn to pull Amara up beside me, but she’s not there.
I make a fool of myself whipping around only to discover her on my other side, watching the unfolding drama with interest. I scowl at her, but she ignores me.
“Let’s go,” Alonzo barks, and then the stupid fucker grabs the other woman by the hand and yanks her out of the room. Hades barks once and follows quickly behind them.
Jesus Christ. What the fuck is happening right now?
Amara starts to chuckle. “Well, the ride to the plane is going to be interesting,” she remarks, glancing up at me before she heads for the door as well.
I follow her out, afraid that she’s right, but also wanting some goddamn answers. Papa never mentioned a woman when he called me earlier, so he’s either not aware of her himself, or he didn’t feel it was relevant.
When we get to one of the waiting SUVs, I open the back passenger door for Amara, who quickly climbs in. I glance inside and see the woman is now sitting next to her, and the dog has stuck his head through the gap between the seats, his tongue lolling happily and his body wriggling as he looks at Amara. I want to yank Amara right back out, because no way am I allowing her anywhere near that fucking beast, but she coos, “Awww, you’re just a big sweetheart aren’t you?”
The other woman grins at her. “He is. If you pet him, just know he’s going to want you to continue for the whole ride back.”
“That’s okay,” Amara giggles, quickly scooting forward and patting the dog’s head, who instantly nuzzles and licks at her arm. “Good boy,” Amara praises, using her other hand to scratch behind his ears. “I’m Amara, by the way.”
“Rori,” the woman says with a grin. “And this is Hades.”
The name instantly clicks. This is Sienna’s best friend. I let myself relax a little, though I’m still confused about why the hell she’s here. I shut the door and climb into the front passenger seat, checking that Amara has enough room before I slide the seat as far back as it can go. She looks fine, having already curled her legs up underneath her as she continues to love on the giant dog.
The instant my door shuts, Alonzo guns the engine, his face hard and jaw clenched. “Care to explain?” I ask him in Italian.
“She snuck onto the plane when we were leaving and no one noticed,” he bites out. “How the fuck do they not notice an entire person and her gigantic fucking dog? I’ve already made my displeasure known. She also managed to get past them and into the SUVs when I ordered her to stay on the plane. She’s a pain in my ass, and I’m telling Alessio to assign her to someone else as soon as we get back.”
“Why is she assigned to you in the first place?”
His jaw flexes. “She snuck onto the grounds at Nico’s and got the jump on me,” he says through gritted teeth.
My head whips towards him. “She did what? How the fuck did she manage that?”
“She had the damn dog lie down and pretend to be injured, and I found him. I stopped to check on him, and she put a gun to the back of my head. Alessio and Nico allowed her to stay because she didn’t want to leave, but Nico’s pissed because her family is connected to the cops. She’s also connected to the Belovs, or at least her family is. Alessio trusts her because she helped save the girls when Giovanni and Rafaele got into Nico’s place, but Nico isn’t sure. He still thinks she’s going to sell him out the first chance she gets.”
I understand the worry, but at the same time, her best friend is neck-deep in this, and that would be a very stupid fucking decision on her part. “Why did she decide to sneak onto the plane?”
“She said she didn’t want to stay in the house doing nothing,” he scoffs. “As if she had a fucking choice. Alessio is pissed, and so is Nico, but that fucker, Dante, said it’s probably for the best. I’m going to beat his ass the minute we get back.”
“I’ll join you, though not for this. Mostly because he needs to understand where he stands with us.”
“If you’re going to talk about me, you could at least do it in English so I can chip in,” Rori’s voice drawls drily.
I turn to look at her and find her eyeing us, while Amara watches on curiously.
“What makes you think we’re talking about you?” I ask. The details we have on her don’t suggest that she can understand Italian, but if she’s somehow managed to keep that hidden, we’re going to have to make some adjustments.
“Because Goliath here always gets this sound in his voice whenever he does,” she returns with an amused look in her eyes. “Anger, frustration, those all seem to be reserved for me. But mentioning the Belovs was what clued me in.”
“Who are the Belovs?” Amara asks.
“Russian Bratva,” Rori replies before I can. “Nasty bastards who the men in my family work for in one capacity or another. That little fact makes me untrustworthy to this lot, and to the crew in New York. Well, that, and some of those family members I mentioned are cops who occasionally do some dirty work for the Belovs. And, if that wasn’t enough, I’m also a bounty hunter, so I’m constantly in contact with the cops. That part really sealed the deal.”
“Are you untrustworthy?” I ask her bluntly, giving her a cold look. I don’t hurt women, but if a woman endangers those I care about, I have no qualms about putting a bullet between her eyes. I don’t really care about her connection to the Belovs, since we have no issues with the Russians, but I can understand Nico’s concern around her ties to law enforcement.
“Even if I say no, you’re not going to believe me,” she returns with a shrug. “But no, I’m not. My family and I are estranged for a reason. Sienna is the only family I have, which means that when she’s in trouble, I’m at her back, whether you all like it or not.” Then she gives Alonzo a pointed look in the mirror. “And instead of seeing me as an asset, this one sees me as a liability.”
“Because you’re fucking reckless,” he snaps. “You think you’re invincible thanks to your dog, and because you know how to handle a gun. You’re going to get both of you killed if you don’t start using your brain.”
She ignores him and instead focuses on me, giving me an assessing look before her face splits into a wicked grin. The sudden change makes me uneasy. What the hell is up with her now?
“Actually,” she begins, “maybe you can help me out with something. I’ve been wondering: since you lot are so freaking big, when a woman gives you a blow job, does she still have to get on her knees, or can she just lean over? He won’t tell me, he just gets all mad and growly, and you’re even bigger than he is, so you for sure know what I’m talking about. Well, unless I’m completely wrong and you’re not that big everywhere. Your brother is blessed with being proportional… we should compare the two of you. You know, for science.”
“I’m going to gag your annoying ass,” Alonzo threatens instantly, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles are white.
Amara splutters in shock. Her cheeks are aflame as she claps a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking as she tries to contain her laughter.
I arch a brow at Rori, both surprised and amused at her question. I’m starting to get a much clearer picture of the woman that has my brother so tied up in knots. The sooner we get back to New York, the better.