Rami

Chapter 14

Rami vibrated as he shoved his gun into his waistband and bent to slip his hand beneath Ivy’s head. He lifted her a few inches from the pavement. Her cheeks were as red as apples, her hair wild. Stark fear clouded her eyes, and her lips trembled as she reached for him.

“Don’t get up.” He pressed a palm to her belly and fear paralyzed him. Blood drenched the front of her dress. He carefully moved his hand around her abdomen in search of a stab wound or bullet hole.

“It’s his blood. I-I’m fine.”

Her faint words made him whisper a silent prayer of thanks. But he couldn’t say more. Not yet. If he opened his mouth to acknowledge how grateful he was that she was unharmed, he’d have a damn breakdown. Despite her words, he slowly moved his hand over her body, continuing to search for wounds.

Cuts and scrapes littered her legs and forearms. Her chin was chewed up and bloody. The bastard had dragged her across the parking lot.

Rami glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth to stop himself from yelling. Ivy’s hand clamped his wrist, and she pulled herself to a sitting position. “I’m fine.” She sent a terrified gaze to the man slumped a couple of feet away and scooted back, pulling her feet toward her.

“He’s dead.” Rami pointed to the guy’s glassy stare. The pool of blood pouring from his head soaked the parking lot.

He cupped her cheek, stealing her attention from the scene. “Look at me.” The command came out firmer than he’d intended. He couldn’t help it. It’d take hours for the adrenaline and anger to dissipate from his cells. “I’m so fucking sorry,” he breathed.

After Rami had told her to run, another guy had ambushed him in the lobby and gotten the upper hand long enough for one of the men to make off. By the time Rami had broken the other cocksucker’s neck, he didn’t know where to look.

He’d almost walked right by the parking lot. But Ivy’s scream had alerted him. Thank god.

“You saved me,” she whispered.

“Barely.” The heat of the sun rivaled the flames inside his body. He needed to run, to scream, to hit something—or just fucking kill again.

Ivy’s small hand wiggled into his palm, and he exhaled the stale air in his chest. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?” It was a stupid question. Of course she was hurt. Wounds deeper than the superficial abrasions undoubtedly marred her psyche.

“Just a few scrapes.” She touched her chin.

He grunted because he couldn’t say anything reasonable. He caught her waist and hauled her to her feet. “We need to get out of here before more of them come.” And dammit, he’d parked at the front of the building. Walking all the way around would not only be difficult for Ivy, but it’d open them up to another attack if other cartel members were close.

“Can you walk?”

She kept her hand firmly in his and nodded. Despite the redness of her face, her lips were pale. She swiped her hand across her forehead, plastering more hair to her damp skin.

He forced himself to ignore the shock in her eyes. To look away. If he didn’t, he’d drop to his knees and hold her, and they couldn’t do that right now. He couldn’t get lost in helping her heal from what she’d endured. Not when he needed to keep her alive.

The bastard who’d attacked her had a knife sticking out of his side. He made a mental note to commend Ivy later. But he couldn’t shake the fact that the asshole would have used the knife to remove Ivy’s head if Rami hadn’t shown up when he had.

He towed her away from the parking lot. The other cartel member was dead in the lobby, and it wouldn’t be long before someone spotted the body on the cement. They couldn’t be anywhere near the scene.

He pulled his gun from its spot at his tailbone and was comforted by its weight. He walked two paces ahead of Ivy scanning the walkway that wrapped around the building.

“We should call the police,” Ivy said breathlessly.

He grunted. “That’s a surefire way to get us killed quicker. Unfortunately, you can never be too careful when it comes to law enforcement. With all the drugs and trafficking that happens between here and Mexico, it’s a guarantee they’ve got cops on their payroll.”

“You think the police are involved?” Disbelief stung her words.

“I think it’s very likely someone on the police force or higher up is paid off by the cartel. It’s best we avoid the police as much as possible.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

He cast a glance at her quickly paling face. There wasn’t time for reassurances.

They had minutes at best before the bodies were spotted. They weren’t far from his vehicle. The street came into view. His truck was parked at the curb.

“Stop!” Ivy jerked his arm back, propelling him to flatten his back against the side of the building.

He bolted his arm against her chest, keeping her as shielded as possible. At the same time, he sought the threat but saw only two squirrels chasing each other across the lawn. “What is it?”

“Out front. I saw another SUV like the one parked in the parking lot.”

He leaned away from the wall a few inches and, sure enough, a blacked-out SUV was at the curb a few spots behind his vehicle. Fuck.

Two brutish-looking men dressed in black with baseball caps pulled low on their heads exited the SUV.

They were stuck.

Rami leaned back against the wall as his brain worked at warp speed. Going out front was a no-go. The men who’d left the SUV had gotten out on the passenger side. Which meant a driver was waiting. It was too late to call any of the guys for help. There was only one option.

“We’ll go through the back alley and find an old vehicle I can hot-wire.” He gripped her wrist and they retraced their steps. “But we need to—”

Rami stopped in his tracks and his senses sizzled as a large white truck pulled into the parking lot. “What the? Why’s August here?”

August waved then pulled the truck up close to the sidewalk.

“Oh, I forgot,” Ivy said. “I called your office and gave my address. I told them we were in trouble. They must have sent him.”

Relief spread through Rami. He caught the back of her head in his palm and kissed her temple. “Damn, you’re smart. Let’s go.” Ushering her ahead of him, they crossed the grass and reached August’s vehicle.

Rami yanked open the back door and Ivy hopped in, then Rami got in the front.

“The fuck happened to you?” August’s lip curled as he raked his gaze over Rami’s torn and battered clothes.

“Added two more cartel members to the death count.”

“No shit.” August’s eyes widened. “You look like you took a beating. Shoulda called me in sooner.” He swatted Rami’s biceps, and it was all Rami could do not to break August’s wrist. That sure as hell wouldn’t serve him and Ivy.

“Um, can we go? There’s a dead body on the pavement over there and a truck full of cartel assholes out front.”

August cursed and shifted into gear. “Gotta say. I’m kind of impressed you made it out alive.”

“Just drive,” Rami growled. If he killed anyone else today, it’d be his friend.

***

“I don’t understand.”Ivy shook her head. “Why are they still after me?”

Since arriving at Gigi’s house an hour ago, she’d taken a shower, cleaned up her scrapes, and changed into clean, comfy clothes. Her favorite dress was outside in Gigi’s trash can. Now she sat next to Rami on the living room couch while they examined her dire circumstances.

“I think they’re after you because of me. I pissed them off by taking you and killing their men. And I don’t think they’re going to quit.”

Terror climbed her spine as she remembered the man from the parking lot. Part of her wanted to leap from her sister’s couch and run until her body gave out.

Only there was nowhere to run.

They knew her name. Knew what she looked like. She could run, but not forever.

She also couldn’t expect Rami and his business associates to keep her safe. Yeah, sure, they were bodyguards. But the threats they protected against were probably begrudging clients, obsessed exes, and maybe stalkers.

A Mexican cartel, though?

They’d need an army. And they didn’t have it. Tears welled in her eyes. Rami was talking but she couldn’t pick up a single word. Only his reassuring tone penetrated the blinding anxiety that made her lungs scream for air.

Thank god Gigi and Todd were gone for the weekend. But what about Rami, August, Toth, Taschen...

She’d been na?ve to think her rescue wouldn’t have repercussions. And until now, it hadn’t occurred to her that those repercussions could harm others.

The very people who’d helped her in the first place.

If it came down to it, she’d surrender herself before she let Rami or anyone else get hurt.

“Are you listening?” Rami’s question punched through the white noise screeching in her head.

She shook her head and the tears fell.

“Hey.” Rami hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap, so she was straddling him. His hand went to the back of her head, and he gently massaged her scalp.

Closing her eyes, she let his leathery scent surround her and reveled in the cocoon of his arms, burying her nose into the crook of his neck.

“You’re safe. Got it? I won’t let anything happen to you.”

She wanted to scream that she wouldn’t be able to handle going back to the camper. Wouldn’t be able to stand another hit of the drugs. She’d rather die. But this wasn’t just about her anymore. “I don’t want you in the middle of this,” she whispered close to his ear.

He pulled her back to stare into her face. A scowl trenched his forehead and his eyes sparked with menace, making the tattoo on his face that much more formidable. “I am in the middle of this, Ivy. I’m right in the fucking middle of you and them and I’m staying here. They won’t touch you again.”

She blinked rapidly. “And if they do?”

“I’d like to see them try,” he spat. “And if they get through me, we have three other men who’ll stand between you and them.”

She placed her palm on his cheek. “I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want you hurt because they’re after me. I’d rather—”

He caught her wrist, his grip unrelenting. “Don’t even finish that sentence.”

She swallowed. His temper made her insides quake, but not because she was afraid he’d hurt her—because she was afraid he’d do something to endanger himself.

“Okay.” She nodded.

“Do you trust me?” He asked the question on a wisp of air. It was the softest she’d ever heard his voice. He seemed afraid to hear the answer.

“Yes.” She didn’t miss a beat. The answer was simple. She’d walk into fire with Rami knowing she’d make it out the other side unscathed.

His lips quirked. “Good.”

The smile made the vertical tattoo across his eye ripple, and she lifted her fingertips to brush the spot where the ink ended. This close, it was evident the writing was Arabic. “What does this say?”

Rami touched his eyebrow, and his expression morphed from endearing to dark. But it was more than just anger that emanated from him. Grief also shimmered in his eyes.

She pulled her fingers away as if she’d touched him with a match. “You don’t have to tell me.”

He dropped his hand. “It says ‘The bond between brothers is unbreakable’ in Arabic.” He cleared his throat. “It’s something my mother used to tell us all the time. Whenever we’d fight, she’d make us figure it out, would never let us stay mad at one another, no matter what we’d done to piss each other off.”

Ivy smiled. She and Gigi had a similar bond, but it was one that had formed without prompting. One that was deeply imbedded in them from growing in the same womb. They’d been inseparable since birth. “I can understand that. It’s good your mom made sure you guys always stayed close.”

“I got the tattoo after he went missing. It’s my”—he rocked his jaw and looked away—“my reminder to bring him home.”

She swallowed down the words brimming at the back of her tongue. He’d said before that his brother, Zain, was presumed dead, but clearly he didn’t accept that.

He brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “Not for you to worry about.” He shifted her to the couch and stood. “I need to call the guys. They’re supposed to come by in the morning.”

“Are we safe here?”

“For now. Toth is posted at the street leading into the subdivision and an intern followed the cartel members to a motel and is keeping watch. We can breathe easy until we get word they’re on the move. And they will try again. It’s only a matter of time before they start looking at family, and Gigi still shares your last name. Won’t be long before they find this place.”

A shudder ran through her. “I don’t want Gigi knowing about any of this. Not yet. She’ll be on a plane so fast, and I don’t want to put her at risk any further. Right now, she’s safe in Colorado.”

Rami nodded and strode to the kitchen, pulling his phone from his pocket.

She’d give him some space and maybe distract herself. She moved to the guest bedroom and scooped up her computer. Thankfully the house was big, so she didn’t need to hover nearby while he talked with his team. Besides, she really didn’t want to overhear any details that’d stress her out.

With that in mind, she made her way to the staircase and into Todd’s office. Before leaving, Gigi had said she could feel free to use Todd’s workspace to edit photos and try to get her mind back in the groove of doing what she loved.

As she swung open the office door, the scent of lemon wood polish struck her. The room felt richly masculine. Wooden beams spanned the ceiling and a large bookcase to the right of the desk overlooked the expansive backyard. A slider took up the exterior wall, offering a floor-to-ceiling view of the outdoors. Exactly what she needed.

She sat in the brown leather office chair and positioned her laptop on the desk. The surface was neat and tidy, clearly indicating the owner was on vacation.

After plugging in her neglected laptop, she lifted the screen that’d been closed for three weeks. A little buzz of excitement hit her. She loved her job. Loved creating beautiful portraits for her clients. Every session was an adventure. Sitting at her computer gave her a sense of normalcy—and gave her hope that life would return to normal.

She opened her email and drafted a letter to all her clients waiting on edited photos as well as those whose sessions had been canceled during her abduction.

Gigi had shared a missing-person post on Ivy’s social media accounts. Ivy kept all of her passwords saved to her laptop, so Gigi was able to login easily. And of course, Gigi had a key to Ivy’s apartment. While the posts must have been hard for her sister to write, Ivy was grateful. Plus, there were many news reports of her missing, so a lot of her clients knew what had happened.

She sent the email, which briefly explained why she’d been absent and that she was now home and would work on the edited files as soon as possible. Heaving a sigh, she pressed her palm to her chest to calm her racing heart. She wasn’t ready for all the well-wishing emails and “ohmigods,” but if she wanted to return to her business at some point, she had to complete the work for her customers who’d paid.

Sure enough, within a few minutes her inbox pinged with responses. She typed out a short, generic reply, sent it to everyone, and then closed her laptop.

Footsteps in the hallway caught her attention. Rami appeared in the doorway. Something about his energy waved a red flag.

It wasn’t for her to push, but her spidey senses told her things were a lot worse than he was letting on. If the situation were different and she weren’t with someone as strong and capable as Rami, she’d be more freaked out. Add in the fact that her sister lived in one of the most prestigious gated communities in Seattle and the odds of the cartel roaring down the street to fetch her were slim.

Right?

“What’s wrong?”

Rami’s eyes clouded but he shook his head. “Nothing.”

She rolled back the chair, got to her feet, and crossed the room to where he stood. His solid form drew her in like the current of a river. “Tell me.”

“Just rattled.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “I don’t usually hang on to adrenaline like this—or crash from it this hard. I dunno what’s going on with me. It’s just...” He swept her hair behind her ear, his eyes softening a touch. “It shook me when I couldn’t find you. I thought they’d gotten you. That I wouldn’t see you again.”

Pain contorted his face. He’d thought he’d find her dead, and he almost had.

“I’m here. You found me.”

His gaze scanned her face. Burden sat heavy in his eyes. “It was too fucking close,” he whispered.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and let her cheek rest against his chest. Anxiety clung to her like a heavy, wet fleece blanket. Using work, she’d tried to give her mind a reprieve from the trauma, but it hadn’t left. “I was so scared.” The words came out as a confession.

She’d wanted to be strong. To show him that she wouldn’t crumble or break under pressure, but seeing his vulnerability had exposed hers.

His large hand cradled the nape of her neck, and he brushed his lips over her forehead. His beard tickled her skin, making her sink deeper against him.

“I was more terrified of returning to the camper than I was of dying—but when he had the gun to my head all I could think about was you. That I couldn’t leave this earth without another moment with you.”

He wrapped his arms around her, crushing her to his body. “If I have my way, you’ll have more than another moment.”

Questions mixed with hope erupted deep inside her. It was too soon to ask for anything more than Rami’s protection.

“Let’s get some food,” he said. “We might have to run again.”

And just like that, her little ship of hope sank like the Titanic.