CHAPTER 36
The thing about Caden Blackwood is that he’s a walking, talking, ticking time bomb.
The Blackwood’s have been allies to the De Luca’s since way before my time and with every generation, it passes down but the youngest Blackwood, the one now in control, the one who has slaughtered half his organization and is currently walking at my side is unpredictable.
I’ve known him since we were kids, but no one really knows him.
Calling on him for help was risky, but it was the only card I had left, and there was a very real risk that my uncle had already gotten to him.
He walks at my side, skin etched with art, black swirls of ink that cover his arms, hands and creep up the sides of his neck from the collar of his black button-down.
Rings on every finger, a hoop in the left ear with an industrial through the top, and a nose ring.
He was never meant to be in charge; that much is common knowledge.
The youngest of three brothers, and since he was never meant to have the throne, he was left unchecked and untested.
Now we have this man who toes the line, and no one truly knows where his loyalties lie or how morally corrupt he actually is.
But the fact that he is here alone, when he has his own issues to deal with in his city, is testament to the tie between our two families.
He didn’t say a thing to me as I explained the whole situation to him, my uncle, Rio and that Knox had already dealt with the problem with the latter.
He still didn’t speak when he tilted my chin to get a better look at the bruising on my throat and face.
And when he looked over to Knox, with those cunning eyes the color of a glacier, so piercing, set beneath dark brows and scruffy hair that’s longer on top and cropped close to his skull on the sides, my heart caught in my throat.
Unpredictable.
But then he grinned like he found Knox having the man trampled to death amusing, and I knew we had passed some silent test.
Caden shoves a hand out to Knox, who takes it, reservation making his shoulders high and tight, body so stiff with unease it can be seen a hundred miles away.
“You have nothing to worry about with me,” Cade assures him, shaking his hand. “You will not see my men.”
“You’ve brought people?” Knox questions.
“We don’t go to war alone,” Caden grins.
“And just where will this war land?” Knox quirks one dark brow.
“Well, that all depends on how long Anton takes to realize his man is dead and no body is delivered. He’s a smart man; he won’t just show up, especially when he realizes Elena has her own army now.”
“At what cost?”
I stifle a sigh. Asking the right questions, not backing down even though the man in front of him could have this place razed to the ground, and we all know it. Not even I could ever dream of taking on a family like the Blackwoods.
“A favor,” Caden cocks his head, “When I need it.”
A muscle in Knox’s jaw ticks, and I reach forward, wrapping my fingers around his hand. He curls his fingers in, squeezing gently before releasing.
“I suppose you need a place to stay.”
At this, Caden curls his lip and gives the ranch house a once-over, clearly not impressed by it.
“I’m good.”
The creases at the edges of Knox’s eyes deepen as he narrows them in the mafia lord’s direction, but he keeps his mouth shut. Tension lines every part of my body, my spine is ramrod straight, and my heart pounds inside my chest, but I keep my expression neutral.
“Keep her safe.” Caden turns and walks back toward the car, “I’ll be in touch.”
Knox is vibrating at my side.
“Not yet.” I whisper.
His nostrils flare and his hands wrap around the porch railing hard enough, I swear I hear the wood crack, but he remains stoic as Cade backs the car up, turns it around and then presses on the gas hard enough the back wheels spin, throwing grit and dirt up.
“Find another way,” Knox grumbles.
“He is the only option.”
“He is dangerous,” Knox pushes off the railing with a growl. “He is fucking dangerous, Elena!”
“We have an agreement.” I keep my voice low, steady, “I can trust him.”
“About as much as you can trust Ralph.”
“You leave him out of this.” I put my hands on my hips, “That sweet baby would never.”
“It’s a bull!”
This isn’t about the bull.
“Knox,” I sigh, tucking my arms around myself, “I have no other choice.”
“Me!” He booms, slamming his palm on the side of the house. “You have me!”
“And I won’t get to keep you if I don’t have him.” I swallow thickly.
A huff of air escapes him, like a laugh, but it lacks amusement. “What do you need, Elena?”
“Without the Blackwoods, the city remains with my uncle. The Rossi empire keeps the market, and you lose, Knox. You’ll go down with the ranch, and without my city, I won’t be able to stop it!
We all lose, Knox! All of us. I’ll never be safe; my uncle will keep sending men until they have my fucking head.
He knows I’m not dead, he knows I’m still out here; it’s why he keeps sending people.
He is looking for me, and if you hadn’t handled Rio, he would have found me!
How long until another one of his men comes looking?
What if they’re a shoot first and ask questions later, then what! ?”
He glares at me.
“I love you, Knox, but we cannot do this alone! Neither you nor I can take this on!” I snap, my blood heating, but silence falls quickly between us as we both realize what the fuck I just said.
“What did you just say?” Gravel laces his tone, his body frozen.
“Nothing,” I breathe.
“What the fuck did you just say!?” He growls.
My heart is racing for a whole different reason now.
“Knox…” My voice trails off.
“Say it.” We stand face to face, Knox’s breaths coming in quick, rough bursts, “Say it, darlin’.”
“I didn’t — it wasn’t —”
“Go on,” He taunts, “Lie.”
My molars grind together. “We can’t take this on.”
A deep, rasping chuckle rumbles from his chest, the sound of it vibrating down my spine. My skin pebbles and my thighs ache, but I don’t back down.
“Don’t be a coward here, Hellion,” He pushes. “Say it.”
It’s a battle in this little bubble we have created.
But I remain silent and steadfast, matching him. The words were never meant to slip out. Love is a weakness that is used against you. Love gets you killed. Love makes you vulnerable.
“What?” He pushes even harder, “Are you afraid, Elena?”
I suck in air through my nose, staring him down, but I have nothing to say. I can’t say I didn’t mean it, I can’t even if I should.
I open my mouth to say just that, to tell him it was heat of the moment, that I didn’t mean a single word, but he steps forward, closing the gap between us until my spine hits the side of the house and his body is pressing me into it.
I tilt my head back to keep my eyes on his, fingers curled into the fabric of his blue shirt.
“You are,” He rasps, running the tip of his nose down the length of mine, “You are terrified. It’s quick, and it’s unexpected, and you never saw it coming, am I right?”
I shiver.
“And now you’re scared. You’re not scared of your uncle or the men coming after you; you’re not afraid of a two thousand pound bull, or a man who could destroy this whole town without even blinking, but this? You’re fucking terrified of this. Why?”
“Knox,” I beg.
“No,” He snaps. “No, there’s no escape here, Hellion, tell me.”
“This isn’t what we need to worry about right now, Knox.”
“No,” He chuckles, “This is exactly what I need right now.”
“What do you want from me!?” I snap.
“Everything!” He booms. “I want everything!”
His hands grip the back of my neck, not hard, not painful but firm, demanding, “Give me everything!”
“You don’t want everything,” I whisper.
“I want it all,” His lips touch the corner of mine, “I want you.”
His eyes bounce between mine, waiting for me to answer, to tell him, but I can’t. Physically, I can’t.
“Elena,” He sighs, “I’ll beg if I need to. I will fucking beg. Mean it. Give it to me, De Luca, I can fucking take it. But I want it all.”
“I can’t,” My voice cracks.
He laughs lightly. “You can.”
“Kiss me, Knox. Kiss me. Please.”
“Say it,” He demands.
My head shakes as a tremor works through me.
“Say. It.” His fingers flex on my neck. “Say it.”
“I love you!” His mouth slams against mine, and my back hits the side of the house as he utterly devours me, tastes those three words from my lips, swallows them down and owns them.
There is a feral, primal need to his touch, to the way his body presses mine into the side of the house. He strokes his tongue against mine, grinding his hips forward so his hard length pushes against my lower abdomen. He groans into my mouth, “Say it again.”
My nails sink into his chest, biting, “I love you.”
“Fuck,” Hands reach behind my thighs, and he hoists me up, my legs going around his waist so he can walk us into the house, and the door slams shut behind us.
“Mine,” He growls against my lips. “Do you understand me?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” His fingers press into my thighs. “Now I’m going to prove it.”