24. Fox
TWENTY-FOUR
FOX
I watched E walk outside with Rosalie. He looked exhausted, and that made me sick.
I knew I was causing a little more drama than he needed, but damnit, I just needed to breathe for a minute.
It didn’t help that Cole’s words were on repeat in my head.
Getting Rosie away to talk to her about it all was key. Everything hinged on what she wanted.
I wasn’t going to be around long enough for my feelings to matter, and that sucked.
I thought my being away might even be good for everyone because it was definitely going to happen for the long term soon enough.
All of this shit let me know how fucked everything had become.
Enzo taking her choice from her wasn’t going to fly with me.
If it meant I had to die to give her freedom, so be it.
The night I’d gone out with Anson, we’d drunk at a local bar before sitting with bottles of booze in his car.
He begged me not to go through with it. Even offered himself in my place, but I declined, knowing it had to happen.
If things continued the way they were, it would be sooner rather than later.
Anson swore to me he’d take care of her.
I believed him. He said the moment I died, he’d take her and run.
He wouldn’t look back. But he begged me to rethink it all.
The De Santis empire and this life be damned.
It wouldn’t be in vain. He vowed it, and we sealed the deal with a handshake and a drunken hug.
I’d been thinking about it as I’d promised him, but the answer was still the same, especially after the latest events. This was just what needed to happen as far as I was concerned.
E opened the passenger door to my Jeep and helped Rosalie in. She looked beautiful today. Her red curls spilled around her. The green sundress she wore brought out the color of her eyes. I could gaze at her for the rest of my life and never get enough.
E placed her bag into the back of the Jeep and cleared his throat.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey, man. You good?” I asked as Rosalie clicked her seatbelt into place.
“I’ll be fine,” he said, offering me a quick smile. “Always am.”
“E, man, come on. I’m being serious,” I said.
“So am I. I’m OK. Just… you two come home. If I know you’ll be back, I’ll be fine.”
Rosalie looked over at me.
I nodded to E. “I’ll see you soon. Keep the other two in line, alright?”
“As much as I can. We’re meeting with Vander Veer tonight.
Enzo postponed it after everything…” his voice trailed off.
I knew how much he hated meeting with Vander Veer.
Celeste was a dog with a bone when it came to E.
We all hated the bitch, but when E’s presence was requested for exchanges, he forced himself to show up. It wasn’t often, but it was enough.
“Call me if you need me.”
“You know I won’t.” He gave me a sad smile. “Keep her safe. I… I worry.”
“I will,” I said solemnly. “And you stay safe. I’ll see you soon.”
He nodded, then leaned in and gently kissed Rosalie before resting his forehead against hers for a moment.
“I love you, sweetheart. I’m sorry about everything?—”
“Shh.” She kissed him again. “We’ll be back soon.”
He nodded and pulled away before closing her in. He stepped back as I put my Jeep into gear and watched while we pulled away, his face twisted into a mask of worry and sadness.
If I could, I’d take E away with me. Maybe he’d get better then.
Or maybe he’d join me in the grave. Knowing E, he’d say fuck it and seek out Matteo himself and get his own gold coin.
That was the last thing I wanted for him.
He deserved to find his happiness, and that happiness wasn’t six feet beneath the earth.
“How are you?” I asked, glancing over at Rosalie.
“Worried,” she murmured.
I nodded. “I’m to blame for that. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not just you. It’s everything. Why can’t things just go right for a change? They do so well, then it goes to hell again.”
“I wish I knew. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because we’re finding new glorious ways to fuck things up. It’s just a rough patch.”
“Patches,” she muttered. “On repeat.”
I couldn’t argue that, so I didn’t. We drove in silence for a little bit before I spoke.
“How is everyone? Enzo and Cole?”
She shrugged. “Cole is a mess. Ethan says Cole hasn’t been eating. He wouldn’t leave my side after he came into my room last night. He just kept crying. It’s so unlike him.”
I swallowed hard. “Cole loves hard. He always has. He’s completely insane, but his devotion is top-tier, so don’t doubt that.”
“I don’t,” she said, looking out the window.
“I just… I wish we were kids again. You and me. In our treehouse. No worries. Your mom would be baking us cookies. I’d be reading your newest story.
You’d tease me about my curls but still tangle your fingers in them while I read out of your notebook.
” She cast me a wistful look, her eyes glassy.
I pulled into a space at the hotel and put the Jeep into park before I reached over and hauled her into my arms.
“I can’t bring us back to the past, but I can try,” I whispered. “I can give you that freedom again.”
“I don’t want that. I only want you,” she answered back, clinging to me. “I want the guys. I want our life to be normal.”
I closed my eyes at her words and breathed in the way she smelled. So floral. So sweet. So… Rosie.
“I feel like we’re breaking, and I can’t hold all the pieces,” she continued softly. “How do I hold them together?”
I pulled away and thumbed a tear from her cheek. “Maybe you have to let them fall where they may.”
A pained look crossed her face, but she nodded.
“I-I don’t know how Enzo is doing. We haven’t spoken. He didn’t even come out of his office when I left. I haven’t seen him. Ethan said he hasn’t really seen him either, but Ethan also said he’s been working in the basement over the last few days. Cole said Enzo is just… Enzo. And that worries me.”
“Don’t be worried. We’re going to get it sorted. Hopefully. I’m going to talk to Enzo when I get home. See if maybe we can come to an agreement where no one has to be hurt now or in the future.”
“He won’t listen.” She looked away. “He believes in duty and honoring his father.” She twirled the engagement ring on her finger. “Nothing is ever going to change, is it?”
Her words broke my heart.
“I don’t know,” I answered softly. “Hope for the best, but expect the worst.”
“You used to say that when summer ended.” She looked back at me and gave me a watery smile. “When I’d ask if you thought the new school year would be good. You’d say that.”
I smiled back at her. “Was I wrong?”
“No. I spent many years living the worst without you. I never want to do that again.”
I took her hand in mine and closed my eyes, hating that I knew I was going to leave her. To save her, I had to go. If Enzo wouldn’t listen, then this was how it would have to be. I pressed my lips to her knuckles and exhaled.
“Foxy?”
“Rosie?”
“Tell me I won’t have to live without you.”
I opened my eyes and stared into her green ones.
“I can’t promise you that, but whatever happens, I’ll always be in your heart, and you’ll be in mine.”
A fresh wave of tears streaked down her cheeks at my words. I held my own back, not wanting to make it worse for her.
“If I’m gone, just whisper to the wind. It’ll get the message to me, baby.”
“Don’t say those things?—”
“I love you.” I cut her off with a kiss. She fell into it quickly, her tongue lashing along mine as I deepened it. I let my hand trail to her bare thigh, desperate to bury myself inside her and get lost forever.
“I want you,” she said between frantic kisses.
“You have me,” I answered back.
She let out a soft moan as I worked my way beneath her panties and rubbed her clit with my finger. The way she’d get so wet made me nuts with want.
“Let’s go inside so I can show you just how much you own me,” I said, rubbing her clit faster. She bucked beneath me, her chest heaving, before she came with a cry against my lips.
“There you go, baby.” I slowed my kisses to a stop, both of us breathing hard. “Let’s go inside so I can make you feel good. Then we can talk more.”
“OK,” she said thickly.
I withdrew my hand and licked my fingers, relishing in all that was her. She bit her bottom lip at the motion, making me swallow down a groan. Quickly, I got out and went to her side, then helped her out before I grabbed her bag and slung it over my shoulder.
With my arm around her waist, I led her inside and to my room.
The second the door was closed, I had her pressed against the wall, the bag at my feet, and my tongue back in her mouth.
She let out a gasp when I hefted her up. She wrapped her legs around my waist, and I wasted no time shoving her panties aside and releasing my cock so I could push it deep inside her tight pussy.
She moaned against my lips as I bottomed out in her, her fingers tangled in my hair as I fucked her against the wall. I wasn’t as gentle as usual, but I was desperate to have all of her at that moment.
It took me all of a few minutes to get her pussy clenching around my cock and soaking my groin with her hot release, her cries against my lips as she trembled around me.
With ease, I carried her to the bed, where I plowed deeper into her, somehow managing to remove both our clothes in the process.
She cried out, coming again, her chest heaving.
I couldn’t handle it. I emptied my cock into her heat, filling her. I shuddered against her body amid my groan before I balanced myself over her, feeling sated.
“You’re beautiful,” I said, staring into her brilliant green eyes.
“You’re beautiful,” she answered back.
I smiled at her before withdrawing from her body. Quickly, I went to the bathroom and got a warm washcloth. I brought it back and made quick work of cleaning her before I lay at her side and hauled her against me.
She trailed her fingers gently along the planes of my muscles, making me smile at her touch.
After several long minutes, her soft voice called out, “Did you know about Enzo making the deal with Anson?”
“I found out about it after it was done. None of us knew, to my knowledge, until Enzo had already done it. He told us when we were helping out the kings.”
“Did it bother you?”
“Yes. I think you should make your own decision on this. In the beginning, I hated it, but now I get it. And Anson isn’t a bad guy. He’s grown on me. I really thought he might get the answers for Enzo. Honestly, I’m pissed off that Enzo put him through that. It was shitty of him.”
She grew quiet, her fingers still tracing shapes on my abdomen.
“Ani is causing a lot of issues with us,” she finally said. “I don’t want him to come between us. If I have to choose between my horsemen and Anson, I’ll choose the horsemen.”
I sighed, knowing that would be her answer.
“I know you would.”
“I’m tired of the same old thing. I want to hit fast forward and see where we are in five years.”
“Well, you’ll be a famous musician, and I’ll be watching you sing your heart out,” I said softly. Maybe from heaven. Maybe from hell. If I had to guess, it would be my own personal hell.
She kissed my ribs lightly but didn’t say anything. It was just as well. There wasn’t much to say. The future wasn’t written.
I was doing my damndest to make sure it was, though, because I wanted her to have all her dreams.
I shifted, then I reached over, grabbed my notebook off my bedside table, and handed it to her.
“Here. I can’t make all your wishes come true, but I can try,” I said.
She grinned at me and took the notebook.
I shifted her so she was between my legs, and I was propped against the pillows, her back to my front.
I raked my fingers through her soft curls as she opened my notebook and began reading one of the stories I’d written.
It was the story of a shadow that fell in love with its owner.
She wiggled excitedly against me, making me chuckle softly and kiss her collarbone.
“Have fun, baby,” I murmured as she got comfortable and began her adventure.
If I couldn’t give her all the real adventures in life, I could at least give her this. That’s the sad thought I told myself.