CHAPTER 17 #3
Oliver bursts out laughing, and the sound makes me feel bubbles on my chest.
“Thank you, Dami.”
“Any time, boss… and I can finish what I started. If you want?”
“You are hurt.”
“Not where it matters.”
Oliver leans down for a quick kiss. “I would love to, but Rafael will be here in five minutes or less.”
“To do what?”
“To bitch about how he should have my place.”
“Or mine… since I’m your right hand.”
“I said no. It’s too dangerous.”
I smirk. “You do know I’m not actually an art dealer, right? I genuinely shoot terrorists and drug dealers for a living.”
“What?! You do?” he asks, faking surprise.
“I do. Mostly on Tuesdays, but sometimes on Fridays too.”
“Well, I happen to know the boss of the highest drug-dealing corporation in the world… Are you going to take him down?”
“Oh, that monster?” I pull him into another kiss. “I will, and it won’t be fast. I plan to take my time with him.”
“I’m not going to convince you out of this, right?”
“No,” I whisper against his mouth. “But you can still try.”
We kiss again, deepening the contact… and, fuck I can’t stop touching him. I crave him every hour of the day. I pull him closer, groaning, aching for more and—
BEEP! PING!
The intercom on the desk turns a light on.
“Fuck… Rafael is here.” Oliver gives me one last, hurried kiss, scrambles off my lap, and walks behind the desk to press a button on the console.
“What’s that for?” I ask, standing up and straightening my clothes.
“Telling Silvio it’s okay to let that dickhead in.”
I walk over and take my place at Oliver’s right side and cross my arms in front of my chest.
“What do you think, Ollie? If I stand here all glaring and all, do I look like your elite security soldier?”
“You are an elite security soldier.”
“Aww, mi cielo! Always with the sweet talk,” I tease.
Oliver shushes me, and I smirk but hold my position. It actually feels really good standing right here.
I might be furious that the man I am crazy about keeps jumping into the line of fire, but damn it, I am so proud of him.
And at least being here, right by his side, I can protect him.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Silvio opens the door, and Rafael barges in, flanked by two tall henchmen. Rafael shoves past Silvio, intentionally dropping his shoulder to hit him on the way in. Silvio glares but says nothing, quietly stepping up to stand directly behind one of Rafael’s men.
Okay then… Silvio definitely switched sides.
Good to know.
“What the fuck do you think you are doing?!” Rafael yells, but Oliver stays calm in his chair.
Mi cielo lifts a finger and shakes it as if he were scolding a toddler. “No, no. That’s no way to talk to your boss.”
A laugh catches in my throat, and I accidentally chuckle out loud.
My bad…
Rafael whips his head toward me, looking like he wants to skin me alive. I cough into my hand and clear my throat.
“Sorry. Lots of dust in here.”
“Oliver, tell your slut to leave the room,” Rafael snarls. “He has no business here.”
“He’s my right hand, so he stays wherever I tell him to. Now stop complaining and tell me why you’re bothering me.”
Rafael lets out a laugh. “Wow. Not even a week in that chair, and you’re already filling our ranks with faggots and whores.”
“Uff, Rafi! Just wait until you see the pastel pink caravan coming tomorrow. It’s fabulous,” Oliver says.
On any other mission, I would keep my mouth shut and stay strictly professional… but since Oliver told me the best way to keep Rafael from rising in rank is to humiliate him in front of his own men… then why not?
Let’s get the idiot angry.
I break character completely and laugh out loud. And boy does he get angry.
Rafael’s face contorts with hatred.
He points at me and screams, “Kill him.”
The henchman on the left reaches for the weapon tucked into his waistband.
Not today, pendejo.
I grab a heavy paperweight off the edge of Oliver’s desk and throw it straight at the man. The crystal crashes against his gun, pushing his hand back with enough force that it smashes into his own face, and he drops unconscious to the floor.
I can tell Oliver is shocked; he’s never seen me in action, and I wish I had time to gloat and demand my prize… but the second man is already reaching for his gun.
In the few seconds it takes him to release his weapon from its holster, I manage to reach him, grab his wrist, twist his arm outward to take his gun, and use my momentum to tackle him to the floor.
He reaches for a second gun he has on his waistband, but since I don’t want to shoot anyone in front of my Ollie, I drive my elbow straight down into the bridge of his nose, and the shock and pain cause him to pass out cold.
I stand up and nudge his shoulder with the toe of my boot. To anyone else in the room, it looks like I’m a sociopath kicking a man down, but in reality, I’m just rolling him onto his side so he doesn’t choke.
Then, I charge the gun I took from him and point the barrel directly at Rafael’s chest. The man is completely frozen in shock.
Sit down, puppy…
“You really do need better henchmen,” I say, with a huge fucking grin.
Rafael swallows, his eyes darting from the bloody bodies on the floor to the muzzle of my gun. “Who are you?”
“Oliver’s man and right hand.”
“There’s no fucking way you are an insignificant art dealer when you can do that,” Rafael breathes.
“Well, you are an insufferable psychopath and a whiny little bitch,” I add. “It is possible to be two things at once.”
But before Rafael can process the insult, a laugh echoes from the open doorway… and it is a sound that sends chills down my spine and straight to the bone.
I turn my head without lowering the gun and see that the one standing in the threshold, watching the show with amusement, is Elijah.
“Father—” Rafael starts, but Elijah cuts him off by raising his hand.
“I don’t want to hear it.” He walks toward me and holds out his hand, asking for the gun.
I glance at Oliver, and he nods, so I flip the gun around and hand it to Elijah.
“I know you wanted the seat.” Elijah takes the weapon and closes the distance to Rafael. “But how can you expect me to put someone in charge who isn’t even competent enough—” He lifts the gun and hits Rafael across the face with it “—to pick capable men!”
Rafael groans, his hands flying to his bleeding face.
I immediately look at Oliver, hoping to see that he is okay, but he looks numb. Maybe even bored, completely undisturbed by this scene.
And I don’t know what to do, how to react, or if I even should.
As if he were reading my thoughts, Oliver looks at me and shakes his head, so I stay completely still in my place.
“B-but Oliver—” Rafael stammers.
Elijah grabs Rafael by the throat and pulls him close. “Oliver picked right.” He squeezes tighter. “I suggest you stop meddling in your brother’s life and concentrate on knowing your place.”
Elijah pushes Rafael back, letting him go. Rafael stumbles back and turns for the door, but Elijah’s voice stops him dead.
“Rafael… Kill these men, and pick better next time.”
What the fuck…
Rafael nods and glares at me on his way out.
“What do you want, Father?” Oliver asks, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.
“To see how you are settling in,” he smiles, and that is even creepier than when he is violent. “I am proud to see you are doing just how I thought you would.”
“Of course, I am doing well. I am your son.”
Elijah laughs, pleased.
Then, a second later, four men enter carrying a bundle of sheets. Without a single word, they drop them on the floor next to the unconscious guards.
“Your stepmom and I are going to Switzerland,” Elijah says.
“Oh, you’re visiting Clara?” Oliver asks, completely unfazed as the men wrap the sheets around the unconscious guards.
“Yes. We’ll be gone for two weeks.” Elijah takes a step back, moving out of the way so the men can haul the bodies out the door. “If you need anything, just call.”
“Will do,” Oliver replies. “Anything else? Because I have a business to run.”
Elijah smiles, nods toward me, and leaves.
Oliver walks to the door, closes it, locks it, and collapses onto the floor.
I run to his side, carry him to my lap, and hug him as he sobs against my chest.
“It’s okay, mi cielo. I’m here.” I kiss his forehead and close my eyes. “I got you.”
And I do… because I don’t care what I have to do. I will make sure this man gets out of this darkness and gets to live the life he deserves.