40. Ryuji
RYUJI
“Think they’re going to be okay?” Cas wearily glanced back at Max and Leona waiting by the garage.
I laughed. “They’re going to start fucking as soon as we leave.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Or they kill each other.”
“Or both,” Ciel piped up from the row in front of us.
“Probably kill each other first, and then fuck in the ashes of our burned-down house,” Wynn said. I held back a snort at my surprise at his usage of profanity. “I bet there’s at least a few scorch marks somewhere by the time we get home.”
“I just bought that house,” Obi grumbled from the front seat. “I expect it to be in perfect condition when we return.”
“Don’t count on it,” I said as I adjusted myself in the seat. My thigh brushed against Cas’s, and he gave me a sideways glance. I pressed my knee against his even harder, and he met the push with one of his own.
Wynn started running everyone through the plan we came up with to get to Connecticut, extract Chiara, and get home without drawing attention to ourselves, but I was barely paying attention. I came up with the plan, so I didn’t really have to listen.
“Hey,” I whispered.
He ignored me, but a muscle feathered in his jaw.
“Pay attention to me.”
Cas rolled his eyes. He leaned closer. “I’m trying to pay attention to Wynn.”
“Nah,” I said with a shake of my head. My knee pressed against his harder. “I can fill you in on the plan when we get there.”
Wynn droned on in the background as far as different routes we could get to the seaside cottage or back from it, but it was a simple trip up the I-95 and back. The problem we faced was cameras watching the roads, so Ciel needed to take those out, which he was already doing.
“Cas.” I leaned closer. “Look at me.”
“What, you want to make out in the back of the car like two teenagers?” he hissed. “While everyone else is focusing?”
I smirked. “If you insist.”
He angled closer, so close I could feel his breath on my cheek. It would only take a jerk of our heads to kiss. My veins pulsed at just the thought. If any of the guys looked back here, they’d see only an inch between us.
“If I kiss you, will you shut up and leave me alone?”
“Yeah.” No. Never.
He snorted. “Liar.”
“It was worth a shot.” My eyes flicked down to his lips. I imagined fucking him, him fucking me, both of us fucking Leona and each other. Somehow he’d gotten under my skin and remained there, just like Leona. I actually liked the man. “You know you want to.”
“I do want to,” he answered, voice barely carrying a sound. My eyes went wide. I gaped like a fucking fish. “Stop looking so fucking surprised.” He rolled his eyes and leaned back. “Not in the car. Not hiding in the backseat like it’s some dirty secret.”
“When we get home?” I hated how hopeful my voice sounded, but I couldn’t help it.
There was something about how we could go toe-to-toe in almost everything.
Completely equally. At first, that drove me crazy, but now I had the insane desire to see how far that could go.
Could he match me in everything? I’d spend my whole life finding out.
He smirked. “Maybe. If you’re lucky.”
I groaned quietly. “You’re killing me, bodyguard.”
“You like the tease.” His knuckles brushed against my pants.
I let out a huff and dropped my head back against the headrest. “I do.”
Fuck me, I loved it. He was using my own moves against me, and I was falling for them every time.
“You’re just horny all the time,” he sighed.
“Not all the time,” I said earnestly. “Most of the time, sure, but not all the time. And not with everyone.”
It used to be with anyone who garnered my interest, but now only two people did. Only this family. There was nothing else.
A thought struck me then. We’d been dancing around our attraction to one another for months now. I hadn’t seen him flirt with any of the other guys, but we had a newcomer now. A man he’d known forever.
“What about you and Max?”
He gave me a sideways glance before he chuckled. “Are you asking if I want to be with Max?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
He shook his head. “No. Never felt that way about him. He’s just been my best friend for years.”
“But with me…”
“Are you jealous, Ryu?”
My lips pursed as I considered his question. “No, not jealous. Curious.”
He shook his head again. “No. You’re the only…”
I grinned. “The only…what? What, bodyguard? The only what?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
I pressed my fist against my mouth to suppress my stupid, giddy laugh. Who the fuck was I, feeling like this with a fucking controlling, asshole bodyguard? I was out of control. Clearly.
The rest of the ride, our knees kept brushing against each other, and I kept imagining what it would feel like to kiss him. God, as soon as we got home, I was going to either fuck Leona or fuck him, or I’d go out of my mind.
“The address Max gave us is up here,” Ciel said. Obi drove the car down a small graveled street. I could see the sea peeking through the different houses. “Leona said Chiara would be ready to leave.”
When we pulled up to the little cottage, all the lights were off, and it was quiet. It didn’t exactly look like someone was waiting. Maybe she was nervous since Leona didn’t come?
“You think she’s just hiding out in there?” I asked as we hopped out of the car. I opened my mouth to shout her name, but Cas put his hand out and stopped me.
“Look.” He nodded toward the door. It was cracked open. The hinges creaked slightly.
I frowned and pulled a knife and my pistol. Something about this wasn’t right.
Obi stepped forward to lead us all toward the cottage.
With hand gestures, he told Wynn and Ciel to go around the corners toward the back.
I followed him, and Cas followed me. Obi nudged the door open with the muzzle of his gun.
Then, with a nod, he burst inside. I covered him, immediately sweeping the cottage’s foyer for enemies.
“Shit,” I breathed as I got a good look at the room. The cottage would be cute if it wasn’t totally trashed. Furniture was upturned. Glass shattered. My heart sank. This did not bode well for Chiara’s wellbeing, and Leona would be devastated if she were hurt.
Obi and I stepped forward, each taking one side of the house while Cas took the stairs to explore upstairs.
Quietly, we cleared each room. Checked each corner.
Looked under every bed, in the closets, and behind the doors.
Ciel and Wynn looked everywhere outside for any trace of her. Blood. Clothes. Anything.
“She’s not here,” Wynn finally said.
“Good news and bad news, I guess,” I said with a sigh. “At least she’s not dead.”
“We feel pretty certain they took her?” Cas looked around, as if he could find some clue. “The Camorra?”
Obi nodded tightly. “I can see no other more likely possibility. Lucia presumably knew where she was if they had been talking.”
“Plus, there was that second man Max had stationed here,” Wynn added. “The one who left after Greco’s call and never returned.”
“They couldn’t have taken her far,” Ciel said. “Leona had just spoken to her. She texted me after we left to tell me that Chiara was packing.”
“We have to go, then. They have to be taking her back to the city,” Cas said.
I dragged a hand through my hair. “Maybe we could intercept them.”
“I can try to catch them on cameras headed back to the city,” Ciel offered as we rushed back to the car.
“Do it,” Obi ordered. “We can’t let them keep her. They will use her against us.”
Instantly, a computer appeared in Ciel’s lap. Wynn looked over his shoulder. “Bridges and tunnels.”
Ciel nodded. “I know. I’ll check air traffic, too, just in case.”
“I’ll call Leona,” I said, hopping into the back row.
Cas gave me a concerned look while I held the phone to my ear. “She’s going to be really fucking upset.”
Yeah, she would. I fucking hated it.
Her voice was chipper when she answered. “Ryu! Do you have her?”
“Hanii, get dressed,” I blurted.
“What?” Fabric rustled in the background. Probably her sheets. “What are you talking about?”
“Obviously, you’re naked because obviously you’re fucking, but put clothes on.” Cas shoved my shoulder. “We need you and Maxy.”
“What happened?” All playfulness was gone from her voice. “Is everyone okay?”
“We got to the cottage, and she’s not here.”
“I just spoke with her maybe an hour ago.”
“I know, they had to have just taken her.” I quickly told her about the cracked door and the damaged furniture. How it didn’t look like it had been sitting long.
“Can you catch up with them?” she asked.
“I’m not sure yet,” I responded. “If we can’t, you and Max might get to her quicker.”
As long as they were taking her back to New York City.
As long as they hadn’t killed her by then.
“Okay. We’ll be ready,” she said. “Tell us what to do when you know.”
“Will do.” I rubbed my eyes. “Give the phone to Max for a minute.”
“What?”
“Give him the phone, please,” I said.
It took a second before his voice came through the line. “Ryuji?”
My voice was low, corded with tension. “You will keep her safe.”
He paused for a few seconds. “I will.”
“Max.”
“I will. Above all. Trust me.”
I rubbed my eyes while I sighed. I was pretty sure that I did. I’d gotten so fucking soft. “Don’t make us regret it.”
He hung up to get them both prepared, and I leaned over the seat row to watch Ciel’s computer. His fingers typed furiously while screen after screen flicked by.
“Here,” he said as a camera feed popped up. He scrolled through a couple of different videos, all following the same vehicle. “The same van, going south from Connecticut on the 95.”
“We’ll follow them,” Obi said. The engine jumped, and the SUV sped up. “Plot a course to intercept.”
“Got it.”
“Chiara will fight back,” Cas said. “She’s like Leona. She wouldn’t let them take her easily.”
I just hoped the Camorra didn’t kill her before we could catch up.