28. Chapter 28
F our days later
Unknown: It’s time. Come in.
The message was from The District, meaning we needed to get ready to take Kozlov down. Sid and Malik planned to involve the entire family in this. We weren’t fucking messing around this time. We needed to take him out before he took us out. Or Luca.
I turned off my phone and shoved it into my back pocket as I grabbed my jacket.
Fall was here, and everything was cooling down and changing.
And I was glad for it. I hated the summer, with its constant humidity that soaked through my bones.
Winter would come, which would be similar to summer as the humid cold soaked through you, but fall was the best.
“Get whatever you need to bring, Luca. You’re going to stay at our offices for who knows how long. Two to three days at least. I’m not fucking leaving you alone again.”
“What about Mom?”
“She can’t come. She already knows too much, but she’ll be safe where she is. No one knows where we stashed her.”
He nodded but didn’t look happy about it and went off to gather his things.
He soon came back wearing skinny black jeans, a pair of black Chucks, and a graphic T-shirt with strategic rips.
The thing looked like it cost five bucks, but knowing his mother, it probably cost over a hundred.
He paired it with a strand of pearls. The ensemble shouldn’t have worked, but it did.
His blonde waves fell into his face, covering his blue eyes and making him look shy.
Making him look stunning. Slung over his shoulder was a bag, and in his other arm was his damn rabbit.
It was the one thing of his past he refused to let go of. Who the hell was I to judge?
“Ready?”
He nodded and stepped up to hold my hand, threading our fingers together.
“Cleo, protect the house.”
She ran off through the dog door to search the perimeter. She’d be fine alone for a few days with her automatic feeder and water.
Twenty minutes later, we arrived at The District. There was a room in the basement with some beds if we ever stayed the night, so I had Luca dump his things in there before the meeting, then we headed back upstairs and into a conference room.
Everyone was already there when I sat down at the large table in the back and ignored the stares when Luca curled on my lap, with the fucking rabbit he held tucked close to him.
I understood it brought him comfort in times of distress, so he must be upset, but he hid it well…
except for the rabbit. I really wish he’d finally get rid of it, but I wouldn’t make him.
My hand slipped under the fabric of his shirt and trailed my fingers along his smooth skin to calm him down.
“Now that we’re all here, let’s get started,” Sid said, standing at the head of the table in front of a large screen.
With a remote, he turned off the lights and turned on the projector, showing an enlarged face of Kozlov.
“As you all are now aware, Luca here has hired us to take out those who had thrown him into sex slavery. He wants them punished and killed. What we didn’t know was these enemies were the same who hired us in the first place, which led us to Luca and the diamonds.
He gave us all the gems to pay for this endeavor. ”
“Yes, and now Kozlov is trying to turn the tables on us. There are rumors and hints on the Dark Web that he wants The District taken out and all of us killed, not to mention he threatened Dante with that very thing when he was captured. So, now this isn’t just a job, but our survival,” Malik said, sitting in the seat next to Sid.
“We can also call in a few favors if we need to. There are those who continue to require our services and want to see us succeed.”
“I’m sorry,” Luca said softly. “I didn’t mean to put you all at risk.”
Sid smiled. “Why? This is going to be fucking fun. Besides, you’re one of us now, so he attacked the family.”
Luca nestled his face in my throat, and I felt his smile on my skin.
I had to admit, I was surprised to hear that from Sid, but I loved how Luca had been accepted into the fold.
But I also worried about what that meant for him.
Would Sid and Malik eventually use him as a weapon?
Or was he just part of the family because he was with me?
It was something I needed to discuss with them.
An image of Kozlov appeared on the screen.
“Moving on. This is Misha Kozlov. Memorize his face. He is enemy number one.” When Sid felt we had sufficient time to memorize Kozlov, he moved on to the next image, which was an aerial view of his mansion in Bethesda, Maryland.
The home was a large, modern monstrosity that didn’t fit at all with the more traditional style homes of the area.
It had a tennis court, pool, and large gardens, all surrounded by woods.
There were several places to hide and not be seen, but it also meant we couldn’t see all their guards.
“Layla has had a satellite pinpointed on the property for several days, counting men, changing shifts, and more. Kozlov hasn’t left his property as far as she could tell, running things from inside. He hasn’t even come out to swim or play tennis.”
“Do you think this could be another trap?” Maverick asked, who stood leaning against the wall with folded thick arms against his chest.
“No, we don’t believe so,” Malik said. “He’s on guard and licking his wounds after we killed off so many of his men.
No doubt questioning how such a seemingly easy job turned so disastrous.
Luca and his mother should’ve been easy targets, so he’s wary and has too few men.
Our hope is that he’s outraged and will make mistakes.
He’s well protected at his home, but he knows we aren’t stupid either.
That we have the means to infiltrate him.
So, while we don’t believe this is a trap, we will assume he’s ready for us. ”
“Sully, you’re to go in through here,” Sid said, pointing at the back entrance toward the pool. “Take out as many guards as you can and as quietly as you can.”
The redhead who had been digging in his nails with the tip of his dagger scowled.
“Lovely. Apparently, I drew the short straw, and no one told me,” he groused, though I knew better, judging by the twinkle in his eyes.
Slaughter was his dance of choice, along with his Disco plugged in his ears.
It was a macabre ballet whenever he worked.
Malik rolled his eyes, which was so unlike him, making Sully grin like a loon.
“Maverick, you’re to hold a place on top of the pool house with a rifle and guard Sully from behind to make sure no one sneaks up behind him,” Sid continued.
“Got it.”
“Khai and Dante will infiltrate through the front. Layla will have the security system turned off. But there will be guards in the front, and one of them will have keys to access the doors.”
“I guess I get to sit here and babysit,” Easton huffed.
“Well, Malik and I will be here, too. Our job will be to protect this place, just in case the tables turn against us. Let’s not forget that Kozlov has offered an insane amount of money for our heads. But once he’s dead, so will any jobs out there to take us out. No body, no money, no jobs.”
Malik stood and slid several folders across the table. “Read the intel, and memorize the layout of the property. I want this clean.” He looked at Sully when he said the last part.
He feigned being offended. “What? I’m always clean.”
“You know what I mean, Sully. No unnecessary slaughter. Just kill and move on. I don’t want you toying with them, as you’re prone to do.”
“You’re literally no fun, Mal.”
Sid clapped. “Alright, you will depart at nine tonight, just after it gets dark. Any questions?”
No one did, so we left the room. Luca grabbed my hand again as we headed toward the room he would be staying in.
“When do you go?” he asked.
“I’ll need to meet with the guys before we head out, but I can make some time. Why?”
He sucked in his bottom lip and smiled. “There’s something I want to show you.”
I raised a brow but said nothing as he led me back downstairs. Once we reached the room, he shut the door and locked it. After tossing the rabbit onto the bed, he leaned against the door as he looked up at me through his lashes full of coyness.
“Oh, did you want to see me for something naughty, Sunshine?”
He nodded. “I have a surprise. Can you undo my pants?”
“While I love your cock, baby, I’ve seen it before.”
He rolled his eyes but covered his mouth and giggled. “I know, silly.”
“Do you need me on my knees?”
“Yes, please.”
I had no idea what could surprise me in his pants, but I hardened at the prospect of sucking him down.
To leave him with pleasure before I headed out.
I popped the button open, then slid down the zipper from his jeans.
I had to shimmy them down since they were practically painted on him.
But as I pulled down the denim, it exposed hot pink lace in its wake.
“I bought them just for you. I… wasn’t sure if I should wear them, wondering if it was stupid, but I really like them. They aren’t really for women, though they look like it, but they make these for guys, too.”
“Oh, Sunshine, I love them.”
They were so small, I had no idea how they held him in, especially as he hardened when I traced the outline of his cock with my finger.
“You do?”
“Definitely. All the more reason to come back alive, so I can see you in more of these.”
I helped him remove his pants, then I kept him pressed against the door before slipping his velvety cock from his panties.
And panties they were. Or did they call them manties?
I had never seen a man wearing them before, but I regretted that I hadn’t because they looked perfect on his narrow hips.
My hands slid around to his ass, and my finger slipped between his crease as I swallowed him down whole, shoving him deeper into my mouth.
Fuck, I loved his sweet whimpers and cries for more.
He should always be surrounded by pleasure.
He fisted my hair and thrust into my mouth when I swirled the tip of my finger around his hole. I had no lube, so there wouldn’t be any penetration.
“Angel…” he breathed. “My angel.”
Despite the naughty scene, his words caused a surge of emotion through me.
Electrical love. It zapped my dying heart back to life.
My eyes shuttered closed, and I focused on making him come without teasing.
The tightening of his grip on my hair and the swelling of his cock told me he was close.
The heat warmed on my tongue while I toyed with the sensitive nerves before he froze.
Hot come shot down my throat, and I swallowed every drop and licked him clean through his shudders.
“Oh, that was nice,” he said so breathlessly that I laughed.
I stood, not bothering to dress him. Those pants came off easier than they went on, I was sure. “Now, give me a kiss. I need to meet with Sully, Maverick, and Khai. I’ll come back and say goodbye before I leave.”
“Okay.” I smiled at his glazed and blissed-out eyes. When I pressed my lips to his, he opened up to me. The kiss wasn’t about him tasting his essence but about hopeful returns. I wanted to live through this to come back to his sweetness, panties, and even that fucking rabbit.
I pulled away and pressed my forehead against his, nearly saying it. Nearly saying those words that had been itching on my tongue to spill out of my mouth, but I held back, promising myself to tell him when I returned. If I returned. The promise would be motivation to live.