Chapter 57
fifty-seven
. . .
When I woke this morning, I was still thinking about Remo’s invite for a meal.
Although I was still trying to get over the surprise, a small part of me accepted that he wouldn’t come.
Mafia men didn’t date, did they? There was also the aspect of him walking away after the incident with Arturo and my pending marriage I didn’t want that Remo seemed to accept, no questions asked.
Which meant, anything other than fucking me was non-negotiable.
Regardless, I didn’t stop myself from a pampering bath, taking time to choose an appropriate dress or indulge in make-up I normally didn’t bother with.
I was halfway through pulling a white sundress over my head when the windows started to shake. At first, I thought it was thunder but the bright sun flooding my room squashed that notion. The noise deepened. Heavy. Mechanical. Way too close.
My phone lit up on the bed, Remo’s name flashing on the screen. I let the dress glide down my body and grabbed the phone.
“Look outside,” he said when I answered.
“What the hell is that sound?”
“Your ride.”
I crossed to the window, heart already racing, and froze. A helicopter hovered outside, rotor blades slicing the air, the noise deafening.
“You’re insane,” I said, catching sight of a lone Remo in the pilot seat.
“You’re slow,” he replied. “Five minutes.”
“I’m not dressed.”
“I’ve seen you naked. Hurry up.” He maneuvered the chopper to a rooftop across the street.
I hung up with shaking hands and turned away from the window. Slipping my feet into white sandals, I secured the straps then ran a brush through my hair before pulling it into a high ponytail. I gave myself a quick once. Satisfied, I grabbed a yellow Bolero jacket.
By the time I stepped onto the roof, the wind from the blades whipped my dress and hair, threatening to undo both. Remo stood outside, headset on, coat snapping around his legs. His gaze ran the length of my body before he stepped toward me.
“You do this often?” I shouted over the noise.
“Only when I’m trying to impress a woman who pretends she isn’t impressed,” he said, reaching for me.
I scoffed. “You’re unbelievable.”
He stepped closer, wind tearing at us, his voice right in my ear. “Consider this foreplay,” he murmured, then added in a softer tease, “last chance to decide if you’re coming willingly.”
My pulse jumped but his hand slipped into mine. Firm, certain, the decision already made for me.
“You could’ve just sent a car.”
He pulled me into his body. “Maybe I wanted you rattled.”
Not giving me a chance to reply, he opened the door and scooted me inside, pointing to the headset before he jumped in on his side.
Another few seconds later and the city dropped away as the large bird soared.
Unconsciously, I gripped the seat harder than I meant to while my gaze took in the sights.
“You scared?” Remo asked, pulling my gaze.
“Of you?” I teased. “Always.”
As if pleased, he smiled.
The ride was mesmeric as it was scary. A laugh slipped out at one point pulling Remo’s gaze.
I arched a brow and the tip of his tongue snuck out to play with that lip ring.
Licking my lips, I looked away, catching his soft chuckle in my ear.
The sound vibrated through my body, titillating the space between my thighs but I didn’t ignore the tiny niggle reminding me that loving a man like Remo would only bring heartache I should avoid.
Honestly, I couldn’t.
We landed somewhere in the countryside, the helicopter’s echo dying fast, swallowed by trees and silence. A black SUV waited under a shelter. Remo removed his coat and tossed it on the back seat.
My gaze grazed his roguishly gorgeous frame in dark pants and a black t-shirt, sleeves rolled James Dean style and clothes I hadn’t seen Remo in before. The handsome icon, however, had nothing on my monster.
At his raised brow, I swallowed, looking away. “No guards?”
“Need an audience, little fox?”
Heat colored my cheeks and I climbed into the vehicle.
A few minutes later, we drove into a small town, the tiny cafés drawing my attention with a smile.
I assumed we’d stop and was surprised when we continued past them.
The road climbed, the town thinned out and mountains rose around us.
Stone replaced traffic, fresh pine permeated the air and nature took over.
With my palm pressed to the window, I ignored Remo since he spent the better part of the drive on the phone, barking orders and threatening people.
Lost in the view, I didn’t realize I’d made soft sounds of awe until his soft laugh told me he noticed.
I glanced at him, but I didn’t say anything then kept my gaze riveted on the passing scenery.
Remo drove like he always did, fast enough to make corners flinch and debris fly then the mountains gave way to a valley, and he eased off the gas. He brought the car to a halt where the ground slanted toward a spill of green, a light breeze combed the grass, and a river shaded the boulders below.
“Wow.” I stepped out, shoes sinking, eyes captivated. “You brought me here?” It came out as a shocked whisper.
He shrugged, lit a cigarette, seemed to think about it for a moment then killed it without smoking. “Found it by accident.”
“Yeah right.” I laughed. “You don’t find places like this by accident.”
Instead of arguing, he rounded the car to the rear, opened the trunk, retrieved something and walked to the back door.
“You came prepared,” I grinned, tipping my chin at the blanket tucked under his arm.
“I keep one in the car,” he muttered, visibly annoyed.
I figured the idea of an actual date irked him and that tickled me pink. “For dates?” I bit my lip to hold back the laughter bubbling in my throat.
“For dead bodies,” he snapped and I burst out laughing. Shaking his head, he grabbed a picnic basket from the back seat and walked away.
Wiping the tears from my eyes, I followed him until he came to a stop closer to the river. “Wow.”
Slowly, I rotated, my eyes enthralled by a paradise you’d witness in dreams. White rocks cocooned the water forming a natural jacuzzi and sunlight peeking through overhanging willows created the perfect lighting, not too dark and not too bright.
Silence, broken only by the soft gurgle of the clear water flowing over the rocks, was soothing to the ear.
Each of my senses experienced some dramatic shift that didn’t belong in our reality.
I closed my eyes, breathing in deeply. After yesterday, this was exactly what I needed. The fact that Remo knew a place like this existed left me speechless.
“Come here.”
I didn’t turn, just inhaled, letting the untarnished air fill my lungs. “It’s breathtaking.”
“Yeah, it’s my hideout. The one place I can disappear and not think about the shitty world I live in.” The quiet words pulled my gaze.
“How did you find this place?”
“I don’t think you want to hear that.” He set the picnic basket down.
“Tell me,” I pushed, eager to learn something about him.
He spread the blanket and while I helped, he talked.
“My men chased a man into the surrounding woodlands after he escaped their watch. He stole from us and thought he could vanish into the mountains. I followed at a more leisurely pace intent on killing the fucker here.” I grimaced and he chuckled.
“Told you, you wouldn’t want to hear the how. ”
I rolled my eyes, unstrapped off my sandals and took a seat. “Go on.”
Removing his shoes, he untucked his shirt from his pants, sat down next to me and leaning back on his elbows, he glanced around. For the first time since I’d met him, I witnessed a serene expression like no other. Clearly, these surroundings turned him into a man.
He looked at me. “Fog rolled in so thick I couldn’t see my hands, forcing me to take a seat on that boulder. He tipped his chin at a large rock hanging over the water. “I sat down for a beat, letting the silence kill the noise in my head and the buzz in my shoulders.”
I imagined him then, alone, breath ragged, violence still humming under his skin, finding his salvation in this place. “What happened to the man?”
He shrugged. “Killed him,” he answered like it was the most natural thing to do.
“And here I thought you brought me here to be romantic,” I blurted.
Eyes on me, he slowly straightened. “You think this is romantic?”
Silently kicking myself, I sidetracked. “I think you don’t do anything without a reason. Was there no other outcome?”
Unperturbed, he withdrew a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket, slid one out and studied it for a second. “In my world, trust is a commodity, little fox. Hesitation gets noticed, weakness gets tested. And once that starts, it doesn’t stop, not until it dehumanizes you, makes you a–”
“A monster?”
He chuckled, slid the cigarette between his lips and turning his body to lie on the blanket, he surprisingly, rested his head in my lap. The action drew a smile from me which he questioned with a raised brow.
I took the cigarette from his lips and tossed it. “Does that ever bother you?”
“Does what?”
“That it’s always like that. Chasing. Killing. Ending.”
He frowned, tilting his head slightly, those intense eyes roving over my face. “You think I don’t know what I am?”
“I think you hide behind it.”
He shot up so fast, I didn’t have time to react before I was lying on the blanket with Remo straddling me. Each leg pressing into my thighs, he leaned down, gripping my jaw. Not rough. Controlled. Dangerous.
“Say that again,” he said.
My heart hammered. “You brought me here because even you can’t breathe in your own world.”
Silence stretched between us, the gurgle of the river the only sound.
“You don’t belong anywhere near my life,” he said at length, still holding my jaw.
“Then why am I here?”
“Because you look at me like I’m not a weapon.”
“I look at you like you’re a man, sometimes a monster.”