Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
LOLA
I sit on the toilet, underwear on, lid down, and my bare feet rest on the gently heated floor of what I think is the guest bathroom.
I try to breathe, but it is hard because... oh, man. I just had sex with Enzo Marino.
I had sex with two men.
In such close succession.
It is like I decided to double my numbers.
Does this make me some kind of slut?
I press my cold fingers into my burning cheeks, even as my stomach clenches and clenches again.
Slut? Ruby would have a field day with that.
I grab my phone that is on the counter with my bag, and I pull up her number.
Me
Sorry again.
Ruby
You should be. It's hot man heaven tonight. Why are you texting? What's wrong? Did you want to come out? Or did you want to unburden your soul?
I want to unburden my soul, but I don't do anything of the sort.
Because what am I going to say? That I just had sex the other day with a man I have never met and now just had sex with our boss.
..not just any sex, anal sex, which was unbelievably good and hot, and he's the one Alex pretends to be when he fucks me.
Also, Alex encouraged this. Glad it's hot man heaven?
And it is raining men in my life. If two constitutes a man shower...
I shiver.
I need to get it together.
Ruby would either think I'm crazy or high-five me and ask for all the details.
I text Alex.
Me
I did it.
He takes a while to get back to me.
Alex
Did what?
Me
Had sex with him.
Alex
What happened?
Me
I'm still here. I...his sister showed up.
Alex
Lol. Tell me later. In detail, and maybe I will fuck you in the same way. Unless you love him suddenly.
Me
I do not. I want you, too. I want both of you.
Alex
Good. Because I really like you, Lola. I want to keep exploring this thing with you.
Me
I do, too. But I want to see your face.
Alex
One day. But I think the anonymity keeps us honest.
He is right, it does. I feel I can tell him anything.
Me
But I want to see you. I don't even care what you look like.
Alex
Decent enough. LOL who knows? Maybe you know me already. Or you have seen me, and you will never know.
Me
Do I?
Alex
Where's the fun in me telling you? I expect your next text to be one full of scandalous details.
He doesn't send any more texts, and I take a photo of my breasts and send it to him. Because...because I feel like I need to connect with both of them.
"Shit." I look around for my bra, but it is not there, so I pull on the rest of my clothes and button up my top over my bare breasts. I'm betting my bra is still on Enzo's living room floor.
And I'm going to have to get it.
Face him.
His sister.
Crap.
With a deep breath, I get up, shoving my feet into my shoes and my phone into my bag. I splash water on my cheeks, then head out.
There is no one in the living room. From upstairs, I can hear Enzo shouting at someone, but I follow the scent of coffee now intermingled with the chocolatey goodness that only hot chocolate can smell like.
It is downstairs, and in a large kitchen that overlooks a back terrace, a girl sits at the table, head in her hands, eating marshmallows from a bag. Well, first she dips them in the chocolate, and then she eats them.
Dejectedly.
Honestly, I'm about to turn and go back to the bathroom or out the front door because Enzo didn't tell me what to do.
"Oh." The girl must hear me because she turns.
"Fuck," Enzo says behind me as his phone starts to ring. He gives me a sharp look, and shame overcomes me.
I guess I was either meant to hide or leave.
And that makes me about five inches tall and coated with shame.
"Just... Fuck...stay here." He turns and answers his phone. "What now, Dad?"
I know I'm bright red, and I half-smile at the girl. "I'm just...I dropped some papers off for Enz—Mr. Marino. So, I'm going to go find the train."
I start to turn.
"Wait." The girl gets to her feet and holds out a hand. "I'm his sister, Lyndall, and I think this is yours."
She holds out my bra.
And snickers.
"Oh, my God." I snatch it back, shoving it in my pocket. "It's not..." I stop because my bra not being on me clearly states it is exactly what she is thinking.
Lyndall is grinning ear to ear. "I interrupted you guys boning, didn't I?"
Dear God. I think I have memories of her as a baby. I can't let her think about S-E-X.
"It's my spare one," I say, lame to my own ears.
And the girl's disbelieving look says it all. "Really? I think I would believe in Santa Claus over that one. Plus, it is a terrible lie."
I bury my face in my hands. "You're young, you should believe in Santa."
"I'm fifteen." She sounds completely horrified.
Slowly, I raise my head. "I know, it's just...it's your brother. I'm so embarrassed."
"No, don't be embarrassed, unless he's terrible. Is Enzo awful at sex? All the girls who see him swoon and want him, but he doesn't really date, more...parades, so—"
"Enough, Lyndall, or I will drive you to Dad right now," Enzo suddenly snaps.
I spin, and Enzo is behind me, phone in hand, mussed, irritated, gorgeous.
"I should go."
"Enzo..." his sister whines, and he rolls his eyes.
"You can stay, we haven't finished..." Now his cheeks darken a little. "...talking."
"Is that what they call it these days? Talking?" Lyndall cheers the air with her mug and takes a swig. "Why—"
"Stop it." Enzo sets his evil CEO glare on her.
"Stop what?"
Interesting. It doesn't seem to bother her at all.
Me? I would be quaking and in full panic mode with that stare.
He points at her. "You know what."
"All I did was ask her about sex and if she had done it with you and if you were bad at it." She huffs as he stares her down.
"What?" She gives him an innocent look. "Why else was her bra on the floor?"
"You're grounded." Then he turns to me. "And you...be quiet."
Lyndall looks to the heavens then gives me a reassuring smile, one that melts down to a frown. And she doesn't stop. It is like she is studying me, and I start to squirm when she squeals, snaps her fingers, and gasps.
"I knew you looked familiar. You're the girl from the photos."
I frown. "What—"
Enzo shakes his head. "We used to go to her parents' house when you were still a baby. So, leave it. You were precocious then like you are now."
"No..."
"I spoke to Dad. He is not happy, but you can stay. So, my rule goes. It is bedtime. Go."
"But, Enzo, I wanna stay and talk with—"
"Bed."
"Fine."
But he doesn't give her a chance.
Enzo hands me her bag and half hauls her to the stairs.
She is saying something about the elevator and how much she loves it. But I tune out. It is hard to concentrate when a battering ram bangs relentlessly in my ears.
We are on the main floor, in the great room off the foyer and front door when I look at it. "Enzo... Why's the door shaking?"
His sister has broken free and is at the bottom of the staircase that heads up. "I want a good room. The big one."
Enzo has stopped and goes to a credenza with a matching mate on the other side, and he pushes back the knob, punches in a number, then pulls out a big black gun and checks it, slamming in a clip.
He tucks it in the back of his jeans.
"No time to get up to the rooms. It's not safe. Across the great room, behind the stairs, is a hidden safe room. Seven Nine One Four. That's the access code with no one in there. Go."
The banging continues, and the door looks ready to give way.
"The inside has another lock. Push it. You will be safe."
I don't ask questions. I don't stop. I run to Lyndall and take her, finding the hidden numerical pad for the room. I punch in the numbers, and it slides open, then I hit the lock. Everything shuts.
Everything. It must be soundproofed and have its own air because the stale air starts to move.
It is big, and there are monitors.
Lyndall turns them on, and we can see the perimeters of the house, the door, and the hall. And the wall that hides the room.
I can also see Enzo.
My chest is tight, my stomach twisted, and Lyndall huddles in next to me, taking my hands and squeezing them tight.
The front door gives way, and the men on the other side breach the house, dropping the battering ram.
I can't hear what is said, but before they can even pull their weapons, Enzo shoots them both.
They both fall. One after the other.
Dead.
My stomach lurches, and Enzo pulls the battering ram in and shuts the damaged door as best he can.
Someone must have heard...
Someone...
I wait, aware of the frozen girl next to me, and it is clear the street is quiet.
Enzo is on his phone.
And almost like he remembers there are cameras, he lifts his head and stares into it.
I don't turn it off because I'm sure that is the message from him to turn it off.
Instead, I take his sister's hand, lead her to the small sofa in here, and sit next to her, holding her cold hand.
"He's probably calling Uncle Gino," Lyndall shuts her eyes.
"Don't be scared, Enzo's smart—"
"I'm not scared." Her eyes snap open as she looks at me. "But I'm sure you know that if we used to go to your place."
"I..."
She sobs a few times, then sucks in air. "This is my fault."
"How?"
"Dad sent them, I'm sure of it. I ran away, and he hates when people don't do what they're told."
I slide an arm around her shoulder. "It's okay."
"It's not," she says in a sobbing whisper as she takes deep breaths. "I ran away. And...and...he's punishing me."
There is more to this than she has said.
"Why did you run away, Lyndall?"
"B-because of Luke. Dad caught me with him in my room. Some of his men stopped by, and Luke—"
"You're fifteen," I say, not helping.
"I'm basically sixteen—a woman. And it isn't like that. He's twenty, and he had his arm around me, and Dad came in. I'm pretty sure he thought we were having sex."
"Were you?"
"No." She sounds bitter. "Of course not. We're seeing each other. He's my boyfriend."
"You know," I say, "twenty is a man if he's twenty."
"He's twenty-two. And Dad lost his shit. He locked me in my room, threatened to send me to, like, a boarding school prison run by mean nuns." She sniffs. "Luke's my Romeo, and I'm his Juliet."
"Look how that story turned out," I mutter.
"We're in love."
"Oh, Lyndall."
"I don't know how he is. I don't know if Dad killed him, he probably killed him, and we have never even kissed."
It is the one thing that makes me not hate this Luke and makes me think the love and the relationship beyond friends are in her teenage head.
"I'm sure he's all right."
"No, Dad kills people to solve his problems. That's what he does."
I nod, sick to the stomach. "But one of his men? I can ask Enzo."
"No! You can't. Not any of it."
My heart breaks for the teen, and I want her to like me. So, I go against my better judgment.
"Okay, I won't say a word, I promise."
But, if this Luke is even dipping his toe below deck, I will kill him myself.