Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
ANDIE
“You can’t find me!” I call out, my eight-year-old self giggling, luring Kellan in by exposing my hiding place.
Kellan and I like to walk through the woods that surround our property. It’s one of the only times, other than going to school, that I get to escape the confines of the mansion.
“You know I can hear you, Tinker Bell. You need to learn to stay quiet so no one can find you,” Kellan says, his footsteps getting closer.
Kellan’s feet are quiet as he carefully stalks over fallen twigs and pine cones that litter the ground. Since it’s summertime, the trees are lush with green canopies that spread out and block the sun’s harsh rays from reaching the forest floor. As Kellan slowly approaches the massive live oak tree, I clap a hand over my mouth to stifle anymore sound from escaping. He pauses briefly before jumping around the base of the tree and shouts, “Got you!” He looks around in confusion when he sees I’m not there.
With a yell of triumph, I leap from the branch of the tree I had been perched on and land directly on my brother, crashing us both to the ground. The impact knocks the air out of my lungs, and Kellan makes a grunting sound when my knee digs into his ribs. I should have thought that through better.
“You win,” Kellan moans, rubbing his side while giving me a smile full of pride. “I keep forgetting how wily you can be. That was very clever of you hiding up in the tree. Always make sure your enemy underestimates you, Andie. It makes it that much easier to destroy them.”
It’s funny how displaced memories tend to pop up unexpectedly inside your head at random moments. Kellan was only ten when he told me that. Such grown-up words for someone so young. But then, he and I never really got to be kids. Our childhood was stolen from both of us by our father. Kellan was already being groomed by that time as the next heir to the throne of the family business.
“Andie.”
I turn my head to see Rafe standing just inside my bedroom. I take a minute to appreciate how good he looks in his dark suit. His midnight black hair catches the light just so, making his blue eyes appear even bluer. His black silk dress shirt is unbuttoned at the top, exposing a V of golden skin, as well as a tantalizing peek of one of the wings of his angel tattoo. My fingers have traced every feather of that wing. The angel is inked up his side and covers his skin from his hip to just under his armpit. Its majestic wings spread out on either side, so they touch both his chest and his back.
Things between me and the guys are becoming very, very complicated, and I need to figure my shit out before I do something that I’ll regret—no matter how much I like it or want it.
Just as Keane had asked, I went back to my room and quickly cleaned the mess Jax made between my legs, then threw on some clothes, not knowing what else to do. Instead of wearing the red dress Max had selected for me, I put on a tee and sweats that I found in the laundry basket. I chose the ones that didn’t smell too bad. The only problem with wearing pants was that I had to DIY the knife holster, so it would fit around my calf and not my upper thigh.
It’s been thirty minutes, give or take, and I’m about to go out of my mind wanting to know if Jax got Sarah out. Have they received word about my father and uncle yet? Have Julio and Alejandro arrived? Too many questions. Too many uncertainties and not enough answers. What’s going to happen to me now?
“Have you heard anything?”
Rafe shuts the door behind him. Raking a hand through his perfectly styled hair, he gives me a growl of irritation. I like him looking a bit mussed and wild. It suits him better.
“There’s something you should know.”
Is he for real? We could be at war. The reason for my father and his men to go silent might mean that Levine could have already made his move and taken out half the Rossi top tier of men. And Rafe wants to have a heart-to-heart? Now?
“Not the time, Rafe. Besides, you and I,” —I point between us— “are over . There are no apologies you can placate me with that will ever make me forgive you. You left me and then you chose her . Are you going to stand by and watch as my father hands me over to your brother?”
I take a few daunting steps forward, my goddamn eyes blurry with unshed tears.
“You were my everything. My safe place in a life I hated. I trusted you. I loved you. I?—”
My back suddenly hits the cold glass of the window as Rafe’s body collides with mine. His hands grip the sides of my face, forcing me to look directly into his ice-blue eyes.
“There has never been a day that I haven’t loved you, mi dulce rosa ,” he vehemently states. “Everything I have done is for you. I sold my soul for you. And there is more going on than you realize.”
I try to shove him away, angry that he’s feeding me more riddles, but also disgusted with myself that I’m enjoying being in his arms again. A very deranged part of me wants him to take me against this window for the whole world to see. I want to feel his hands possessing my body like they used to. I want him to own me, to make me shout his name as I come apart. As much as I hate it, there will always be a part of my heart that belongs to Rafael Ortiz.
Our breaths are harsh and uneven, and I can feel the pounding of his heart between us. I stop my fingers from furling the soft fabric of his shirt.
“Then tell me,” I demand. “Tell me. Please .”
My plea comes out strangled, since I’m not used to asking or begging for anything from anyone. Begging is a sign of weakness. It allows others to control you.
“I can’t. Not yet.” He backs away and drops his hands to his side, his head hanging in what looks like defeat or maybe sorrow. “It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this, but we’re out of time. Fuck! ”
Something ugly slithers down my psyche. A warning. An omen. I don’t know.
Just then, the staccato of automatic gunfire blasts from outside. Male shouts and screams can be heard over the noise. I expect the boom of bombs to start detonating around us, just like they did back at the cabin. Declan’s men are here. They’ve come for me again. The war my father wanted with Declan Levine has started. When is this ever going to end? Levine must have balls of steel to attack my father’s house outright.
Whirling around to look out the window, I search the grounds. The sun has recently set, but there’s still enough light for me to make out various men running across the yard. Muzzle flashes go off in all directions. It’s hard to see what’s going on from this distance. A familiar form with dark blond hair ducks behind the stone fountain that sits in the bend of the circle drive in front of the house.
“Jax!” I cry out when I see a dark silhouette encroaching toward his location from his left. “Jax!” I pound on the window with both fists. I know he can’t hear me, but I can’t stop screaming his name.
He turns suddenly and drops down, firing both of his guns. The shadowy figure jerks from side to side as Jax unloads his clip into his target, and the unknown assailant finally falls backward into a hedgerow.
I need to get down there and fight. I need to help my guys. I need to make sure Sarah got out, and if not, lock her ass in the panic room with Meribella. But what I really need is a fucking gun.
“Rafe—” I spin around. And stop short.
Rafe is holding a cell phone, the screen turned toward me. My eyes fly wide when I see the text I sent to Tessa’s number. The one I thought hadn’t gone through.
My face must show my confusion. “How did you get that?”
Rafe gives me a pained look, and everything goes sideways when I think something has happened to my friend.
“If you’ve done anything to Tessa, I will kill you!”
“We’re out of time,” he says again, his voice breaking.
What is he talking about?
I bend down and reach for Jax’s knife under my pants’ leg. But I’m too late. Rafe’s hand strikes out, and I feel a sharp prick, then an intense burning on the side of my neck. Dumbfounded, all I can do is stare at the syringe Rafe holds in his hand.
“I’m so sorry, rosa ,” he sadly whispers.
Rafe betrayed me. Just like last time. “Fuck yo?—”
He catches me in his arms when every muscle in my body stops working, and my eyes roll into the back of my head.