12. Erik
I t had been years since I was last in a helicopter, and I’d forgotten how much I liked flying in them. Most people found them the scariest option for flying, but it’s only because they’ve seen too many action movies. Helicopters were nimble, fast, and could fly under the radar in many countries, which is why the Ghost Unit preferred using them.
“We’ll be landing in a few minutes,” the pilot's voice called over the intercom system.
Von hadn’t bothered to tell us where we were going, but as the designated beta, it didn’t bother me one bit. I did know we were back in Nepreea and most likely in the Southern region since the lush green mountains and valleys were a dead giveaway. Our country was divided into two ways of life, the North, where there was serious technological development and a shift to modern architecture.
However, in the Southern half, the majority didn’t want their traditional way of life to change. Most of our agriculture was found in Southern Nepreea thanks to the rich soil of the valleys. What I found particularly interesting was the fact that most of the wealth could be found amongst the farmland in sprawling mansions that were hundreds of years old.
It didn’t take the pilot long to land in the open pasture, scattering the sheep and goats that had been grazing. I spotted a quaint two-story brick farmhouse almost covered entirely in ivy. We were too far away to see any other details, but I knew a safe house when I saw one, and this was textbook.
“All right, everyone out,” Von ordered, yanking the door open.
I caught her wince slightly from the injury on her arm she refused to let me look at. Something about what went down with her and Apollo had rattled her. It was the first time since we left Von’s base of operations, I’d seen her retreat into herself. I knew it wasn’t the right time to push her, so for now, I’d let her hide behind the walls she’d built to survive her past.
Part of me wondered if Bear noticed how much more open Von was since she’d shared a small part of her story with us. By no means was Von any less volatile or dangerous to be around, but it gave me hope she might one day allow more than Bear into her inner circle. Yeah, there had been a few moments between me and my little siren, but it was nowhere close to the depth of trust she had with Bear.
“Are you coming, Big Red, or do you need someone to give you a piggyback ride?” Von teased with a smirk.
Grinning, I grabbed my duffel and slipped the strap over my head before climbing out of the helicopter. “Was that you offering, little siren?” I asked.
“What, you don’t think I could do it?” Von challenged, hands on her hips.
“No, I’m sure you’d find a way to make it happen,” I assured her. “I was hoping your offer was real since I didn’t get my chance to ride bitch and hold onto your boobs.”
In an attempt to make her laugh, I held up my hands as if ready to grab said boobs and flexed my fingers with a creepy chuckle.
While I didn’t get her to outright laugh, I was gifted with a genuine smile that caused my dick to go from soft to rock hard in two seconds. I groaned internally. How the hell does she do that? Never has a man or woman had the ability to turn me on the way Von could. It wasn’t even about how sexy she was without even trying. No, Von was a woman unlike any other, and the longer I was around her, the more I craved her attention.
“Don’t ever do that again, or next time you can ride bitch with Bear and see how well that goes over,” Von said, playfully slapping my hands away.
Dramatically, I shoved my hands into my pants pockets. “You know, I kinda like my hands where they are, so I’ll pass.”
Bear grunted in a manner I might have considered a laugh as he signed. “ Smart choice, red .”
“I’d be happy to offer my assistance to get you to the house if you need,” Apollo offered in an oddly formal voice.
I narrowed my eyes. “What’s the catch?”
“Why would you assume there’s a catch? We are fratello , brothers, after all. Why wouldn’t I offer my help?” Apollo challenged.
“Uh, because you’re a con artist also known as a master manipulator,” I pointed out.
Apollo pursed his lips as if frustrated with my pushback. Instead of arguing, Apollo stepped up beside me, grasped my arm, and pulled it over his shoulders. We were roughly the same height, so it was easier to walk like this than it had been with Bear. Silently, we followed behind Von and Bear toward the farmhouse, but I could feel an odd tension radiating from Apollo. I knew I should just leave it alone, but the part of me trained to analyze and assess people’s threat level wouldn’t stop nagging me.
“You know, you said some pretty intense stuff back there. Aren’t you worried about freaking Von and pushing her away with your crazy talk?” I asked in a low voice so the others couldn’t hear me.
Apollo’s gaze flicked to me before returning to Von. “Would you hold back if you knew this was the only shot you had to tell the woman who stole your soul how you feel about her?”
I let out a snort of laughter. “Poe, my man, I never had a chance. Von kidnapped me from the animal clinic I was working at and locked me up in a spare room. That’s the thanks I got for saving her life.”
“Why didn’t she just kill you?” Apollo asked. “From what I’ve gathered about our woman, she's not one to take chances.”
“Trust me, I got daily, sometimes hourly, warnings my life could end at any second. I used to believe her, but now it’s turned into more of a joke,” I shared, smiling as I shook my head. “Von is a chaotic flame, a beacon that draws out any monster lurking just under the surface. Or at least that’s how it happened with me. I didn’t think there would be a place for the real me outside the military. Guess I should have been more open-minded since I never considered looking for work with the mafia.”
“She’s not part of the mafia,” Apollo corrected. “Evonnia Zuccaro might be the youngest child of Armond Zuccaro, but our girl never wanted to be trapped in their world. While the mafia is run by criminals, there are also far too many rules that would restrict Evonnia from living life on her terms. It’s why she left home at such a young age. Tragically, she wasn’t as ready for the world as she thought and fell into the hands of a sick and twisted sadist.”
I paused, bringing us both to a standstill as I locked eyes with Apollo. “Are you telling me you know details about Von’s past? Do you know the name of the man who tortured her?”
A pained expression flashed across Apollo’s face. “If Evonnia hasn’t told you then I won’t either, it’s not my story to tell. In my quest to find out all I could about my treasure, I dug deep, called on every favor I could, and tortured a few tight-lipped loyalists. Truly, I don’t know how she survived such hell and managed to come out the other side as the victor.”
“I might not like or trust you, Poe, but I respect you for keeping her secret,” I admitted, then let our conversation lapse into silence as we reached the farmhouse.
An older couple, who should have been pictured on a greeting card, were standing just outside the front door smiling and waving. The woman had thick white and silver hair tied in a loose braid over her shoulder. She wore a simple dress with an apron tied around her waist. The man wore dark gray slacks and a lightweight cream sweater over a button-down shirt.
The older woman cupped Von’s face, kissed both her cheeks, then smooshed her face as her smile turned into a frown. “Vonny, why don’t you send me letters anymore? You know how I worry about you, and we agreed you’d write,” the woman scolded.
Von gently removed the woman’s hands from her face, but instead of letting go, she clasped them tightly in her own and offered a gentle smile. “I’m sorry I haven’t written, Edda, but I did reach out to Beppe so he could tell you I’d be gone for a bit and not to worry. Did he give you my message or do I need to scold Beppe?”
Edda blinked a few times as her brows furrowed together. “I-I can’t remember…” she turns to look at Beppe, “… did you tell me Vonny called?”
“Yes, my love, but there’s no reason to fret about it since you can clearly see Evonnia is fine,” Beppe replied, his expression full of love for the woman he wrapped his arms around. “Why don’t we take this conversation inside? I’m sure our girl and her friends could use some rest.”
Edda’s eyes widened as if this was the first time she’d noticed the rest of us. “Goodness, where are my manners? Come in, come in, any friend of Vonny’s is welcome in our home.”
With Apollo’s help, I got myself settled in a battered leather armchair. I couldn’t help but groan a little at how comfortable the damn chair was and the relief of getting off my feet. Before we’d gotten on the helicopter, I used the hospital-in-a-bag as Von calls it, to quickly patch everyone up. It was only a temporary measure, and I wanted a better look at Apollo’s gunshot wound, which probably needed stitches, but the glue I used to seal it would do for now.
I’m sure we looked worse off than we were because of the fistfights we got into before everything blew up. Beppe marched right up to me and slapped a freezing cold hunk of meat on my face. I hissed for a moment then sighed and slouched in the chair. My cheek and left eye had been throbbing, but my knee pain helped me to forget about my face.
Cracking open my eye which wasn’t covered by my meat-pack, I saw Apollo sprawled out on the love seat with his own slab of meat resting on his face. He’d draped it over both eyes like it was some fucking sleeping mask.
What a fucking prissy prick.
“Can I offer anyone something to drink?” Edda asked. “We don’t have anything too fancy, but I can make some fresh squeezed lemonade if you like. The trees are just bursting with lemons.”
“My love, lemon season’s already passed,” Beppe murmured, rubbing his wife's arms. “Although you are rather brilliant and made sure we canned lots of your famous lemon syrup. What if we added some to the frizzante I picked up yesterday?”
“Splendid idea, dear,” Edda cheered as her disappointed expression vanished at his suggestion. “Would you be willing to help me make it? You know how I hate to open those blasted jars. I realize they have to be airtight so they don’t spoil, but honestly, I’d starve if I didn’t have you around.”
“I would never let you starve,” Beppe assured as he directed Edda back toward the kitchen.
The sound of feet thudding down wooden stairs pulled my attention from the couple. I found Von with Bear right on her heels coming down from the second floor. She paused a moment to look at me with a questioning raised brow as she pointed to her eye. “That’s a new look.”
“Beppe slapped it on my face and I wasn’t up for arguing,” I admitted.
Von smirked as she walked over to me then knelt, pulled out a blade from some hidden pocket, and used it to slice open my pant leg. With a solid tug, Von ripped the tear wider so it went past my knee and stopped around the middle of my thigh.
“Damn, little siren, if you wanted me to take my pants off, all you had to do was ask,” I teased with an exaggerated wink.
She simply rolled her eyes as Bear slid a metal basin under my leg. Confused, I started to ask what was happening, but my words were cut off as Von poured vodka over my injured knee.
“Mother fucker,” I growled out as I dug my fingers into the arms of the chair. “Woman, you better have a damn good reason for doing this.”
Her honey-brown gaze met mine as more vodka spilled over my skin. “We need to flush out the glass and anything else in your wound, right?”
“Yes, but normally we use a saline solution, and once it's clean, we give a hefty dose of antibiotics via a shot,” I explained through gritted teeth.
Von shrugged. “There wasn’t any saline or antibiotics in the bag, so I figured a one-hundred-proof vodka would be the next best thing. I even made sure it wasn’t some flavored shit unless you think grape flavoring will help it heal faster?”
I knew she was teasing me to keep my mind off the pain, and it worked. “Little siren, you and I both know grape vodka is the worst.”
“Well, I wasn’t gonna waste the good shit on your knee, that would be alcohol abuse,” she muttered as she grabbed a pair of tweezers. “There are a few stubborn chunks of glass, any tips I should know before going after them?”
“Just one,” I said and snatched the bottle from her hand. “If you’re not gonna numb me up, then give me a few minutes to finish off this bottle so I don’t kick you in the face while you’re digging around in my knee.”
Before I could lift the bottle to my lips, Bear grabbed my wrist. Having gotten my attention, he added in his two cents. “ If you’re going to drink yourself into oblivion we should get you upstairs. You’d upset Edda if she found you passed out in her living room. ”
“Good call,” I agreed, then pulled the meat-pack from my face. “Any chance you’d help me up the stairs in exchange for this steak? I’m sure once you cook it any germs I might have left behind would be killed off.”
“If he doesn’t want it, I wouldn’t mind using it,” Apollo interjected. “Who knew how lovely raw meat on the face would feel?”
Without missing a beat, Bear grabbed the hunk of meat out of my hands and whipped it at Apollo. I burst out laughing as the steak smacked Apollo right in his open mouth. Whatever he’d been about to say was cut off as Apollo sat up, trying not to choke on the meat.
“Man, if you can’t handle that steak hitting the back of your throat, there’s no way you could manage giving me a blow job,” I said offhandedly as I got to my feet.
Apollo glared, then took his two longest fingers and proceeded to deep-throat them without an issue. “Don’t worry, long red, I’m always looking for a good challenge,” Apollo retorted, wiggling his fingers in a wave as Bear dragged me toward the stairs.
Note to self, Apollo plays just as dirty as Von does .