19. Bear
S ilently, we followed Von into another cave, but this one was man-made. Here was where the Zuccaro Family kept anything one might deem illegal or contraband. Of course, they didn’t deal with the same materials as my goddess, preferring to keep it to drugs, handguns, and occasionally women.
“Damn, this place just keeps getting cooler,” Erik said under his breath as he slowly turned, taking in the space.
I gave him a slight shove forward when he hadn’t noticed Von wasn’t slowing down for the newbies to take in the sights. Erik shot me a grin and jogged after our woman like the loyal sidekick he was. I lengthened my stride to catch up with them, only to have Apollo fall in step beside me. Every muscle in my body tensed, ready to act the second the snake made his move.
“Look, I know I’m the last man you want close to Von, but it doesn’t appear you’re going to get your wish,” he said in a low voice. “We are moments away from stepping into uncertain territory where we don’t truly know who we can trust. There has to be a way for a truce to be called between us while we’re here. The moment we leave this place, things can go right back to how they were, with you plotting my ultimate demise.”
Like hell I was going to agree to any kind of truce with this lying bastard, even if he made a logical argument. Too bad for him, nothing was logical when it came to my feelings for my dark goddess. If Apollo thought he could lull me into a false sense of trust, he had a lot to learn.
“ Not gonna happen, snake ,” I responded.
Apollo let out a heavy sigh. “Why must you insist on calling me a snake when I’m clearly a crow, or a fox. Take Erik, for example, he decided on the rather creative nickname of Poe. You know, after Edgar Allen Poe the poet. It makes sense if you think about it, seeing as Apollo was the god over many arts, including poetry. If you’d like, I could give you a few suggestions to try out.”
“ Why would I bother to use a nickname for someone who isn’t sticking around ,” I commented. “ Von loves to play with shiny new toys, but once they’re no longer interesting, they find themselves in the trash, utterly forgotten. ”
Done with the conversation, I headed for the tunnel I knew Von used since it led to the main house.
“Unlike a toy, I have the ability to reject Von’s choice and stay by her side regardless of her opinion on the matter,” Apollo pointed out. “You just hate I've already proven myself and bear her mark.”
I spun on my heel and stepped into Apollo’s personal space until we were practically nose to nose. “ What mark? ”
It took everything in me not to add even more bruises to the fucking prick’s face, but I wanted him to answer. Hands fisted, I watched as Apollo unbuttoned his shirt to reveal what I think was meant to be a paw print. It was hard to tell since it looked like a toddler drew the damn thing, but I couldn’t deny the pawprint and V represented my goddess’s claim. Rage flared as my hand shot out so fast the bastard couldn’t dodge it as I wrapped my fingers around his neck and snarled.
“There’s no need to get so upset with me when it was your goddess who decided to keep me,” Apollo taunted. “We both know you won’t kill me, not here, not when enemies are lurking in the shadows. You don’t have to like me, Bear, because I certainly don’t like you. However, the one thing all three of us can agree on is the need to protect our woman from anyone who might try to harm her. I have done my best to discover all I could about this part of Serena’s plan, but I’m not arrogant enough to risk Von’s life by saying I’m a hundred percent confident I didn’t miss something.”
Holding Apollo by the throat gave me the ability to feel his pulse under my fingers, and he wasn’t showing any signs he was lying. My possessiveness was raging against the thought Von needed anyone else besides me to keep her safe. I’d been by her side the longest and understood how her brain worked. Who could possibly do a better job than the man she called her shadow? Then I thought about the drone attack and how Apollo pulled her from the car before the bombs were dropped. He’d noticed something I missed, and it nearly cost Von her life.
I lifted Apollo until he was on his tiptoes, then let go and watched the man crash to the floor. “What the fuck?”
“ You’re right. I don’t like you or trust you, and it pains me greatly to know I can’t kill you… yet, ” I threatened. “ My loyalty is to my goddess, and I will do anything to keep her safe. So if I must suffer your presence to keep that promise, then so be it. Just know I’m more than willing to suffer her wrath if you give me any reason at all to kill you. ”
Apollo picked himself off the floor, brushed his pants clean, and gave me a bright smile. “Wonderful, it’s good to see we’re finally on the same page. Seems we better hurry since we both know our woman waits for no one and nothing.”
I charged past the arrogant fuck since I knew where to go, and I’d have no problem with him getting lost in the catacombs we were about to enter. Lights had been drilled into the stone walls of the tunnels, making it easier to navigate. However, just because you could see didn’t mean you’d know what direction to go. Many generations ago, the Zuccaro Family discovered this cave system and put it to use, ensuring there were at least five different ways to escape or smuggle things in.
To my irritation, Apollo hadn’t gotten lost and was right on my heels the entire time. When we reached the door to the main house, I saw Von hadn’t latched it, allowing us to enter without her putting in the code. I brushed aside the thick velvet curtain that covered the door and stepped into the home theater. What better place to hide a secret door than one where you spend most of it sitting in darkness?
“So you haven’t been replaced,” Matteo greeted when he caught sight of me. “When I didn’t see you attached to her hip I nearly fainted.”
Lazzaro punched his twin. “Bro, why do you always try to pick a fight with him? One of these days he’s gonna lay your ass out.”
Von’s older brothers were identical twins who took after their father. They had the same dark brown hair and square jawline, but where Armond was stocky and out of shape, the twins were the opposite. I’d spared with them on occasion, and despite their efforts to make themselves harmless, they were anything but. Von never had trouble telling the twins apart, but I hadn’t spent enough time with them to be certain based on personality. Lazzaro normally had his pin-straight hair loose, falling just past his jaw, while Matteo pulled his hair back into a haphazard bun.
My goddess’s brothers loved their little sister, but that didn’t keep them from teasing her about whatever they could dig up. It never made any sense to me why these two got to be the head of the family when Von was far more suited to it. The twins were what you’d expect any man raised in the mafia world to be like. They partied hard, getting drunk, high, or both by the end of the night, leaving them vulnerable to attack. My goddess would never risk having impaired judgment in a public place when there's always someone looking to take what you have from your cold, dead hands.
“Holy shit, you weren’t kidding about the newbies,” Lazzaro blurted as he finally spotted Apollo. “Damn, did you and ginger nut do something to piss my sister off? Both of your faces are totally fucked.”
“Actually, the name's Erik, not ginger nut,” Erik interjected as he slung an arm around Apollo. “And this dashing look wasn’t Von’s handiwork. Nah, this was all thanks to my best bud Paul, he wanted us to match.”
“Isn’t that cute,” Matteo said with a chuckle. “So are you boyfriends? Who are her boyfriends?”
“Teo,” Von snapped. “None of them are my boyfriends, so leave it alone.”
My first reaction was to be pissed at her for refusing to acknowledge us as something more. Then I thought about it for a moment and decided I agreed with her, boyfriend wasn’t the right word to describe what we were to her.
“Quite right,” Apollo agreed. “We are together, but boyfriend is far too simple of a term to explain what we are. Personally, I like the terms soul mate, fated lovers, or even twin flames. Although, life partner might work as well, but it sounds so mundane, don’t you agree, treasure?”
The twins looked from Apollo to Von and back again.
“Ah…” Matteo started but quickly shut his mouth when Von leveled him with a look that could kill.
Lazzaro ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “This is absolutely Astin’s fault.”
“What did you just say?” Von demanded as she took a menacing step toward her brothers.
I couldn’t help but grin at the sight of two grown ass men who were taller and more muscular than the woman they were cowering from. Yet another example of why Von should have been made heir to the family business.
“V, come on, who else do we know who’s married to seven men?” Lazzaro countered. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing, just caught us off-guard.”
“Yeah, I figured if Bear couldn’t get you to see how in love he is with you, no one else would ever have a chance,” Matteo added.
A low growl slipped out as I stood behind my goddess and placed my hands on her shoulders. These men might be her brothers, but I refused to let anyone use me against her.
“ Choose your next words carefully, ” I warned, making sure to keep my hands out of sight since this was only for the twins. “ Von knows exactly how I feel about her, not that it’s any of your concern. This will be your only warning. ”
The color seemed to drain out of the twins' faces, which told me they understood the underlying message.
“Hey,” Von grumbled as she twisted to face me. “What did you say to them?”
I smiled, cupped her face, and leaned in for a quick kiss. “ Nothing you need to worry about, my goddess. ”
Her expression told me she didn’t believe a word I was signing, but I didn’t give a fuck. The stunned look on her brothers’ faces was worth it.
Lazzaro cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pants pockets. “We should probably let Dad know you're here, then maybe you can tell us what’s going on.”
Von’s body stiffened ever so slightly, but the next moment she was fine and flashed me a cheeky smile. “It’s time to start the hunt.”