I close my eyes, allowing myself a small moment to wallow. I want to go home. I want to be with Sienna, watching her marry the man she loves and raise a family. I want to keep living my life, and while that might not end the same way for me, I’d be happy. Now, I’m right back into this fucking mess, facing down power-hungry men, assassins that want to see me dead for a trophy on their wall, and now having to face Alonzo when I told him not to fucking follow me.
Fuck, I’m so angry at him. Why couldn’t he have listened? Facing him is the last thing I need. It’s a distraction. I can’t afford a single one of them. Not if I want to get out of this alive. I need to focus, and worse, I need to become the person I worked so hard to forget.
Rayea Antonova was feared for many years. She was smart, and she was deadly. She was the one who trained other students in that school in secret, thinking stupidly she would have allies.
That wasn’t the case in the end, and being that person, opening myself back up to that side of me frightens me more than death. Becoming her again, can I come back from that? Can I keep the darkest parts of me buried when this is all over?
You did it once, you can do it again.
I want to believe that, but the doubt still lingers.
A soft sound interrupts my thoughts, bringing me sharply back to the present. I lie on my belly, waiting, listening. Another small sound. It’s not a knock, but something else. A soft clicking, a small scrape. Hades lets out a low growl, but I quiet him with a quick, whispered command. I tell him to wait, and both of us watch the door. Finally, I hear and see it.
The click of the lock giving way, and the quiet turning of the old-timey doorknob. Someone is trying to break into my room.
I bite back a curse of annoyance. Who the hell is trying to get themselves killed now? Unless my father’s spy is planning an early attack to get me out of the way quickly. Damn it.
I brace, waiting. I need to time this right, or I’ll end up with a broken neck or a bullet somewhere painful and probably deadly.
The door opens without a sound, and I slow my breathing as I get into position. A figure steps through the door, head down, but I don’t wait to see who he is. I don’t dare. I launch myself silently from the edge of the canopy, flying across the room at him fast enough that I’m already hitting him when he whips around from shutting the door.
Shit!
I really should figure out angles and shit next time. With how quickly he looks up, and how hard I’ve pushed myself off, I’m moving faster than I plan, and I only get to see his eyes widen, hear him curse, and rush to grab me.
Which is exactly how he gets a face full of pussy instead of me hitting him in the chest as I planned.
It stuns him enough that I can quickly gain the upper hand, wrapping my legs around his neck and throwing myself backward, causing him to stumble and fall forward.
It’s when I hear his sharp Italian curse that I realize who it is. Fuck.
I don’t have time to pivot, and I brace to land hard on the floor, but at the last moment, Alonzo manages to roll and take most of the brunt of the fall, landing with a hard thud and pained groan. I hit the footboard of the bed hard, pain shooting sharply through the back of my head and shoulders.
“Fuck!” I hiss. I don’t move, taking a second to get my bearings. “What the fuck do you think you’re fucking doing, Alonzo?” I snarl.
I open my eyes and look down, but still, when I realize that in this position, my crotch is still in his face, my thighs squeezing around his head.
His eyes burn as he looks up at me. Images of the last time I was in this situation flash through my mind, and heat flushes my cheeks. I shove to my feet, fighting the urge to kick that look right off his face. Damn it, I don’t need this bullshit.
He climbs to his feet with a wince and low groan. “You really thought that I wasn’t going to come and check on you? Make sure you were alright? You really think so little of me, Rori?”
If looks could kill, he’d be dead twice over. How fucking dare he?
Rage bubbles, my hands trembling with the need to slam into any available part of him. “You arrogant asshole! You think I want you anywhere near me after what you’ve said? What you’ve done?”
He flinches. “I also owe you an apology,” he agrees stiffly. “What I said, what I did, I should never have done it. Said it.Thought it. I was wrong. This whole thing with you, it…it messed me up. I’ve never had a reaction to a woman like you, and I fucked up, okay? I really am sorry, and if I wasn’t, do you think I’d be risking my ass to be here? To help you get the hell away from all of this?”
“Is that what you think? That you’re going to waltz in, play hero, and whisk me away like some kind of gallant Italian knight to your castle? That I’ll just say, no harm, no foul, and we move the hell on as if nothing happened?”
He has the gall to shrug. “I mean, maybe not exactly, but that sounds better than us being angry with each other. And you can’t tell me that you want to be here. That you want to be a part of all this bullshit they have planned.”
He really wants me to hit him. Or shoot him. Maybe both.
“Then you are wasting your time,” I hiss, balling my fists at my side. “Fuck you, Alonzo and whatever self-serving shit you’re trying to pull. Do you understand the danger you have put me, put yourself in? That you put Hades in? After I fucking told you to keep him with you. To keep him away from this shit.”
“I couldn’t leave him behind. Besides, Pietro told me to bring him.”
“Oh, your Don told you to bring him?” I want to smack Pietro too. I like him, and he’s got a good head on his shoulders, but in this instance, he’s no better than Alonzo. “Get out, Alonzo. I’m done with you. I have shit to prepare for, and you are going to get in my way.”
