“See? You’ll never be bored.”
She sighs. “Alonzo, I don’t know if we?—”
“Do all that shit later,” Ilya barks sharply behind us as the door flies open. “We’ve got a problem.”
I want to growl at him to handle it, but I force myself to pull away from Rori. She shoots me a knowing look, like she didn’t want it to end either, and it soothes some of the annoyance.
Before I can demand to know what the hell is going on, my phone buzzes. I check it quickly, stiffening when I see the message. Rori arches a brow at me in question and I turn my phone toward her.
Urso: Get ready. You’ve got a convoy heading your way. Half an hour tops.
“Shit,” I mutter.
“Let them come,” Rori says, voice cold, sharp. She looks at Ilya. “Where’s Simeon?”
“In his room. Freya and Oleg are watching him to make sure he doesn’t try anything.”
“Get them all down here. It’s time to see just how much Timur cares about his son. And we need to be ready. That convoy coming is Timur and probably my father, but whoever the new replacement is is possibly with them, but most likely already here or close by.”
He nods, his expression grim. “What do you need?”
“Guns, ammo, and any surprises you have. We’re going to need them all.” She looks up at me. “Last chance to bow out, Goliath.”
“I’m not leaving you,orsetta. Ever.” I stare down into her eyes. Needing her to believe me. And I don’t just mean this moment, even if she wants to pretend otherwise.
I see the moment she accepts it. “Then you better not die on me, Goliath.”
“I’ll do my best,orsetta. Not when I have you to live for.” Her eyes burn into mine, and she swiftly grabs the back of my neck and hauls me down to kiss me hard.
“I forgive you, Alonzo,” she murmurs when she pulls away. “We survive this, and we’ll figure out what happens next.”
“Then that’s all I need to make sure I keep on living, Aurora. I love you,orsetta.” Then to lighten the emotional intensity, I grin at her. “And if you get yourself hurt, I’ve got some creative punishments coming your way.”
Her laugh is sultry, making my cock harden. Fuck, definitely not the time. “I’ll hold you to that, Goliath.” She pulls away and we turn to look at Ilya. I try not to let the fact that she hasn’t told me she loves me back irritate me. We’ll have the time to get to that. I’m sure of it.
“You two done all your bullshit now? Not like we don’t have a fucking fight to win,” he sneers, grabbing a gun from his desk drawer.
“You really should get laid, Romanov,” Rori replies drily. “Might make things a little less dire for you.”
He ignores her and we head for the door. Rori whistles for Hades, and I call Titus to meet us. I just hope we’re ready for this fight.
I have too much riding on winning it to lose. Aurora O’Brien is finally mine, and nothing short of death will stop me from bringing her home. And this time, it’s a home that will welcome her with open arms.
36
RORI
The Romanov armorycould give Nico a run for his money. The underground room spans almost the entire basement area of Ilya’s giant home, and it has far more fancy things than even Nico could have ever possessed.
I have to assume the same for Alonzo if the way his eyes widen and fill with excitement is anything to go by. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a giant of a man look like a kid in a candy store. And Titus isn’t much better. He spits something out in rapid-fire Italian, and Alonzo nods, picking things up and checking them over.
I make quick work of selecting the things I need, and adding in a few things that I probably won’t but will be nice to have. You can never have enough fire power. As everyone suits up, I’m still looking and searching, until I stop and see something that makes me almost sag in relief.
There are K9 kevlar vests, and a good amount of them in varying sizes. I snatch one, whistling for Hades, who has beensniffing the room, and he bounds over. Now I just have to hope it fits.
Alonzo comes over when he sees me working to put the vest on to help. “Just need to figure out a way to put a helmet on you and you’ll be all set, won’t you?” he murmurs with a smile down at Hades.
Hades lets out a low sound that makes me smile.
