There’s the window, but to be honest, I’m not sure if I have the strength to put it through the pane, and I would hazard a guess they probably will have some kind of security film over them, if not for anything other than to cut down on glare. Knowing Mario, there’s a good chance they are bulletproof since it’s one of his safe houses. Heading back to the open door, I look around, searching for the best place for the accelerant to do its job.
“Lob it anywhere. I doused everything in the foyer with anything flammable I could find, except for the stairs and the path leading out so you wouldn’t slip. It should go up without any problems and keep burning until the firefighters can get here,” Mickey whispers.
I toss it at the small sideboard leaning against one wall. It’s wood, so that should help the flames grab. I hear the bottle explode and hurry away in case there is any kind of explosion. Not waiting to watch, the four of us hurry across the courtyard and back through the gate. I pull it closed behind us and hear the digital lock engage. It will take a little longer to get through it, giving us more time to escape. I need to be back in the houseand in bed before the fire department advises Mario of what happened.
“I have to go. I need to be home before Mario is informed,” I tell them, and Mickey gives me a nod.
“Go. I’ll give it ten minutes to really get going before I call it in. I don’t want anyone innocent getting caught up in this, even though I don’t think any of the immediate surrounding houses are occupied.” He gives me a quick hug before taking Addi from Sage. “Come on, poppet. I’m Uncle Mickey, and you and I are going to be best friends,” he tells her, gently smoothing down her curls. “I can tell you all the stories about Tori when she was your age.”
“Tori was little like me?” Addi asks with wide-eyed amazement.
Sage and Mickey chuckle, but I wrinkle my nose.
“She sure was, and you should have seen some of the things she got up to. She wanted to be just like her big brother, Gio, and she followed him everywhere. They were the best of friends.”
I close my eyes and flinch internally at his words. He isn’t wrong, Gio and I were always inseparable. I just don’t know where things went wrong. Was I not observant enough to see how much he wanted something different from this life? Or was he a selfish prick who took more than he should have? I guess I’ll never know. What happened is done, and I’m not sure there is any returning from it. I’ll just have to live with the guilt and regrets and try to move forward.
“I don’t have a big brother,” she tells him solemnly.
“No, but who knows, maybe one day you’ll be a big sister,” he offers, and I watch her mull it over as they walk away, her bag hung over one arm, her body tucked safely against his. She won’t find anyone more loving and protective than Uncle Mickey. There’s a reason he is trusted and love by the Russos.
Chapter Fifteen
“Don’t be sad, my love, it won’t be long now,” Sage says, pulling me into his arms and pressing a kiss to my head. I take a deep breath and enjoy it for a moment before pulling away.
“I love you,” I tell him, looking into his eyes.
“And I you. Whatever happens, it’s you and me,” he promises, and with a quick kiss to my lips, he melts into the darkness in the direction Mickey and Addi went.
I take another deep breath and stuff all those pesky emotions deep down before jogging toward my bike. The smell of smoke starts to lightly fill the air, and I know it won’t be long before people start to poke their heads out to investigate from the houses farther down the street, and I want to be far away before that happens.
The ride back to the tunnels is fast, but I do pass a firetruck with sirens blaring and lights flashing, heading in the direction I just came from. It will take them a while to put the blaze out, so hopefully I still have time to get home before Mario is notified, if it even happens tonight. That apartment was so well hidden, not even Colton could find it. We would never have known anything about it without the secret note. I’m pretty sure Pennyleft the information, but I won’t say anything. I don’t want Mario to catch wind of it. We might not be friends, but I don’t want her dead. In fact, I need to make sure she isn’t at the wedding reception when we set it up to go boom.
The ride down the tunnels is fast and furious, and I park the bike in the underground hangar before throwing the keys back on the pegboard. I head to the elevators, since there is no other way for me to get in. The safe room is exit only, and there is no way I can climb up the slide.
Pressing the button, I pray the app on my phone is still working and the cameras in the house are still looping. The elevator goes directly to my level, and I step out, looking both ways down the corridor to make sure no one is around before moving swiftly toward my room. The door is closed, just like I left it, so I turn the handle and slide into the room. I briefly acknowledge there is a sliver of light coming from the bathroom and wonder if I left it on or if Xavier did. Before I can take another step, I’m slammed against the wall and, a hand wraps around my throat.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Xavier snarls quietly, tightening his hold on my throat, and I stifle the moan that wants to escape my mouth as a rush of excitement flows through my body. My fight-or-flight response kicks in, and I growl and struggle, but he has me pinned so tightly, there isn’t an inch of room between our bodies. I can feel him pressed up against me, the long, hard plains of his mostly naked body hot, even through my clothes.
“I don’t think it’s any of your damn business,” I snap and try to push him away, but all I succeed in doing is running my hands over his deliciously warm flesh.
“You’re my wife, of course it’s my business.” He leans in and inhales, and his whole body stiffens. Before he can say anything else, I try to distract him.
“Pfft, I don’t think you had too many concerns for your marriage vows earlier, if the sounds I heard coming from Tristan’s room tell me anything.”
He leans back, and I see his lips turn into a small smirk in the dim light of the bathroom. “Jealous?” he taunts, running his nose up my neck. His breath causes goosebumps to erupt all over my body. “I don’t think those who live in glass houses should throw stones, Victoria. I heard all about your own little tryst with my delicious boyfriend.”
I try to think of something to say, but the hand not holding my throat slides between us, up my body, and over my breast before resting against my heart. “Now tell me why your heart is racing. Is it because of this?” His hand tightens on my throat. “Or do you have secrets, my treacherous spouse? Why do you smell like fire and something else? Something familiar? Something that shouldn’t be possible?”
Fuck, he’s getting a little too close to the truth, so I brace myself and slam my head into his. He shouts and releases me, stumbling backward. I throw myself at him, tackling him to the ground before pulling my hand back to punch him, but he recovers quickly, and before I can connect with his face, he grabs my wrists and flips me over, pinning me to the ground. I flail around, bucking my hips to dislodge him from my body. My knee brushes his groin but doesn’t connect fully. It’s still enough for him to flinch, and I manage to slither out from under him, rolling to scramble away, but his large hand reaches out and grabs my ankle before crawling up my body and grabbing my hair, yanking my head backward.
“You bitch, you’re going to pay for that,” he growls in my ear, and I can’t stop the small, needy whimper that leaks from my lips as my core throbs and my pussy weeps.
A dark chuckle echoes around the bedroom. “Hmm, I think maybe you like this. Maybe you need someone who will takecontrol of you and your pleasure.” One of his big hands slides around my throat again as his body looms over me. I feel his rock-hard cock pushing against the seam of my ass through my cargos.
His other hand quickly releases the button on my pants and pulls the zipper down before stripping them off my thighs. I buck my hips to get him off me and snarl half-heartedly, but all it does is help him get them off quicker. He has to release me to pull my pants over my boots, and I use that as my chance to escape. I crawl forward, and he swears viciously.
“Oh no you fucking don’t. You aren’t getting away from me.” His hand comes down on my ass, and a sharp bite of pain bursts through my body as it connects. I freeze for a moment. Did he just spank me? Did I like it? I take a moment to study my body’s reaction. The flight instinct drifts away, replaced by a needy sensation, one that makes my whole body soften and give in to the sensations streaming through my limbs.
