“He’s not in this hospital. I’ve my guys searching everywhere for him, but looks like the bastard was smart enough to avoid going to one.”
A female voice, distracted. “What does that mean?”
The grim male voice booms out, “It means he’s biding his time. Fuck, maybe he bled out and died in a ditch somewhere. Anyway, I still can’t go to Vincent with this. There’s no proof linking him to the bikers.”
“I don’t fucking believe this!”
Something heavy slams against a metallic object that rattles loudly. My eyes crack open and I feel strangely restricted. My chest pulses and the sensation of a strict bandage over my shoulder explains the feeling. An ice bag sits against my cheek, freezing the skin.
My eyes slide over to John, who stands next to my wife near the window.
“If you won’t kill him, I will.”
They both start when they realize I’m awake. A slow smile pulls at Elena’s lips as she approaches my bed and kisses my forehead. She takes the bag of ice away and looks at me through warm eyes. Perfect love and trust shines through them.
Johnny’s unsmiling face hovers over mine, pulling me irresistibly to the present.
“My hands are fucking tied, but I can’t ignore this. We’ll take care of him.”
“Fuck that, I want to be the one to kill that motherfucker.”
I rip the blanket off my legs and attempt to sit up. My side screams in pain, and Elena pushes me back down. “Don’t be stupid. You’re in no condition.”
“Fuck my condition.”
Johnny grins at me. “Did your wife tell you she shot that asshole?”
What the fuck?
Elena lowers her eyes when I glare at her. “What the fuck is he talking about?”
“I thought you were dead.”
“Elena, what the fuck happened?”
She flinches at my tone. “I wanted him to come to me so I could kill him. I almost did.”
Holy shit.
“Are you out of your mind? Someone could have seen you. You could have been hurt.”
Her eyes glimmer with angry tears. “I had to do something!”
Johnny looks at my wife with a bit of grudging respect. None of the other guys’ wives would have had the balls to do what she did.
She’s crazy.
She’s mine.
“Nothing can be done until we find the guy. Just rest, Tony.”
Just rest. Easy for him to fucking say.
A familiar voice yelling down the hallway makes my guts seize.
Oh fucking no.
“Where’s my son?”
“Mrs. Vidal, your son is talking to Johnny.”
A muffled voice from outside is cut off by my mother’s angry retort.
“I don’t give a damn about that man. Get out of my way!”
“Mrs. Vidal!”
“I’ll go. See you later, Tone.” Johnny gives me a short wave before heading outside. Part of me wants to call him back.
“Oh fuck.”
Elena’s hands freeze in my hair as my mother bursts through the door, looking as though she’s aged several years.
“Oh my God. My son! My beautiful son—what happened?”
Elena steps away from the bed as Ma comes barreling for me. I brace for the impact as she throws her arms around my neck and squeezes.
“I’m just a little banged up, Ma.”
“You were shot! Who did this to you?” She speaks in a low, gritty voice, as though the neighborhood kid beat me up.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Her face screws up in anger and she swells like a bullfrog. “Don’t worry about it? Why don’t you tell that to your wife and baby? How the hell are you going to raise this kid if you’re getting shot—”
“Ma, relax.”
Her mouth trembles as she falls silent, her eyes wrinkled in pain. “Tony, I love you but you are destroying yourself.”
Her seething voice cuts me deeper than the wounds burrowed in my body. I never wanted this, and I can’t get out.
“You know I can’t leave.”
“Try. For their sakes.”
Elena’s worried face meets mine, and I watch her flatten her shirt over her belly. The one that has my baby growing inside it. Sadness clenches my heart and I let my head fall back on the pillows, blinking rapidly. The thought of leaving them crushes my heart. For the first time in my life, I’m afraid. I don’t want to die.
Ma’s face hovers over mine, and she seems to understand the turmoil in my head.
“It’s different when you have a kid, isn’t it?”
Yeah, it is.
Chapter Thirteen
Elena
My hands smooth over Tony’s sculpted arms, tracing over the intricate tattoos inked on his tanned skin. He closes his eyes as if it soothes him to have my hands on him, and then he takes my hand and brings it to his lips. A bump of pleasure lifts my heart as he kisses it, and then his gray eyes open to mine, lust and devotion swirling together.
We haven’t really said much to each other since it all happened. It was hard getting a moment away from the people constantly visiting him, but now a heavy silence falls over us both.
“I need to change your bandage.”
“So change it.”
A wide smirk staggers over his face as I straddle his waist. I change his shoulder first, gently peeling the bandage coated with rusty blood. He doesn’t make a sound, even though it must sting. His hands stroke my sides as his charcoal eyes never stray from my face.
All the unsaid things glow from Tony’s gaze. I’m vividly aware that this is the first time we’re actually alone together. No doctors to interrupt us, no mother to pop in unannounced, nothing. Heat builds up between us until I have to wipe my hands over my jeans.
Underneath my legs, I feel him hardening into a stiff rock. I meet his gaze warily and I inhale a sharp breath. Fuck, he just always looks so delectable. Even now with his five o’ clock shadow, I just want to run my fingers along his jaw and stare into those deep eyes as he rams me hard.
“Tony, we can’t. The doctor said—”
“The doctor said a lot of shit.”
The heat in his voice makes me lick my lips. “Seriously, though. You could hurt yourself.”
“I’ll fuck you when I want to fuck you, stitches be damned.”
He leans forward, kissing my neck. The feeling of his lips pressed against mine gently strokes the fire simmering inside me. It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve felt him inside me. We’ve just had stolen kisses in the hospital bed, a hand job while the nurses were occupied, that’s it. Tony’s face blazes with need, his hair already tousled from the many times I’ve run my hands through it.
“Sweetie, let me do the work.”
I lift myself and reach down, touching his iron-stiff cock.
“No, I’ll never let you do that again.”
I’m not sure what he’s referring to, but then again, Tony’s been odd lately. It must have been his close brush with death. He hasn’t let me out of his sight.
He stands up and takes my hand, a devilish look on his face. Cock vivid against his jeans, he pulls them down, his biceps straining. I help him undress, kissing the hard bump struggling against his briefs.
“This fucking wife of mine.” He stares down at me, his eyes shining. “You saved my life, and I hate that. I hate that I put you in that position, but I love you for being so fucking brave.”
I feel fit to burst as I stand up in his arms, and he holds me as though he needs it, as though he’s still beating himself up over it.
“I love you, Tony. I’d do anything for you. Always.”
He takes me to the bedroom and pulls the t-shirt from my head. The bra unsnaps from my back with a twist of his hand, and that falls to the ground, too.
I love this, just being naked with him, our bodies exposed to one another. He touches me as if I’m a piece of art, sadness still lingering in his eyes. I don’t know why.
&nb
sp; I take off my pants and he follows my every move. He watches as I struggle with the tightness of the fabric. It snags my panties and those drop down. He touches my belly again and I imagine what it’ll be like when it starts kicking. My heart races whenever he puts his hands on me.
Then he lowers his head, lips brushing against my ear. “Having you there at the hospital was hell. They don’t tell you about the raging hard-ons you get when you’re naked under the sheets and your wife is right there, but you can’t fuck her.”
His hand covers my breast and I shudder at the contact. Hot lips sear against the side of my head as he pinches my hard nipple.
“You have me now.”
He grabs the base of my neck gently and makes me sit down on the edge of the bed. I slide my hands up his muscular thighs and pull his black briefs down, so that he bounces free. I grab the veined, stiff cock and my lips roll over his head. Tony sighs and pulls away from me.
“I need your pussy right now.”
Tony covers my body with his as he pushes me over the bed, spreading my thighs with his hand. The head pushes hard against the ache crying out for him, for his thickness. I love that sound he makes when he sheathes himself for the first time. My wetness gathers around him as he pulls out and shoves it back in, deep inside my pussy. He’s never been this gentle with me. Never looked at me with so much love in his eyes. It’s hard to describe, but they almost look fractured. In pain.
My body clenches around him as he pulses inside me, hammering my pussy as he breathes into my neck.
“I fuckin’ need you.”
He stops for a moment, grabbing my tits and then sinking his teeth into my neck.
I need him too—need this passion in my life. I need his cock inside me and his cum, too. The future unfolds for me. We’ll have more kids, and we’ll have a lot of fun making them. He makes me happier than I ever could have dreamed.
He kisses my damp neck as I dig my fingers into his back, screaming into the ceiling as he hits my G-spot. Then a groan shakes from his throat, and his cock stabs me hard. He empties his seed in my womb, and I feel the sticky warmth inside me.
We kiss like two teenagers who just discovered sex. He bites my bottom lip, and butterflies flutter in my chest as he looks at me with that slightly drunken expression.
“I love you.”
But a frown descends over his face.
“What’s wrong?”
He rolls on his back and opens and closes his mouth a few times, staring at the ceiling. “You know what’s wrong.”
I rub my arm feverishly. Rafael. He’s nowhere to be found.
“It drives me insane knowing he’s still out there.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep. I just—I have no idea what his endgame is.”
Tony’s eyes flick to me, and I almost flinch from the darkness. “You. You’re his endgame.”
I don’t like hearing that. Bitterness curls my lip. “I’m not a fucking trophy. I’m not a goddamn possession.”
“I’m just as possessive as your ex. I just don’t have to hurt anyone to keep what’s mine.” He takes my chin gently, and even though his words should make my blood run cold, they have the opposite effect. “There’s no way in hell I’d let you go.”
I don’t want you to.
We lie there in bed for a while and gradually Tony closes his eyes. Sound asleep. I let him. The doctor said he needed rest, but I can’t rest. My nerves are fucked from being back in this house, where Rafael knows exactly where to find us.
I get up from the bed and grab my phone off the nightstand, which lights up with a new text:
Need to see you. Tell no one, or I go to the police and tell them who really shot me.
The blood drains right out of me. I can almost feel it pooled at my feet.
He has my number from the phone he stole from Tony. He’s still after me.
I look over at Tony’s sleeping form, knowing how enraged he’d be if he knew that Rafael contacted me. He would want to find him, but what if he didn’t? What if he went to the police?
The phone shakes in my hand. I don’t know what to do.
What do you want?
Meet me here. Now.
The text has a map pointing to a motel outside of town. The hair rises on the back of my neck.
No fucking way I’m meeting you there.
Then enjoy prison, I guess.
A shock of cold horror runs through me like a rippling wave. Prison. Either he could link the gun that shot him to me, or Tony.
I just want to talk.
I don’t believe that for a second.
How stupid do you think I am? I’m not going anywhere near you.
I wonder if the guards will let me in the cell with you if I bribe them.
My lip curls as I stare at the screen. Fuck you. I am not going to jail, and neither is Tony. I won’t be lured into a trap.
In the living room, I peel back the curtains and stare into the white streets, heart hammering. What should I do?
I could meet him.
I could kill him.
My heart seizes at the thought. I know I’m capable. I’ll do anything to save Tony and my baby. And I owe him.
Just look at him. Look at what you cost him.
My heart breaks when I look at Tony’s sleeping, exhausted body. He’s been shot, and he’s had one of his molars ripped out all because of me. Rafael’s too smart to be tracked down, but maybe I can do the work for them. For fuck’s sake, I don’t want to rely on anyone anymore. I was Daddy’s girl, but I’m not anymore. I’m not just Tony’s wife, either.
I’m Elena, and I can handle this piece of shit.
I look at Tony, almost wishing he was awake so that he could stop me from leaving. My heart slams against my chest as I gather my purse and slip out the door, locking it behind me.
My footsteps echo hollowly through the mostly empty parking lot. A dirty, dingy motel lays in front of me.
It’s dangerous. I know that, but I’m also familiar with Rafael’s moods. Now that he actually thinks he’s the father of my child, he won’t hurt me.
Too bad I have no problem hurting him.
I knock on the door, legs shaking as the blinds ripple near the window. The door cracks open and I stare into the nozzle of a gun.
I knock on the door, legs shaking as the blinds ripple near the window. The door cracks open and I stare into the muzzle of a gun.
“You’re alone?”
A sliver of a man shows through the door.
“Yeah.”
“Good. Get in.”
The door swings open and Rafael beckons me from the darkness. I hesitate, wavering on my feet, and he reaches forward and yanks me inside. The door slams shut and my back hits the solid wood as Rafael presses his angular body into mine, his hot, greedy lips at my neck. Hands touch my waist and a surge of vomit rises up my throat. I shove his chest hard and he stumbles backward.
“Don’t fucking touch me.”
Rafael doesn’t look as coked out as he has the last few times I’ve seen him. He wears a white tank top and dark-blue jeans, the bandage visible behind the shirt. A pained look crosses his face. For a moment I think it’s remorse, then I notice the way his hand flies to his shoulder. I realize I shoved him where his wound was. Good.
“You wanted to talk. So talk.”
That dangerous, calm look falls over his face as he corners me, close enough so that I can see every bit of stubble on his cheek. His lips are inches from mine, and his eyes are clear. They’re filled with deadly calm.
Oh God. I don’t like this.
“Let me tell you what’s going to happen if you don’t do what I say. I’ll tell the police who shot me, and after a short trial, you get a couple years in prison. Long enough for you to give birth there.”
Where the fuck is this going?
Horror slowly fills my chest as a creeping smile spreads over his face. God, his smile used to make me glow. Now it just makes me sick. His fingers t
ouch my frozen cheek, then my neck.
“They’ll take the baby away from you soon as it’s born. It’ll be ripped from your arms.”
It’s like a gray cloud rolling over my head. I’m cast in a black shadow. Rafael seems to glorify my despair.
“Then I establish paternity for the kid, and I take it away from you.”
“No.”
It’s like a whisper. It barely passes from my lips, but Rafael hears it. His fingers brush over my bottom lip.
“Yes.”
He can’t do this to me. An image of my swollen self, pacing the small cell of a prison cell haunts my mind. Giving birth in prison, and almost immediately having a nurse rip the child away from my arms.
He can’t do this.
“It’s not even your baby!”
He raises his eyebrow, smile trembling. “Are you sure about that?”
No, I’m not. As much as I want the baby to be Tony’s, as much as I hope that it’s his, I’m not completely sure.
It’s a horrifying image. As far-fetched I think his plan is—it still stabs my chest like a knife. I force myself to keep calm, to make myself seem like I really believe this shit. He’ll drop his guard, and I’ll get him. Somehow.
The room echoes with my shuddering gasps. I slump against the door, pretending to lose all strength in my limbs. Rafael wraps an arm around my waist, and I’m terrified by his warmth.
“I don’t want to do this to us, Elena, but I will get what I want.”
“You can’t do this to me.” I beg him with my eyes. “Please.”
But everything he’s done soared beyond any kind of usual evil.
I’ll kill you.
“You’ll leave Tony, or you’ll never see your kid again.”
“Leave Tony?”
Leave the man I love? He must be insane if he thinks I’m going to actually go through with this, but inwardly I rejoice. He might as well have handed his head on a silver platter.
I’ll go to Tony, sure. I’ll tell him exactly where you are.
Rafael has the balls to grin at me. It’s a wide, self-assured grin, not unlike the one Tony gives me, but so undeserving. He’s such a piece of shit. A worm. A parasite unworthy to stand on the same ground as my beautiful, brave husband.
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