Cinder Road (Scorch Series Romance Thriller Book 2)

by Toby Neal

  How could he be gone? He was so strong! So much bigger and stronger than she. How long could this purging of the earth go on? Everyone was dying.

  How long did Dolf have? JT? Lucy? Her mother-in-law? Oh, God, what would Ana think if she found out?

  When Avital’s mother passed away, Mrs. Luciano had been a rock for her. At the funeral, she held Avital’s hand the entire time. Nando on one side, his mother on the other, his siblings and extended family gathered around her, Avital had felt supported and loved and like she was going to make it.

  She didn’t know if she was going to survive this time.

  She was all alone. She didn’t deserve to be a part of them after what she and Dolf had done.

  Avital reached out to a shelf and pulled herself up, knocking over a shoebox. It opened and spilled its contents onto the carpeting.

  The gold locket winked in the darkness at her. She bent down and picked it up, recognizing the heart-shaped pendant as her mother’s. It was dull and pockmarked; made of eighteen-karat gold, time and wear had dented the fine metal. Avital opened it and stared through teary eyes at the images inside.

  Her mother and father, faces pressed together, young and happy on one side. Across from them a baby picture of Avital, her curly red hair a halo around her fat little face. Another sob wrenched from her.

  She turned back to her drawers and opened up the top one, shuffling around until she found what she was looking for: a strip of black and white images taken in the photo booth at their wedding.

  Avital’s veil flowed over her exposed shoulders, her hair twisted into an updo. Nando was in his tuxedo with his bow tie. In the top photo, they were kissing. In the second one down they were staring into each other’s eyes. In the third they’d begun to turn toward the camera, their faces caught in a blur. In the fourth, their cheeks were pressed together as they stared into the camera with bright and hopeful gazes—so certain of the future they would share together.

  She cut the top one, the one of them kissing, and took out the baby photo of herself, slipping it into her drawer. She fitted the photo of her and Nando into the small, heart-shaped frame, and closed the locket before slipping it over her head.

  It hung between her breasts and brought Avital a taste of solace, to have Nando and her parents close to her heart.

  She was the only person in the photos who was still alive: a sad and potent reminder. Avital wasn’t dead, there was a lot still left in her. She could help a lot of people before she left this world. That’s what Nando would’ve wanted. That’s what her parents would’ve expected.

  That’s what Avital was going to do.

  She heard the door shut downstairs. Avital hadn’t finished dressing, and was only wearing underpants and the locket, her scrubs and sports bra on the ground, forgotten in her grief. She scrambled for them as she heard Dolf’s footfalls on the steps.

  “Just a minute!” She yelled, her heart thundering in her chest. He could not see her like this.

  “Avital?”

  He was getting closer, at the top of the stairs now. Avital pulled on her shirt, forgetting the bra in her haste to cover up. She pulled on the pants just as his big body blocked the door.

  “I said just a minute. This is my house, you know.”

  It was too dark to see his facial expression but he flinched. “I’m sorry. I was worried about you.”

  “I’m fine,” she bit out. What a lie. What a big fat liar she was.

  Dolf stepped into the room and Avital hurried to pass him. She needed to get out of there. She couldn’t be in this room with him. Not now, not ever.

  But he was coming towards her and she was going to have to touch him to get out. She backed up instead, stumbling a bit, reaching out and catching herself on the closet doorjamb.

  “Avi.” In the darkness, he sounded just like Nando. She’d heard the way he said her name a thousand times in this bedroom. A combination of pleading and something else— something that was about sex, without being about sex at all.

  “I have to get back to the hospital.”

  “Avital. Please, just listen to me.”

  Avital gripped the doorway. She didn’t want him to bring it up. Please don’t say anything about what we did.

  “I was talking with JT before he left for DC. He is coming back, and he wants us all to go to the Haven with them. I think it’s important. We’ll be safe there.”

  Avital’s throat tightened. How could he suggest such a thing? Didn’t he understand?

  “I know your work’s important here.”

  Avital was suddenly angry. Furious with him, because she was aching at her core, from the moment he’d said her name. She was promised something when he said her name, a promise she wanted filled and yet couldn’t stand the thought of accepting.

  “I can’t go with you!” she yelled at him. Dolf jerked back at her explosion. “After what we did!” Her voice broke but she swallowed, barreling forward. “I can’t be with your family. I don’t belong with you. Or them.”

  Dolf didn’t move, didn’t speak. As far as she could tell, he wasn’t even breathing.

  Her own breath was labored, her body trembling. She wanted to tear her own hair out. She wanted him to grab her hair and drag her to the bed. “Get out of my house!”

  “No,” Dolf said, his voice cold.

  She stepped forward and pushed at him with both her palms, smacking him hard. He didn’t even budge. “Get out of my house!” She screamed.

  Dolf grabbed her wrists. The memory of him holding her down while he made love to her lanced through her, awakening heat and awareness between her thighs. She struggled, trying to break free from him, aroused and hating herself for it.

  “You can’t kick me out of this house.”

  His voice was chilly and flat, but Avital was pure hot anger.

  She dug her nails into his chest and raked downward, and he gave a grunt of pain, pushing her away. The hangers lost clothing and banged together, creating a discordant jingle like an orchestra tuning up as she stepped into them.

  “I’m not leaving,” he said. “This is my house now.” Dolf hauled her out of the closet, up against his chest. He was holding her much too close. It was so dark that Avital couldn’t see anything. But she could hear that voice, that deep tenor so like Nando’s, and so different. Nando would never say something like that to her. Nando had been gentle, respectful. He would never force her in any way, but Dolf was pushing her way past comfortable into out of control.

  “What the hell are you saying? This is my house! Do I really need to remind you that I’m your brother’s widow?” Avital’s voice broke on widow. She steeled herself, straightening her spine, arching back as his hand wound into her hair and hers clenched in his shirt.

  “It’s my house, too.” Dolf’s breath caressed her lips as he spoke over her mouth. “Nando gave it to me in his will. He left me his half of the house.”

  Avital tried to shake her head but couldn’t, that’s how tight Dolf was holding her. “That’s impossible. It was ours, so now it’s mine.”

  “It’s mine,” Dolf growled, sounding suddenly not like Nando at all. He bent his head and kissed her. He plundered her mouth, and Avital’s mind splintered. Her nails raked against his neck, at once an act of defense and an expression of desire.

  She didn’t want to be kissing him in the darkness, in the closet surrounded by memories of her husband, the gold locket with his picture crushed between her breasts. But she was. And she couldn’t stop.

  Chapter Seven

  Dolf

  Dolf tightened his arms around Avital and deepened the frantic kiss, stroking the silken cave of her mouth with his tongue as she moaned. She was struggling, but she was clinging too, hauling him deeper into the closet, lifting a leg to twine around the back of his. It felt like spontaneous combustion, and impossible. Impossible to continue, impossible to stop—and as necessary as breathing.

  He couldn’t believe this was happening again.

&n
bsp; They hadn’t been in the same room for five minutes, and they were right back where things went wrong—and he wouldn’t change a second of it, because it ended here, with her in his arms. He was completely caught up in her—out of control, from the moment he walked into the dim room with its smell of antiseptic and memories. Seeing Avital’s tear-soaked face, her breasts loose under that boxy top, had triggered him to brand her his. The house was half his, and so was she.

  “Mine,” he growled again, into her tender, sweet, tasty neck.

  Avital stiffened. Her hands, clutching his shirt, tightened into fists. She reared back in his arms, thrusting him away so hard he staggered, keeping hold of her by her elbows.

  “No! You selfish bastard! This is Nando’s house and I’m Nando’s wife! Did you want him to die? Was this all part of one of your secret plans, so that you could get your money-grubbing mitts on everything that was his? That was mine?”

  Avital shoved him so hard that Dolf let go, staggered back.

  “That’s not what I meant and you know it,” he rasped. His throat seemed to have closed on his voice. “I don’t fucking know what I meant.”

  He did know. He wanted her to be his. He wanted to claim her, and the house, and even the life his brother had had. He wanted to step into Nando’s shoes and continue it, so it would be like his twin was alive.

  But he sure as hell couldn’t say that, and he knew how crazy it was.

  Dolf turned away, pushed a hand through his hair, grabbed a handful and yanked. The pain felt good, like it always did. Maybe he’d punch the wall next. “I had no idea Nando had done that with the will. It was a total surprise.”

  “I don’t believe you. I have to see it.” Avital darted past him, shoving him aside. Damn, she was strong for a small woman, and he’d do well to remember it. She flew down the stairs and he followed close behind. He stood behind her as she yanked open the drawer, picked up the will, scanned.

  Flipped the page.

  Flipped again.

  Read the addendum.

  Avital threw back her head and yelled, a scream of pure rage. “Nando! You asshole! How could you do this to me?” Growling, she ripped the will in half, in half again, and in half again. She threw it on the ground and stomped on it, her fists balled, all the while emitting rage-filled cries. “If you weren’t dead, I’d kick your ass and kill you myself!” She kicked the white confetti that was all that was left of the will. The bits flew and settled and she stood there on them, panting, clearly looking for more things to destroy.

  Dolf stood frozen. Other than her passionate response to him three nights before, he’d never seen Avital anything but buttoned down and buttoned up. Annoyance, perhaps. Irritation sometimes, with a foolish purchase Nando might have made for the house, or a staffer at the hospital not following through on something. This rage was something different.

  She spun to face him. “You.” She poked him in the chest so hard it hurt. “Don’t you ever touch me again. You disgust me. I disgust me. This whole sick chapter of our lives is over, closed, done, never to be spoken of again. Now get the hell out of my house, or so help me God, I’ll go tell your mother what you’ve done.”

  Dolf felt the blood drain from his head, leaving him dizzy. His mother. She already thought he was nothing but selfish; she would think the same as Avital did—that Dolf had somehow done this all to steal his brother’s home and his wife. And his life.

  Nando was her favorite. Dolf should be the one in the ground providing food for the worms right now—but he didn’t need to hear that from his mother, too.

  And Lucy? His little sister was the only one who’d been on his side in the family besides Nando over the years, the only one who “got” him. What would she think?

  “You wouldn’t,” he whispered.

  “Just fucking try me,” Avital snarled. “This ends now. I’m not a part of the Luciano family any more, you get me? Now get out of my house.”

  Dolf shook his head. “You have to listen to me. I’ve made preparations. JT has made preparations. We have a plan, a safe place, because things are going to….”

  She cut him off. “You think I don’t know what things are going to be like? What they’re like now? Every single one of my patients died in the last forty-eight hours. All of them! And that’s only a fraction of what we are losing across the city daily. And guess what? I don’t care about your “safe place” because I’m not going. Don’t you get that?” She stepped up into his space again, tilting her chin up and holding his gaze. Her smell made him get hard, in spite of everything. “I am going to the hospital and I’m going to work there until I drop dead. Because that’s what I deserve.” She stepped back. “Get your shit and your stupid ugly cat, and go.”

  Dolf turned and took the steps two at a time to his room.

  She wanted him gone; he’d go. Clearly there was no reasoning with her right now, and he could even understand how she felt about the will—betrayed.

  How she felt about them having sex—beyond guilty.

  And even about how she felt about wanting to die.

  Dolf understood—because a part of him had died too, with his brother.

  But he didn’t want to die, and he didn’t want her to either.

  If a problem couldn’t be fixed one way, it could be fixed another. A good strategist knew when to retreat, regroup, take stock, and plan a new assault—because he sure as hell wasn’t giving up on her, even if she’d given up on herself.

  He collected his few things, coaxed a disgruntled Slash into his carrier, and glanced around the dove-gray walls of his room.

  His room. They’d made it for him, and Nando had given it to him. It was his. And so was she. Whether she wanted him to or not, Dolf was going to take care of her.

  The sound of the generator chugging away in the back yard was soothing. He’d made her life just a little better already, and that comforted him. He hurried down the stairs. He could hear her sobs in the kitchen and paused, tempted, so tempted, to go comfort her.

  Something told him that wouldn’t work, though. He heard another inarticulate cry and the sound of shattering china. It was time to leave.

  Dolf shut the front door silently and walked the few blocks to Mama’s.

  He was glad it was Lucy who met him in the hall as he entered.

  His little sister’s face looked pale and tired, and her thick black curls hung limp. “Mama’s not happy about her tomato plants. Why did you have to park that crazy-ass vehicle back there? If you hadn’t left a note, we never would have known it was you who did it.”

  “Who else would drive a Humvee into Mama’s tomatoes and leave it there?” Dolf reached out to rub a bit of tomato sauce off her cheek with his thumb. “You look tired.”

  “I am. Lotta people died today.”

  “You two need to stop with the casserole delivery service.”

  “And you and JT need to stop trying to boss me.” Ana Luciano came down the stairs, one hand on the banister. She was wearing a striped navy velour pantsuit, her silver-streaked hair freshly brushed. “I’m going to take food to whomever I want because food is part of keeping this neighborhood together. Dolf, what is that ugly vehicle? You wrecked my fence and drove across my tomatoes!”

  “It’s an escape vehicle, Mama. For getting you, Lucy, and Avital out of the city and to JT’s place in Idaho.”

  “No, son. No. I feel like I keep having the same conversations.” Mama put her hands on her hips, frowning, hazel eyes narrowed. “I just got done telling JT I was sorry he spent all that money and time on that farm or whatever it is, but my place is here. With Paulie. And now, with Nando.” Her eyes filled. “I would expect you to understand more than anyone.”

  Dolf set down his backpack beside the front door and walked up to embrace her. They didn’t always get along, but he knew when his mother needed a hug. “I do understand, Mama. And I respect that. But would Nando want you to stay here, running out of food? Maybe getting sick? I know Pops wouldn’t want that.
”

  Ana hugged him back, resting her head on his chest. She smelled of cooking and good things. Of home. He hadn’t even hugged her at Nando’s burial; mostly because he imagined how much his appearance reminded her of losing her favorite son.

  “I appreciate the effort. I know both you and JT mean well.” She patted his back. “But find somewhere else to store that big ugly car.”

  “I fixed the fence.” He had. Immediately. In order to hide the Humvee. “You have to let me keep the Humvee here, Mama. It’s very expensive, and if people knew about it, they’d try to steal it. That’s why I hid it there.”

  “From our neighborhood?” Lucy piped up. “The boys would never take it.”

  “We don’t know how desperate things are going to get. It’s better to be safe than sorry. I’m patrolling tonight with them, so I’ll get a better feel for what’s going on.”

  Mama turned away and headed for the kitchen. “All right, then. But don’t expect me to ride in that thing, even to the grocery store.”

  Lucy pointed to Dolf’s backpack. “Avital kick you out?”

  “She did.” All he wasn’t telling his sister choked Dolf. “She wants to be alone right now, when she’s not at the hospital.”

  Lucy touched his neck. “Slash get you?”

  Dolf flushed. Avital must have broken the skin on his neck when she attacked him in the closet. “Yeah. He’s not too happy with all the moving around.” As if he heard his name, the cat, left in his carrier on the stoop, gave an irritable growl.

  “We can let him out in the house. JT took his dog with him,” Lucy said.

  Dolf fetched the carrier and opened the door. Slash walked out majestically, inspecting his new surroundings, and then trotted toward the kitchen from which cooking smells emerged. “Mama loves him. She’ll be happy to see his ugly mug.” They both smiled as they heard Mama exclaim at the sight of the grizzled old tom.