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This didn’t have anything to do with Giselle, did it? It was too much to hope for.
Alas, that didn’t stop me from hoping in vain as I drove out of Cypress, away from the Black Hand, away from my father, away from everything. I didn’t care about the Black Hand position or who ran what in Cypress. The only thing I cared about was the girl currently missing.
Giselle. Oh, Giselle. My hands tightened on the wheel when I thought of her, so hard my knuckles turned white. This world had been anything but kind to her, and I hated that I couldn’t press rewind and change the past. What she had to go through, what she had to keep to herself these past three years…
None of it was alright. None of it was fine. Everything was so messed up, and I didn’t know how to fix things. I had the feeling nothing would ever be the same again.
I sped. I broke a few speeding rules and traffic laws on the way to try to beat the time the GPS on my phone said I’d arrive. The world became one of night, dusk giving way to a black sky. Eventually I made it out of Cypress, to whatever city butted up against it. The directions took me to a development whose houses actually had yards—something you didn’t really see in Cypress. Many of the plots were empty, with a few having semi-built houses on them. A newer development, then, still in progress.
I came upon the address Cade had given me, and I pulled into the driveway, slow to shut off my car. My eyes spotted two strangers standing near the front door, wearing leather jackets with similar patches on their arms. They were drinking beer, it looked like, along with eating… pizza?
Why the hell would Cade want to meet here? Did he know those guys?
Whatever. I’ll just go inside, see what he wanted, and then get back home as soon as I could.
As I got out of my car, I squared my shoulders, held my head high, and readied myself. I had no idea what I’d be walking into, and knowing Cade… or, not knowing Cade, didn’t help anything.
But he’d sounded urgent on the phone, so that had to mean something.
My legs took me to the front door, and the two unfamiliar men sized me up as I approached. Neither one appeared too impressed with me, but that went both ways. “Uh,” I started, “I’m here for Cade?”
The two guys glanced at each other, something unspoken passing between them, and then the one on the left flicked his thumb toward the door. I guess his way of telling me to go in.
I stepped past them and pushed inside the house, and immediately my gaze was drawn to Cade, who stood to the right of the door, where the front hall opened up into a dining room of sorts. His large body blocked most of it out.
“Cade,” I started, the front door swinging shut on its own behind me, “what’s—” Whatever else I might’ve said died in the back of my throat when Cade stepped aside and let me get a good view of the girl who’d been sitting at the table behind him.
My heart skipped a beat, and I could barely get her name out: “Giselle.”
Giselle was slowly getting to her feet, but I didn’t give her the chance to say a word before I rushed over to her and flung my arms around her. I pulled her in close, holding her against me so tightly nothing and no one could pry me off her.
I buried my nose in her hair and breathed her in, the relief slow to flood my system, almost like a part of me didn’t want to believe this was real. Like this was some kind of dream. “Oh, my God,” I whispered against her head, “I thought… I thought you were gone. I—”
My arms fell from her back only so my hands could cup her face. Words just wouldn’t cut it here. I brought my mouth to hers, kissing her, wordlessly telling her just how worried I’d been for her, how frantic I’d been these last few hours.
Seriously, it was like the world had shifted for me. Like, seeing that security footage with the masked man carrying Giselle’s unconscious body had been a light bulb moment for me.
I would never let anyone take this girl from me again.
I think she was taken off-guard by the kiss at first. Maybe she wasn’t expecting it. Or maybe… maybe it was nothing more than an old habit thanks to a certain someone. But, after a few seconds, her mouth became less stiff and she kissed me back, murmuring my name against my lips, “Luca.”
God. No one had ever said my name like that. No one. Not even close. Seriously, no one could ever hold a candle to Giselle.
Cade was apparently still standing two feet away, watching the whole thing, because right then he cleared his throat, like he wanted Giselle’s and my embrace to end. Too bad for him, I was still getting reacquainted with Giselle’s soft, luscious lips.
Hey, they were lips I was worried I’d never see again. There’s nothing like losing someone to make you realize just how badly you wanted them in the first place.
She might’ve only been my wife because it was forced on us by our fathers, but I knew it then: she had to be mine. Whether she was my wife or not, it didn’t matter. I needed her, and I’d do whatever I could to prove it.
I was in no hurry to stop kissing her. A whole minute might’ve passed with Cade watching and probably scowling at us, but I didn’t care. The only thing I cared about was in my arms, her lips attached to mine.
Even though I wanted to kiss her forever, there was something I needed to find out, so after a while, I tore my mouth off hers and whirled on Cade. “What the hell, man?” I demanded, and I made sure to step in between Cade and Giselle to shield her from him.
The man who’d taken her from our suite had worn a mask, but he was a rather large guy… like Cade. I didn’t peg Cade Cunningham as a kidnapper, but I guess you never knew.
“What the hell?” he echoed, frowning at me. “I called you out of courtesy—”
“Because I told you to,” Giselle whispered behind me.
