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When they finished dancing, he took her upstairs and let it be known exactly how much he loved every part of her. Up until that moment, sex had been a frantic driving need between them. Something had shifted, and when he slid into her, Bellona looked up at him with such softness and wonder, it seared right onto his soul. No one had loved him like that. No one ever would.
Afterward, Rafael cradled Bellona to him, stroking her hair through his fingers and listening to her deep breaths as she slept.
Everything Rafael thought he knew he wanted was changing. All the work he had done over the years, the success the company had, the money—none of that seemed to matter anymore. He didn't know what he was going to do once the bounty was off his head, but he knew he couldn't go back to his old life. The thought of not knowing what the future held should have terrified him. It didn't because no matter what happened, he knew Bellona would be in it.
24
Bellona curled around Rafael's warm back and thought maybe days off were a good thing to have in the future. The sun was up, but she didn't know what time it was and didn't care. They wouldn't make a move on Rita's properties until nightfall, so she had all day to stay exactly where she was. She had spent the night showing Rafael how much he meant to her in the best way she knew how and was still feeling lust-drunk and hazy with contentment. She kissed the back of his neck just because she could.
A phone buzzed on the nightstand, and Bellona fought the urge to break it in half. Rafael roused enough to look at the screen.
"Looks like our groceries are here," he said, sitting up and looking around for his clothes.
"Leave them and stay here with me," Bellona mumbled sleepily.
Rafael kissed her cheek and nuzzled her warm neck, sending a ripple of lust through her. "If I do that, how will I make you breakfast?"
"Good point. Come back when you've got them. Bring espresso with you," she said, making him laugh. Bellona didn't hear the door shut behind him before she drifted off to sleep again. She didn't know how long she dozed, but she finally woke again to someone banging on a door somewhere.
"Rafael?" she murmured, sitting up.
The front door to the apartment opened with a bang. "Bells! You up?" Set called.
"Hang on!" Bellona got out of bed and pulled on a robe. Downstairs, Set was holding a ripped bag of groceries.
"What's wrong?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"I found these in the foyer with Rafael's phone," Set said, placing them on the counter.
Bellona's stomach plummeted, and her heart sped up. "T-They took him? How? There's no way they could track his phone here. I have signal scramblers in the apartment."
Set grabbed her arm as she began to sway. "It's okay, Bells. They won't hurt him. Rita wants him alive, remember? Medusa is already pulling up the security. Just breathe."
Bellona took Rafael's phone and ran her fingers over the smashed screen. They took him from her own territory. No, no, no.
Set's phone started ringing, and he put it on speaker. "Hey, Susa. What did you find?"
"Three men in a white van with bags of groceries pulled up thirty minutes ago. Rafael answered the door, and as he was taking the bags, they tased him in the chest," she replied, the clicking of computer keys in the background. "I'm trying to trace the van."
"How the fuck did they even find us? The scramblers I have are your design," Bellona demanded. "They are meant to be the best."
"They are the best! They don't work when someone sends an online order and gives them the fucking address, Bells. He ordered food and led them right to you," Medusa snapped back. "Look, I know you're upset, but we will find him. Just let me do what I'm good at."
She hung up without a goodbye, and Bellona would have felt guilty for yelling if panic wasn't starting to drown her. Magic spiked in her veins, thrumming out of her as she spiraled into all the horrible fucking things Rita could be doing to her beautiful Rafael. The image of Rafael tied onto another cross flashed through her mind, and she groaned in agony. Power lashed through the apartment and pulsed out into the streets below. Cars crashed into each other as people got out to start fighting.
"Bellona! Stop, or you'll cause a riot!" Set commanded. He grabbed her face and forced her to look at him. His ancient power smothered hers, containing it as much as possible and locking it down.
"They have him, Set. I keep failing..." she gasped. Hot tears slid down her face. "I love him, Set. I love him, and they have him."
"I know. I know," he said, pulling her into a hug. "You need to take a breath and think clearly. Bring the power back under control, Bells. Lock it up, and then we can figure out what to do next."
Bellona closed her eyes and tried to reel her fury and battle lust back in. It wouldn't help save Rafael until she had somewhere to direct it.
"There we go. That's it," Set said, loosening his grip on her. "Now, let's think this through. They tased him. They didn't shoot him, so Rita wants him alive."
"She's going to hurt him. Torture him until he gives her what she wants," Bellona whispered, fighting down the panic again.
"We have a raid planned for all of her properties tonight. We hit them all at once. He will be in one of them, which means one of us will find him."
