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“Doubtful. What are you going to do about your mum? She’s been calling every day, T. You can’t ignore her forever.”
“I can. You couldn’t, because you’re a nice person. Me, I’m an asshole. I absolutely could pretend she doesn’t exist.”
“You’re not an asshole, T. You’re hurt and understandably so. But I want you to try to resolve this. I happen to love your mother. I want our children to have her around, so we need to find a way to work through this. Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away…”
“She lied to me my whole fucking life, Holly. My father, did he even know? Fucking hell, how can someone do that?” The more I think about it, the more I get myself worked up again. I can’t forgive and forget, or do some kumbaya shit and simply work through this with her. My whole life was a fucking lie.
“I don’t know, and neither do you. It’s something you work on. You ask her the questions only she can answer. I’m sure she had her reasons, although there may not be any excuse. We weren’t there. We don’t know what happened.”
What I don’t know… is how to respond to that. I’m not sure if I’m ready to forgive my mother. Just as I go to open my mouth to respond, the unmistakable sound of bullets tearing through the air fills the void. “Fuck! Get up!” I yell, pulling Holly out of the water. I grab the dressing gown off the hook on the door and wrap it around her, before I yank a pair of sweatpants out of the hamper and throw them on.
Opening the door, I scan the bedroom. There’s no one in sight. Tugging Holly behind me, I place a finger to my mouth, gesturing for her to be quiet. The shouts are muffled, the gunfire distant—it’s coming from outside. Walking into the closet, I hit the button that opens the back wall to a hidden hallway.
I have one thing on my mind: getting Holly the fuck out of here.
ChapterFour
What the hell is going on? I want to ask Theo, but the tension radiating off him keeps my mouth shut tight, and I blindly follow him and his every instruction. There’s a secret door in the closet. I’m not sure why I’m surprised—all of T’s homes are like Hogwarts with secret doors and passageways everywhere. Yes, these are the insane thoughts running rampant in my mind as T pulls me through what looks like a hallway. It’s dark, damp, and musty. But at least I can’t hear the gunshots anymore. “Who’s shooting at us?” I ask him, breaking the silence.
His steps halt, and he turns to cup my face with his palms. “Not us, dolcezza. Me. Don’t worry about it. I’m getting you out of here. I won’t let anything happen to you—I swear it.” He drops his hands and grips one of mine again, turning towards wherever it is this tunnel leads. I pull on his arm until he stops.
“If they’re shooting at you, then they’re shooting at me too. Because I’m nothing without you, Theo. I have a right to know who the bloody hell thinks they can take you away from me.” My rage is rising to the surface, replacing the initial fear. I can’t lose him again. I won’t lose him again. My blood might be at its boiling point right now, but T is grinning like a damn lunatic. “Why are you smiling? This isn’t a laughing matter, Theo.”
“You’re incredibly fucking sexy when you get all protect my man, Holly. I want nothing more than to push you up against this wall, spread those creamy thighs of yours, and impale your pussy on my cock.” He sighs. “But I can’t do that right now, because I need to get you out of here. I need to clean up this mess. And I need to find Neo and make sure my men are still fucking breathing. But most of all, I need you to hold on to that fire and help me keep you safe.”
Well, what the hell do I say to that? “Maybe I was wrong about your Hallmark career. You should go into politics, T. That was one hell of a speech. But you should know I’d follow you anywhere without all the fancy words.” When he stands there staring at me with his eyebrows drawn, I urge him back into action. “Come on, what are we waiting for? Move.” I push him to start walking again.
“I fucking love you, Holly,” he says, quickening his pace. I have to almost jog to keep up with him.
ChapterFive
Every day, I fall more and more in love with Holly. I never thought a love like this was possible. I thought it was the kind of shit people made up. A fairy tale to sell children into thinking there was something big and great in the world, just waiting for them to find it. The pursuit of love really is life’s greatest treasure hunt. Because when you find it, you fucking treasure it. You protect it with everything you have.
And that’s what I’m doing right now. I’m protecting my treasure from the darkness of my fucked-up existence. I should be up there fighting next to my men. I should be safeguarding my family. And a few months ago, I would have been. But now, my wife comes before anyone and anything else.
We’re almost at the door that connects the brownstone (where we are staying temporarily) to Helena’s café. I always thought Neo was a paranoid bastard when he put this tunnel in a few years back. But now, I get it and I’m fucking thankful he did. Our current residence belongs to his family. It was purchased in his sister’s name—the same girl who’s been missing for years. No one’s supposed to know we’re here.
How the fuck did they find us? How many fuckers do I need to slaughter today? Whoever thinks they can shoot up my house and walk away is fucking dreaming. I will find each and every one of those bastards and fucking end them. Painfully. I smile at the thought of having the faceless assholes strung up in my warehouse, stripped of everything they thought they were.
After five minutes of navigating the dark tunnel, we reach its end. Opening the door a crack, I look through to the kitchen. Everything appears to be operating as normal, with staff going about their daily business. We get inquisitive looks as I drag Holly towards the back office.
Closed in the small room, I can see everything. My eyes scan the live camera feed. Helena is greeting and serving customers, as she is known to do. “Wait here.” I kiss Holly’s forehead before shutting her inside and heading to the dining area.
“What’s wrong? What happened? Where’s Neo?” Helena asks as she rushes forward and tugs me into the kitchen.
“The house got shot up. I don’t know. I didn’t have a chance to grab my phone. I need yours.”
“You ran? You ran out and left my brother there to defend himself?” she yells.
“Watch who the fuck you’re talking to, Helena. I’m about to head back there. I need your fucking phone now, and I need you to keep Holly here until I return. Think you can do that?” I growl out, annoyed at her tone and accusations. I hold my palm open in front of her. She pulls her phone from the pocket of her apron and slams it into my hand. “Thank you. Tell my wife I’ll be back for her and not to move until I am.”
“What? You didn’t tell her that you’re leaving her here? Great, let me go deal with the fallout of that conversation. Thanks, T,” Helena hisses at my retreating form as I run through the door to the tunnel.
* * *
The house is eerily quiet. Tiptoeing along the hall and down the stairs, I draw my gun. Ready. On edge. As I make my way through the brownstone, I hear him before I see him. My cousin, quietly cursing and promising someone a brutally gruesome death. Fuck, I know that tone. I’ve heard those promises many times before. Seen them delivered too. Whoever he’s speaking to has royally fucked up—that’s for sure.
Rounding the corner, my heart stops. Sitting in the middle of the kitchen is Neo. Tied to a fucking chair. Blood runs like a leaky faucet down his temple. His shredded shirt shows red marks all over his chest. I don’t think. I don’t have time to consider my actions. The hot end of my barrel rises to eye-level, and I aim at the fucker closest to Neo. And then, one by one, all three men (who were stupid enough to have their backs to a fucking doorway) fall to the ground.
