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I wasn’t wrong last night when I called her a temptress because she’s a temptation I can’t seem to forget. This dying need to be her first everything is intense and overpowers my previous mantra of celibacy.
“Fuck,” I throatily snarl, feeling guilty as if I’ve betrayed Ma in the most carnal of ways. She may have left me long ago, but I’ve never left her or denounced my marital vows. I said ’til death do us part, but I never expected that she’d go before I did.
My scruples of what’s right and what’s wrong are all over the damn place, warring with my body, at least a certain region of it anyhow. If this emotion soaring through me was lust fueled only, I could deal with that. The fact that since hearing her voice over the broadcast transmitter all I wanted was to hold her in my arms… that’s a problem.
Those thoughts loom inside of my mind, playing on repeat as I lie here in bed, moping, contemplating my chaotic life. Shit won’t get done if I sit here and wallow, so I get my ass up, take care of my morning bladder, then begin my daily grooming routine.
* * *
When I hit our suite’s living space, the breakfast cart has already been delivered, and the room smells like eggs, toast, bacon, fruit, and waffles. Luca and the ladies have their plates made and are sitting in front of the television, watching the morning news while eating.
The call of coffee is too much for me to resist, especially after the type of evening I had. After pouring myself a cup, and doctoring it to my liking, I sit near Shayne, breathing in her freshly showered aroma. Her dark locks hang artfully over her shoulder, still damp, dripping droplets of water over her top.
“Morning, everyone,” I greet after my first sip.
Mera returns the gesture with an aloof nod of her head as she consumes her cup of java, and Luca salutes me, engrossed in whatever the newscast is showcasing.
“Morning, Julius,” Shayne rasps, her cheeks a bright shade of pink.
“How did you sleep last night, temptress?” I whisper, leaning closer to her, drawn in by her purity and naïveté. Nobody’s ever reacted to me so bashfully—I find myself beguiled and enchanted by her timid responses to being near me.
“Good,” she squeaks, ducking her face.
Mera’s shifting on the couch catches my attention. As my eyes swivel her way, she pushes the pistol gifted to her by my brother further from underneath her thigh and into plain sight, her eyes narrowing suspiciously on me. Her unspoken threat is loud and clear. Instead of being afraid as she’s expecting, my lip tilts upward in an amused smirk.
Secretly, I’m actually thrilled that she’s as protective of Shayne as she is. Fuck knows that’s a trait I can admire in a person. It’s hard to find trustworthy loyalists these days. Everyone is out for themselves and their pound of flesh. She’s a good friend. I raise my eyebrow at her, showing no outward signs of fear, causing her to shift, and promptly cover it back up. Good girl.
“Mera,” Shayne scolds, not missing the action. “Would you stop? Julius is no threat to me.”
“Are you sure about that?” Mera counters. They begin a stare off, neither willing to look away first. I volley between the two, patiently waiting to see who will give in.
Mera rolls her eyes, and Shayne does a winning shimmy in her seat, celebrating. I get the feeling she’s usually the one who yields.
“There it is,” Luca states. “This is what we’ve been waiting for.”
My head shifts in the direction of the television set. The portrait on the television displays the convent in the background as the reporter speaks into a microphone. The depiction scrolling across the bottom of the screen states that two women have disappeared without a trace from the abbey in the dead of the night. They’re hypothesizing that they’ve been kidnapped and are considered as being endangered. In big, captioned letters on top is the wordreward. They’re expecting a ransom call to come in that’ll never come from us.
“That’ll have all the looney’s coming out and asking for money, testifying that they’ve been spotted in one city or another, giving the po-po false leads to follow. They’ll be scattered around the state and the ones surrounding us,” I speculate aloud. The fiasco of that offering will keep LEO off our trail.
Not that I expect them to suspect us in any capacity, but technology has improved, making things riskier than they have been in the past. As Ma used to say, “Don’t count your chickens until they’ve hatched.” That euphemism works in this case.
“It’s fixing to be chaos,” Luca predicts. His premonition about how this debacle will play out is the same as mine.
“Let the fun begin,” I announce.
* * *
“The tunnel that leads underground starts here,” I tell the girls, opening the secret hatch. You have to know where it is to find it.
The men we hired to dig the cavern went missing shortly after the job was completed.
They’re fish food.
They took their boat out on a fishing trip, heralding their new riches because we pay well. The official report that was filed states that something caught fire under the deck, and when it made contact with the gas tank, the vessel exploded.
May they rest in peace.
I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my family—no matter the costs to my bank account or my soul. I made a deal with the devil long ago, and I don’t regret it for a moment.
