“To the FBI, shame on you. Agent Smith, I expect a personal apology for your gross misconduct. Marco Alvarez, your terrorization of me and my family ends now. Ourpeople will not stand for another rich man buying his way out of the consequences he so rightfully deserves.”
The room erupted into a din of excited chatter, two of the community’s wealthiest adversaries now locked in a public battle. Before questions could explode like errant landmines, Hillary spoke her last words.
“I will not be answering questions, as the FBI is waiting for my official statement. You can direct your questions to Agent Agatha Smith, currently taking residence at the 78th Precinct. Thank you.”
Adrenaline washed through my veins like a cleansing tide. This moment had taken the last several weeks to get right. Our single opportunity to salvage our names and our companies—fifteen minutes of fame to freedom. I breathed the first real sigh of relief in days as the crowd clamored to get a response from my woman.
“Ms. Lane—Ms. Lane—Ms.—”
Ignoring the cacophony of attempted questions, we left the stage, each surrounded by our own security detail and escorted down different hallways—her, returning to the room we’d just vacated, to meet with Agent Smith’s superiors, whereas I would be escorted to the rear exit doors, where we would convene at Lauchlan’s vehicle.
I too would be required to make a statement, but we’d agreed to meet elsewhere for the task, not wanting to remain so exposed for too long. The risk to our safety had always come into consideration, and this was the best compromise we could offer.
A bitter tang coated my tongue when I lost sight ofMi Reina. I swallowed the acrid saliva and focused on the next task ahead—returning to our makeshift home alive to focus on the remaining phase of our plan.
A door opened to my right as we passed it. Before I could register the motion, solid hands pulled me through the alcove. Darkness fell on the room as the door shut behind me. I whirled in place to face my attacker,reaching for my favorite dagger tucked at my thigh to pierce the foe bold enough to trap me.
“I requested a favor from Sammy’s men. They’ll stay outside. You won’t be needing that.”
The graveled butter of Kellan’s voice echoed like bullets in a metal canister in the tight closet. War waged within my frame, the compulsion to kiss him and stab him fighting in opposition, though in equal measure. I stepped forward. Less than six inches of air separated our bodies, and I held the lethal weapon to his crotch.
“I believe I do,compañero. An apology is in order, no? Perhaps not to me, although you have disappointed me as well. You have broughtMi Reinamuch anguish. Surely, one testicle is enough to live your life? Or do you need both to fuck the three of us when you come to your senses?”
It was difficult to see his eyes in the closet's dimness, but not impossible. They remained the stalwart sheen of an unapologetic man determined to destroy his own joy for the sake of martyrdom. He was a fool.
“What is the word you say to her? Submit? Surrender? I believe it is time for these orders to leave your lips and be commanded by my tongue instead.”
I drew closer and the dallying scents of bergamot and amber filled my lungs as I burrowed my nose into the cradle of his neck. I brought the knife up to caress his throat, resting it gently against the stubbled skin. His thick blond hair was tied into a bun on the crown of his head, leaving him dangerously exposed to my teeth.
I hadn’t forgotten the fight we’d been forced to endure only a few months ago. This man was larger, broader, more classically trained. Yet he would not harm me, no more than I would harm him.
His silence stood tall like a brick wall between us, yet he did not move. I pressed into him further, with my body and my burdens, pushing for the answers he refused to release.
“Why have you come here,compañero? Shame? Guilt? Tell me what makes you disappear and reappear as a magician?”
His large Adam’s apple bobbed against the steel of my blade. The depth of his navy stare pierced through me sharper than the dagger ever could.
“I came back for her.” The admission left a shallow cut at the base of his throat, the single drip of blood decorating my silver with beautiful crimson. “I came back for you. And… Lauchlan.”
My cock swelled as much as my chest at the words I longed to hear. Despite his stubborn façade of failing to care, he had returned to us. To her. To me.
“You have come back to save us? To join us? To…” I prompted, the push of the dagger causing another pinprick of red.
A guttural sigh resounded through the base of his throat, vibrating the knife in my hand. “A very smart person reminded me that if I actually live through my father’s bullshit, I’m going to have no one to share it with because of my bullshit.” His nostrils flared, the admission one of rueful sorrow.
Chagrin looked good on mycompañero. It softened his rigid edges into velvet lines, devolving his dangerous veneer into a mere human man.
I liked it.
Removing the dagger from his throat, I sheathed it back in its home and clamped firm fingers over his jaw instead, holding him in place to press my lips on his.
His soft skin scalded mine, and the prick of coarse hair scraped along my jaw; both sensations pumped my cock with blood, thickening it against Kellan’s thigh. My tongue traced the outline of his mouth, demanding entrance without mercy, desperate for the full taste of him.
His groan vibrated through my chest, masculine and aroused. I pressed my erection deeper into his own growingcock, relishing the brief friction as he allowed me access to his body. Our tongues and teeth battled in ways our words would not achieve. I savored his flavor, a taste I barely knew, yet it was quickly becoming one of my most prominent cravings. We rubbed against each other, seeking more friction to relieve the frantic itch of desire, our frames vibrating the wooden door on its hinges.
“I need to take you, but there is no time,” I whispered against his lips when we paused for a gasping draw of air. “Show me your willingness to be a part of this family, with no need to control it. With no need to own it. You can only return if you are a piece of our puzzle, not the box that we come in. She will not allow it, nor will I.”
His thrusting, confined cock stilled at my words, and the tension in his jaw became impossible to ignore. The room grew heavy with silence.
