“Our boy Misha's gonna drive you home to the city tomorrow. Don't know if your uncle's sealed up your place or not, but we'll let you off at his night club, that pear place you're always hanging out at. The sooner he finds you, the sooner we can get this shit over with.”
She tensed up. Her fingers smoothed their way over mine, and I tightened my hold. “I'm not your asshole uncle. I'm being open, frank with you in a way no man's been before. I want your help with offing his ass not just because we've got a blood vendetta. I need you to help me put him down so we can be together, babe. That's what you want, right?”
Her dark eyes met mine. Pale white cheeks flushed red, like she was afraid to admit it. Yeah, the world knew it was wrong to have us coming together. Warring blood wasn't meant to love. And it sure as shit wasn't meant to fuck so good, so natural.
“Don't play shy,” I growled, pushing my chair out and coming over to her. “You wanna see how bright this future burns, don't you?”
“Yeah,” she finally said, breath storming out her soft lips. “It's just happening so fast. I can't kill him myself. I can't be there when –“
I jerked her up and smashed her to my chest. My fingers caught her chin, gently twisted her face to mine, making her look at me. My dick knew damned well what it wanted, but for once my heart overpowered his greedy hunger.
“You won't have to. All you gotta do is figure out where he's gonna be and when. We'll give you a burner phone, and you'll call me as soon as you know. Give us a time, a place, something you'll know with certainty. I'll have you picked up and gone before he shows. My brothers and I'll corner him and finish the shit we should've wrapped up months ago. It'll be over fast. We'll be free to figure out the rest, babe. Everything we're gonna do with the rest of our lives.”
My hands slipped down her back, and then trailed lower. My palm stopped on her ass and my fingers tightened, feeling her, rocking her hips into mine. I wasn't shy about showing her exactly what that future was gonna be.
Honestly, I didn't give two shits about the rest, as long as she was happy.
We'd have to flee the States for awhile, yeah. Maybe she'd finally get that foreign writer career after all, or else she'd learn to bake and paint if she wanted. We had the money to do it all, and with the Ligiotti clan neutered, there was nothing stopping us from making whole continents our bitch.
Even the Feds would get off my trail with time. We could come back to the States, home to Chicago. You'd be amazed what a lotta bribes in the right places plus a few years can do for any crime.
“Is it really that easy, Anton?” She lowered her head, looking strained, conflicted.
“Long as I'm in charge here, fuck yeah, it is. I can't stand you doubting me.” I let my other hand glide down her ass, and when both were firmly there, I squeezed. She gasped.
Perfect. I wasn't gonna let her walk outta here thinking this shit wouldn't work. And if she couldn't get it through her head by words alone, then I'd give her body the best damned distraction in the world.
“Look at me, Sabrina. We're gonna wrap this shit up and get on with our lives. We don't have to spend the best years we've got wrapped up in this twisted underworld. I've already given my family plenty. After this, I'm done. I'm taking a well deserved break. I wanna travel with a girl and figure out all the shit I haven't yet.”
She smiled, and I knew I was speaking to the same needs inside her. Warring blood or not, we were brother and sister in crime and death. We'd been shaped by the roughest edges in life a human being could know.
Could we smooth shit out? I didn't fucking know, but damn if I wasn't gonna try. I'd be the one to set her free, give her what her wicked uncle never could.
“What do I need before you send me out to play secret agent?” She asked.
I almost laughed. Now, she was in such a rush she wanted to get right down to brass tacks. I wasn't having it.
“I'll show you. Walk with me.” I reluctantly pulled my hands off her ass and we moved down the long, winding path plunging deeper into the the gardens, towards a long crop of big trees in the flat Illinois landscape.
“It's beautiful out here,” she said, smiling at the stars. “Almost makes me believe we can really do this.”
“Good. You stay out here and look at this shit as long as it takes for you to know we can.” I stopped by a big row of vines curling up a stone bear statue, pulling her to my chest. “Take a good long fucking look, babe. I can take you razzing me with that sweet tongue or fighting tooth and nail. But I'll never have you doubting shit. Not now. Not ever. Understand?”
She blinked. What the hell was that unease still tugging at her face?
I was starting to get pissed, wondering why my best words were falling deaf. Fuck, if words weren't gonna do the job, then I'd tear her clothes off and fuck her right here on the ground. There was another gazebo further out, some shit my old man installed when he brought his girlfriends out here.