By the time the sun begins to rise I fully understand. All through the night Bruno feasted on me. One orgasm led into another. I’d barely fall asleep and he’d be waking me again. I was bound to the bed for his taking.
I’m just not sure what it is he’s trying to take from me anymore.
11
Bruno
I untie her hands and run my fingers along her wrists. She sleeps snuggled against my side. The sun’s been up for hours, but I wore her out last night.
She’s so peaceful right now, so trusting. I’m not the sort of man anyone should trust, but with her it’s different. Every moment I spend with her, I realize there may be a future beyond revenge. But I can’t give her everything she deserves until I take care of my past.
Closing my eyes, I see Massimo, the smug look on his face when I was cuffed and dragged from my own fucking home. He probably paid the police chief extra just so he could be there to watch it all go down.
Taking a deep breath to calm the rage that eats through my thoughts, I kiss Love on the forehead and silently rise from the bed.
Pikachu gives me a curious look from his perch.
I reach out to him slowly.
He doesn’t back away, and when I pet the top of his head, he actually purrs a little. “Warming up to me?” I whisper.
He rolls over and shows me his belly.
I’m suspicious, but I take the invitation and scratch his fluffy tummy. When he latches on to my hand and tries to flay the skin off it with his back claws, I shake him off.
He scoots closer to Love, his gaze still on me.
“Dick,” I whisper and point at him.
He turns his back on me and settles down. The ultimate insult, turning his back on an enemy, implying I’m no real threat to him. He’s lucky Love loves him; otherwise, he’d get the boot out the back door for his attitude.
As it is, I leave him be and dress quickly, then creep out of the bedroom. Ali is sitting at the top of the stairs looking at his phone.
“Late,” he grumbles.
“You’ll live.” I head downstairs, and he follows.
Alice passes me in the hall. “She ready for breakfast?”
“Let her sleep.” I take a scone from the plate in her hands. “But feed her as soon as she wakes.”
“You tired her out, eh?” Alice waggles her graying eyebrows at me. “I want details.”
“Perv.” I take a bite of the orange scone, and I swear my stomach sends up a thank-you growl.
When I step into my office, Ali follows and sits on the couch with a loud huff.
“What?” I finish my scone in two bites.
“We haven’t talked business.”
“I’m here. Let’s talk.”
“We need to discuss this whole—” He glances at the ceiling toward my bedroom. “Situation, too.”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“It is my concern, Bruno. You can’t keep a cop prisoner in your house.”
“That’s not what this is.”
“Looks like it.” He rubs his temples, and I notice he has dark circles under his eyes. “Listen, her town is asking questions, trying to find her. I’ve had some of our guys monitoring the town, and they’re starting to realize something bad went down. They can’t find her, can’t find the car, can’t get any answers. There’s an old cop, Deputy something-or-other—”
“Azores,” I supply.
“Right.” He nods. “He’s old but he’s frosty. He’s been tracking down leads. He’s even managed to pull surveillance video from a diner in town. It gave him a partial license plate.”
“That’s nothing.” I wave away his concern.
“He’s getting closer, Bruno. We need to have a plan.”
“The plan is that Love stays here, and if anyone comes asking for her, we inform them she isn’t here. Problem solved.”
He shakes his head. “That’s not going to be enough, especially because she is here, and unless you plan on handling her …” He fades off and gives me a knowing look.
“No one will be handling Love.” I keep my voice low and even. “She is my personal guest, and she is to be respected and protected at all costs.”
“At all costs?” He looks aghast.
“Up to and including my life.”
“Holy shit.” He blinks slowly. “Holy shit. You’re serious.”
“Very.”
“So she’s … She’s …”
“The one.” I give him a nod. “Mine. Not some infatuation or a kidnap victim, she’s meant for me. I’m in love with her.”
He’s dumbfounded. At least it shut him up. I understand why it seems insane. After all, I was in prison for two years, and then I happened upon Love at the very moment I found my freedom. A wild coincidence, right? Except I don’t believe in coincidences, not anymore. This wasn’t some foolish move on my part. This was a king recognizing his queen, no matter what guise she came to him in. Like a fairy tale where the princess is dressed as the pauper, I saw through her uniform and sensed the woman underneath. She’s mine. I’m hers. It’s as simple as it is unexpected.
“You’re telling me this is love with a capital ‘l’ sort of love?” he asks.
“Yes. Great, now that we have that all cleared up, I’d like you to get a message to Massimo.”
“Cleared up?” Ali mumbles, somewhat dazed. “Sure, sure. A message?”
“Yes, do you remember his little brother?”
“Arizio, that little prick?” He frowns. “Yeah.”
“Get him and bring him here. I want him in my possession tonight at the latest.”
“Now this is a kidnapping I can get behind.” He brightens up a little. “Bait, I take it?”
“Exactly. I want Massimo to come to me.”
“He won’t be coming alone. It’ll be an army against us.”
“Good.” I grin. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a fair fight.”
He stands. “I’ll handle that little shit Arizio personally.”
“Call if you need me.” I stand and meet him by the office door. “And don’t worry about Love. She may not know it yet, but she feels the same way about me. This isn’t some post-prison lark. This is real. Trust me.”
He takes a deep breath, then lets it out. “I always have. Always will.”
“The same to you, Ali. You know this.”
“I do. It’s just a shame you wouldn’t let me kill Massimo for you.”
“This is the sort of revenge that must be hand delivered.” I grit my teeth. “I’m going to make an example out of him.”
He perks up even more at the prospect of unreserved vengeance. “I’m all for it.”
I clap him on the back and send him on his way, then hurry back upstairs to Love.
When I get to the bedroom, though, it’s empty, the window is wide open, and Love and Pikachu are nowhere to be found.
12