Duty & Death (Foster Family Book 3)

by Zavi James

  I exercised every morsel of restraint I had. My fingers reached out and tipped her chin up so she could look at me again. “Stop apologising.” It was a filthy habit she had learned, and I was yet to break her out of it.

  “I fucked up,” she told me again.

  “And I’ll fix it,” I replied, kissing her. “I’ll always fix it.”

  I’d made the mistake of believing and choosing people over her once before and I would never do it again. She was the only person I would forgive without hesitation. Mia could cause disaster after disaster, and I’d be there to clear up the fallout.

  She reached up and kissed me, full of want and need and I knew that she was drifting. I knew that she needed something to tether her back to the present. She’d lost control and she didn’t know how to get back on track, but I’d find a way for us. It was a blip and I could resolve the situation.

  My hand slipped down the space between us, under her pants and the lace of her underwear to find her already wet for me. I’d noticed the way the danger scared and thrilled Mia in equal parts. Anytime I came home from a job it ended in the same way, with her wrapped tightly around me until she could give me no more, fulfilling both our needs. She whimpered as I drew my finger along her slit. “You leave everything to me from now on. Understand?” I asked, biting the skin on her neck and sucking the spot. She moaned in response. “Mia?” I pulled back to look at her.

  “I understand,” she told me, pupils growing larger as she locked eyes with mine.

  “This isn’t a joke, princess.” I pressed on her bundle of nerves and her knees buckled but I kept her upright.

  “I know. I know,” she agreed, hips moving to get what she wanted.

  I pulled my hand away and I wanted to keep the image of her face pressed in my mind, so desperate and needy for something only I could give her. Something she would only seek from me. “I deal with everything from now on. Promise me, you won’t get yourself involved in anymore business.”

  “I promise.”

  “Good girl.” I kissed her deeply and her hands went straight to my pants, starting to unbuckle them as she searched for her high. I pushed her pants and underwear down past her hips and she stepped out of them before hitching her leg up around my waist. Picking her up, I pressed her back up against the bookshelf and guided myself into her.

  Her fingers dug into my shoulders, clinging to me like I was the answer to every question she’d ever had. The residual anger at the situation remained and morphed into a carnal desire for my wife. Every movement was a reminder of what I had and what I could not lose. My lips found hers again, tongue forcing its way into her mouth as I pounded into her. The bookshelf shuddered with the movements and there was a definitive thud as a book fell to the ground but even Mia, who prioritised her novels above most things, didn’t seem to care as she tugged at my hair.

  There would never be a moment that I didn’t love this woman. She could ruin every plan I had. She could try to take control. She could unravel under my touch. Every single iteration of Mia drove me to the brink of madness, and I wanted no antidote for it.

  The sweet, primal sounds that left her spurred me on, thrusting harder into her until she tightened around me. Her mouth found my neck and she bit hard, sending a burst of pleasure through the pain. The strangled cry of my name was muffled against my skin as she found bliss and I followed soon after, finishing inside her.

  Slowly, Mia’s legs came down from around me as I slid out of her. I helped keep her upright, her eyes hazy from the orgasm and legs unable to support herself. “I love you,” she breathed.

  “I love you too.” That would never change.

  As she regained the strength in her legs, Mia went to retrieve her discarded clothes from the floor, but I caught her arm and she looked up at me from under her lashes. She was flushed pink, lips swollen, and her hair had come loose from her bun, tumbling around her shoulders. My hand wrapped around her hair and tugged to pull her head back, letting me appreciate just how beautiful she looked. This was a version of her that only I was blessed with.

  “I’m not done with you yet,” I informed her and the smile that graced her lips as she sank to her knees confirmed that she would be my undoing.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lucas

  Mia’s skin sported dark bruises that developed while we slept. I hadn’t been gentle in my handling of her last night. As she dressed, I walked over and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind, kissing the purple marks across the top of her back where the shelves had done their damage. Mia reached back to swat at me with a soft smile on her face, a silent gesture that said she didn’t mind my handiwork. She’d left her own mark, blossoming dark on my neck, but I wasn’t as shy about it.

  “Plans for the day?” I asked partially out of curiosity and partially because I wanted confirmation that she wasn’t planning on doing any more damage.

  “Taking it easy. Everything aches,” she said, and I smirked against the nape of her neck before kissing the words that were inked there. “You?” But she tensed as she asked the question.

  “Paying a few visits,” I mumbled against her skin. My tongue flicked out and ran along the side of her throat, and she shivered. “Nothing for you to worry about,” I whispered in her ear.

  Mia turned in my arms. “Reconsider,” she said, fingers playing with my hair and looking at me with large eyes.

  This fucking woman was lethal when given half the chance. She knew how to play me. Mia knew of every weakness and vulnerability I had. The smallest movements, the carefully chosen words, Mia had them all and if I wasn’t careful, she could ruin me.

  I dotted a kiss on the tip of her nose, refusing to fold to her. “No chance.” She sighed and I continued, “You promised me last night that you’d let me deal with business. Are you going back on your word?”

  “No,” she told me. “I just don’t think we should be making any rash decisions right now.”

  “I’ve had all night to think on it.”

  “Take a few days.”

  “Time is a luxury we can’t afford.”

  She dropped her head against my chest. “It’s the only luxury I want.” She took in a deep breath and stepped away from me to pull her t-shirt over her head. “At least try and talk to them first.”

  I rolled my eyes, crossing the room to Link’s basket. Dante brought him back home last night when Mia and I were done working out our frustrations.

  “I’ll get him,” she said to me.

  “It’s fine,” I replied, smiling down at my son. “We need our morning debrief.” Mia laughed as I plucked Link out of the crib and into my arms. Too young to join the family business, I’d started a routine of debriefing Link on the day before I left for work. I didn’t want to be a Dad who barely knew his kid. It wasn’t Mia’s job to raise our brood alone. We made Link together and he’d have both of his parents play an active role in his life.

  “You’ve been letting things slip, son,” I said to him, walking past Mia to head downstairs. “Your momma is a tricky one, but you need to be firm. We need to be sharp or she’ll walk all over us and you know what trouble that will cause.” Link made sounds at me and I nodded in agreement. “I know, it’s been a busy week for you, but we need to up our game, cub.”

  “I’ve been thinking,” Mia said from behind me as she followed down the stairs.

  “Mia, love, every time you start with that, I think you shave a few years off my life.” There was a sting as she slapped my ass. “Not in front of the baby.” I’d get her back for it later.

  “You are a pain in my ass,” she mumbled.

  “What have you been thinking?” I asked, mentally preparing myself to talk her out of whatever bright idea she’d stumbled on to. It was wishful thinking on my part to believe that a little scare would force a retreat. No. Mia was done with running. Now she just needed a breather and reassurance from me before dusting herself off and getting back to the job in hand.

  “About get
ting a new tattoo. I wanted something to celebrate Link.”

  Relief. This was an idea I could get behind. “Great minds think alike.” I’d wanted to commemorate my first born with a new tattoo, but I was holding off until Mia became my wife. Both names inked across the space on my ribs in one session. “You have a design in mind?”

  “Yes,” she said. Mia momentarily paused to stick her head around the living room door. “Morning, Lyds.” She continued to follow me into the kitchen. “A bear paw print and Link’s birth date.”

  “A perfect way to celebrate our little cub. Where?” I asked her, pulling faces at our son who seemed to have started the day in a happy mood.

  “Where do you think would be best?”

  I took the time to look over Mia. My eyes ran from head to toe, drinking her in. I knew her body better than I knew my own. Placing Link down in his seat, I moved back towards her and took her left hand, lifting it up and kissing the inside of her wrist. “Here,” I told her, running a finger down her inner forearm.

  “Why?”

  “It’ll be on the left with your wedding ring,” I explained. “It’ll be there for everyone to see.” The rings and the tattoo would serve as a constant reminder to anyone that even dared to look her way that Mia was spoken for. “And there’s plenty of space to add more.”

  “One more. And not before the wedding.” Mia laughed, pushing me away from her, and I left her in peace and dropped into my seat at the table.

  There was no way we would be stopping at one more. We had a house large enough for a baseball team worth of children. However, no more children before she was a Foster, that was the plan, but I was impatient. Link was growing every day and if we had a brood, I wanted them to be close in age in the hopes they’d have a stronger bond. The fear was that they’d end up with a relationship like I’d had with Stefan. I reminded myself that we wouldn’t raise them in a way that would have them harbour a hatred towards each other.

  Dom walked into the kitchen, holding a padded envelope. I held my hand out for it, but he shook his head and said, “It’s for Mia.”

  “Me?” she asked, turning around with a fresh mug of coffee. “I didn’t order anything.”

  “Wedding prep?” I suggested.

  She shot me a look that told me I was talking out of my ass. “Nothing I’ve ordered for the wedding is arriving in a package like that.”

  Instantly, I grew suspicious. Mia walked around the island and reached out for the envelope. “Don’t,” I said, making them both freeze. “Dom can open it.”

  Mia opened her mouth to argue but Link started to fuss and the reminder of why she needed to stay safe was delivered. She turned away from Dom to see to our son and Dom slid his finger under the seal of the envelope. He tipped the contents out into his free hand, a solitary phone. A brick compared to the modern smartphones that everyone was used to. A burner. Something else fluttered out of the envelope and fell onto the kitchen tiles. Dom stooped down and picked it up and deposited the folded piece of paper and phone into my open hand.

  My eyes flicked over to Mia who watched me quietly as she fed Link. Unfolding the note, I saw a single line and read it aloud. “We’re even, bella.” My jaw tightened and Mia had pointedly stopped looking at me. There was only one person that referred to Mia in that way. The paper crumpled in my fist.

  “Why is Gabe sending you a burner phone?” Dom asked, not even attempting to keep the curiosity out of his voice.

  Mia took in a deep breath and walked over to me. She ran her free hand over my shoulders in an attempt to calm me down. When I pressed a button, nothing happened. It would need to be charged.

  “We’re even,” she muttered.

  “Bella,” I added through gritted teeth.

  Her arm snaked around, and she turned my chin so that I was looking up at her. She was choosing not to play into me picking a fight. I could see the way her brain had started to tick. “I gave him something he wanted. I told him about Silas, and he’s given me something in return. Luc, that’s Xavier’s phone.”

  “I doubt it, Mia,” I said, pulling my chin from her so I could look at the phone again. I didn’t want her to get her hopes up. “Gabe’s probably playing with us.”

  “And if he’s not?” she asked me sharply, disliking the way I’d dismissed her suggestion.

  I wasn’t sure what irritated me more. The fact that Gabe had the gall to keep calling Mia a pet name when he’d threatened her or that her meddling might be justified if Gabe had sent us genuine help.

  “We’ll find out.” I pushed back my chair and stood up.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To see Angelo. He can work out if this is worth anything to us.” I gave Mia a kiss to end the conversation and started out of the kitchen.

  “Luc, what’s that mean for the rest of your plans?” Mia asked, following after me.

  “They’ve bought themselves a little time,” I called over my shoulder.

  ==

  Angelo looked like a cat who got the cream when I handed the phone over to him. The look on Dante’s face was a little less satisfactory and a little more suspicious.

  “Finally, something that I can work with,” Angelo said. He turned the phone over in his hands and pressed at the buttons. When he had no response from the device, his face fell. “I did expect something that would work.”

  “Charge it,” I told him gruffly. “Or do I need to hold your hand through the entire process? Because for the amount we’re paying you, I assumed you’d be able to use some initiative and get on with the job.”

  He turned tomato-red and replied, “You paid me to do a job. If you wanted magic, you should have hired a magician.”

  “We went ahead and hired a fucking clown,” Dante muttered under his breath, but I caught it.

  I’d told Mia that Angelo and Gabe had bought themselves some time but that didn’t mean that I’d forgotten about their indiscretions. “If you get my wife involved in this business again, I promise you it’ll be the last thing you do. Hacker, magician, clown. I don’t give a fuck what title you want to give yourself. I gave you simple instructions and I expect you to follow them. You need anything, you go to Dante or you get in touch with me. Mia stays out of this.”

  “Oh, fuck me. Please say you weren’t that stupid,” Dante said, looking at his cousin with distaste.

  “Neither of you were here and she was around,” Angelo argued. “I thought she’d pass on the message. No harm, no foul. She got me what I needed.”

  “No harm, no foul?” I spat, stepping towards him. “You’ve got no fucking idea.” All the rage from yesterday began to work its way back through me at his flippant comment. “She could have got herself killed doing what you asked of her. And if that ever becomes a reality and I find out it’s down to you, I will make your life a living hell that would make death seem like a comfort. Don’t you ever disobey an order from me again.”

  His knuckles were white around the phone. The problem with people is that they never thought that you’d make good on a threat, but Angelo had two strikes and if he was unlucky enough to get a third, he’d learn first-hand that my threats were never empty.

  “I want answers by the end of the week,” I said, straightening out my cuffs.

  “End of the week?” he spluttered. “I don’t even know what I have here yet.”

  “You’ll have something for me by the end of the week or we’ll be slashing your fees. This was meant to be a rush job.”

  There was a wild look in Angelo’s eyes. He couldn’t afford to lose the money and I couldn’t afford to waste any more time, not when Mia was taking things into her own hands. “I’ll send you what I have on Friday,” Angelo said eventually, and I gave him a twisted smile.

  We left the house and slipped into the car when Dante turned to me and asked, “Where did you get the phone from?” I was grateful that he hadn’t tried to pry in front of his cousin.

  “Gabe,” I told him shortly.

  �
�Gabe? Since when were you two pals?” Dante almost sounded offended by the possibility.

  “We’re not. Mia.”

  “Mia’s pals with Gabe? What the fuck happened yesterday?” Dante was silenced when I put my foot down and the car shot out of his drive, slamming him back against his seat.

  “She’s been doing some digging of her own with Chas and Vittoria. It got back to Gabe, which was why he stopped in on her yesterday. She told him about Silas, and I guess one good turn deserved another.” I wasn’t impressed.

  “She’s like a cat with nine lives.”

  “She needs to stop.”

  “Are you going to tell her that?” Dante asked.

  “I already have.”

  He let out a laugh. “And you think she’ll listen?”

  “Not a chance in hell.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Mia

  When Katia called the next morning, I almost didn’t pick up. The sting of her leaving me in the boutique to deal with Gabe alone was still raw. For all her bite, when it came down to it, Katia folded, and I wasn’t sure I could be bothered to deal with her. Although maybe I should have been grateful because it had given Gabe and I the opportunity to have the argument that led to us being in possession of the phone.