"Take the gun and shoot him, if he gives you a problem," I say. Ed doesn't react, just stares at me with his mouth open.
"Ed, do it," I say. "And I need a phone."
Ed finally snaps out of his shock and takes the gun. "My phone is up in my room, by my bed."
Upstairs, Olivia and Chloe have the injured guy on Ed's bed, and he's no longer struggling, looks about ready to pass out. His blood has already soaked through the thin mattress and is pooling on the floor beneath the bed.
"Try to keep him alive, if you can. Press down on the wound until it stops bleeding, and tie it off here, tight," I say, pointing at his bicep right below the shoulder."
My bullet went right through his upper arms and it looks like it severed some major vein. It'd be better for us if he lives, but he might not. And then the next best thing would be for me to kill the other one too, and bury their bodies deep in the jungle. But I'd rather not. They're just kids.
I run back to my bungalow to get Maluco's number. It just rings and rings. I've already decided to go back and kill the two kids when he finally picks up.
He's groggy when I start talking, but by the time I finally manage to convey the fact that we've caught the son of his enemy, he perks up.
"We will be there soon," he assures me.
But soon could be hours, if their HQ is closer to that bar I saved him at than to here.
And I'm not sure we have hours before the cartel comes to get their own back.
CHAPTER 15
CHLOE
"He's not doing very well," I tell Rider as he returns to Ed's room. "He needs a hospital.
Rider's dragging the other boy into the room behind him, who freezes in the doorway when he sees his friend pale and lifeless on the bed.
"No hospital, not yet," Rider says and pulls the boy into the room roughly, causing him to fall to his knees.
I've never seen him like this. His face is a mask of violent determination, and he's handling this like he's done it all before. Like he's shot and killed men before. I'd be scared of him, if I wasn't absolutely certain he's doing it for me.
"Get everyone up to the big house and barricade yourselves in," he says. "I'll stay here with these two."
"I'll stay too," I say, walking to the door to tell Ed and Olivia what to do.
He pulls me closer, gently despite how hard he's gripping my arm. The green of his eyes is the only color I see.
"No, you go too," he says. "Bad shit will go down before morning. And if you need to, escape with the children into the jungle. I'll find you."
"Come with us," I plead, because something in his voice is telling me he'll do all he can to find us, but that it might not be enough. And I'm so scared right now, my legs are shaking.
"I started this shit, and I need to see it through," he says. "Else it'll never be done right. People are coming to help. Trust me, Chloe."
I nod and hug him tight, our lips finding each other for what I hope is not the last time.
"Hurry," he says, releasing me much too soon. "And don't come back down here, whatever you hear. Once you get to the house, find weapons to defend yourselves with. I'll come get you when it's safe."
I wouldn't know what to do, if he weren't telling me exactly what I should do. Because every ounce of my soul wants to stay here with him. But he's calm and the surety in his voice is calming me too.
He knows what he's doing and he wants only the best for me and the children. I clutch onto that knowledge to give me enough strength to leave him and get everyone up to the house.
RIDER
* * *
CHLOE WENT WITHOUT ARGUING MUCH, which is probably the result of the shock she's in from all that's happened. I didn't like the fear I saw in her eyes when she saw me like this, in my element as it were, because deadly violence always came naturally to me. I was an Enforcer for Viper's Bite MC for many years, and it's because of my ruthless efficiency that they let me do what I wanted, go where I wanted, whenever I wanted.
They made a lot of noise moving the kids up to the big house, some of the children crying and screaming. But now the hissing of the rain outside is all I can hear.
Getting them all to safety and far away from the main gate was my main goal in sending her up there. But I had another reason. If I have to kill these two boys, I want to do it as far away from Chloe and the rest as I can. I'm still not sure that tonight's events won't go in that direction, even though it makes me sick to even consider it.
"My father will kill you all for this," the boss' son says.
"Yeah, but I'll kill you first," I say.
"He'll torture you before he kills you," he says in a more shaky voice.
"Shut up."
I want to be alone with my thoughts right now. They're not very clear as it is, and the last thing I need is to argue with a kid. Death would be the kindest of all the things that might happen to me and the rest when the cartel gets here. But I don't think we can all hope for that. They'll probably sell Chloe and Olivia, and probably all the girls into sexual slavery. Maybe even the boys. And they'll probably torture me and Ed before they kill us, just like the kid threatened.
The one I shot takes a rattling breath.
"He's dying!" the live one shrieks, an he's probably right.
"Your father shouldn’t have sent you here alone," I say.
"He didn't," he says. "We came on our own, because we wanted to get rid of these orphans that have been bothering him so much lately. We thought he'd be proud."
"How old are you?" I ask.
"Seventeen," he answers.
I wish I hadn't asked. Seventeen is too young to die. But they did a man's thing here tonight, and they might have to pay a man's price for it.
The injured one's breathing has slowed again, and the other little piece of shit stays silent.
Before long, day is dawning outside, the rain still coming down hard. I'm listening hard for approaching bikes, but there is only the tapping of raindrops on the roof and the hissing of the rain.
Until suddenly that stops too, and then there's just silence, the sun shining down on the orphanage, which is already as empty as a ghost town.
The sound of approaching engines breaks the silence. But they're not the right kind. This is cars.
A few moments later I can hear men talking, guns getting cocked and shot guns loaded.
I get up, pull the un-injured kid to his feet too, and shove the gun in his side. "Not a fucking sound out of you, is that clear?"
"You're dead now. That's my father and his men."
He didn't have to tell me, I already knew it. Maluco and his cobras didn't get here in time. The cartel beat him to it.
I'd hoped to handle this hostage exchange discussion far away from here, but now all I've achieved is bringing the entire cartel down on us right on our doorstep.
I've gotten soft. I should've killed these two and escaped with Chloe and the kids in the night. We could be deep in the jungle by now. But now we're all most likely drawing our last breaths of freedom. At least Chloe and the others don't know it yet.
CHAPTER 16
RIDER
The first of the men have reached the boys' dorm, I can hear them talking right under us.
"What's your name?" I ask the kid.
"Francisco Santos de—"
"That's all I need," I interrupt.
"I have Francisco!" I yell. "Drop your weapons and go back to your cars. Then I'll send him out to you!"
The walls of these houses are paper thin, and I know they can hear me clearly. The silence that follows my words confirms it. Maybe there's still a way to move this altercation to somewhere else.
"Send him out now, and you won't all die."
Francisco shouts something in Brazilian, but I punch him in the jaw so hard I might have broken it before he can finish his sentence.
He screams and the men outside all start shouting at once. I hear at least two of them running up the creaking stairs. I shoot a round through the
roof. It's a waste of a bullet, but it's not like I'll do a lot with single, not even fully loaded Glock anyway.
The noise outside dies down to complete fucking silence again.
"Let's cool it!" I shout. "That was a warning shot. The next one goes through Francisco's head."
They're talking now, but in whispers, and I finally hear the sound I've been yearning to hear since this mess started. The roar of hogs approaching is unmistakable, fills this entire valley with noise that sounds better than all the angels in heaven singing at once.
Ed's phone is ringing in my pocket. I pick up, dragging Francisco to the back window from where I can just see the entrance to the camp. And hear gun fire.
"I have the boss' son and nephew in the big building by the showers," I tell Maluco on the phone. "Don't kill them all before we have a chance to negotiate."
"Negotiate?" he says and barks a harsh laugh. "We have your camp surrounded. I will send some men to get the hostages, and we will take it from here."
The gun fire is getting closer, so close I'm sure Chloe can hear it. I hope she doesn't come down here. I hope she understood that she needs to wait for me to come for her no matter what.
There's shouting too, and a bullet comes through the floor, mere inches from my foot, sending my adrenaline pumping worse than it already was. I'm itching to join the fight, it always works that way for me. I've never walked away from a fight, some I've even walked right into without needing to. Like saving Maluco the other day, which might have just saved us all. But the desire to join this shootout is a distant thing today, because you never know if you'll walk away from a fight you walked into, and I want to see Chloe again.
The gunfire stops suddenly, all that's left of it faint echoes of the bangs, interspersed by angry words and moans of the dying. I know those well.
Francisco is shaking, pisses himself once heavy boots thudding can be heard outside the room we're in.
Maluco enters, followed by two other bikers.
"Only ten cartel members came to get these two," he tells me. "I'll take the hostages now."
Francisco actually grabs my arm as I shove him towards Maluco. He's a scared little kid right now, but he came here to do murder last night, and I have no compassion for him. I figure Maluco won't harm him, he's too valuable a hostage.
"That one needs a doctor, if you want him to live," I say, pointing at the kid I shot.
"We'll take care of it," Maluco says, directing the two bikers with him to pick up the unconscious kid, while he grabs Francisco's arm.
"I will leave some of my men here, in case the cartel comes back," he says and chuckles. "But I do not think they will."
"Thank you," I say as he retreats out.
Francisco is resisting so hard he practically has to drag him. But after a few short words in Brazilian the kid relaxes.
"We will talk when all is done," Maluco says.
I know what that means. He plans to use me if he needs me after this, and I'm sure Chloe won't like that. She wouldn't like me handing over the two hostages to him either, but everything can be lived with, as long as you live. Which I'm finally beginning to hope we might.
And from now on, nothing will keep me away from Chloe again.
I spend the briefest time introducing myself to the bikers who are staying, before rushing up the ravine, trying to run up to the big house. But the mud is preventing that, since my legs sink in up to my knees in some places.
I'm breathless and covered in mud by the time I reach the house.
"Chloe! It's me!" I yell after my knocks on the front door go unanswered.
A French window to the side of the main door opens and Chloe peers outside. She doesn't say anything, just comes out on the porch and runs towards me. She jumps into my arms when I open them, not saying anything, just holding onto me very tightly like she did on the night I came back.
"Is it over?" she finally whispers, soft like she's afraid to ask.
I shift her in my arms so I can look into her face. "Yes, it's over, you're safe now."
"And we can stay?"
"Yes, we can stay."
The smile she gives me is more radiant than any sunshine I've ever seen, or felt, on my face. If she'll smile at me like that forever, I'll be the happiest man on earth and in heaven.
CHAPTER 17
CHLOE
We've done some serious hard labor as a team these past couple of weeks, but we managed to clear out enough of Gustavo's house for all of us to live in it. It’ll take at least a couple more months to do so comfortably, because Gustavo really had a lot of stuff, but we'll get there. And then we can take in more orphans, get more volunteers.
I don't know the full details of what the bikers and the cartel worked out between them, since Rider is not very forthcoming with that information, but there was an exchange of hostages, and part of the deal was that they will leave the orphanage alone forever. All of Dom Gustavo's estate is now considered the territory of Dois Cobras biker club, and any attack against us is an attack against them. Rider explained to me that bikers take that kind of a promise seriously, and that it means we truly are safe.
He's also made a point of clearing out a small bedroom for us in the house. In fact, it was one of the first things he did. It's where we've been sleeping, and even though it's raining outside this morning, I felt as though the sun woke me. The bed we're in is three times as wide as the one in my bungalow was, but we're still sleeping very close together, spooning, his arm wrapped around my waist, the embrace growing tighter. He's awake too.
I realize that a split second before he kisses my neck, his soft lips and the stubble on his chin igniting sparks deep within me, sending them rushing all through my body, as his lips and his hands get bolder. He's caressing and squeezing the soft flesh of my breasts, my stomach, his hand dipping to my pussy and up to my neck, my jaw, and back down, until I'm moaning in anticipation of the even greater bliss his hard cock, pulsing against the back of my thigh, is promising.
His hand settles on my clit, rubbing it in slow circles as he kisses my neck some more, biting down just as he pushes the head of his cock into my opening. I moan and whimper at the same time, my breath stuck in my throat. He continues teasing my clit as he starts pumping his cock into me deeper and faster. My body's opening up to receive him, while his talented fingers bring the orgasmic explosion of the bliss building inside me ever closer.
"You're all mine, right?" he whispers just as an orgasm erupts inside me, the molten lava of pleasure filling me with unstoppable, sight and mind-taking force.
"Yes." I moan the word, coaxing it out with the last dregs of conscious control I still have over my mind.
He pulls out his cock from my still clenching pussy. A second later, I realize he meant the question quite literally, as I feel the head of his cock pressing against my other hole. The orgasm he just gave me has not quite faded yet, as he pushes his cock past the barrier, leaving me gasping for breath all over again, as I will my body to accommodate him where he wants to be. He's thick and long yet slides in easily, filling me yet again and even more completely this time.
His hand is still playing with my clit, as he starts pumping his cock into me faster and with purpose. Somehow, whatever pain there is, fades before it erupts. He's everywhere in my body now, it feels like, taking me for his own so completely we truly are blended into one. Another orgasm is a fast approaching train, one I wish would slow down so I can savor this blissful oneness just a little while longer.
But he's close, I can feel that too, and I want him to come, want to offer him the same pleasure he's giving me, that he keeps giving me. He picks up the pace, sending me shrieking, as his fingers start rubbing my clit faster. I yelp as he pushes two fingers into my pussy, scream for real as he starts pumping them over that special spot inside me. I'm coming so hard I see the blinding sun that isn't there, along with the moon and all the stars in this galaxy and the next.
My heart's still beating fast, my body shiv
ering from the violent explosion of pleasure when I regain my awareness. He's once again just holding me, kissing my neck softly.
"We should probably get up and start this day," he whispers once I open my eyes.
I make a faint sound of agreement, since he's right.
"I wish we could just stay right here all day," I murmur. "And tomorrow, and the day after."
"Me too," he says and kisses my neck a little harder, making me moan, reawakening all those fiery sparks like we're just getting started all over again.
"But we can't, there's too much to do," I conclude.
He hugs me tight again then releases me. "I'll build you a house once we're all done fixing this one up. A home just for the two of us, overlooking the ocean. Would you like that?"
I sit up and smile at him exactly the way I used to smile back when the world was still a safe, fun, carefree place. Which it is again, I suddenly realize, even more so than it was before.
"I would love that," I say and keep smiling.
His eyes are soft like a field of lush green grass on a lazy summer afternoon, and if I don't look away right now I'll get lost on those endless slopes and never be found again.
So I look into his eyes even deeper, because I'm not getting lost. I am found.
EPILOGUE
CHLOE
ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF LATER
" Come, Chloe! It is finished!" Diego shouts, running down the incline at such speed I'm afraid he'll fall and break something.
But there's such glee in his face, such wild excitement, I stop myself from telling him to slow down.
"Your home, it's done!" he says breathlessly as he reaches me.
My chest is swelling with all the excitement and happiness that's bubbling from him, as I let him drag me back up the ravine to the spot right at the highest point of the estate, which Rider chose to build our house on.
Tropical Tryst: 25 All New and Exclusive Sexy Reads Page 27