That was when Guy sprang into action. Gripping her body with every ounce of his muscle, he pushed and pulled her, off his cock, then back on again. Still, his hips did not thrust. His arms became the lever, and Neva became the object of pleasure. She cried out ever louder and longer. Each time his cock sank into her, it prolonged her climax until she felt dazed with it.
When he finally came with a shout, their skin had grown so slick with sweat that she slid a few inches down his body before either of them managed to gain enough purchase to stabilize her. He cradled her, rocked her even, his lips moving through the sticky mess of her hair.
“I want us to belong to each other, Neva,” he whispered. “Always.”
She sighed and rested in his embrace, perfectly content except for the whisper of doubt that wondered if, even after this, she would have the strength and confidence to resist Matthew Lodi’s manipulations.
Chapter Eighteen
Emily, Javier and Fernando sat in a rented car in the parking lot of the rundown apartment complex where Javier had pinpointed the signal from Matthew’s smartphone. Pungent smells from the dumpster in the back corner of the lot invaded the air inside the car, even with the windows rolled up. Dead leaves piled to incredible heights. The place didn’t look well-maintained.
Emily liked working in a group better than she’d expected. It calmed her nerves a bit, though nothing could entirely stop her stomach’s rumbling certainty that Matthew Lodi had her permanently outmatched.
“Woonsocket?” Javier said. “Is this even a real place? I don’t think I’ve heard of it, and I’ve pretty much lived in Providence all my life.”
“You have to be making an effort to get out if you want to visit towns like this.”
“So you’ve been here before?”
Emily shrugged. “Matthew brought me here once or twice. I think he has a friend who rents a place here. The important thing is, this is the sort of apartment complex where no one cares what you do. He could have dragged Carolina here in her nightgown and no one would have batted an eyelash. That’s going to help us, because we can kick his ass in the parking lot if we have to and we probably won’t have to talk to the cops about it.”
Fernando narrowed his eyes. “I thought you said no violence.”
“I said no killing.”
“I think she’s relaxing her rules,” Javier said.
Fernando shrugged his approval.
“So unfortunately,” Javier said, “there aren’t a whole lot of electronics involved at this point. They don’t exactly have RFID security systems. I don’t have much to hack.”
Emily kissed his cheek. “We’re going to use your other skillset today. I think I recall you picking a certain set of locks with a hairpin?” She pulled a few out of her tawny hair and gave them to him. “If Carolina’s restrained, we need to get her free.” She glanced at Fernando. She’d taken charge more and more as they approached the place where Matthew had stashed Carolina. She didn’t want to step on the older man’s toes, but he seemed too distraught to really claim the lead.
Emily sighed. “Fernando, you’re the one in the most danger. As you said, we don’t really know what we’re walking into. It helps a little that we’re not going to his suggested meeting time and place. Still, Matthew could have anyone with him. They could be gathering here before going over to smoke you a few blocks away.”
Fernando spread his hands. “I’m prepared to risk my life and freedom for her.”
“Fine. I’ll approach first. I’ll pretend I came looking for Matthew. His car’s pretty obvious in the lot. It’s not crazy that I would find him here. I’ll distract him as best I can, probably by getting into a fight, and you two go for Carolina.”
The two men nodded. Emily paused. “Fernando, if this goes to hell, I won’t hold it against you if you slip off into the woods. Understand?” Her lover’s older brother nodded gratefully. “Javier, I’m not going to repeat what I said to you a few days ago. I think you remember it.” She kissed him, lingering at his lips as long as she dared.
She pulled away, this time breathing fast from nerves as much as from arousal. “All right. Wish me luck, guys.”
She swung herself out of the car, forcing herself to move with a confident stride that didn’t match the fear she felt. She stared at the building as if she’d never seen it before. Matthew had brought her here back when they were newly dating. She recalled being impressed by the place, though she couldn’t have explained why for the life of her. Maybe the thrill of escaping her father had addled her brain.
Emily went to the door of the apartment Matthew had been using and knocked sharply. Panicked noises sounded from within. She glanced at the curtains over the windows. If guys with guns were sitting in there, this was the part where they’d blow her to kingdom come just for intruding. Emily stood still and tried to look innocent.
The flimsy door swung open. Matthew stood before her looking tired as hell, dressed only in a pair of faded jeans. The sight would have taken her breath away not long before, since his torso still made for the stuff of legends. Emily blinked as if she were awed. “Hey,” she smiled. “Can we talk?”
He rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth. He seemed surprised. He peered around her, looking out into the parking lot, and Emily was glad she’d brought the rental. “Where’s your boyfriend? Mr. Bonavita?”
She shrugged. “Does it matter, Matthew?”
He glanced back into the room. Emily carefully restrained herself from following his gaze. “I guess not,” he said after a moment. He turned back to her wearing a false smile. “I’m glad to see you, Emily. I didn’t expect you to look for me out here, but it’s good you did.”
She relaxed. “Should I come in?”
“Nah. Let’s go for a little walk.” He moved to take her elbow, but she dodged his hand neatly. Her stomach churned in earnest. She could pretend she wanted to talk to Matthew, but she wasn’t like him. Emily didn’t think she could feign any real desire for reconciliation, and she certainly couldn’t go head to head in his game of sexual manipulation. She thought frantically as they walked side by side into the parking lot.
“How has business been, Matthew?” she asked. She headed for the side of the building, hoping to give Fernando and Javier a clear path to the room. He gave noncommittal answers. She felt relieved he wasn’t relentlessly trying to talk her into “working together” anymore or into declaring love she didn’t feel. But with him preoccupied like this, she worried she wouldn’t be able to keep him distracted long enough for Fernando and Javier to get to Carolina.
Then she hit on the mother lode, almost by mistake. “How’s the Elise?” Emily asked.
Javier gritted his teeth as Emily disappeared around the corner with Matthew. His brother touched his arm. “It’s obvious she’s over him,” Fernando murmured. “And even more obvious how she feels about you.”
“I trust her. Don’t worry about that. It’s that snake I don’t trust. I wouldn’t put anything past him.”
“Didn’t you tell me yourself how tough she is?”
“She could kick my ass, no problem. But that guy’s the original abs of steel. And he’s twice her size.”
Fernando stopped walking and yanked Javier to face him. “Do you want to go after her? Because if you’re coming with me, I’m going to need all of you.” Fernando paused significantly. “I think she’d want you to trust her to take care of him if necessary.”
Javier ducked his head. “Right. Of course.”
“Now, she’s buying us as much time as she can. Let’s use it.”
Javier twirled Emily’s hairpin once through his fingers, then put it to work on Matthew’s locked door. It gave easily, as he would have expected from a lock in an outdated apartment complex. He swung the door open as quietly as he could and almost fell over when Fernando rushed past him to get to the restrained woman on the couch.
“Carolina!”
“Don’t shout, Fernando, for God’s sake.” Javier ea
sed the door shut behind him and restored the lock. The apartment somehow managed to be bare and cluttered at the same time—almost no furniture, but plenty of trash. The once-white paint on the walls had turned to the dingy color of a dirty sidewalk. Javier searched for a piece of furniture to drag in front of the door for good measure. Fernando hissed urgent commands that pulled him away from the task.
“Leave that, Javier, and help me get her out of these things.” Fernando cradled Carolina in his lap, stroking a lock of hair out of her face. A piece of duct tape covered her mouth. His brother looked desperate. “She has bruises, Javier. Is it safe to just pull this off?”
Javier sighed. “It’s going to hurt, but I think you have to.” He raised an eyebrow at Carolina. “As long as you think you can keep from screaming.”
The woman nodded. Her hands fisted in her restraints. Good. She knew what she was getting into.
Fernando ripped the tape off her mouth, almost sobbing when the maneuver tore bits of skin off her lips. Carolina smiled at him as best she could. Javier had to look away. The scene reminded him too much of how he’d been hurt for Fernando’s sake, and just behind that, the memory of Sabi waited.
Javier touched Carolina’s ankles lightly to let her know he was there, then went to work with the hairpin on the cuffs holding her legs together. He pursed his lips, grimly remembering Emily’s stories about Matthew overpowering her in order to restrain her. He understood her prohibition against violence, but Matthew didn’t deserve that sort of lenience. Not by a long shot.
“The California edition of the Elise isn’t the same as the other releases of that car,” Matthew said. Emily leaned against the outside wall of the apartment building and tried to look as interested as she could.
Matthew paused his nonstop onslaught of automotive conversation. He smiled as if she were a pet or small child and launched into his gentle voice. “Do you want to take a ride in the car? It’s been awhile. I think you’d appreciate it better now.” Emily’s entire body went on guard.
“I’m not getting in the car with you.”
His big hand closed around her upper arm. “Come on, Emily. Don’t you remember our first date? I drove you around for hours before you let me take you home.”
Emily laughed nervously. Matthew guided her in the direction of the parking lot. She hoped to God that Fernando and Javier were out of sight by now. The last place she wanted to be was in the passenger seat of a car driven by Matthew Lodi. She steeled herself for a desperate avoidance measure of some kind.
On the way to the Elise, she spotted a vaguely familiar figure crossing the parking lot. “Is that Sergio Aristone?” Emily fought the instincts that wanted her to come to a screeching halt, stare openly and shout the name in a shocked voice. The figure approached the doorway to the apartment where she’d found Matthew.
Emily’s insides turned to ice. Javier and Fernando should be inside that apartment by now. She wanted to help them, but she risked making matters worse if she tipped Matthew off to their presence. She needed to keep her ex outside above all else.
Matthew still hadn’t answered her. She glanced at him and found an unsettling expression on his face. His hand tightened on her arm. “That was unfortunate timing,” he said.
“What are you saying?”
“Emily, I love you. You know that. I’ve tried to tell you so many times, but you just wouldn’t listen.”
She tried to pull back, but he gripped her with both hands now. “Matthew, you’re scaring me.”
“Maybe you can promise to be on my side. To stay with me. In my house. I won’t be able to let you leave for a while, but I’m sure we can work toward a solution eventually.”
“Matthew, are you insane? What is going on with you?” Fighting strength to strength would guarantee her defeat, no matter how much her fight-or-flight reflexes wanted her to resist him directly. Emily stopped struggling, conserving her body’s energy for an opportunity to really escape him. She studied him, trying to pinpoint any weaknesses.
Matthew lowered his voice. “I think he saw you. He’s not going to like that you’re here.”
Emily cocked her head, the implications of the situation sinking into her brain. “Matthew Lodi, are you working for him?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why is he opening the door to your apartment like he has his own key?”
Matthew sighed. “Actually, it’s his apartment.”
“What?”
He shook her a little. “Emily, we have to get you out of here. We have to get you safe. I don’t work for him, but we’re on good terms. We’re friends. I’ll talk to him for you. I’ll make everything right. I’ll be able to ask a favor from him tonight, because that’s when I’m giving him Fernando Bonavita.”
She pressed her lips together and stared. “I knew you were no good, but this goes beyond anything I would have believed of you.”
“Emily, Emily, Emily. Listen. Stop talking for once and really listen to me.” His blue eyes seemed so earnest that her stomach turned. She tried to turn away, but he wouldn’t let her. “What’s the difference between giving Bonavita to Guy or giving him to Sergio? There’s no difference—not really. He’s a piece of trash. I’m taking him to the garbage man who pays the most. That’s all. If you would listen to me, Emily, we could be so good together.”
“Fernando Bonavita is a human being, not trash.” Emily gritted her teeth. Her fists clenched. She wanted to knock Matthew’s perfect features sideways. “He deserves a fair trial. Not only that, Matthew, you don’t love me. You don’t act like it. Not at all.”
Emily could almost see the strategy she needed. Shift her weight to the left, and when he inevitably dug in with strength toward the right, she could switch right. If she rolled them both to the ground, she’d have a more even playing field.
Matthew tugged her toward the Lotus. Emily didn’t think she could beat him, but she had to try. She jerked to the left. She would give him the fight of his life.
At the sound of a key in the door, Fernando stiffened. “We’ve got to go, Javier. Finish up.”
Javier shoved away from Carolina, coming quickly to his feet. “I freed her feet first for a reason. You two get out of here. I’ll do what I can to hold him off.”
“Javier, why don’t you come with us?”
Incomprehensible pain filled Javier’s chest. He knew it showed on his face too but couldn’t picture any form extreme enough to express it. “I can’t leave Emily. Go, Fernando.” His brother hesitated for just a moment, then nodded and scooped Carolina up into his arms.
Javier cast about the apartment, desperate to find anything that could protect him. A stool had been overturned along the kitchen wall. It was flimsy, too light to block the door in any meaningful way. Javier grabbed it anyway, holding it out before him like a talisman.
The door swung open. Javier stiffened in anticipation, then in horror as he recognized the man coming through the doorway.
Sergio Aristone’s eyes widened. He lifted a gun. “Fernando Bonavita? You’re early for our appointment.”
“Look closer,” Javier said, tilting his head up just enough to show his scar. He spoke through gritted teeth. This was the man responsible for hurting him and for killing his sister. This man wanted to frame Fernando.
“Ah.” Aristone smiled. “You’ve filled out, little brother.”
“You’ve gotten older.”
The other man raised an eyebrow. “I’m very aware. Now, let’s see what age has done for you. I remember what a brave boy you were. Has your courage held?” He aimed the gun deliberately.
Javier didn’t move. He had nowhere to go. He didn’t have the skills to take down a man with a gun. He wouldn’t risk Fernando or Emily by calling for help. He stood his ground, unflinching, and looked Sergio in the eye. The gun fired.
Tangled on the ground with Matthew, dead leaves crunching around them, Emily despaired. She held him off, barely, with her legs wrapped defensively around his to
rso. She shielded her face from blows with her forearms, curled up like a turtle. With luck, she might hold out until he tired, but a lot could go wrong before then.
A lot had already gone wrong. He’d gotten in a solid blow to her left eye that had already started to swell. Her head swam, and she had to squeeze that side shut to see clearly from the right. He grabbed the right side of her face, reaching toward her nostrils. Emily caught the side of his palm between her teeth and clamped down hard.
“You’re going to play like that?” Matthew said. He bared his teeth and leaned his weight on her arms, crushing and trapping them against her face and beginning to smother her.
The report of the gunshot saved her. Matthew jumped at the noise, giving Emily the opening she needed. Knowing she wouldn’t get another chance, Emily jammed her elbow up sharply, striking his solar plexus. Matthew gasped, weakening further, and Emily took the opportunity to roll them, placing herself in a superior position.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she worried about that gunshot, but she couldn’t afford to think about it just then. She had to focus on subduing Matthew. Never mind that this still meant doing the impossible.
Now Matthew held his arms protectively. As the defender, he had the luxury to wait out her strength, and Emily feared he had more in reserve than she did.
The bullet flew just past Javier’s shoulder, so close that it tore his shirt. Javier focused on staying steady. He wouldn’t flinch for this man.
“Impressive,” Sergio said.
“I don’t want to play games,” Javier answered. “Maybe we can make a deal.”
“I don’t need any deals with you. All I want is your brother’s blood.”
“What if I told you I could give you access to a system that could find anyone as long as you have their cell phone number?”
Sergio chuckled, but he lowered his gun slightly. “Why would you do this for me? Are we friends now? You look like a man with a long memory.”
Javier shook his head. “I’m not like you. I don’t care about revenge or honor. I just want to live free—from you and my brother.” He took a deep breath. “Fernando’s getting out of the business anyway. You could still kill him, I guess, but why? Framing him the way you did took the spirit out of him. He’s not interested in the life anymore.” Could hope make words true?
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