Ignite You

by Diana A. Hicks

  Suddenly, I understood why Jess had managed to stay with him all this time. Why she felt like what she had with him was real and worth fighting for. Why one day she wanted to leave him and the next she wanted to stay and work things out regardless of the fear he instilled in her.

  Levi was a master of bending the truth. Even now, with everything I knew him to be capable of, his words didn’t feel like lies. Or maybe I needed to believe him. I was so tired of carrying this anger with me. Levi was offering me a way out. Being free meant I wouldn’t have to send Dom away. If he loved me, why couldn’t I love him too?

  I stared out the window. The sunlight shined on my face, warm and bright. I’d lived in darkness for so long, I had lost hope that one day I could stand in the light again.

  “I could blame all this on Jess’s impulsiveness, on Uncle Emilio’s inability to trust me.” Levi’s words sounded so far away and yet cut so deep. “Wasn’t that the real reason why all my plans were shot to hell? Why I had to kill him?”

  “Don’t you dare put this on Dad. He didn’t pull the trigger. You did. Don’t make this about him.”

  “I’m not. That’s not what I’m saying. The thing is, I wanted this life. I wanted a family and a way to provide for them. Really provide for them. That’s what put me on this path. What led me to have to choose between my adopted family and a family of my own.” He glanced at me, letting the truth touch his eyes. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

  The hook that had been latched in the center of my heart for so long twisted as its sharp point slid off and left me breathless. My cheeks and ears turned a hot red. I believed him. I believed he was sorry. Flashes of the night he killed Dad played in my head again, but I pushed them away. The lightness I felt, the air filling my lungs was something I didn’t want to lose again. Levi had released me with his apology. And for the first time in ten years, the idea of forgiveness didn’t seem so alien to me. Love didn’t seem so alien.

  Maybe there was a way to move on, like Mom had done, and make up for lost time. I had to figure out a way to forgive Levi. If I could do that, Dom and I would have a shot. That would be assuming Dom loved me and wanted to stay with me. He never said as much. As usual, I freaked out and ran off. I didn’t want to do that anymore. I was done running.

  “Why am I here?” I asked.

  “Because you need to disappear again.”

  20

  Then You Were Also Told I Don’t Bluff

  Dom

  I let the front door to the hotel close behind me. Nikki had a shit load of problems to work through. Although there wasn’t much I could do for her in that department. I had my own crap to deal with.

  Vic waited at the end of the block. His somber look made my pulse quicken. What now?

  “Spit it out. Fast.” I glanced left and right. Emilia was nowhere to be found.

  “Levi has her.”

  “And you’re just telling me now?”

  “You had business to take care of. I don’t think he means her any harm.” He pushed off the wall and headed toward the car.

  “You don’t think? Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “If he wanted her dead, she’d be dead by now. Get in. They’re on their way to Phoenix.”

  When Vic suggested we bug Emilia, I hesitated because it was an invasion of her privacy but as Vic had put it, she could forgive me for this. Getting killed on my behalf, not so much. I never imagined bugging her phone would serve us well this soon. I climbed in the back seat and let my head fall back.

  Please. Not her.

  Vic merged onto the 101. The engine shifted gears in succession as he pushed the SUV to speed up. He was going fast but not hauling ass like I needed him to.

  “Where is she now?” I rubbed my face.

  He looked at his laptop wedged in the passenger seat. “They’re a few miles out of the city.”

  I took a deep breath. I had to consider this case the way I would any other. If I let my feelings for Emilia get in the way, she might not make it. My feelings…after all this time, Emilia finally knew the truth. She knew I was in love with her.

  “Take me straight to her.”

  “Sure. And then what? At some point, you gotta get your head out of your ass and do the right thing.”

  “I am doing the right thing.”

  Did I make a mistake going back to the bar to see her? Yes. Would she be safer if I let her go now? Hell no. I didn’t care what Vic or Mickey thought. Emilia belonged with me. Levi had no interest in harming her but like Mickey, Levi only wanted a bargaining chip.

  I’d be an idiot if I didn’t read between the lines. Vic had tried to warn me. Mickey was getting ready to make his move. I knew what the ultimatum would be too—return home or he’d make sure Emilia didn’t get to see another sunrise. Of course, it would be more than that. He’d make her see it was all my fault. She would die knowing my love killed her. I had to find her.

  When Vic whizzed past the exit to the hotel, I fisted my hands, forcing even breaths.

  “Do you know where she is now?”

  “Looks like he’s taking Emilia to her office.”

  “Of course. He needs her to stop the proceedings of his divorce.” Acid fluttered at the pit of my stomach. If he wanted her dead, she’d be dead already. I repeated that over and over in my head. I reached under the seat, retrieved my handgun, and checked the cartridge.

  “You’re packing now? I thought you were done with that.” In the rearview mirror, his eyes wrinkled at the corners.

  “Levi’s left me no choice. If he’s thinking of using Emilia as a bargaining chip with Mickey, he’s got another thing coming. Emilia is coming with me today, one way or another.”

  For once, Vic didn’t argue with me and instead hit the accelerator with more urgency than before. Even if Levi needed Emilia alive, he still wasn’t one of the good guys. We reached the front of her building, but Emilia wasn’t there. I’d expected to see one of Levi’s cars, but the street was empty. I climbed out and ran inside to check with the security guard.

  I forced a shorter gait and plastered on a smile when the guard made eye contact with me.

  “How can I help you?” he asked.

  “I’m here to see Ms. Prado. Could you let her know I’m here?”

  “Certainly. Name?” He grabbed the phone. After looking for her extension, he dialed and waited.

  “Dom Moretti.”

  “I have a Mr. Moretti here for Ms. Prado.” He nodded a couple of times before he said a quick thank you and a goodbye.

  “Ms. Prado hasn’t come in yet. You’re welcome to call her direct line and leave a message.”

  “Thank you. I’ll do that.” I spun and took long strides back to the car. “She’s not here,” I said to Vic when his eyebrows rose in question.

  “I refreshed the application. This was her last location. Nothing else is coming up. Like we lost the signal or something.”

  “How long ago was that?” I asked.

  “About forty minutes.”

  I slammed my hand on the hood of the car. Forty minutes was a long time. They could be anywhere. Goddammit. We should’ve stayed in our hotel room this morning. Where could she be? If they came here, Emilia never made it inside the building. The security guard had said she wasn’t in yet, which meant she hadn’t come in at all.

  Vic hit a few keys on his laptop before he rebooted his system. “Maybe there’s a glitch or something. Those chips can be buggy.” He chuckled at his own joke, then he stopped when I glared at him.

  “Wait. Could it be that she’s somewhere where signal is limited? Like a garage?”

  “You might be right.” He pulled up a map of downtown and dropped a pin on all the nearby garages. “One of the garages where she parks her car is only half a mile away.”

  I climbed in the passenger seat. “Let’s go check it out.”

  Hot blood pumped in my ears as we turned into the underground floors of the parking garage. We had no reason to assume that Levi brought
Emilia here, but what did we have to lose? There was no other place for us to look except for the hotel.

  “We’ll do a quick drive through, and then we’ll go back to the suite.”

  “Okay. I’m glad to see you’re using your head again.”

  I had to focus on the task at hand because if I let my mind run wild, I would come up with a hundred and one ways to make Levi hurt for taking Emilia like this. Was she scared? Was she wondering where I was? If I knew how to get to her? I fisted my hand and slammed it against the car door.

  On the last turn that led to the bottom floor of the garage, I spotted Emilia’s long curls, bouncing all over the place. Vic let the car roll to a stop as all four of Levi’s men turned to us. Squinting to see through the red spots in my vision, I hopped out of the car with a death grip on my gun behind my back.

  One of the men held Emilia by the waist while Levi wiped away at his mouth. Whatever plans he had for Emilia, she was giving him hell. I’d expected no less. What I should also have expected was that I’d be outgunned in this scenario, but I didn’t stop to measure our dicks. Before any of the men could react, I punched one in the throat and then the liver. While he recovered from the impact, I put him in a headlock and shot the next guy in the foot.

  How about that? It was like riding a bike. In perfect synchronization, the last two men moved to protect Levi, using Emilia as a human shield, guns out. For a split second, I considered shooting the guy gripping Emilia by the waist. I had the angle and the aim. All I needed to do was pull the trigger.

  I wanted to do it. I wanted to save her.

  I didn’t care that I’d spent the last five years of my life trying to forgive myself for the life I took. I didn’t care that if I killed him, I’d become what Mickey wanted to me be, and everything I’d hated about me for so long. The look on Emilia’s face made me take a second pause. Sweat ran down my back while my finger hovered over the trigger, stiff and numb.

  The adrenaline coursed through me, giving me all the clarity I needed. In my peripheral vision, the guy I shot lay on the floor, slithering back toward his group. The man in my hold stood still, his heart pumping hard against his chest plate and my forearm.

  I met Emilia’s gaze and she shook her head once. “It’s better if I go with him.”

  “No, it’s not. You’re coming with me.”

  “Dom. You can’t go against the cartel.”

  She was right. I couldn’t go against them except this had nothing to do with the cartel. Otherwise, Levi would have more than four bodyguards with him. No, this was a loose end Levi wanted to handle on his own.

  “Let her go. She’s not a threat to you.”

  “I know she’s not, but your family insists she can be. I will not be made the fool with my boss.”

  So that was the big favor Mickey had offered Levi. If Levi played along, Mickey wouldn’t tell the cartel that Emilia and her mom were still alive.

  “No, I can’t imagine Emilia turning up after you killed her would look good on your bad-guy resume. If you hurt her, you’ll answer to me.”

  Levi’s laugh echoed against the concrete walls. “I was told you’d say that.”

  “Then you were also told I don’t bluff.”

  Levi’s gaze darted from Vic sitting in the SUV behind me, and Emilia, who couldn’t take her eyes off me. If she was pissed at me for showing up to get her or thankful, I couldn’t tell. And honestly, I didn’t care. I just wanted her to leave this place alive.

  After what felt like a lifetime, Levi nodded, and the man holding Emilia loosened his grip.

  “Walk,” he ordered.

  “Get in the car, Emilia.” I kept my eyes on Levi and my gun on the man who a few minutes ago I almost shot dead. Icy fingers gripped my heart. I’d come to the conclusion that he needed to die way too easily. Solving the problem, pulling the trigger…it all had come to me way too easy. Was this what Vic had been afraid would happen if Emilia stayed?

  Emilia held my gaze for a moment. With one last backward glance at Levi, she rushed to the car. The adrenaline pumping through me dissipated and left me covered in cold sweat.

  “Stand down,” Levi said to his men before he met my gaze. “Make sure she stays away. And if I were you, I’d keep your dog on a shorter leash.”

  “Forget about Emilia and her family.” I released his man and stepped back toward the car.

  “I’ve been trying to. So how about you tell your dad to forget about her,” he called after me.

  I slammed the door and shut Levi’s words out as his form became smaller in front of us. Vic didn’t bother to turn the car around. He reversed his way out until we were two floors up. I replaced my gun under the car seat and leaned back, rubbing my cold hands on my cheeks.

  Next to me, Emilia stared at the side of my face. I couldn’t look at her. If she feared me after that display, I didn’t know what I’d do. After a long while, she settled on the side of her seat and glanced out the window as Vic merged onto the freeway.

  I wanted to tell her we were going home, but what place would that be? The hotel? Her mom’s cabin in Sedona? New York? My insides twisted at the idea of her leaving for good. I wasn’t ready to let her go. There had to be another way out. A way that didn’t include us being apart. The big assumption here was that Emilia wanted the same thing.

  I exhaled and turned to look at her. She kept her attention on the buildings alongside the freeway for a moment before she turned to me. Something unfurled in my chest when her eyes didn’t show fear or even anger. The softness I found there was something entirely different. I fought the urge to hold her and kiss her. If I did that, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. I gave a quick glance at Vic, who only shook his head.

  “Thank you,” Emilia whispered.

  “I shouldn’t’ve left you alone.” I reached for her hand, but she pulled back and shifted her weight in the seat.

  “I let my guard down. It was stupid. I should’ve seen it coming.”

  “Don’t say that. I should’ve been there for you.” I searched her face.

  Even after the ordeal she’d gone through, she wasn’t crumbling in fear. There were no tears in her eyes. Though I could tell she’d been crying, she wasn’t full of rage like before when Levi left my office. This time it was different. She seemed at peace. What the hell happened to her in the two hours she was gone? If Levi wanted something from her, why didn’t he ask when Emilia confronted him?

  “Would you come back to the hotel with me?” I blurted out. I couldn’t stand the silence. I couldn’t stand the thought that Levi convinced her I was the monster she should be afraid of. I rubbed my hands on my pants. Had she finally figured out that I was the reason her Levi problem kept coming back? That she had it right when we were in college. She was better off staying away from me. I needed to let her go before I hurt her.

  “I kind of have to.” She placed a warm hand on my cheek, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “All my things are there.”

  “You know what I mean.” Stay with me. I gripped her fingers on my face and brought them down to my mouth. I kissed the tips as the usual desire fluttered below my navel.

  She leaned toward me, her eyes soft and serene. She exhaled the way she’d done the night before and this morning right before she gave into me. Except this time, she pulled her hand away.

  “I know what you mean, but we need to talk.”

  And there it was, the proverbial but.

  21

  Forgive, Home, Love

  Emilia

  The suite door clicked open, and Dom held it at arm’s length to let me in. I kept my gaze on him, searching his face for the obsidian look in his eyes that showed up when Levi’s men had me in a tight hold. All I could think at that moment was that Dom had found me.

  A million butterflies had fluttered in my chest when his SUV turned the bend and came to a screeching halt a few feet from me. Dom moved so fast, I wasn’t sure what’d happened until one of the bodyguards dropped to the floor. In th
e same beat, the guy standing next to me hooked his arm around my neck and knocked the wind out of me.

  That was the moment when I saw it. Dom’s handgun aimed a few inches from my temple, while Dom had his human shield in a vice grip. For a long second, I was sure he would pull the trigger. He’d shot the other man so easily. Every move had been smooth and controlled as if he’d done it a million times before. I’d fought back tears because the last thing he needed was a hysterical woman but inside I wept for him. How many times did he have to fight like that for the muscle memory to set in?

  He let out a long breath, shut the door, and threw the bolt. “You never have to fear me.”

  I shuffled back to take a better look at him, his whole frame. His eyes showed something different. There was a softness in them. A passion that felt familiar because I felt it too.

  “Seems to me you’re the one who’s afraid.”

  “Not anymore.” He closed the space between us and captured my mouth.

  We had so much to talk about but the resolve I’d found in the car to stay away from him until we had talked this through went out the window the minute his lips touched mine.

  “I can’t think when you’re near,” I said in between breaths.

  “We can think later. Right now, I need you.”

  With deft fingers, he unbuttoned the top of my dress before he pulled it down and let it drop to my feet. He reached around and unhooked my bra. He kneaded both breasts, sucking one and then the other. This morning and the time we’d spent together seemed like a lifetime ago. I’d missed him, his scent, his strength, his body.

  “Take it off.” I slid my hands under his suit coat and pushed it off his shoulders.

  Gripping my hips, he walked me backward until he had me pinned against the wall, his teeth grazing the soft spot behind my ear while he removed his dress shirt, and then his undershirt. The shiny leather of his belt in contrast with his tanned and muscled torso sent a blast of adrenaline to the aching spot between my legs. I ran my hands from his chest down to the V line peeking out from the waistband of his pants. Gosh, the man was beautiful.