by Sasha Leone
The bastards. All of them.
It’s almost comical, to see people like them flap in the wind. I’m sure every woman here spent all morning getting their hair done just right, every man picked out their best hair-piece, all for it to get ruined by nature.
I wonder if this is what Anna was getting at? Maybe a hurricane is coming, and in the resulting chaos I’ll be able to escape with her...
A girl can hope.
But then my beefy escorts close in even tighter around me and all hope is lost. They’re holding down my gown just like they’d hold me down. I’m not going anywhere.
Suddenly, I remember Dante’s threats. Am I smiling enough? Do my eyes sparkle with happiness? I doubt it, but unless I want to feel the fury of his wrath, I better buck up. Acting may not be my forte, but survival is, and right now, I need to act like I’m having the time of my life.
Through the space between my guards, I spot the outdoor altar. It stands under a leafy arbor that sways in the strong wind. Under the vines and flowers, stands the devil himself. He may have told me to smile for the cameras, but I don’t see a single ounce of happiness in his face. Dante already looks completely fed up with this whole charade; anger lines his slimy features—he’s pissed; am I not smiling enough?
Involuntary tears start to softly tremble down my cheeks. This is really happening...
My walk down the aisle feels like it takes both an eternity and a split-second. Suddenly, I’m face to face with the man who’s taken everything from me.
“The tears are a nice touch,” he hisses under his breath.
I don’t respond. My goonish escorts have fanned out in a circle to protect us from the wind. The veil I’ve been wearing for protection is all but useless; it flaps like the wing of a falling bird...
And then, BOOM!
It’s like a lightning strike hits a few yards away. The earth trembles and I’m thrown from my feet. Shrieks carry on the wind as guests scream at something...
BOOM! BOOM!
Two more explosions rattle the yard. Dante’s body guards abandon me and rush to their master. The priest scrambles away; the wedding guests run like chickens with their heads cut off.
Through the chaos, I see the trunk of a giant tree collapse through the hedges that border the back lawn. It caves in the natural fence. Women scream, men bark orders...
BOOM!
Another tree falls. Suddenly, I feel a hand on my arm. My immediate instinct is to pull away, but then I hear the familiar voice. “Come on!”
It’s Anna.
“What’s happening?” My voice is raspy and quiet from shock; Anna doesn’t seem to hear me. She’s got her big threading needle out in one hand and my wrist wrapped up in the other. “What the hell is happening!?” I ask again, louder this time. Just as I’m pulled back onto my feet another huge boom fills the turbulent air. Anna and I both jump and turn around to confront the roar.
“This way!” Anna tugs at my arm, but my eyes are glued on the insane scene before me. Socialites and debutantes race about in the wind with flailing hands. They all head towards the doors of the grand state house, but there are too many trying to get through to all fit in at once. They clog up the exit as another tree falls and collapses the hedges that border the lawn.
... Then, in through that newly formed hole, rushes a sea of outsiders. What looks like hundreds of men and women spill into the chaos over the felled tree trunks. They recklessly charge at the security personnel, swinging baseball bats and gardening shears and all sorts of makeshift weapons.
The wedding guests scream in fear as Dante’s guards open fire on the intruders. Claps of thunder cut through the hurricane winds until they crescendo in another thunderous boom.
Another tree collapses even more of the hedge fence and another wave of intruders break through the wedding’s defences.
Blood slowly rushes to my ears and the sounds of the blaring gunshots and whizzing bullets fade, but one noise seems to seep through it all. “Catalina!” I hear my name on the wind. “Catalina!” It sounds like the chorus to some epic song. “Catalina!”
A hard tug comes at my arm and I snap back down to earth. “Catalina!” Anna shouts. “Snap out of it! Let’s go!”
I shake the shock from my head and look towards where she wants to lead me. Just ahead, there’s an opening in the hedges where another tree has fallen. There, the intruders seem to have already overcome Dante’s security forces. They defend a path out of here.
My feet start moving before my mind does. I let Anna’s fingers fall down to my hand as we pull on each other towards freedom...
We don’t get far before and even stronger hand clasps around my free wrist and stops us in our tracks.
I yelp in surprise as I’m tugged away from Anna’s grip. My ass hits the ground with a thud, but I’m immediately picked up and thrown over a pair of cold broad shoulders. For a second, a glimmer of hope crosses my heart. Has Angel rescued me?
But this grip is too harsh, too frigid. I struggle to get a better look at my new captor. It’s one of Dante’s body guards. His tight grip only tightens as I squirm to free myself. He’s so strong and I feel so weak, but my veins fill with desperate adrenaline and I kick and punch at him with all my might.
He hardly budges... until a grunt escapes his lips. Suddenly, he’s falling just like one of the giant trees. We hit the ground with a thud and the ogre pins my legs to the muddy grass. For a second, I lose my breath, but then I see what caused my captor to fall and I’m re-filled with determination.
Anna’s big threading needle sticks out of the fallen guards back. I lunge forward and grab it just as the ogre starts to struggle back to his feet. His effort gives me just enough room to slip out from under him; the needle comes with me. He roars as I rip it from his back. “You fucking bitch!” It’s the last thing he says before I plunge the already bloody needle into the side of his neck.
This time, his hands don’t reach for me. Instead, he’s forced to apply his palm to the new wound on his throat. Blood leaks from his punctured skin as his eyes go white and his face turns pale.
My hands tremble at the scene. Did I just kill a man!?
Anna’s at my side before I can think too deeply about it. My first instinct is to hand the murder weapon over to her, but she seems unphased. “You keep it,” she yells through the chaos. “I’ve got a backup!” Sure enough, her little hand is filled with a fresh silver stake.
She doesn’t have to tell me to start running. In the blink of an eye, we’re both moving as fast as we can towards the free opening in the collapsed hedge ahead.
Anna’s fingers find my hand again just as a rogue gust lifts my flowing gown over my eyes. I don’t fear. Instead, I just trust my new friend, following her hand as it leads me through the chaos. Her grip tightens around my palm—and then, suddenly, it’s gone.
“Anna!?” I shout, as I desperately fight through the shroud that is my windswept gown. When I finally get the damn thing down, there’s no sign of her... but I do see a wall of angry security guards racing towards me from the west. Luckily, the route to my freedom lays to the east—I hesitate to take it, though; I don’t want to leave my friend behind.
“Cat!” That’s not Anna’s voice, but it is one I instantly recognize.
My gaze snaps away from my pursuers and towards the newest hole in the hedges.
Angel stands in the opening like a rebel king behind his wave of revolutionaries. My heart catches in my throat, but there’s no time to get caught up with sentimentality. My feet find me running again.
In the distance, I see Angel barking orders at his ragtag group of intruders. They make a beeline for my pursuing guards. We rush by each other and I swear, even though my focus is locked entirely on Angel, I can hear them chant my name like a rallying cry.
That all disappears when Angel and I meet in the middle of the chaos.
The earth goes silent, the wind goes still; my heart explodes as I jump into my savior’s big strong
arms and plant my lips against his.
For one blissful moment, nothing moves. Angel’s heart beats in sync with mine as our body’s meld and our souls intertwine, finally together again...
And then, just like that, everything erupts back into focus. Gunfire, screaming, explosions—a veritable war surrounds us—but as my senses return, only one thing comes to mind.
“Anna!” As if Angel would even know who that is. Before I can explain, though, his thick finger is on my lips.
“She’ll be fine,” he states, nodding back behind me.
I turn around and flinch from the violent fight that’s broken out. Bright red blood splatters across the green grass as allies and foes fall to each other’s hand.
But out of that chaos, scrambles a familiar young woman.
Anna breaks from the fight, her fresh needle newly bloodied. Another fallen tree has opened up a new path out of here—she breaks the threshold even before we can.
“Are you ready to go now?” Angel’s voice is low and hot.
I sneer back at the chaos we caused, then nod. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
15
Angel
We’re not out of the woods yet.
It looks like the Colombian army has been called in on us. I unholster my gun with my free hand and pull Cat in close with my other arm. She falls against my body and I whip around, putting myself in between her and the approaching militia. Bullets upend the earth around our feet as an incredible wind blows at our backs.
I fire at the wall of soldiers and they quickly disperse. Behind them, though, comes something not even I can fight. A tank. “We need to get out of here,” I growl, looking for a new route of escape. I knew that there was a good chance Dante would have the army nearby in case I came to interrupt his wedding, but I also figured that he would never expect me to have so much support. My little brother has an iron grip over everyone who would ever work for a former cartel kingpin, after all—but he has no control over those who choose to revolt with a fellow revolutionary...
“This way!” I shout. Taking Cat’s wrist, I lead her towards a nearby alleyway. Just before we can break into the protected pathway, a huge shockwave knocks us off of our feet. Before we can hit the pavement, I wrap Cat in my arms. My skin scrapes against the hard ground, but I don’t give the pain a second thought—I’ll be fine as long as she is.
“Are you okay?” I ask, as we scramble back to our feet.
Cat’s wedding gown is splayed up over her head. I grab the edges and tear it away, ripping the fabric at the seams and freeing her from that terrible fate. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she responds, almost in a daze. Her eyes are fixed on something just over my shoulder. I turn around and see the smoking barrel of the approaching tank; a huge crater lies in front of it, no more than forty yards away from us.
These idiots are actually shooting at us with fucking tanks. They’d rather tear their own city apart then let me get away with my brother’s prized hostage. The fools. They’ll see what true destruction is. This is just the start of the revolution.
A new flurry of bullets nips at our feet and we both snap out of our daze at the same time. I push Catalina behind the alleyway’s brick wall and race ahead, then I crouch down. “Get on,” I order. Catalina is no slouch, but I know we’ll go faster with her on my back. She doesn’t meet me with any resistance. Her long legs wrap around my hips like we’re back on my bike. When she’s on, I start sprinting.
At the next corner, I rip out my walkie-talkie and set the dial to universal. “Retreat!” I order into the speaker. “Retreat and regroup!”
We got what we came for and we sent the message we wanted to—no matter how rich or influential or connected you are, you’re not safe from us.
The next corner we turn down greets us with a welcome sight. The second wave of our ragtag infantry waits under a shaded parking lot; they break out in cheers at the sight of Cat and I.
“Catalina!” they roar, raising their makeshift weapons into the air.
Cat and I only stop for a second before I find the nearest ledge. I pull my stolen bride up onto the platform and raise my hand in the air. The crowd immediately goes silent. “We aren’t done yet!” I address them. “We may have won this battle, but the war is far from over. It’s time to go home and prepare for the next fight.”
The crowd seems to understand my message. Without another wave of cheers, they disperse, scurrying back home to regroup. Cat and I follow close behind them.
The echoes of our battle at the state house fade into the distance as we make our way to a nearby escape hatch. Before we turn the final corner, I peak around to make sure the coast is clear. When it is, I nod Cat ahead. She gives me a kiss on the cheek before passing by.
That stones me. The reality that I finally have her back hits me like a sledgehammer. Before she can get far, I reach out and grab her wrist, pulling her back into me. Our lips meet again, even hotter this time than the last.
Cat pushes into me and I’m immediately hard. The powerful adrenaline rush from our fight quickly turns into extreme lust. I push my stolen bride against the nearest wall and she immediately starts to grind against my body.
“Let’s get you out of that fucking dress,” I growl, my mind quickly draining of anything but desire. Consequences be damned, it’s been too long since I’ve had my woman.
My tongue is in Cat’s mouth before she can say anything in return. Her primal moan is enough to tell me that she wants this just as badly as I do. She practically rips my hands from around her waist and leads them down between her legs.
I reach up under her tattered gown and find her panties. They slip off nice and easy. “I missed you so much,” Cat sighs as I work my kisses down her tender neck. Her slender fingers grab onto my hair as I thrust my bulge into her hot spot.
“I missed you, too,” I grumble as I pull down the neckline of her dress, Cat’s exposed nipple quivers beneath my lips; her grip on my hair tightens. Suddenly, her gyrations around my waist get even more intense. “I was so angry at you,” she hisses.
“For what?” I ask, moving over to her other tit.
“For taking so goddamned long!” she moans.
I let her breasts go free and find her lips again. Our tongues tango in a fiery battle and I feel Cat’s hands desperately unlatching my belt.
“Well, now I’m back,” I growl into her ear. “And I promise I’ll make this quick.”
My belt pops open and my pants fall. Cat rips my underwear off and my throbbing cock shakes free.
“Please don’t,” Cat whispers.
“As you wish.”
16
Catalina
Angel enters me and all of my fear and dread and hopelessness explodes under the pressure of his primal desire.
My nightmare already seems like a distant memory; now, I’m smack dab in the middle of a wet dream. Angel is still just as big as ever, and his throbbing width stretches me out to my limits, but this pain is welcome. It’s searing pleasure empties the heaviness in my heart and replaces it with something fresh and dirty.
Angel pins me against the alley wall with his bulging biceps and heaving chest and I quiver against his power. This is a man who’s led an empire, this is a man who’s trying to re-invent a country, this is a man who’s made me his.
This is my man.
His thrusts are deep and purposeful; each one is followed by a grunt so deep it sends shivers down my soul. Maybe it’s the left-over adrenaline from the battle, or the intense joy from escaping the wedding, but each time Angel’s hard pelvis pumps into mine, and his cock digs so deep I feel like I might rip into two, I’m overcome by pleasure like I’ve never felt before.
This time is different than our other times. This time is even wilder than our union in the bar in Ireland or in that bed in Cyrus Kane’s castle. This time feels like our passion is erupting on its own terms. We’ve taken what we wanted, and what we want is each other.
“Enough of this
,” Angel growls. His hands fall around my hips and he unsheathes his giant cock from my tight pussy. With all the power of a wild animal, he flips me around. I arch my back like a stretching cat and stick my ass out for my man. His big palm digs into the meat of my ass and I whimper out.
“Fuck me!” I demand, more beast than human myself.
“With pleasure.”
I’m impaled by Angel’s thick hardness in a single thrust that nearly knocks me through the wall. I press up against the brick and take my pounding. The rippling of my ass against Angel’s six-pack sends shivers of pure pleasure raging through my once exhausted nerves.
Even my scraped arms feel as good as new as every inch of my mind focuses on the heat building between my legs. Angel’s grunts deepen and my whimpers go up an octave. I can feel him swelling inside of me as he uses me for a release of his own.
Sizzling warmth grows from my pelvis like light-speed vines; they wrap around my stomach, then my heart, then my throat. As the warmth reaches my brain, the dark and grimy world goes a clean white. All sound disappears as I implode with pure pleasure. Angel rips out of me and I feel the heat of his release splash over my backside. His cum is thick and hot and it marks my skin like a branding iron.
... Slowly, the world returns around me.
I sigh in satisfaction, my eyelids heavy in the best kind of way.
“How was that?” Angel’s deep voice comes from behind. What remains of my wedding dress lays tattered on the ground below. Good. I can’t wait to get out of this prisoner’s uniform.
“It was perfect,” I whisper.
Angel slaps my ass and I’m snapped from my content daze. “Not perfect,” he teases. “But we’re getting there.”
I find my panties on the alley floor. They’re too dirty to put back on, so I decide to go commando. “We should get going...” I whisper, as I follow Angel over to a half-covered manhole.
“Yeah, that was nice, but we have something more important waiting for us.”