“Ahhh!” Rick’s scream fills the air.
“Ahhh!” Conrado joins in from where he is. “No, dude. No.”
The side door opens, and an army of footsteps echoes through the building. Dante. I’d recognize those footfalls anywhere.
“He’s over here.” I let the blade bite deeper. His mouth opens, and his head flails like a fish out of water.
“Kassy’s been calling you,” Dante says as he walks past. “She found Bunny.”
His words sink in, offering relief. I clean off my blade as Dante empties a magazine into Conrado.
*****
Bunny
The car darkens as we stop at an underpass. I’ve lost track of where we are and how long we’ve been driving. Facedown on the floorboard, with my hands tied behind me, I’m stuck. All I can see is the food wrappers and bottle cap under the passenger’s seat.
“Izzy, listen to me,” I say in the calmest voice I can manage. “You don’t have to do this,” I tell him for the umpteenth time. I get the same silence as earlier. Damn, why didn’t he leave my hands tied in front of me. I’d have a better chance of getting loose.
“I’m screwed, Bonnie,” he says in a hollow voice. “This isn’t what I planned.”
“You haven’t done anything,” I remind him. “Walk away and leave all this behind.”
“No.”
Inhaling the stale smell of the carpet under my cheek, I search for another avenue. How can I change his mind? It’s hard to concentrate when my stomach is threatening to empty what little it may be carrying.
“I haven’t killed anyone,” he says, more to himself than to me.
I go still, embracing every word. I have to keep him talking. There might be something I can use to convince him to let me live.
“But I helped bury the body.”
Tony Gloria, Iris’s father. It has to be him. I twist despite having the hump beneath me digging into my ribs. “What happened, Izzy?”
“Rad called me, asking for help. His mom got into it with Tony when she realized he was hiding money from her.” A thump comes from the front. “Argh!” he yells in frustration. “It wasn’t an accident, like he said. Tony…his head was bashed in,” he says, sounding tortured. “She musta lost it.”
Miserable bitch. She played the concerned girlfriend. Everyone felt sorry for her and Iris when Tony disappeared. His picture’s on my wall at the café, along with a flyer asking for information on his disappearance.
“Izzy, you can still walk away.”
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he says solemnly. “I just need to figure out what I’m going to do.”
Relief washes through me. “I’m not going to turn you in.”
“You’re not going straight to the cops?” he asks, skeptical of my promise.
“What am I going to tell them? To arrest you for saving me?”
We’re moving again but only for a few seconds. The car stops, and he unbuckles his seat belt. My heart’s racing. What if he was lying to keep me calm? The door opens. I shut my eyes. Lord, please help me.
He pulls on the ties at my wrists. The snap of plastic fills my head. My hand’s loose. Then he cuts the other tie.
“Can you get up?” he asks from the doorway.
My arms are asleep, but I still manage to get off the floorboard. I glance around at the familiar surroundings. We’re alongside the highway, nearly downtown.
“Go home, Bonnie.” He walks away, shoving his hands into his pockets.
I shake my hands, working feeling into my arms for a few minutes. Doing my best to ignore the pins and needles, I get in the driver’s side. It’s been a long time since I was behind the wheel. Making a U-turn, I go under the expressway and speed up to catch the yellow light. I’m not going to risk sitting in the darkness and having him change his mind.
It’s a straight shot, now, though I catch every red light. A tear escapes then another as the traffic light reflects off the car. Wiping my face, I go alongside Bridge II, around the narrow, one-way street, and I’m home. I turn into the parking lot, slowing down to make sure I don’t graze the car.
Cord is at the window, watching as I pull into a parking spot in the back. My stomach is still churning as I exit the car and hit the remote.
The door opens, and Cord is leaning out, his hand on the knob. His brow furrows, and his gaze moves over me. This is how I imagine an angry father would look when he catches his kid coming in after curfew.
“Where were you?”
What am I supposed to say to him? As I draw closer to him, I focus on the badge hanging around his neck. I swallow hard, tightening my grip on the keys. He’s a police officer?
“Worst date ever.” My attempt to laugh it off turns out a nervous chuckle.
He’s taken aback. “Date?” he asks, narrowing his eyes.
“I...um...Rick showed up.”
“And you left with him?”
I have no idea what to say. “You’re an officer?” I can only hope this distracts me.
“I’m a U.S. Marshal.”
Which only adds to the confusion. Tino isn’t part of any law enforcement, but he’s working with a marshal. Is that why he was having two conversations that night?
“Kassy told me you were missing.” He pivots, holding the door open so I can slip by.
I lean away as I go in, as if brushing him would allow him to see inside my mind. He closes the door behind me, coming around to the end of the table.
The question is still hanging between us.
“My cell.” I snatch the phone off the table. Please have a message. Anything to give me a few precious seconds to figure out what to do. Nothing.
“Bonnie,” he states in a demanding tone. “What’s going on here?”
I wet my lips, starting with what he must know already.
“Rick—”
A vehicle comes into the drive, stopping me cold. The driver parks by the entrance, drawing our attention outside. Tino’s coming our way, his mouth a hard slash on his face.
“Um, he’s back,” I announce. Gravel crunches underfoot. Does it always sound so loud? A mix of anticipation and dread flows through me.
“Damn it.” Cord’s nostrils flare. He exhales angrily then turns, pushing a hand through the hair at his temple.
My pulse kicks up even more. The door opens, his big body filling the entrance. Anger flows off him like wave after wave hitting the beach. He doesn’t spare me a glance. Instead, he barrels past without a word.
“Tino?” My voice trembles.
“Man, I…” Cord turns, his annoyance disappearing as he centers on Tino’s face. The scene is almost a replay of last week.
Cord takes a step back, his eyes darting from Tino’s face to his torso. “What the—”
Tino’s fist comes shooting up from below, landing at the edge of Cord’s jaw with a resounding crack.
He moved with such speed and ferocity, my whole body twitches. I gasp, bringing my hands to my mouth. I’m stuck to the floor, shocked at what’s going on in front of me.
Cord raises an arm, staggering back, and Tino disappears through the door after him. Chairs tumble to the floor. Another strike. A thump.
I’m so scattered, it takes me a second to move. What am I supposed to do? When I round the table, Tino’s arm is on a downward swing, while Cord’s are spread wide.
“Stop!” If he heard me, he isn’t bothering to listen. I’m too late to stop the savage blow. But even when I push against him, it’s like trying to dislodge a boulder.
Blood is pouring from Cord’s mouth. “You’re hurting him.” I’m slapping my palm against his shoulder ineffectively. “Stop it. Stop.”
Still crouching, Tino turns on me, knocking me off-balance. I stumble, catching myself against the wall.
His eyes are hard. The lines surrounding them are carved into his skin. “You.” His voice is thick with accusation. “Why do you protect every piece of garbage out to get your ass?”
“He’s ou
t cold.” What the hell is he thinking? “And he’s not out to get my ass.”
His lip curls, and he scoffs, “Sure.”
The word is a slap in the face. What the bloody hell? Cord’s never been anything but professional. “You’re the one who sent him here.”
“You know what?” He shakes his head, his lips stiff. “You can do whatever you want with him, or Rick, or anyone else, for that matter.”
Shame. Hurt. Disappointment. I can’t tell what’s roiling through me. Here I am, upset at him. Missing him. And what do I get? He’s ready to hand me off to the next guy coming through the door, without a second thought.
Anger bubbles inside me, burning behind my eyes. “Get out.” My words rasp past my lips, unleashing a helpless tirade. “Get out.” I point to the kitchen door and catch sight of the box. In the next second, I’m grabbing the cardboard containers. I launch the first one, hitting his side. “Get out.” Two more leave my hands, one hitting his shoulder and the other missing him completely. “Get out.”
I grab more of the small containers I thought to be useless. I put all the strength I can muster into the pitch. His arm goes up to block his face. “Just get out of my life.” The words tear through my heart. “And don’t come back.” With the box empty, I turn on my heel, giving in to the need to escape.
Thankfully, I make it through the door before the tears fall.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Tino
Catching her at the top, I grab her biceps, jerking her back mid-step. Rolling her around to face me, I’m ready to rip into her like a grizzly on its prey.
“You—” It’s all I can say before she stumbles into my arms. She screams, clutching at my biceps to keep from tumbling down the stairs. My anger rages. How could she think I’d let her fall? But when her eyes widen, a stream runs down her cheeks.
I’m not moved by tears. I’ve seen them when the monsters that hide in the shadows realize their time of reckoning has come. But seeing those fat droplets on her face stops me in my tracks. I’m at the edge of the crater she’s left in my chest, using all my strength to smother the fire blazing inside me.
Bunny turns, trying to avoid looking at me. She sniffs, blinking rapidly as she yanks her arm away.
My hold is steady. Whether she knows it or not, she’s not going anywhere.
“You’re the one who’s afraid to be around me,” I remind her in a much more moderated voice than I started with.
Brow furrowing, she studies me. “What?”
I’d considered my leaving to be a selfless act, yet she doesn’t get it. “You said being around me scares you, remember?”
Her eyebrows steeple, as if she’s searching a memory.
“So I left,” I conclude. Silence grows between us.
Her gaze runs from one of my eyes to the other, as if she’s putting the pieces together. Then she screws up her face. “You’re an idiot,” she spits out, snatching her arm from my grasp.
Every word in my vocabulary, both English and Spanish, leaves my brain at the same time. Of anything she could say, this is the last thing I expected.
She sniffs again, this time running her knuckles under her eyes. “Being around you does scare me, Tino.”
Dull pain claws at me from the inside, tearing into my chest. I’d almost convinced myself it wasn’t real, but here it is again.
“Because I don’t recognize myself,” she blurts, as if I should understand. “You-you-you, make me...crazy, sometimes.” The tears have stopped now, but her voice is trembling. “I second-guess myself. I lose track of my day and my goals.” She shakes her head, while color rises in her face. “I’ve never yelled at someone like that.” She scoffs. “And I’ve certainly never thrown food at anyone before. Canned or otherwise.”
For the first time in days, my shoulders and neck lose the stiffness cutting through my muscles. Yet, my heartbeat speeds up. Racing so fast I couldn’t get off an accurate shot if my life depended on it.
From the sound of it, Bunny has been going through the same shit I have. I cup her face and drag her mouth to mine. Every curve of her body melts into me, as if she’s felt the same sweet relief I did a few minutes before.
Her lips part, her chest rising and falling as she drags in breath. I know she needs it, but I’m not willing to give her more than a handful of seconds. I run my hand from shoulder to waist, along those beautiful curves I’ve been dying to explore again. Who will get the upper hand? Her? Me? Both? It doesn’t matter as the air around us catches fire.
Her hands go up my shoulders, circling my neck, bringing me closer. I nip at her earlobe, running my lips along her jaw, down the slope of her neck to the base, the flames burning hotter with every second, every touch, every breath.
Her legs shift, and I slide a hand down, lifting her thigh around my hip. With her a step higher, she’s at nearly the perfect height to have her pressing against my hardening cock. I slip my fingers under the edge of her shorts, sliding over firm, rounded skin until she fills my palm. Warm, bare skin… Not the seam of those damn boy shorts she likes to wear.
Bunny takes a breath, her lips brushing against mine, filling my senses with everything so inherently Bunny.
She rolls her hips, taking her time to move the fraction of an inch. The hum in her throat tells me she’s enjoying the way I’m tightening my hold on her ass.
“Yes, I’m wearing one of them,” she whispers. “I...I missed you.”
I finally understand the term walking on air. I pull back, not letting her hide from me. “I missed you,” I reply, with gravel rolling across every word.
“I’m sor—”
I take her mouth, cutting off the apology. Breaking away, I let her catch her breath again.
“I’m—” She tries again.
“No.” I kiss her hard, leaving no mistake about not wanting the words. “Things will go from here. Fuck what happened.”
She nods. “Sounds good…” Her gaze lowers, inch by inch, until she reaches my mouth. “Fucking…”
Bunny, my beautiful little innocent, is saying things that would make her blush any other day. But things are different. Today, in this moment, my blood is rushing through my veins, pulsing in my head. Now, I’m the one rubbing against the juncture of her legs, wanting to claim her senses. A whimper escapes as her body writhes, tensing for a second. Her breasts are thrust out, her head angled back, her eyes pressed tight with the intensity of her rush. We’re locked together in a perfect moment in time. Greedy in my need, I scour her features, memorizing dark lashes fanned against her cheek, the curl at her temple, the bow of her lips, and every delicate contour.
Her fingers span the center of my chest, curling around the top button of my shirt then pulling hard as she comes up. Those eyes sparkle in a deep, rich shade of green as she focuses on me. Another button opens as I put her leg down, letting our bodies touch.
Our mouths are together. Her thin blouse comes apart while I’m tasting her skin, pushing aside the lace of her bra. She uses my shirt to try to move me. I run my tongue under her nipple, pressing it against my teeth with enough force to distract her. The half whimper, half moan leads me straight to her waistband, shoving the material out of the way. The cute little shorts hit the floor and I follow, bringing her with me.
My knee hits the step, settling between her legs. She shifts forward, her thighs spreading wider to accommodate me. I barely have the sense to set my gun on the landing before I shove my jeans away. The thin strip of fabric at her pussy is little more than an inconvenience. My index finger is enough to pull it aside, letting my knuckle run along her wet channel. A whimper, a kiss, and I thrust, sending every inch of my aching cock deep inside her waiting pussy.
A wordless sound escapes her. She’s breathing hard, her lips parted to drag in precious oxygen. The pulse at her throat is running wild. I lean over her, fighting the urge to take that little piece of her then go after everything else.
“I don’t give away what’s mine,” I declare.
“Ever.”
She studies my face with unfocused eyes. I pull out, gathering every bit of my control.
“And you, Bunny, are mine.” I thrust in, claiming her in both words and action. She brings a leg up, hooking around my waist. I have to know, have to hear it from her lips. “Tell me you’re mine, Bunny,” I demand, grinding my hips into her.
“You’re mine,” she breathes against my ear.
“Bunny,” I growl against her temple. Damn woman. If I could stop, I would, but the need is overwhelming, and frankly I don’t want to. We come together again, hard. She groans, her breasts swaying, mesmerizing me with the stiffened nipples etching themselves into my chest.
“You’re mine,” she repeats, staring straight at me as she adjusts to meet my heavy strokes. “You’re mine. You’re mine,” she chants as the slap of flesh against flesh fills the narrow staircase.
She’s a fucking glorious sight. A goddess taking her due, celebrating life’s treasures. All I can do is hold her tight, giving her everything, my anger, frustration, annoyance, and every other emotion I can’t identify. They’re all there, urging me on, driving me to give her pleasure.
Bunny tenses, her expression changing, like she doesn’t quite get what’s happening...just like me. Her body arches, and her lips part as her fingers dig into my arms. In the next second, her grip tightens around my cock, her inner muscles rippling around me. She goes over the edge, her wild cry ringing in my ears. I can’t help but let go, exploding into her with the most powerful force I’ve ever experienced.
Seconds tick by. I’m done, limp, barely able to brace myself so I don’t crush her beneath me. I’m lost in the moment. Lost in her embrace.
The only thing I know for sure is I’m hers.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Bonnie
“Let me guess.” Mom settles her hip against the counter. “Tino’s home?”
I run my forearm against my forehead then peel the tortilla off the table. “What makes you say that?”
Saving Bonnie: A Dark Mafia Romance (Blood Ties Book 2) Page 15