Page 35

Blade

The explosions disoriented Bella so bad I had to carry out of the house. I could only hope they were the diversion Matteo was talking about and not Dante unleashing hell to stop us from leaving. And that the gate in the fence would be where he said. And that I’d find it.

All the while I was creeping through the dark house, looking for the bedroom Bella was in, warnings and dark thoughts were going through my head.

That this was some sort of trap, that Dante wanted me free so Hydra could chase me down and get some fun out of it, that I’d find Bella dead, or getting raped or getting something even more horrible done to her.

So when I finally managed to break open the lock on her door and saw her standing there in a wedding dress—an ugly old thing that she nevertheless looked amazing in—I couldn’t move or speak or even think.

But I knew then it wasn’t a trap. I knew seeing her like that was a sign that we’d finally get our happy ever after. And that we had this one last chance to make it happen.

She was a queen thinking of the servants’ stairs as a way out of the house and now I’m actually praying that Matteo really has a car waiting for us.

I find the gate. It’s overgrown by a thorny bush but unlocked. Explosions are still echoing in the yard behind us as I carry Bella through the gate to the road beyond. The dark and empty uphill road. I have no idea which way is home.

The guys who had their guns on us in the hallway can’t be far behind. But where’s our ride?

Bella’s coming round, asking what’s happening.

I’m just about to tell her we have to run some more, when a pair of headlights blink from the darkness.

I hold her tighter and run to them.

It’s an old pickup, either rust colored or just rusted.

“Get in,” Matteo snaps, opening the passenger door. “What’s wrong with her?”

“The explosions stunned her,” I say as I place her in the pickup as gently and as fast as I can. I climb in after her “That was you?”

“Yeah,” he says and guns it down the empty road away from the mansion before I even manage to fully slam the door shut.

“Where to?” he asks. “Where’s safe for you?”

“The clubhouse,” I say and give him the address.

“Nah, better go somewhere far,” he says. “Out of state if possible. The Hydra will be on you, and Dante will want her back bad. He’s got a huge deal riding on marrying her off.”

“The clubhouse is the safest place for us,” I say. “We’ll figure it out from there.”

He shrugs and accelerates some more. “Fine, whatever you want. But I did warn you.”

Bella stirs in my arms, brushing hair off her face as she looks at him for the first time since we got in this car. “Matteo?”

Her voice is packed with so many emotions it hurts my chest. Regret, sadness, fear even. But definitely love and happiness too.

“And I warned you to stay away too,” he barks at her, keeping her eyes fixed on the road ahead. “All you had to do was listen. But you’ve never been good at that.”

His words might be harsh, but his voice isn’t. And I’m pretty sure it’s hard for him not to look at her.

“I just wanted to come home,” she says in a quiet voice. “And I just wanted to see you.”

“And you almost threw away your life because of it,” he says. “Again.”

The silence that follows makes even the sound of the engine and rumbling of this junker feel removed. It’s fraught with years of things unsaid, bad things barely survived, and mean words that shouldn’t be spoken, but need to be heard.

In the distance, I can already see the walls around the clubhouse. We’ll be safe behind those walls. I can give Bella that. But peace and love from her family. I don’t think she’ll ever have that, no matter how much she craves it.

But I’ll make up for it. She’ll have all the love she can handle from me and the family we create, and more.

I punch in the secret code that only the execs have to open the gate once we reach it. Judge is rushing from the clubhouse towards the car, Skye, Rock, and Minx on his heels. They must’ve seen us coming.

Bella turns to her brother. “Come on, let’s go in. We’re safe here.”

“Yeah, man,” I say.

“No. Let me back out, I got a plane to catch,” Matteo says. “They’ll be coming after me hard. You don’t want to be anywhere near me.”

“What’s going on?” Judge asks. “What happened to you? And who’s he?”

I step out of the car to explain everything to my brothers and sisters, leaving Bella to speak to her brother alone.

They need a conversation, or ten. But given that he’s betrayed one of the more powerful mob families in these parts to save her, and he’s set on leaving, this one conversation might be all they get.

I hope she doesn’t realize that. But she’s a smart woman. She probably does.