Page 47 of Cinder (MC Fables #2)
L ars
Checking out the possible Olicheckoff compound doesn’t take us long.
Bear and I set trail cams on the roads leading toward the property, which looks vacant, then watch for any sign of life.
A car arrives, but it isn’t Viktor who climbs out.
Bear shoots a round of photographs from a long lens camera.
“He’s Bratva, all right,” he says, clicking through the images. He zooms in on a distinctive tattoo on the man’s neck. A gothic script O.
Olicheckoff.
I look out the window at the gated estate. “Gotcha.”
Up ahead, I notice a bronze Cadillac pull into the street and drive slowly toward us. As it passes, I make eye contact with the driver. He’s fifty or sixty. Italian. I don’t recognize him. But the car looks like the one that pulled into the Blue Lagoon Motel the night I followed Ella home.
I open the van door to climb out, but the Cadillac speeds off as soon as it passes by.
Bear looks at me. “Friend of yours?”
“I don’t know who he is. But I’m sure I’ve seen him before.”
I check the side mirror, but the Caddie has gone.
It might be nothing. He could be a wealthy owner of one of the many estates in this area.
But my gut tells me otherwise.
“You want to catch up to him?” Bear asks.
Yeah, I do. But another check of the mirror tells me he’s long gone.
My phone vibrates with a message. It’s from Belle.
Meet Ella at the base of the staircase in an hour.
And don’t keep her waiting.
I smile. Any mention of Ella, and I can’t help it. My heart starts to beat faster.
“Let’s get out of here,” I say. “We’ve got a wedding to get to.”
Bear ignites the engine, and we head back to the clubhouse where we update Beast and show him the photos .
“Tomorrow we strike,” he says, handing the camera back to Bear. “But today we get Sticky and Dani married. Go have some fun. It might be the last we have for a while.”
In my room, I quickly shower and dress, then wait at the bottom of the grand staircase for Ella like Belle told me to.
Dressed in a black button-up shirt under my cut and black dress pants, I damn near wear tread marks across the cobblestones as I wait for her to appear at the top of the stairs.
Christ, why is my heart beating so fast?
I pace the floor and let out a rough exhale.
I don’t know what’s happening to me right now. But my pulse is pounding in my throat like a war drum, and a bright excitement and thrilling anticipation light up my insides like it’s the goddamn Fourth of July.
Where is she?
I’ve never been on a date before.
And this is definitely a date.
I run a hand across the nape of my neck.
Swipe my thumb across my lip.
Try to swallow around the lump of eagerness and expectation lodged in my throat.
I’m so lost in my thoughts, I don’t see her until she is at the top of the staircase.
I look up and my pacing comes to a sudden halt.
Goddamn .
She’s so damn beautiful, I don’t know what to say.
In seconds, I rapidly recall the last couple of weeks and how it’s been between us. The banter, the chemistry, the back and forth between us, the afternoons in my bed— I had plenty to say then.
But now?
Fuck, I don’t have any words.
My mouth open, I watch her descend the staircase, looking like a queen as the beautiful sleeveless gown trails behind her.
Her hair is pulled off her face into a messy bun, but strands of dark cinnamon curls fall down to her polished shoulders.
She stops on the bottom step so we are eye level.
“Say something,” she says nervously.
I swallow, hard.
I’m looking into the face of an angel, and I can’t form words.
God, she’s perfect.
“You’re the most beautiful thing in the world.”
She smiles, and I lift her into my arms and kiss her, and as my mouth moves over hers, my heart cracks open and years of darkness drain into my chest and slowly disappear.
Because of her.
Because of this.
Because of us.