Page 67 of Cruelest Contract (Storm’s Eye Ranch)

CECILIA

E verything happens at once and I’m reeling.

I’ve been wrenched back in time to the day when unimaginable horrors shattered my family. All I can hear is the sound of blood roaring in my head. The pulse of overpowering terror smothers all other senses. Voices are muffled and I can’t gulp enough oxygen.

“Cecilia, look at me.” Julian cups my face in his hand. “It’s okay, baby. Breathe. Just look at me and breathe.”

My husband peers into my eyes. Our babies roll inside my belly.

“That’s it,” Julian says with relief when I take a deep breath. He kisses my forehead.

Panic is not an option. I cannot give in and curl into a terrified ball. I’m going to be a mother and mothers need to be strong.

“Cici?” Gabe touches my arm and his face is tense with worry.

“I’m fine.” I swallow and breathe again as the underwater sensation fades and I’m back in the moment. “What happened?”

Julian steers me over to the wall, far away from the windows. Gabe follows. There’s an ominous reddish orange glow outside.

Elsewhere in the room, there are multiple things happening.

Sonny shouts that the shutters will need to be rolled down manually.

Fort hops up on the deep windowsill and reaches for a series of switches that release the shutter panels.

Tye and Getty are dragging Angelo away from the table.

Caleb, the youngest of the ranch staff, gapes in open-mouthed shock as events unfold at lightning speed.

Meanwhile, Julian’s father has removed a small painting of the mountains to expose a black keypad. He presses a few buttons and to my astonishment, the large bookcase along the wall creaks open, revealing a secret compartment containing a combination safe as tall and wide as three grown men.

Getty and Tye have Angelo pinned to the floor. My brother thrashes and his face is already bleeding.

“Get off, you fucking ogres!” Angelo howls. “I didn’t do this.”

“Tell it to Abe Lincoln,” Tye growls and twists Angelo’s arm until he yelps.

While Tye keeps Angelo restrained, Getty extracts a phone from the pocket of Angelo’s jacket and tosses it on the floor. Fort’s boot promptly crushes the screen.

Next, Getty looks around for Gabriel and snaps his fingers. “Yours too, asshole. Hand it over.”

“But I didn’t do anything!” Gabe sputters.

“Then you won’t mind cooperating,” Julian declares with ominous finality.

Gabe’s face scrunches into a pout. He looks to me for help.

“Do it,” I tell him. I know Gabe isn’t responsible for whatever is happening but this isn’t the time for a debate.

With a sigh, he pulls his phone out of his back pocket and hands it to Julian.

I’ve been told every window in the house is made of bullet proof glass but the Tempestas take no chances. Long sheets of protective metal have been rolled down to cover the dining room windows. And Cass now has the safe open, revealing an arsenal.

“Luna!” I cry. “If there’s a fire, what about all the animals?”

“We’ll get them,” Julian assures me. “It’s just the shed on fire right now.” He pulls me in for a hug but I can read the fury on his face. He believes the ranch is under attack. All these men do and they’re far more experienced on the topic than I am.

Cass and Sonny are swiftly hauling bullet proof vests and guns out of the safe. In my limited weapons vocabulary, there are big guns and small guns. These are all big guns.

Sonny murmurs a handful of words to Cass, who hesitates and then looks our way.

“The call is yours to make, Julian,” he says and all attention turns to my husband.

Julian’s arm is around me and I feel his body stiffen. Surprise flashes briefly on his face and is quickly replaced with determination. Julian has always been a natural leader and now his father is deferring to him, passing the torch in a way, letting him decide the battle plan.

“We’ll meet them head on,” Julian says. “If they’re coming like I think they are, then they’ll be stopped outside. Let’s gear up and head out. Tye and Getty, the two of you lock up the Grimaldi boys somewhere until this is all over. We’ll deal with them later.”

“What?” Gabe’s alarmed eyes veer to me. “Fuck that.”

Tye has already yanked Angelo to his feet. Blood drips from Angelo’s busted lip and he’s as dangerously wild-eyed as any cornered animal. However, Tye is extremely strong and Angelo can’t do much with his arms behind his back.

Next, Getty closes in on Gabriel with a menacing glare. “Are you gonna come along quietly or do I need to break something?”

Gabe tries to meet him glare for glare but his voice shakes when he says, “I can’t leave my sister.”

“We’re protecting Cecilia.” Getty cracks his knuckles. “And I don’t have the time for a fucking argument so this will be quick.”

“Cici,” my brother says and he’s practically whining.

The mood in the room is already deadly. If there’s the slightest chance Angelo has anything to do with what’s happening then there’s no way the Tempesta men will believe Gabriel isn’t also involved.

Maybe he is.

The idea is more than I can handle right now. Another thing I can’t handle is watching Gabriel instigate a brawl he’s sure to lose.

“Go with them,” I tell him. “I’ll be all right.”

His chin lifts and the flash of fury in his eyes is startling.

“Please, Gabriel,” I beg and then turn to Getty. “Just don’t hurt him.”

“I won’t,” Getty promises. “Not unless I have to.” The length of cord in his hands was torn from the thick drapes. He uses it to swiftly tie Gabe’s hands behind his back.

My twin throws me one last distressed look before being pushed out of the room. Tye drags a very irate Angelo out behind them and I feel some relief that a physical conflict between my brothers and the Tempestas has been subdued for now.

That relief is short lived when I see Julian is now strapping on a bulletproof vest while speaking quietly to Sonny, no doubt formulating a battle plan. I want to beg him not to go out there and I know that I can’t. In war terms, Julian is the general.

He looks up and sees that I’m watching. The look that passes over his face is sheer torment. He reaches for me and I rush into his arms, unable to control a small cry of despair. My cheek scrapes against the rough texture of his bullet proof vest and I choke back a sob.

Julian’s arms surround me and I never want him to let go. He rubs my hair. “No one is getting inside this house,” he says and kisses the top of my head. “Count on it.”

I nod my head, unable to speak. I thought I understood fear. But the prospect of losing him is something I absolutely cannot face.

“Dad?” Julian says. “Will you stay with her?”

All other conversations in the room grind to a halt. There’s no doubt what Julian is asking. Any other time, Cass would be leading the charge. Now Julian is asking the man he trusts and respects most in the world to stay behind and protect his wife and children.

“I’ll guard her with my life, son,” Cass replies. “You know I will.”

Julian tips my chin up, kisses me quickly and carefully lowers a bulletproof vest over my head. The vest is heavier than I thought it would be and the shape of my belly doesn’t allow it to be strapped tightly but I’m sure it’s better than nothing.

“Julian.” Fort tosses his brother a thick jacket. The other men are already all bundled up and heavily armed. In this weather, nobody will last long without proper winter gear.

“We’re ready, boss,” Sonny says from the doorway. “On our way out we can double check the main access points to make sure the steel doors are holding.”

It takes every ounce of my resolve not to fall into Julian’s chest and weep while imploring him not to go out there.

He kisses me once, so quickly that I don’t even have time to savor it. “I’ll see you soon, baby,” he whispers and briefly places his hand on my belly. “I promise.”

Cass edges close to me. “I’ll take her to the safe room,” he says, out of earshot of the others.

Julian nods. “Good.”

I didn’t even know there was a safe room. It doesn’t matter. Tye and Getty are back and I hear Tye reveal that my brothers are locked in the kitchen pantry. That’s really the best place for them right now.

The men, except for Cass, are all ready. They file out with no delay and Julian is the last to go. He gives me one final glance that’s probably meant to be encouraging but only makes my chest squeeze with fear.

He’s already gone when I finally gather the wits to rasp out the words, “I love you, Julian.”

How terrible that the first time I say those words he doesn’t even hear them. This is my fault. I’ve accused Julian of so much. I’m not entirely innocent either. I’ve held back, keeping my own feelings locked down rather than share them and risk rejection.

Cass Tempesta is staring at me. Even though there is so very much at stake right now with all four of his sons marching out to defend their home, sympathy still softens his eyes.

“I should have told him that sooner,” I say to Julian’s father.

He doesn’t disagree but he guides me into the hallway. “You’ll tell him later,” he says,

The voices of the other men are receding.

I don’t know which way they went but Cass keeps his oversized gun handy while tensely steering me all the way to his study.

The fire still crackles beneath Teresa’s portrait.

Louisa is sitting in Cass’s brown leather armchair.

Her posture tenses and she observes us with wide eyes like she’s wondering if we’ve lost our minds.

Cass shuts the door and makes a beeline for his huge desk.

He reaches underneath until he finds what he’s looking for and then points.

“In there,” he says as a section of wall separates.

Today I’m learning all kinds of secrets about the house I live in. There are hidden arsenals behind bookcases and now a concealed room built right into the wall of Cass’s study.