LANE BROTHERS: 5 Books Billionaire Mafia Romance Bundle, page 52
It’s almost laughable when I see the shadow slide into the room on near silent feet and aim his gun straight at the pillow that would have been cradling my wife’s head.
He pulls the trigger without a blink before repeating the process on the other side. The silencer is nothing but a hiss in the still air, and I take those precious few seconds to throttle down the rage his actions have wrought and stalk him slowly.
I was just going to hurt him a little before calling the cops and giving them one of their own back, but after knowing that he came here specifically for Cupcake, all bets are off.
When he moves over to the bed and lifts the sheet back I make my move, grabbing him in a choke hold as my knife slides against his carotid artery.
“Who sent you to kill my wife?”
He jerks and tries to break free, his movements quick and more experienced than one would expect form such a heavy-footed asshole, but I know what I’m doing and it would take a fucking miracle for this piece of shit to break free of me.
“Fuck you.”
The pressure I put on his windpipe has him strangling and choking for air and I hold it a few seconds longer than I should, tempted to just end him and start going after the others I know are lurking outside.
“I said, who sent you?”
This voice, this icy shadow, is the persona I have to adopt when on a mission. I’m grateful for it because I’m so angry right now that without it I could get myself killed.
“Fu—”
“I’d answer him if I were you, fuck stick. He’s a straight-up killer, and if you don’t tell him, he’ll just off you now and go ask someone else,” I hear Jace snarl as my brothers come out of the tunnel and stand at my back.
The asshole struggles some more before finally stilling and slumping in defeat.
“She did.”
I know before I ask the next question who she is, but I want him to say it.
“Who?”
“Cleo.”
What I do to him is a mercy and I drop his corpse to the floor with no regret whatsoever.
“Ronny.”
“I know, bro. Bronx has her and Case is on his way. Let’s go hunting, shall we?” Miah growls and I smile rabidly, almost relieved that it wasn’t Lynn this time.
Paulie is going to have a fit when she hears about this, and I’m pretty damn sure that Cleo will be lucky to have me holding Paulie back when my baby’s temper explodes.
We all split off and melt out of the cottage and into the shadows, Miah and Wyatt breaking off together, while I feel Jace at my back, as always, my partner in crime.
The first shots echo through the night just before I hear the first screams, and I share a look with Jace before we both break into a dead run.
“No way, man. Miah and Wyatt are not winning this one.”
“Truer words, brother. Let’s catch up.”
It takes no less than twenty minutes or so to disarm and, in some instances, kill some of the scum lurking on the estate. By the time the security has done its last checks, I’m so pumped up and running on adrenaline that I hesitate to go anywhere near the house and my woman.
“Yo, come take a look at this piece of shit,” Miah growls and I walk over to see a dark-haired kid in his early twenties crying like a baby as Miah stands over him.
“Don’t kill me, mister, I’m begging you. My pa made me do this. I don’t even know how to shoot a gun,” he cries, shaking so violently that Miah snarls and puts a hand to his shoulder to keep him from sagging to the ground.
The kid is full of shit, I can see it from a mile away, and I shake my head when Wyatt joins us and groans at the poor performance.
“Give it up, you idiot. We can smell your lies. What the hell was your mission?”
He keeps going for the Oscar when Miah loses his patience and hits him upside the head with enough force to send him sprawling to the dirt.
“We said cut the fucking shit, kid.”
That mask drops and I feel my blood turn to ice when a look of pure hatred covers the kid’s face.
This is why we do this job, I think, looking into the kid’s hate-filled eyes and knowing that if he’d managed to get to the house, he wouldn’t have hesitated in his mission.
“You idiots think this will end everything?” he sneers and I see Miah stiffen. “This is just the beginning. We’re going to wipe your family and her off the grid, and then we’re going to take over the world. It’s time for a new order and—”
“Oh shut the hell up, you little pissant. We don’t give a shit about your rah-rah speech or how you feel. I asked you a question, kid, and if you’re man enough to try and come into the home where my family sleeps, you can answer the Goddamned question. Now. Who. Sent. You,” Wyatt grits through his teeth, looking so menacing that even I pitty the kid when he rears back and starts shaking for real this time.
“Cleo. Cleo.”
“Good. Now what was your mission?”
“Please don’t hurt me.”
“Answer the question,” he snaps and I’m pretty sure the kid just pissed his pants when the ammonia stench of urine fills the air.
“The chick and the baby. We were supposed to off Hayes’s daughter and snatch the baby,” he sobs and I see Wyatt go stone cold before Miah steps between them and pushes Wyatt back.
“Go to your family, Wyatt. We got this.”
I see the struggle in him and I can’t say I blame him. I’m pissed about Paulie being a target, but I can’t imagine Wyatt’s rage right now at the idea of one of these animals putting hands on his kid.
Wyatt gives the kid a last, lethal look before turning and jogging to the house.
“Christ. This is such fucking bullshit,” Jace snarls and I second that with a nod when Case runs up, followed by Bronx and an openly crying Ronny.
“Please tell me this big idiot isn’t telling the truth,” she pleads as Bronx pulls her into his chest and tries to soothe her.
“It’s true, Ron. Cleo’s back and with Lynn on the lamb…”
Her shoulders sag and I wince when she practically crawls up Bronx as if she’s trying to get all the way inside the man.
“Shh, love, you know your man won’t let nobody touch you. We’re all gonna stay right here for the meanwhile and hunker down while we figure out a plan. Ain’t we?” he snarls, giving me a deadly glare.
“Sure, ah, we should go inside and get her to Paulie.”
Huh. For all Ronny’s bravado and snide comments, I really pity the woman because she’s not just terrified of Cleo, she’s hysterical with fear.
Whatever they’ve done to this woman, whatever she’s suffered, I make myself the promise that I’ll welcome her into the family and at least try to help her live a life free of the fear I can smell coming off her.
Bronx, the big ape, just croons softly to her and starts walking to the house as I leave Case, Miah, and Jace to clean up what’s left.
I need to see my baby now that I’m calmer, and I need to tell her how proud I am of her that she didn’t let the fear overtake her this time. She really came through in the end. I couldn’t ask for a better mate than Paulie Lane.
***
Paulette
The first thing I register when I open my eyes is an insistent pounding in my head that’s making me nauseous and dizzy, it’s so intense. And then I feel the cool drag of a washcloth over my forehead and the feather-light caress of Jared’s finger over my cheek.
“Hey, Cupcake,” he croons softly, smiling at me so sweetly, I almost feel better, or at least well enough to lift my lips for a kiss.
I try anyway and fall back down with a groan when my cranium explodes and little black dots swim in front of my eyes again.
“Whoa there, baby, just take it easy. You took a header, Ma says. Let me check you out. Do you feel like you have a concussion?”
His concern is sweet and all, but it’s rankling my nerves because I want to be the one offering comfort after what he’s been through, not the recipient because my stupid brain blinked off again and I face-planted in the carpet.
“No. I’m okay. It’s just a residual headache is all. I’m used to them. I just need some Tylenol and I’ll be good to go,” I mumble morosely, managing a smile when I swipe at my head and come away with something that…my giggle hurts when I see a Sponge Bob band aid dangling off my finger.
God I love that kid.
“Cupcake-”
“I’m okay Sugar.”
His finger pulls my chin up and I’m forced to meet his soft eyes when he looks at me askance.
“Cupcake?”
I look away, but he pulls my head back around and forces me to meet his eyes.
“What the hell is wrong, Paulette?” he asks and I know he’s getting annoyed because he only ever calls me that when he’s angry with me.
“Just one time I want to be the strong one, you know. I mean what is this shit! I’m always going all—”
“Hush, Paulette. I do not want to hear you put yourself down. Not ever, baby. You got a huge scare when I woke you the way I did, and I am so sorry for that. I was just so afraid you’d alert them that we were awake if I did it any other way. As for the rest…you realize I made you run through a pitch-black, spider-infested tunnel for almost a mile? And then you still had to deal with Miah’s ornery ass. I think you held up much better than you give yourself credit for. And besides, Ma says you only passed out when you heard the gunshots and that you moaned my name the whole time. Josh swears you looked just like Sleeping Beauty, and you know that if he says it, it must be true.”
Aaaw.
“I was so scared I was going to wake up and you’d be gone. Who were…no, that’s a stupid question,” I say, pulling myself up with a wince that has Jared growling in distress. “What did they want?”
I know part of it is about me, because, to be honest, I was sort of expecting something like this, just not this soon.
Jerry seems to have grown a nice pair of balls, and the thought makes me want to laugh at the absurdity of it all.
“Baby, I want you to take a deep breath and take your pills before we talk about this,” he says quietly and I throw him a dirty look to let him know how little I appreciate his coddling right now.
I take the pills with a sigh and realize belatedly that I’m in my bed and we’re alone.
“Where is everyone?”
“They all went to bed again. Ronny’s here, incidentally, along with Bronx.”
I giggle at his grimace and want to clap in glee. I send up a prayer right then and there that Ronny and the big, mean-looking soldier end up together because he seems gaga for her and Lord knows the girl needs more than her fair share of love after the life she’s had.
“Jared.”
He scowls and runs a hand through his hair before sighing and just spilling it all.
“They came for you, Cupcake. The guy I caught in the cottage shot for your side of the bed first and then mine. His mission was you and you, alone, and I…I took care of him for that,” he admits gruffly, turning his face away as if ashamed.
I pull him back and stroke his cheeks with all the love I feel, smiling at him through the shock that’s hitting me.
“You did what you had to do and don’t ever think I could turn away from you for protecting me, Sugar. I’m just glad to have you back instead of a body.”
That declaration gets me a kiss and he pulls away moments later and takes my hands in his.
“It was her.”
“What? You mean Lynn? Nuh-uh, baby, Lynn may be kooky beans, but the woman has no gripe with me,” I assure him, shaking my head in disagreement.
He clears his throat and looks back with a sigh.
“Not Lynn. We have her covered, remember? It was Cleo.”
I swear I feel every drop of blood that drains from my head as the words settle in and my bottom drops out from under me. This is all wrong, for so many reasons, and my first instinct is to find a hiding place and settle in for the long haul.
No one but Ronny will understand this fear, because only she has ever been on the receiving end of it, but the emotions are almost overwhelming in their intensity as I struggle to reel myself back in and stop another attack from assaulting me so soon after the last one.
“Baby, don’t be afraid. I will never let that viper or any of her people get near you. Please believe that. Believe in me.”
I do. I know that Jared would take on an army for me and die to protect me before they ever breathed near me. My fear isn’t for me, though, and I know it. It’s for him and the family if they should try to keep Cleo away from me.
“I guess Jerry was right after all,” I whisper.
“Jerry was not right. Killing just for the sake of killing is wrong, baby. Even Miah knows that and he’s the coldest bastard on the face of the earth. He spared Lynn, too.”
“Yeah and look where all this humanity got us. Lynn, if she gets to her people, will destroy anything in her path to get to us, and Cleo is just plain evil.”
“True. But it’s our humanity that separates us from people like them, and I, for one, love that sweet, soft center you have,” he purrs, pushing me back onto the bed and coming up over me with a growl of need. “I’d really like to explore that soft center again if you’re feeling up to it.”
My heart starts beating again, this time with the hottest throb of joy and arousal and I bite my lips, looking up at him seductively.
“It’s not me who has to be up, buster,” I purr, pulling his mouth down to mine with a giggle.
Jared chuckles and gives me a deep kiss that only whets my desire.
“Love you, Cupcake.”
“Love you, too, Sugar Bear. Now make love to me, would you? It’s been hours.”
Epilogue
Melissa
If I have to stay in this fucking cabin another day, I think I’ll go stark-raving mad and that’s just the clam part of me talking here. I haven’t slept properly since Roman left me, and I can’t eat without my food upchucking at all hours of the day.
I’m pregnant. And right now my nerves are so high that I’m terrified the stress will make me miscarry. I want to leave and go looking for him.
I need to be with him to know that my asshole of a father is holding up his end of the bargain and looking out for my guy. And yet here I am, pacing like a caged animal because I can’t bring myself to break the promise I made to him.
If it were just me, if all I had to worry about is me surviving a beating or a bullet if that evil nest of scum-sucking dick bags finds me, I would be okay. I’d live.
But I have a kid to think about now—a child that is my only connection to the man I love.
When this all started and I first met him, you could see the sparks flying every time we clashed. Roman and I are those people who love to hate each other, and hate to love each other, and yet we work somehow—something I still denied to him the last time I saw his smarmy face.
I was so pissed at him for daring to leave me and put himself in even more danger that I refused to tell him I loved him as he kissed me and plead with me to understand.
I regret that now with every breath in my body, because I know that if he dies, he’ll do so thinking I don’t care.
I know the past two days I’ve spent crying is likely due to hormones, so I’m trying to cut myself some slack, but I swear to God I cannot stay in this shithole another day without knowing at least something.
If I could just ascertain that he’s still alive, I would back here and wait another week before needing to see him again.
I need to know. I need to.
I can’t keep my promise and I feel a wave of relief course through me as I run to the bedroom, grab my things, and head for the old station wagon parked in the shed out back.
I hit the highway at around nine fifteen, if my watch is still right, and I make it to the street behind my dad’s house a good hour later, smiling at the irony of it all.
If those assholes just knew that I am hiding right under their noses, I bet they’d shit their pants. With a furtive glance, I open my door and creep through old Mrs. Tally’s back yard, making for the break in the fence that will lead to Dad’s house.
The chief and I aren’t exactly the Partridge family or anything, but I love the old coot enough not to have disowned him the moment I realized what he was into with Cleo and Lynn, those whores, but I am still miffed at him for continuing on with this shit when I know that he never wanted in on this in the first place.
My poor pops is a fool, and I thank God I inherited my mama’s good sense, but he’s not evil and I know it’s killing him that he’s involved with terrorists. That’s why he agreed to help Roman in the first place, and I love him for it even more.
If Roman can just prove what he has to, Pops will be free of this mess and I can finally have my man and my dad together, creating the family I want.
I shake off those thoughts and bend to retrieve the spare key beneath the little frog statue that Pops bought for me the year I turned thirteen and decided that all things frog related were cool as shit.
I still love the little suckers, and Roman laughs at every fog T-shirt I own, even the one that claims that frogs can do it doggie style.
I push the key into the lock and hope to God that Dad is home at this time of night and not at the station still.
I can’t stay too long, that would be risky, but I do need to talk to him.
The kitchen is a mess now that I’m not here to look after the slob, and I wrinkle my nose at the smell permeating the house.
Everything is filthy and out of order, and I fully expect to see his office looking like a hurricane hit it when I turn the corner, only to stop dead in my tracks.
There’s blood everywhere, and I recognize it as the source of the smell permeating the air. I stand still and can almost feel myself falling to my knees when the truth hits me. I just know that my pops is gone, and someone, some asshole who deserves death, took him away from me and his unborn grandkid.
My heart hurts so much when I finally manage a breath that I only realize I’m puking all over the place when I slump over and just barely avoid taking a header into my own vomit.
