This— having Austin in my arms and feeling safe with her, feeling as if we could build a life without worry—is almost too perfect to leave . I allow myself to dream, to pretend that I can have it all and not be a Colletto, adopted or not. When dawn strikes our faces, I volunteer to get some breakfast. It will be nice to leave the room for a little while and check on things. The moment I step out and into the main area, I receive a standing ovation.
“Wow. That has to be a record of some kind,” Nate says.
“It was one night.” I smile, rubbing my grin away so I don’t look too impressed with myself.
Antony walks up to me with my phone in his hand. “Here you go, Dace. The whole proposal was caught on video. It’s beautiful. I cried, the boys cried, and I even think Leandra teared up. But don’t ask her; she gets real defensive and mean about it. Fonseca said to let him know when the wedding is. He would like to send a gift.”
“Alright, so tell me, who is this Fonseca? How did you all get mixed up with him?”
“Thiago Fonseca, Nidia’s biggest competitor and the one Austin decided to screw with until he agreed to help us rescue you.” I turn and look at him with every muscle in my body tensing. “Hey, she’s your woman. You should know she isn’t about to go about things easily. She broke into his house, put a virus into his security system, and then dared him to meet her at this bar to discuss her taking Nidia down. I thought it was crazy, but it worked out.”
“It might have, but she could have been killed. How? Why …? What were you thinking letting her do that?” I swear under my breath, and Antony seems shocked by my reaction.
“Really, Dace? You did just propose to the woman, so I am assuming you know her, and you want to ask me why I let her do something? Because she’s fucking crazy and scary as hell if she doesn’t get her way. No one was going to stop her from getting to you.” I smile wide, feeling extremely loved at the moment. “Yeah… it must be nice to be that loved.”
“Yeah, it does, actually.” I beam, adding flowers and anything else I can find to adorn my beautiful girl with for her breakfast in bed.
“Uh-huh, so when will we be going home so I can get a chance to feel that kind of love again?” Antony asks, shaking me out of my daydream. “We can’t stay here forever. Even if Fonseca does say we can stay as long as we like for eliminating Nidia, we still have to get back to our lives. We still have a dickhead brother to repay for killing you and Austin and attempting to kill me multiple times. And I know damn well he is going to go after Preston.”
“He has no reason to go after Preston. You are no longer a threat to him. He thinks you’re off drinking yourself into a deep depression and probably developing a serious liver disease by now, Antony.”
“If I don’t get home and experience a little of what you had last night or a little of that pride you felt when you found out Austin fought like hell for you, then I actually will be drinking myself into a drunken depression.”
“I am getting it figured out, Antony.”
“Get it figured out quicker, Dace. I am tired of this bullshit. What the hell could you possibly be waiting on anyway?”
“I can’t say yet, but if you just give me a little more time then, I promise, everything will work out perfectly.”
“More time? Again with give me a little more time? It’s been more than a year, nearly two now. How much more time could you possibly need? Tell me, Dace. Do you need a week, two, a month … what?”
“I don’t know yet, but it won’t be much longer I promise,” I say up close and personal. “I know it’s tough on you right now, but trust me. Everything will work out the way we all want.”
“You mean the way you want, because what I want … well he’s moved on with his life by now I’m sure. But don’t you worry because everything you want will always be waiting right by your side. Congratulations, brother. You have everything you have ever wanted, and you don’t have that Colletto name weighing you down anymore either,” he spouts off before walking away in a huff.
“Antony. Antony!” I yell after him. Damn it. He is going to be a problem if I don’t get some answers soon. I shake it off knowing once I get the information I am expecting, he will be fine. We will be out of here in a couple of days, and then, I will get back in touch with my contact to see if we are ready to return. First, I am going to see to my girl and make sure her body is engrossed in love and respect. The moment I walk into the room, she looks up at me as if she is waiting for me to say the right thing to her. I am not exactly sure of the right words after what we did last night, so instead, I bring her a tray of food and flowers and set it aside while I cradle her face to kiss her. “Good morning. How are you this morning?”
“Exhausted, gloriously exhausted,” she laughs, letting her hands wander over my body more freely than I expected her to.
“Really? Okay, well how about we take a break for a little while and rejuvenate ourselves?” She sighs but agrees with a wink. “That’s my girl. Besides, we have this great room with a beautiful view without anyone bothering us. All the guys are out enjoying the pool and the rest of the grounds. We got satellite TV even.”
“You mean they can’t hear us in here?”
I flip through the channels on the television, trying to avoid eye contact. “No, I don’t think so. They didn’t say anything about hearing us just that we were in here for a long while without coming out to take a breather.”
“Oh, that’s good. I was afraid they might have been listening to us all night.”
“Nah, they have better things to do. I think they are busy cleaning out the wine cellar right now. Those bastards are too drunk to give a crap about what we are doing. Trust me, they are on vacation right now. Even Le is celebrating. Someone said they saw her smile.”
“What? A full smile?” I nod, laughing. “Wow. That’s actually kind of scary.”
“No doubt. So you better eat up and get your full strength back before her head starts spinning in circles and she starts speaking in tongues.”
“What about Antony?” She always knows the right questions to ask. “Yeah, I’m worried about him too.”
Austin and I have spent some amazing days together this past week. If not for the rowdy assholes outside of our bedroom door, it would feel like a honeymoon. No matter, I am still enjoying myself. On my way to find some coffee, I run into some of the crew looking suspiciously guilty.
“What’s going on with you guys?” They shake their heads and look everywhere but at me. “Somebody better start talking before I get real angry.”
Nate stands up with his hands out like he is already trying to apologize for something. “You see, he was very convincing, and then we didn’t think anything of it when he said he was only going out to get some air. He has seemed a little down and all, so we were just going to let him go and then follow up with him later … he did say he would be at the bar.”
“What are you telling me?” I ask, already feeling as if I need to run out the door after my brother.
“Antony took off last night, and it looks as if he flew back to the States … at least according to the letter he left behind.” He holds out a piece of paper to me with my name on it.
“Why the hell didn’t someone tell me before now? I don’t care if I was asleep. Wake me the fuck up!” I scream at them.
“We would have, but we didn’t know until a little while ago and then we weren’t sure how to tell you, and you’re not exactly friendly in the morning.”
“I don’t give a fuck how friendly I am! When it comes to my brother, you are supposed to let me know immediately!”
“Dace? Calm down. What’s wrong?” Austin asks, walking out of our room, covered up with one of my shirts. She seeks out my tense arm and rubs her way to my chest to try and calm me down.
“Antony took off in the middle of the night and no one thought to wake me up and let me know.”
“What good would that have done? The man wanted to go, and clearly didn’t want anyone t
o know until it was too late. What did it matter if we woke you up six hours after he left or ten? The man is still too far gone for you to stop him.” Morgan explains with a roll of his eyes.
“I don’t care what you think. Your obligation is to me and to let me know as soon as anything is wrong.” Dace steps towards Morgan like a crazed man. She quickly steps in between and pushes me backwards. “Austin, back off.”
“No, you’re being ridiculous. Antony is a grown man, and you have known for a long while that he wanted to go back. Yet, you continued to ignore what he needed and, for some reason, thought or hoped he would just forget all that he left behind and be happy to live in a cave for the rest of his life. Kind of like you have done with me.”
“He’s going to get into trouble going at this by himself.” She nods in agreement. “He needs to get his ass back here now and … don’t shake your head at me, Austin. I wish people would just …”
“Just what?! Do what you want all the time?” She has the nerve to say to me.
I tense and growl before taking notice of the crowd forming around us. “Do you people have nothing better to do?”
“Not really, no,” they all say in unison.
“Ergghhh!” I take Austin’s hand and walk her away from everyone. Austin knows me well. It’s usually best to say your peace then shut up, give me time to process, and not beat me over the head with it over and over and give me a reason to fight you. When I finally find a private place, I sigh, and slowly look up into her eyes. “Alright, let’s pack and do this. Don’t smile yet …” I growl at her. “Antony is forcing us to go at this a little differently than I had hoped. Hopefully he doesn’t get too deep in before we can put our plan into place.”
“The plan is going to work. I don’t know why you have been so nervous about going forward with it.”
“Not nervous, just appreciating the peaceful time I have with the people I love. Unfortunately, they don’t like to be boxed up and put up for safe keeping,” I admit.
A sweet kiss to my lips, and I smile, realizing how much I do love her. “No, we are free people, Dace, that like to make up our own minds. Lucky for you, we love you, despite the boxes you keep trying to put us in.”
“I am considering wrapping you up in a padded room until I can get everything taken care of.”
“Oh Baby, you know you can’t do this without me. Besides, don’t you miss your bike?” I guess I haven’t stopped talking about my bike since I left it behind. We know Michael still has it, sitting in his trophy room like a prize for killing me—his brother. Leaning in with a kiss, Austin reminds me, “And you will ride it again, out of the house and right over his dead body, just like you have been promising to do.” I picture every word she says in my head, something I have dreamed about a thousand times since we left. Only now I am allowing myself to pursue the dream.
Chapter 10
Michael
The massive window in my new office is perfect to oversee my kingdom. I imagine the possibilities as I lean back in my chair. The beauty of it all is stimulating, arousing even. The sudden request to speak with me interrupts my dreaming with, hopefully, good news.
I wait as Rowen walks in, looking bored as always. This man has no idea how to have fun anymore. If not for killing and torturing, I am pretty sure he would never crack a smile. My new work keeps anyone from bothering me much anymore. The need for him is almost unnecessary. I have to really try hard to find him entertainment these days. I don’t know why he can’t find a hobby like I have. My new basement dungeon keeps me entertained day and night— physically, mentally and most definitely sexually.
“Mr. Colletto, we believe we have located your brother in Argentina. We have evidence that he is living a modest life in Puerto Deseado. Would you like for him to have an unfortunate accident there? I have a few ideas,” Rowen remarks with his usual, hopeful upward cock of his brow.
“Ah, little brother. You are an interesting survivor. I assumed he would have drunk himself into an alley and would have been stabbed to death by now. I guess the fuck has a little more backbone than I thought. I always thought Dace was the one holding him together.” Swiveling my chair into my favorite power position, I form a much more entertaining plan. “Actually, let’s get my dear Antony here. I would hate to miss my little brother’s tragic death. It’s been long enough now since Dace’s and my …”—sighing deeply, I act a deep painful sorrow for my overly bored friend—“my lovely wife’s own tragic deaths.” Rowen laughs as I smile. “You said he was in contact with someone here. Who is it?”
“His name is Preston Singler. We tapped his phone when we discovered the two had been involved before he left town. There are some exchanges of messages online but nothing informative. In fact, recent messages seem to indicate that Mr. Singler wants nothing to do with Antony anymore. Although, I did discover they had plans to marry before your father’s death. They seemed to have been very close, much closer than previous lovers of your brother’s. Most of them still refer to him as the ‘jackass who left me before morning’.”
“Before morning! Haha! If I didn’t hate him, I would be proud. But the new one is causing a lover’s quarrel? Hmmm… how did you discover this Mr. Singler?”
“I had our man, Davis, do some research and then follow Singler. He actually has been hitting on him, asking him to dinner and such to try and get more information,” Rowen says, relaxing in a chair as if I want him to stick around me anymore than necessary.
“I admire his dedication to the job, but I have a feeling my dumbass little brother figured you out.”
“How do you know?”
“Because, moron, the last date Davis scored was with a blow-up doll he found in the garage of some guy he killed. That motherfucker is disgusting. I don’t even want to imagine his pick-up skills, especially on a man.”
“You don’t know. He may be good at it. He said he cleaned up and put on his good suit.”
“He has a suit? What man did he kill to get that?” Rowen sits quietly, seeming to consider what I am saying. Damn! I work with a bunch of idiots. “Not to mention, my charming, cute, young brother, I am sure, is able to sway Singler back to him. In fact, if Antony is still maintaining contact with this man and still hasn’t made it to a back alley somewhere, I would be willing to bet that Singler is causing him to keep it together. Antony should have fallen apart by now without Dace. Singler is keeping him together. If we get rid of him, Antony will have nothing left to hold onto. Set Mr. Singler up, give him a night he won’t forget.”
“Done,” Rowen agrees with instant excitement.
“And, Rowen, make sure Mr. Singler is never able to fuck my brother ever again or will ever want to fuck anyone else again. That kind of night should be encouraging news to my dear Antony. I suspect it will get him here in no time to be at his lover’s side.”
“He’ll want to kill you for sure.” Rowen smiles.
“Oh, I am sure. Instead, we can make use of him to help my political numbers. I read an article about this guy who has a crippled child. His numbers are soaring. I could use something like that, only mute and unable to annoy me.” Rowen nods, walking out as I mumble under my breath. Damn I hate that little fuck. My mother’s mistakes finally being cleaned up completely.
My new, young, pretty intern walks in with an eager smile. “Mr. Colletto, is there anything else you need before I go home?”
“Kailyn?” She nods. “It’s late. What are you still doing here?”
“Oh, I wanted to finish up some work before I go, and I didn’t want to leave before you did,” she says, trying to hide her attraction to me.
“I like dedication. You must really need that letter of reference.” I write one letter for one intern that impresses me the most, and that letter gets that intern a full scholarship. This girl, I know for a fact, has no money and will not be able to complete college without a full scholarship. I selected her personally. She’s sweet and innocent as any young girl could be. I nod towards my g
uard at the door, and he shuts my office door, locking it behind him
“Mr. Colletto, if I could get that letter, I would forever be indebted to you.” She bounces, showing her healthy breasts.
“Forever? Forever is a long time, but I’ll take it.” Walking towards the trembling excitement, I take hold of her and bend her over my desk, taking a moment to appreciate her struggle before ripping her clothes off. Her screams are ignored and only encourage my drive. Once I’m done, I give her some money and demand her to be back early tomorrow. I have a morning meeting and need to work out some aggression beforehand.
“I can’t come back here,” she cries, covering her naked breasts as if I haven’t seen them already.
“You will be back here tomorrow, and you will put on that sweet smile of yours, and you will stay late and suck my dick until you drink my cum.” Taking hold of her face, I force her to look at me. “Kailyn, don’t you understand? I own you. If you step out of line for even a second, I will kill your father, your mother, and your sister. You will never find them again, and I will make sure you disappear on a ship, to be sold off at auction to the highest bidder. Or, you can be my little whore and get that special letter you need to go to school and become all that your parents had hoped you to be. Hell, if you pay close enough attention, maybe I can teach you how to please a future husband properly.”
“You’re a monster, and I will tell everyone what you did to me,” she cries.
Laughing I jerk her up and press her bare skin against the glass for the whole world to see. “Find someone out there who will ever believe a word you say. Go ahead. Look out there and see if you can see someone, anyone, who would believe that a whore like you would be believed over the much loved governor of this great state. Oh, and Kailyn, I should also mention that I will release a video of you on the internet for everyone to see, sell, and manipulate forever. Spinning her around, I pull up on my computer the videos of her in her room, in her shower, and her pleasuring herself late at night by herself. “I can only imagine how many people would believe a woman selling herself on the internet for a few dollars.”