Ruthless Games

LILY

When I wakeup in the morning, my body is sore… in the best possible way.

Rolling over in bed, I stretch with my arms above my head and let out a huge, satisfied yawn. I can hear Nero is in the shower nearby, and I revel in the moment alone to process everything that happened last night.

Oh my god.

I want to laugh in delight. I never knew sex could be like that. So intense. So mind-blowingly hot. The trust that’s building between Nero and me is translating to the most incredible orgasms of my life. If someone has asked me a month ago if I would have surrendered to him like that, I would have laughed and called them crazy. But now not only did I do it willingly, but it’s the most incredible feeling in the world.

I sit up in bed, reaching for the room service menu. We worked up an appetite, and I’m going to need my fuel if we’re going to do that again.

And I definitely want a repeat performance.

I’m trying to decide between eggs and pancakes when my phone rings on the nightstand.

“Hello?” I answer, still distracted.

“Hi, is this Lily?”

It’s a male voice, youngish. I pause, waking up properly. “Who is this?” I demand.

“My name’s Dustin. I’m Teddy’s roommate.”

My stomach drops. I can’t think of a single reason that my brother’s roommate would call unless it’s bad news. Panic grips me in the space of five seconds.

“Is something wrong? Where’s Teddy?”

“Well, that’s the thing.” He replies, sounding reluctant. “I don’t really know. I was hoping that maybe you’d heard from him recently?”

“You don’t know? What’s that mean?”

My voice is getting higher with each frantic question. I leap out of the bed, heart pounding with panic.

“It’s probably nothing, just… I haven’t seen him since Thursday. I figured it was a late night thing, but I just came back to the room and his bed hasn’t been slept in again.”

Thursday. It’s Saturday morning now. Which means… “He’s been gone for two days?!”

“Listen, I have to get to practice,” Dustin sounds hurried. “It’s probably nothing. Just tell him to give me a buzz if you hear from him. K?”

He hangs up, leaving me standing naked in the middle of a hotel room, panic blaring through my system.

Teddy is gone. Something terrible has happened.

Worst-case scenarios flash through my mind. The Kovak gang. Rogue Barretti men. Feds. Or just the random violence that happens in this country every day.

My baby brother.

I immediately call his cellphone, but the phone just goes straight to voicemail.

“If you’re getting this message, I’m out being awesome. Catch you later!”

“Teddy? It’s Lily. Call me the minute you get this.”

I lower the phone, reeling. I need to do something, but what? I cross to my suitcase, and start pulling on clothes. My mind is consumed with fear. Teddy is my reason for everything. I’ve been fighting for his safety more than even my own. He’s the last hope for my family, really. He’s untouched by all this mafia drama and darkness. Even after we ran into Witness Protection, he was shielded from the worst of it, young enough to start over like nothing had happened.

He has a chance for a normal, happy life. And I want that for him more than anything.

I need him to be okay.