Sweet Collateral

She slides her hand over my mouth, a smirk dancing over lips as she pushes me back an inch. “What did he say?”

I groan and roll onto my back. “He’s flying down here tomorrow. Nicholai will probably attack in the next few days.”

She sits up, sweeping her hair away from her face. “Here? In days?”

“I’m sending you away.”

“What?”

“I’m sending you to the mansion with guards.”

In an instant, she’s straddling me. Her fingers grip my jaw, and I can see the panic in her eyes. She’s scared. “I don’t want to go to the mansion.”

“Avecita, I can’t have you near Nicholai. If this goes wrong…”

“What? What happens if this goes wrong, Rafael?”

I inhale a deep breath. “We all die.”

She closes her eyes, golden hair falling over her face. I stroke it back behind her ear, trailing my fingers over the soft skin of her cheek as I do. “You’ll never be safe as long as he lives. Your sister, her son—”

“I don’t care about them.”

“You don’t mean that. Even if you can’t bring yourself to feel for Una right now, you wouldn’t want anything to happen to her child. And I can’t let anything happen to the cartel.”

She grasps my face in both hands. “Let’s just run. You and me. We can leave this.”

“The cartel is my family. I’m their leader. I won’t leave them like this. I brought this danger down on them. They never should have been involved in any kind of fight with the Russians.”

“But you are—because of me.”

“No. We’re here because of decisions I made.” I grip her chin and pull her gaze to mine. “Decisions I do not regret for a second.”

“You should have left me there,” she whispers.

“If I could think rationally when it comes to you, maybe I would have. If there were even a choice, maybe I would have made a different one. But I can’t be rational when it comes to you. There’s never a choice.”

Her nails scratch over my jaw. “I can’t leave you. So don’t ask me to.”

“I won’t put you in danger.”

“We’re always in danger. It’s the life we live, but I’d rather die with you than live without you.”

“Anna…”

She cuts me off with a kiss, the kind of kiss that leaves a mark on my damn soul “You’re the only thing that has ever made this life feel like something worth living, Rafe.”

Fuck, she rips me apart, and she doesn’t even know it. I don’t want her away from me even though I know it’s selfish. She doesn’t want to go. I should force her, consequences be damned, but truthfully, if the situation were reversed, I wouldn’t leave her.

“Ride or die then?”

A small smile pulls at her lips. “Always.” She kisses me again. Her lips are soft and sweet, her teeth grazing my bottom lip. She’s so curious, so trusting, and yet completely unaware of how sexy she is.

I flip her onto her back and settle between her thighs. “It’s been a while since I had a taste of you, little warrior.” Her cheeks stain pink under the silvery moonlight, and I smirk. So innocent.

I drag her underwear down her legs, and she squirms against the mattress. “Rafe. You don’t—” Her breathy moan cuts off her words, and I groan at the taste of her. Fuck. I’ll never get enough of her—never need anyone else. She’s like crack, and I’m permanently craving my high.

This right here is everything worth fighting for. Ride or die.

51

Rafael

The next morning, I take Anna with me to the warehouse to finalize some extra weapons and men. As soon as we step back into the house that afternoon, Samuel is waiting, his expression stern. “Nero Verdi is here.” No sooner have the words left his mouth than Nero appears in the hallway, shadowed by two others. His eyes land on Anna and she stiffens, shifting closer to my side. She’s not scared of me and yet Verdi scares her. He does have an air of a ruthless bastard, and he is undoubtedly dangerous. When he looks at you it’s like he’s calculating all the ways he could end you.

“Anna,” he says, and she clutches my arm. “You look just like her.”

“So I’m told.”

His lips twitch, cracking the lethal veneer. “I’m glad to see you’re okay. Una is…protective of you.”

She snorts. “Right.” Her distaste for her sister is written all over her face. She turns to walk away, but I grab her arm, turning her to face me. I grip her chin, her face so delicate against my thick fingers. Then I press my lips to hers and she falls into the kiss, soft and sweet, knotting her fingers in the front of my shirt. When she pulls away, her face is beet red before she hurries away. This time I let her go.

Nero stares at Anna’s retreating back. His brows knitted together.