Beautifully Brutal ( Cavalieri Della 1)

“I can’t stay alone. If he knew you were here, then—”

“I’m not leaving you alone anywhere. I’m sending Seth an encrypted message to meet us at a place your father won’t know about. Arthur is going to try his luck at finding us, and I have a feeling he’s not far behind.”

I’m dressed and ready by the time Lance has the room cleaned as if nobody had even set foot inside, as neat and tidy as it was before Lance checked in. He’s still limping, and I wonder just how we’re going to make it out of here without being spotted.

We leave the room and make our way down the fire escape to his bike.

“How on earth did you get to Sergio’s party if you had this parked out here?” I question, clearly confused since the house is far outside the main city.

“I was with Jezebel, and I figured I’d be driving home in Sergio’s car after killing him since your father wanted a keepsake from my mark.” Lance’s tone is nonchalant when he mentions this, and I wonder what keepsake he means, but I don’t dare ask.

“And you want me to get on that?”

The corner of his mouth quirks playfully, and he shrugs. “Either you get on willingly, or I'm going to tie you to it. I’m not leaving you again, baby girl,” he deadpans as he uses thick ropes to bind the bag of weapons and clothes to the back of the bike. Lifting the backseat, he hands me a helmet. It’s small, white, with a blood-red rose on it. “That was meant to be yours the moment I kissed you.”

He swings a leg over the machine with a groan of pain, which only has my fear spiking. “Can you ride with your injured leg?”

“Yeah, I’ve done it before. I promise, baby girl, you’re safe,” he reassures me, holding out a hand, which I accept. I’ve never been on a bike before. My father would kill me if he ever saw me on this thing, but right now, I’d rather trust the devil than the man who made me. Once my helmet is in place, Lance adorns a black helmet; his has the crimson Cavalieri insignia on the side.

The engine roars to life, vibrating between my legs, and I wrap my arms around Lance’s toned, muscled torso. For an older man, he’s built like a goddamn brick wall. And every time he tenses at my touch, I wonder if he’s thinking about the same thing I am.

He peels out of the lot, and we’re out on the open road seconds later, and I start relaxing against him, enjoying the speed of the machine he’s controlling. I don’t know where we’re going, but I know he will keep me safe.

Lance

The road ahead is quiet, but my focus has been on the road behind us. With Giuliana at my back, I need to protect her. And myself. And I know Sergio and Arthur are probably coming after us. I need to ensure it’s her life over mine. She needs to survive this. Even if I have to send her away and take the brunt of the punishment her father has planned.

As we head west, I open the engine, speeding down the highway to get us as far away from San Antonio as possible. I have contacts in El Paso where we can stop for some rest before we head farther toward California.

I’m not sure who’s still on Arthur’s payroll out there, but I have a house in the mountains, which should be secluded enough to hide out, and it should be safe enough for Giuliana to be able to stay while I find Sergio. I wanted to head to Victor’s property, but I have a feeling they’ll look there first.

I’ve never divulged my other properties to the man I call boss because I knew the day would come when he’d fuck me over. When I bought the property, it was after he’d sent Giuliana away. It was going to be the place I stayed in while I wallowed in self-pity at her being gone.

The only one who knows about it is Seth. For some reason, I always trusted him. Even though he’s much younger than I am, we’ve managed to get along. Working on jobs together has given us time to learn each other’s personalities.

When we reach the halfway mark, I pull into a gas station and kill the engine. I need to fill up the tank for us to continue onward. We may need to stop a couple more times, but the quicker we can put more distance between Sergio and us, the better. Helping Giuliana off the bike, I swing my leg over, wincing at the pain that shoots through my thigh, and turn to face her.

“Are you okay?” I ask her, hoping she doesn’t notice how the stiffness in my leg is making it difficult to move. I shouldn’t have gotten on the bike, but it was our only mode of transportation.

It’s true, I have ridden the damn thing while I was injured before, but never with a passenger.

“Yeah.” She nods, offering me a small smile that makes her face seem even more innocent than usual. Her beauty has always taken my breath away and right now is no different. “Think I’m just shaken up. This . . .” Her words taper into the silence that surrounds us.

“I know. It’s a lot, but we’ll be okay,

” I insist.

She heads into the store, and I fill up the tank with gas for the next leg of our trip. I pull out my cell, finding a message from Seth. He’ll meet us in LA, and I take a deep, relieved breath.

When Giuliana joins me again, we settle on the bike. Starting the engine, I rev it, causing the vibration to course through me. The moment we hit the road, I see it. There’s a car behind us, not wanting to overtake, merely following.

I don’t make it obvious to my girl, but my mind is whirling with a million thoughts. She’s wrapped around my body, and there’s nothing I can do to change direction now as the slew of traffic coming toward us from the opposite side of the road is nonstop.

All I can do is hope and pray the asshole behind us doesn’t shoot at her. Glancing at the speedometer, I smile when I think about opening the engine. There’s no way that SUV will be able to keep up with us. I shouldn’t do it — I could kill us both — but if Sergio catches up to us, there’ll be another war on our hands.

Twisting the handlebar, we speed up, the clock hitting the max speed as the cool air whips against us. Neither of us is dressed for the cold, but there’s nothing I can do now. There’s no other choice but to save us both.

Giuliana’s arms tighten around me, her body rigid, and I’m sure she’s figured out something is amiss. The bike flies down the highway, the cars becoming a blur as I weave in between traffic. The car behind us is still in view, and I know I need to lose him before shit hits the fan.