Dark Ties (Made Men 9)

Dante turned to look at his son, who reminded him the most of his dead wife.

“Amo heard a scream, so I went to go check on Nadia in her room.”

Swallowing hard, he knew exactly where this was going.

“But she wasn’t in her room.” Leo’s lips lifted in a smile. “Don’t worry; I covered for you, but you might want to tell Nadia that she screamed because she saw a spider.”

He stared back at his son, confused, but then nodded.

“You’re not going to go back up there, are you?” Leo asked knowingly, his smile disappearing.

Dante slowly shook his head this time, deciding to tell the truth.

Watching his son give him his back and walk away, he could feel the disappointment in Leo without a single word.

Dante didn’t know what bothered him more—the fact he had just disappointed his own son yet again, or the fact his son was disappointed he wasn’t going to give Nadia a chance.

Dante stared down at the shirt. The memory that had played in his mind hadn’t been the one he had wanted to remember.

Tossing the items back down, he no longer gave as much care as Nadia had when she had handled them.

But sometimes, you are reminded with what you must never forget.

Fourteen

A Better Chance with Poseidon

A strange smell entered Nadia’s dream. She woke up groggy, scrunching up her nose, to find the smell wasn’t in her dream at all. She sat up, and an ominous feeling overcame her, her instincts telling her something wasn’t right.

Quickly, she got out of bed, grabbed her robe, and wrapped it around her tightly before opening her door. The strange smell only became stronger as she did so. It smelled like …

Fuel?

She was now certain something was definitely wrong.

Adrenaline soaring through her, she hurriedly knocked on Leo’s then Amo’s doors, yelling, “Wake up!” loudly after she had tried to open their doors but found them locked.

She banged on the doors like their lives depended on it, her fist about to meet Amo’s door once more, only for it to miss when it was suddenly swung open.

“Jesus Christ!” A sleepy Amo finally appeared. “Is there a spider in your room or somet—”

“No! What?” Nadia was confused by the spider comment, but she didn’t have time to wonder where the fuck that had come from. “Something’s wrong. You smell that?” Her grave voice let him know the severity of her fears.

Amo simply sniffed the air once, and it was like the beast inside of him had awoken. Without a word, he went to Leo’s door.

“It’s locke—”

Using his arm to take the blow, he used his brute force to force it open before Nadia could even finish her word.

The sight of Amo frightened her. She had always seen him as a boy up until this moment, but now Nadia could see the soldier. It was like a beast had been locked away inside of him, waiting for its moment to break free.

Leo stood, shocked at the break-in. It was clear he had been throwing a shirt on, something that Amo hadn’t had the luxury of doing. But once he took in their appearances, Leo immediately understood the severity of the situation as well.

“Let me get my shoes.”

“No time,” Amo said, grabbing his arm and jerking him forward. None of them were going to be wearing shoes for whatever they were about to face.

Passing Nadia, Amo did the same—grabbing her arm firmly and giving a silent order that they were to stick together.

Quickly, they took the steps up, and once they were on the floor of the indoor living room, they heard a noise coming from outside on the deck, causing them to freeze in place. It was like the sound of a garage opening.

“What is that?” Nadia whispered with a hard swallow.

“I don’t know,” Amo answered with a worrying tone in his voice. For a second, it was like you could see the brave beast slip to reveal that he, too, was becoming afraid for them.

The soldier’s mind worked a mile per second, figuring out his next move, and then he suddenly decided. He brought Nadia’s and Leo’s hands together. “Wait here while I get Dante. I’ll be back with him in a second. If something happens, you two run for it, right off this boat and into the ocean.”

Nadia firmly nodded, as did Leo, all of them internally knowing they might have more of a fighting chance in the water than on the yacht. What was once a bright oasis to them all weekend was now beginning to feel more and more like a death trap. The eerie night making it feel like this might just be their burial site.

Certain they would listen to his order, Amo ran up the steps, and Nadia watched him until he disappeared.

It felt strange for her to take orders from Amo. She was much older; she should be the one to give orders and think about what they should do next, but something in her told her to trust the Caruso soldier. It came easy and felt safe to do so.