Page 74 of Caesar DeLuca
I trust in him as he helps me slide down into position. My arms band around the column and I ease myself down the erect pillar enough that I’m able to do as Caesar says. I let go and crash down to the ground.
There’s no time for taking breathers.
Caesar pulls me to my feet and breaks out into a sprint.
We get as far as possible from my burning, crumbling home. We’re drenched in sweat, panting for air, marred by streaks of smoke and ash, but we’re alive.
We’ve made it.
26
CAESAR
The first order of business when we escape the fire is to disappear. We land in the wet grass, stumbling onto our feet. I scoop up Ariana’s hand and pull her in my direction. We set off across the grassy landscape. The burning wreckage crumbles behind us.
Ariana’s home. The place she’d worked hard for and found peace in.
I’m driven by survival instincts but also, I’m pissed beyond words. I’m angry that this has happened and Alfredo’s taken one more thing from her—her sanctuary. Tonight he almost killed her.
All because he couldn’t have her. She wanted nothing to do with him anymore.
We run ’til we’ve reached the trees. We’re both coughing up a lung after so much smoke inhalation. A few seconds is all it takes to do you in.
Ariana staggers over to rest against the trunk of a tree.
I’m wheezing still, though I’ve diverted my attention to our surroundings. My hands rest at my waist as I draw deep, fresher breaths and peer around. Alfredo and his men are nowhere in sight.
It seems they did drive off once they handcuffed us inside.
But I’m not comfortable operating under that assumption just yet.
I fish my phone out of my pocket and place a call. Vasco thankfully answers after a couple rings.
“Boss, what’s the update?”
“I’m good,” I answer cryptically. “Escaped Carisi’s latest attempt at offing me. You got the guys in the area as instructed?”
“They’re waiting on the word.”
“I’m giving it. Cut off the roads out of Kittatinny. Going and coming. I want there to be no chance of escape,” I say, clutching my phone. I’m pacing back and forth, peering around for the slightest sign something’s up. “Then call 911 and anonymously report the fire. Make sure you send another car down to the house twenty miles north of the lake. There’s no way you’ll miss it—it’s the only one like this out here. If that’s somehow still not enough… just follow the plumes of smoke.”
Vasco hangs up after promising he’ll make my instructions come true.
I turn around to check on Ariana. She hasn’t moved from where she’s leaning against the tree. One look at her, and I can tell it’s more than physical exhaustion weighing her down. It’s the toil Carisi has had on her as well.
She’s tired. Beyond exhausted from having to deal with the son of a bitch.
I move toward her, racking my brain for how to make the situation better. Help might be on the way, but Ariana’s upset now. More of a practical man, I’m at a loss for how to heal these invisible wounds.
But I do my best to give her what she needs.
“My guys are on their way to get us.” My hand slides along the side of her neck, then runs across her shoulder and down her arms. I repeat this motion several times over, adding my other hand on her right side. Soon it’s a repeated motion that serves to comfort and warm her up in the night’s cold. She peers up at me, eyes glossed with tears, as if she’s a blink away from letting them fall. “Ariana, I promise you I’m going to get the bastard. I’m going to make him pay.”
“It’s not that. I’m just…” She lets out half of a cry. The sound’s in between anguish and joy, causing more confusion. “I’m so happy to see you again, Caesar. I’m… always so happy to see you…”
I rub her arms with my palms some more. “It seems we can’t stay away from each other, can we?”
She shakes her head with a tearful laugh. “No, we sure can’t.”
