Page 30 of Desolation

After taking my seat, I proceed to tell them about the dinner from several nights ago. The more I say, the angrier Gio gets. At one point Anthony stands and starts making phone calls and talking so quietly I can’t hear what he’s saying.

Gio asks a few questions for clarification when I’m finished, and from what I can gather, Aiden is one of his closest friends. Or so he thought. So this is much much worse than I even thought it was. I mean, I knew it was bad whatever it was, but one of his closest friends? That’s a betrayal of the worst kind. In this life it gets you killed.

Anthony comes back to the desk and sits down. “I have people on him. He won’t be able to take a piss without us knowing how much and what color it is,” he says. Wincing when he sees the look on my face.

Gross. But I get what he’s saying. And it’s a necessity.

“Elodie, you don’t understand the value of the news you just gave us. And If it’s what I’m thinking it is, you are about to save a lot of lives,” Gio says solemnly. “It sounds like they are trying to go into business together trafficking people. Which is something we have always been against. No matter how much money it makes I will never be responsible for selling people.”

Shuddering, I lean back in the chair in shock. I mean, they told me Dominic was into buying people but I didn’t realize it was on this large of a scale.

“Thank you Elodie,” Anthony says. “I know that Drake already talked to you about not leaving without any of us, but I’m going to tell you again. Especially after the information you just sharedwith us. Dominic may not know if you told us or not, and he may not suspect that you would. In fact, I’m sure he thinks you’re too stupid to have ever told us anything because that’s just the kind of person he is and how much he disrespects all women. But you just became enemy number one to him. He will try his hardest to get you back or kill you. We can keep you safe if you stay in this building. So please, while you have the freedom to go, please don’t. Don’t put us all through losing you again.”

Gio clears his throat and says, “Drake was a mess, Elodie. We can’t lose you again or he may really do something stupid next time. We try to keep him out of all this, and I realize at times there will be overlap, but he will throw himself into the middle of it next time. We can’t have that. And I know you don’t want anything to happen to him. I don’t care if they take one of us, stay here.”

The seriousness on both their faces makes me feel worse than I already did for leaving before, but I had to save Reba and I was the only one who could do it. I don’t have to worry about that this time. So I nod.

They both let out a breath. Anthony stands and helps me to my feet, “Now we have to ask you to go away so we can do illegal things without other ears.”

Am I ever going to get used to this? Probably not, but I’ve never felt safer than I do in the home of these criminals, so I’ll do my best.

Thinking about what Gwen said, I make my way back to my suite. I’m going to jump in with both feet. I’m tired of being scared to do anything. Giving Drake a real chance is the first step in that. Resolved, I make it to my suite and open the door to the next part of my life called “What Elodie Wants”.

CHAPTER 25

DRAKE

Lighting the last candle, I look around at El’s bathroom. There are candles on almost every available surface. Anthony called up here a short time ago to tell me they were almost finished with El and that we needed to stay out of the way for a bit. That means that whatever she told them was indeed very bad news.

Reba went to her suite and Evan and Gwen left a short time ago too. Gwen pulled me to the side to tell me what Elodie looked like yet again, but also that I needed to make sure Elodie knew whatmy feelings were. She said Elodie is struggling to come to terms with how I feel, and her own feelings too.

So I’m going to spend tonight making sure she knows.

I hear the suite door open. El calls my name. “In here!” I yell.

She steps into the bathroom and her eyes get wide.

“What is all this?” she asks, warily.

“Just a little welcome home gift. I know how much you love this tub so I figured I’d create the spa experience you didn’t get to have today,” I say. Holding out my hand to her I pulled her into the room all the way.

She looks up at me, biting her lip. I missed her so much. I can’t help myself. I pull her into my body and just hold her close. She’s stiff at first, like she isn’t really sure what’s going on, but finally relaxes.

Tipping her head up, she looks me in the eyes, searching for something. I just look back at her, pouring out my love, my despair, the hurt when I realized she was gone, the terror I felt when we couldn’t find her, and the anger when we found out what had been done to her.

She swallows and then very slowly leans up on her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my lips. She tastes like honey. So sweet. I have waited so long for this and I don’t want to scare her but I growl and lift her up, wrapping her legs around my waist. Walking to the bathroom counter I sit her down on it, keeping her legs around my waist.

This is heaven, it’s everything I have been wanting and waiting for. But I don’t want to push too fast so I try to let her lead as much as I can. Releasing her lips, I tilt her head to the side and pepperkisses down her neck and along her collar bone. She shivers and moans my name. Tilting her head back, I look into her eyes.

They are blown out. Well, at least she is into this as much as I am.

“Don’t think I don’t want to do this, because I definitely do, but I have a plan, and I don’t want the first time we do things to be on the counter in your bathroom,” I say with a groan.

She laughs and it’s husky with desire and my dick gets even harder than it already is.

Her eyes move down to where it’s straining against my jeans. Her eyebrows shoot up. Oh she thinks she’s surprised now, wait till she sees the piercings.

“So what’s the plan you had?” she asks.

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