Page 139 of His Enforcer

Not today.

I promised.

He moves to the side of the RV, peering through the sun-battered window, and then slides toward the door. He puts his back against the side, reaches out, and tugs the door open, taking a deep breath and peering inside.

“Do not go in there,” I hiss, but he ignores me and does what he’s told not to. But then again, this is his job. This is what he’s good at. With swift and agile movements, he steps inside, my agitation at an all-time high. My stomach is churning, my vision clouding as I follow behind him. But after a few seconds, when nothing bad happens, I realize that perhaps I’m being a little too overprotective.

I stand in that empty RV and realize I’m panicking for nothing.

It’s just that I’ve finally found something…someone. Someone who makes me happy, who I crave, who I want to spend decades exploring. I don’t want to lose him.

Not yet.

Viktor, oblivious to the way my mind is reeling, steps past me, looking smug, as I grumble that he needs to listen to me.

“I’m fine, Luca. This is my job. Let me do it.”

I stop him with a fist to the collar of his shirt and pull him toward me. My lips descend on his and I kiss him thoroughly.

He needs to know.

He needs to fucking know.

Our lips part, and he stares into my eyes. “I know, baby.”

It’s a whisper, an understanding, and then the sound of an explosion rocks the shell of the RV, the cabinets flying open, plates tumbling out and onto the counters.

My heart rate spikes as Viktor pushes past me and out the door, gun drawn, his long legs carrying him away. I follow and come to an abrupt stop when I see the flames bursting from the top of the shack, the rickety roof looking like some kind of bonfire.

“What the fuck! What happened?” Viktor shouts, and Rafe and Quincy approach, gasping, their faces bleeding, soot lining their skin and clothes.

“We—Jax said he saw someone!”

“Where the fuck is he?” Viktor shouts.

“He’s inside. I told him not to go!” Quincy shouts, and before I can stop him, before I can keep him against me, keep him safe, Viktor bolts forward, straight toward the entrance. And with a single blink, he disappears.

Into the flames, into the fire.

He’s gone.

Swallowed up, the flames licking across the entrance he just ran through.

I stare at it, that dark, hellish space. The black smoke billows out, choking me. I claw at my shirt, the heat oppressive, peeling my skinfrom my bones. Everything collides at that moment. The past and present. I can’t breathe, can’t think. He’s gone. Everything’s gone.

He’s not coming back.

He’s gone.

My knees hit the gravel and pain pulses up my limbs. My hands are numb, my face too, and my throat is closing. I can feel them. The spiders, crawling across my skin, biting me, eating me alive. Someone is touching my back, shouting at me, but I can’t even inhale enough to respond. I can’t think, my mind is gone. I’m just that little boy again. Stuck in that cabinet, trying not to die.

Suddenly, the roof collapses, the sound loud enough to drag my swollen eyes up to that burning door. As I stare at it, gulping down painful breaths, I see Jax stumble through, coughing loudly.

But not Viktor.

He’s not here.

He’s gone.

---