Page 70 of King of Violence

“Make some noise. I want to hear your pretty voice.” I pinch one of his nipples.

Felix’s moans fill my apartment, and soon they become yells of pleasure. My name falls easily from his mouth.

I string my arm around his waist and flip us over.

“Julian, don’t hurt yourself!” Felix gasps.

“I’m not waiting any longer.” I pump into him, loving the way he feels against my skin. “Say my name, little captive,” I whisper in his ear.

“Julian,” Felix moans.

“Again.”

“Julian, please.”

“Don’t stop.”

“Julian. Julian. Julian!”

I come inside him, long and hard, Felix follows a few moments later, making a mess of my couch. But I couldn’t care less. He’s mine. He’s safe. He’s here.

“Don’t ever leave me,” I say against his mouth.

“Never.”

FELIX

The mountain air is sharper than I expected, cold enough to bite but clean in a way that makes me feel lighter with every breath. Snow blankets the cabin’s surroundings, muffling the world until all that’s left is the crunch of boots on the frozen ground and the faint rustling of trees swaying in the wind. For the first time in what feels like years, there’s peace. No threats, no plans, no looming shadows. Just us.

Julian and I arrived here a week ago, courtesy of his father. A rare olive branch—or maybe just a calculated reward for the work we pulled off. Pinning the bulk of the Greco family’s crimes on the Vitales wasn’t easy, but it was damn effective.

Through weeks of careful planning, we fed my research into an anonymous tip to the authorities. The Vitales became the focus of a sweeping investigation, and while the cops uncovered the Greco family’s fingerprints on some of the evidence, they unearthed something bigger: a sprawling drug operation the Vitales were running under everyone’s noses. The scale of it was enough to keep the cops busy, effectively shielding the Grecos from scrutiny.

Julian’s father was impressed—grudgingly, of course—but impressed all the same. He declared the job “clean,” and fromhim, that was high praise. As a gesture of his satisfaction—and likely to get us out of sight while things cooled down—he sent us to this fancy mountain lodge to lay low.

The cabin is far more luxurious than anything I imagined. Polished wood beams stretch across the ceiling, and floor-to-ceiling windows frame a view of the mountains that could be straight out of a postcard. There’s a massive stone fireplace, plush leather couches, and a kitchen stocked with more food than two people could eat in a month. It’s the kind of place where people go to forget the world.

And that’s exactly what we’re doing.

It’s late now, the stars brighter here than I’ve ever seen them. Julian and I sit on the porch, wrapped in thick blankets and sipping cocoa from oversized mugs. The air is so still that I can hear the crackle of the fire inside even from out here. Julian’s shoulder presses against mine, warm and steady.

“Are you okay?” he says cautiously, his eyebrows creased with worry.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? I got a free vacation.” I wrap my arm around him.

“No, I mean...with what we did. I never wanted to drag you into all of this.” The words come rushing out like a river breaking through a dam. “Especially after what happened to your father. I’m so sorry I tainted your world. I’m so sorry?—”

I press my lips against his, silencing him. “Julian, I love you. I would do it again ten times over.” I lean my forehead against his. “You didn’t taint me, you revived me. I was so empty and angry. You gave me joy…and love. I can commit a few crimes for love, Greco.”

Julian smiles and presses his face into my neck.

“I got an email today,” Julian says, his voice muffled by my skin.

“From who? It better not be from my mom. It’s enough that you guys call each other and you send her flowers every week. You don’t need to be pen pals, too.”

His shoulders shake from his warm chuckle before he sits up. “No, no.” He hesitates, then turns to face me fully, a small, almost nervous smile tugging at his lips. “A coach. From Cooper University.”

I blink. “TheCooper University? The one with the top football program in the country?”

---