Page 67 of Sworn to Revenge
“Whoa, hold on there, love-fish. We have to do this as close to the shore as possible,” I tell him, pressing my hand to his face to stop him from getting any closer.
He chuckles. “Believe me, I’m not going to enjoy this either. But I do like the idea of teasing my brother about it later…”
“This is the first time I’m seeing your childish side,” I roll my eyes, not letting it slide. “Your hormonal wife wouldloveto hear how ‘joyful’ this was, so unless you want to make things worse, keep your mouth shut. It’s already uncomfortable enough.”
He flips me off, and I laugh. “You’re not so bad when you’re loosened up.”
He smirks, casting an unimpressed glance. “A five-hour drive with that creepy dragon magic and being followed by the Russians make your weirdness very normal.”
I laugh. “Maybe we should do this more often then.”
“In your dreams.”
A notification pings on Luca’s phone, drawing both our attention.Finally!
Luca picks up his phone, and a sly grin spreads across his face.
“Good news?” I ask, smiling, as if his good mood is contagious.
“Yeah. We don’t need to worry about them. But there are four men in the car. Are you sure the huntresses will just wait for you there?”
I nod. The Coral of Life needs these souls; the Guardian wouldn’t deceive me about that.
Luca loads his gun and signals for me to stay inside until he comes around. He steps out carefully, making sure the Russians don’t catch on, and swiftly moves to my door.
The sound of the door unlocking sends shivers down my spine, reminding me of where I’m headed next—a place I never thought I’d have to see again. I swallow hard.
“Ready?” he asks, not wasting any more time now that we’re out in the open.
I nod and jump out of the car onto the rocky path, where the ocean breeze hits me, trying to soothe my restless nerves.
“The second I give the word, you need to compel them. Got it?” he commands—the capo reemerges, sharp as ever at the first sign of danger.
“Let’s get it done,” I say, stepping forward, letting the ocean breeze lead the way. The calm before the storm—I should savor it as long as I can.
As we make our way through the rocks and bushes along the sandy trail, we hear them trailing us. Luca’s grip on his gun is so tight I half expect a bullet to slip out and cut the tension.
“They’re really bad at tailing, huh?” I whisper with a snort.
“We’re getting close,” Luca says, brushing off my remark and letting me know it’s almost my turn to act. I bite down hard on my lip, cursing as the taste of metal fills my mouth.
“You need to drink it, quickly,” I urge, standing on my tiptoes to get my lips closer to his. Once he drinks, he’ll be protected from both me and the huntresses.
“Now?” he asks, as if I’d just threatened to kick him where it hurts.
“Quick! Drink it,” I push again, hearing the footsteps drawing closer.
He sighs and leans down to my lips, sucking on my lower lip hard and swallowing the blood that seeps into his mouth. I flinch as a burning sensation sears through both my lips and arm.
“That’s disgusting,” he grumbles, pulling back and clearly fighting to keep his stomach from revolting.
“As long as I get you back alive, you can curse to the end of time for all I care,” I try to sound like the responsible adult here, though I’m struggling to keep my own stomach content in place.
“What a fucking waste of time—trailing you all the way out here thinking we’d learn about your so-called ‘secret weapon,’ only to find you just came out here to screw around.” One of the Russians steps into view, chuckling in frustration.
“Alex, how nice of you to join us,” Luca says, slipping back into his cold, detached mask—this time, I’m grateful for it. Someone needs to manage this mess.
“The big, mighty capo even knows my name... too bad those will be your last words,” he grins, believing he’s already won. “Take them, leave the girl alive.” He commands, and three more men emerge from behind a large rock—just as Luca said, four of them in total.
