Page 43 of Blood & Loyalties
“Val, I’m okay. There was no other option.” As I moved closer to my brother, I could see from the vein in his neck his heart was beating so fast it could pop out of his chest. “Val, look at me. I’m okay.” I moved to stand toe-to-toe with him, sensing Jag not too far behind me from the body heat radiating off him.
“You are not to be involved with this. Mom isn’t, so you aren’t.” He shook his head, his temper receding. If he wasn’t careful, he would have tears soon.
“I’m not involved in anything. You know that. We didn’t know this would happen.”
Once Val wrapped his beefy arm around my neck and pulled me to his body, I followed suit and wrapped mine around him. He was scared. Poor guy.
“When I heard you were here, I was scared to death. You can’t do that shit to me.” He kissed the side of my forehead.
I looked up and smiled. “I’m fine. See, perfect.” I stepped back and motioned to my body.
Jag walked up behind me, putting his arms around my waist. My brother growled but didn’t say anything.
A flurry of bodies came in and out quickly, so fast I wasn’t sure which end was up. I stayed close to Scraper and Hulk as some guy came in and checked them over. Then he put something under their noses that woke them up almost immediately.
“Catarina!” Scraper bellowed in a raspy voice as soon as his eyes opened.
I rushed to his side so he could see my face. His eyes were tormented, and confusion swirled in the depths of them.
“I’m right here. I’m fine. Everything’s gonna be fine.” I brushed his hair away from his eyes as he blinked repeatedly.
A doctor-type man started asking him a shit ton of questions then gave the green light that he would be okay, same with Hulk. I sighed in relief and sagged to the floor, the pressure of the night weighing on me.
What a fucking night.
After showering,I crawled into bed alone since Jag had said he had business to do. Kiera had already fussed all over me, and both Mom and Dad had called me twice. I was beyond exhausted. The adrenaline from before had completely dissipated, but I still felt no remorse for what I had done. It made me certain I would do it all over again in an instant.
I thought back through the night to before all hell had broken loose. Jag was the epitome of romantic. To say he had knocked my fucking socks off was a total understatement. As much as I hated to admit it, I was falling. Hard. I took that back. I had already fallen, and he was leaving soon.
I curled in a ball and let my heart ache before drifting off to sleep.
Chapter Nine
UGH.I POUNDED my fist into Damian’s face, but it didn’t make my anger subside. I punched again and again. I kicked. Blood coated my hands, but I didn’t fucking care. Over and over, I punched the fucker finding zero release.
He could have killed Catarina. Flashes of nearly losing her kept rolling around in my head with each kick and hit I made, my anger not subsiding.
“All right, man, he’s passed out cold,” Matteo said, grabbing my arm.
Part of me wanted to swing at his ass for touching me. However, I pulled back, seething. Not at Matteo, but at Damian for possibly hurting Catarina.
“Do it,” I called, and then two shots went into the skulls of Damian and his guards.
“Clean it up, Dan. Brett, get the plane ready; we leave at dawn. My uncle’s getting an early wake up call.”
While I walked to the makeshift sink in the dingy warehouse and scrubbed my hands of the blood, my thoughts raced to Catarina. I didn’t want to fucking leave her, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to clean up this mess that Zan started or it would only escalate and that was not an option.
The drive back to her house was quiet. Brett, somehow sensing my mood, didn’t attempt to lighten it.
Walking into Catarina’s bedroom, she was burrowed under the covers, her dark hair floating across the pillow. She looked like an angel. Her flawless skin and curves carved to perfection just for me.
I stripped off my clothes and tossed them in my bag. Taking a quick shower, I climbed into bed and pulled her body to mine, feeling every curve adhere to mine. A perfect fit. She moaned then turned into me, entwining our legs together, and it felt so damn right. My damn heart thudded in my chest as I pulled her tighter to me, not wanting anything between us.
I lay for hours, just watching her sleep, memorizing the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. I memorized her scent. I counted her heartbeats and imprinted the thumping into my head. I engraved each flicker of her eyes and smirk of her lips as she dreamed in my head.
Like a fucking sledgehammer hitting me, I knew I had to come back. In such a short time, this woman had embedded herself inside me, building a place in my heart that I knew I’d be empty without. I’d never needed a woman, but her I needed.
I pulled her back to my front, my cock hard as a brick as I positioned myself below her ass. I lifted her leg then slid slowly into her hot opening, her body already wet and ready even in sleep.
