Sizzle (24 page)

She asks so desperately and I can’t deny her. I thrust my hips up as I bring her down on my cock. Our ragged breathing fills the room as we both chase fulfillment. Her nails dig into my shoulders and my fingers into her ass. She’ll leave scratches, I’ll leave bruises. She cries out and clenches her heels into me while I slam into her. The pulsing waves shatter through me and where I end, she begins. Our bodies, wet with sweat, mold to each other.

We remain locked together and slowly I realize our hearts are in sync. It’s an incredible feeling and one I never expected. I’m so high on her and understand what an addict must feel. It’s most likely a poor analogy, but I can’t describe this moment any other way. “Tell me something about yourself that no one knows,” I whisper.

She hesitates. Have I crossed a line? She’s needed me. Hell, I’ve needed her more, but I can’t tell her that. Her leaving will be hard enough. I refuse to make it harder on her.

“I wanted to be a singer when I was a little girl,” she finally answers.

God, I love the sound of her voice. She would make an amazing singer. “Why didn’t you?”

She lifts her head and her lips quirk in the sweetest smile. “I’m completely tone deaf.”

I love her.

There are so many reasons. She makes me smile and laugh. I’ve lived with the horrible images for so long that before her, I accepted them as the evil that lives inside of me. Is Celina my redemption? If so, how the hell do I let her go?

Celina

I FIND MY MOTHER
in the theater room having popcorn and watching a movie with Kiley. My niece is snuggled up against her. My mom picks up popcorn and holds it over Kiley’s hand until the little fingers uncurl. Such a small thing, but Kiley is responding.

They’re watching an animated movie that I remember from when I was young. I walk in and sit beside Kiley and share some popcorn. She scoots closer to my mother and another small piece of my heart breaks. She makes headway with everyone but me and I have no clue why. It sounds ridiculous, but is there something in her that senses I never wanted children? That’s completely untrue now. I watch the movie and ignore my guilt. Alex is making phone calls. My mom smiles at me over the top of Kiley’s head and I see tears in her eyes. For her, Kiley is a small piece of heaven. This will work out and I need patience more than anything.

The movie ends thirty minutes later and Kiley has fallen asleep. “She’s precious,” my mother says quietly. Her full head of red curls is in disarray and she seems so peaceful in sleep. Somehow I will break through her reserve.

“She is precious,” I agree. My stomach rumbles. “I need something more substantial than popcorn. Where is Gabriella?” It’s not that I’m spoiled by Gabriella, though I am, but there is no way in hell I will enter her kitchen and feed myself. Just because we have a truce it doesn’t mean I’m not scared to death of her.

“Gabriella had errands to run and said she would be back within two hours. She should be home any moment. She’s an amazing woman. She’s taken care of Catch since he was a baby.”

It’s an odd name and even odder to hear him called anything other than Moon. I hear a noise at the door and check over my shoulder. Alex stands there dressed to kill in one of his amazing suits that he’s so comfortable in. It makes him look the gentleman even when what we did earlier is the exact opposite. Just thinking about it sends heat to my cheeks. My voice is breathy when I talk. “Could you carry Kiley to your spare bedroom?” Can he read my thoughts? His eyes flash and I think he can. I hope my mother isn’t as perceptive.

My mother intercedes. “She can lie down with me in the room upstairs if you don’t mind carrying her up there, Alex. I need a nap as much as she does.”

Alex strides over and lifts Kiley. He covertly pinches my hip and I’m sure it’s because I’m blushing. It’s stupid to feel this uncomfortable. My mom’s the one who told me about the birds and the bees. I’ll be sleeping in his bed tonight and one way or another, my mom will figure out that Alex and I have that kind of relationship. I guess it wouldn’t bother me as much if I’d known him longer. I’ll die if my mom gets nosey. I really suck at lying, but she can never know what I did to keep Kiley safe.

Alex gives me an inquisitive look. I return it with a tight smile. Why are life’s lessons so hard? Alex walks in front of us as we exit the room. I’ve taken maybe three steps past the door when my mom gasps. I peer around her and Alex because they’ve stopped walking.

A strange woman is standing at the end of the hall and holding a handgun to Gabriella’s head. She has a large handful of Gabriella’s hair. Gabriella doesn’t look afraid, she appears furious. Even with the tight grip the woman has on Gabriella’s hair, it doesn’t stop her from struggling. The woman hits Gabriella on the side of the head with the butt of the gun. Gabriella grunts. Her mouth is bleeding, so it’s obvious this isn’t the first strike she’s taken. Her legs become unsteady and the woman jerks her tightly against her side.

The strange woman must be in her sixties. She looks horrible. She has black hair with a strip of gray at the roots. Her hair is oily and stringy. Her face is bright red and her dark eyes have a crazy gleam in them.

Gabriella yells something in Spanish. I only make out the word, “Puta.”

“Shut up, bitch. I’d like nothing more than to put a hole in your head.” She never takes her eyes from Alex. Oh, God, he has Kiley against his chest with her head on his shoulder. “Gabriella was nice enough to inform me that Moon and his wife are out of town, but she failed to mention the party. Oh, Alex, you’re the last person I ever thought I’d see with a baby in his arms. A hooker, yes, you’ve done enough of those.” She waves the gun around before bringing it back to Gabriella. “Does the young woman behind you know how many women you’ve fucked or how many men you’ve killed?”

My mother gasps again and brings her hand to her throat.

“Put the gun down, Danita. Your game is up.” Alex sounds disinterested, but I’m not fooled. Alex turns partially. I move my mother back and inch up behind Alex. A noise to the side makes us all turn toward it. Two men with guns drawn come from the front living area. “Jose, Cal, lower your guns and back off,” Alex tells them firmly.

I’m relieved that they’re on Alex’s side. Alex hands Kiley off to me.

“Don’t move,” the woman yells and points the gun at Alex.

It has no effect on him. He steps in front of me and Kiley. My hand lands on my mother’s arm and I all but push her into the room behind us. I’m shocked when the gun in the woman’s hand explodes. Alex grunts and goes to his knees. The two men aim their guns again, but the woman pulls Gabriella so she’s in front of her. “Back off,” Alex yells at the two men. He places his hand against the wall and stands. Blood is pooling on the floor at his feet.

Everything happens so fast after that. Gabriella throws her head back and connects with the woman’s face. Gabriella then drops to the floor. Alex rushes the woman and she fires again. Alex bends forward and takes her at the waist. Another gun explodes from behind me.

I drop to my knees and spill Kiley to the floor, throwing my body over hers. The air smells like sulfur and my ears are ringing. Alex and the woman are down, and Gabriella is struggling to stand up. The men are standing over them a second later. One helps Gabriella to stand. Kiley is making noises beneath me and I think she’s okay. My mom is crying and down beside me.

“I’m okay, Mom.” I run my gaze over my niece. “Kiley’s okay too.”

My mom stands as I scramble to my knees. I lift Kiley to my mom while keeping an eye out on what’s happening at the end of the hallway. One of the men kicks the woman’s gun away and takes out his cell phone. The other man is over Alex. He shrugs out of his jacket, wads it up, and pushes it against Alex’s chest. Alex isn’t moving. Gabriella stops yelling in Spanish. It feels as if I’m hearing everything through a tunnel, but I understand what the man is saying.

“Get the doctor here STAT. Two down, one alive.”

My gaze jerks to the woman. Her eyes are open and lifeless. Gabriella walks over to me as I stand and use the wall for support. “I will take care of your mother, Señorita. Attend your man.”

Gabriella is crying. I look between her and my mom, whose expression is panicked. She has a struggling Kiley in a death grip. “Mom, go with Gabriella. Alex needs me.” Some of the shock leaves my mom’s face and she nods. I don’t watch the women leave because my focus is on Alex.

I sink to my knees beside him. “Hold this here and use as much pressure as you can. We need to get him into the other room where we have supplies,” the man who removed his jacket says. I press down on Alex’s chest as told.

Another man enters the house. “We’re clear. The house is secure.” He looks at Alex and the woman. “Danita must have snuck into the car with Gabriella. Dr. Santos is on his way. He said to call an ambulance if we can’t wait for him.”

The man beside me speaks again. “We’re moving him to the other room.” He looks at me. “You got this.” My hands are next to his and all I can do is nod as he takes his away. There’s so much blood and it’s soaking through the material at an alarming rate. “What about his leg?” I ask.

“Shit,” he mutters. Another jacket is handed over. He applies pressure to Alex’s leg while the other two men carry him. I focus on Alex while they talk about the house’s security.

I can’t press hard against Alex’s wound while we’re in transit, and there’s so much blood that the jacket is a sopping mess. We pass through the kitchen to a small hallway that has two doors. One is open and looks to be a laundry room. One of the men opens the other door. There’s a steel table large enough to hold Alex. They lift him to the table and one of them immediately begins opening cabinets and removing supplies. He hangs an IV bag from a hook on the wall and begins prepping Alex for the IV.

“Here,” another man says and removes the jacket from Alex’s chest and replaces it with a thick towel. I press down again. A blood pressure cuff is wrapped around Alex’s other arm and an oxygen mask is placed over his face. These men know what they’re doing, but it does little to comfort me.

“After I have a vein, we’ll look at the wounds. Jason, cut his clothes off.”

They remind me of a surgical team. The room reminds me of an emergency room. This is Alex’s world. People get shot. People die. Kiley and my mom could have died. All of this runs through my mind as I apply pressure. Alex’s lips are blue. He’s unresponsive and I think he might be dead. Not yet. He can’t die.
No, Alex, don’t leave me
, I repeat in my head. I’m gasping for air and crying when one of the men asks me to move aside. I can’t do anything but stand frozen.

“I need to check the wound. His pulse is weak,” he explains. If Alex has a pulse, he’s alive and that becomes my new litany. I move back and let the men take over.

“I’m Cal,” the man who inserted the IV tells me. “I was a Navy Corpsman.” Alex’s chest wound is bubbling blood. Cal grabs an odd plastic pad and covers the wound. “The bullet punctured his lung but not the heart or he would be dead. The defibrillator pad is sticky and will stop the wound from sucking air. I can also peel it back and let air escape if too much builds up in the lung cavity. I put a dose of Propofol in the IV line. Dr. Santos will be here shortly. Do me a favor and hold Alex’s hand. If he comes to, talk to him and keep him calm. The Propofol relaxes his brain and it’s possible he’ll wake up. I don’t want him fighting us. I need to look at the leg wound.”

I hold myself together and take Alex’s hand. My hands are covered in his blood. Cal checks Alex’s leg. One of the men says something that I don’t quite catch and then leaves the room. My focus is Alex. He’s still as death, his fingers cold. They’re always warm. I associate warmth with Alex. “Please God,” I pray. “Don’t take him. Please don’t take him.”

Cal speaks when my prayer fades, “The leg wound doesn’t look too bad. It obviously didn’t hit an artery and the bullet passed through. With two wounds, he’s lost a lot of blood. I have the IV drip as heavy as it can go.” It’s two seconds after Cal says this that Alex’s body starts shaking violently. “Hold him down,” Cal yells.

I practically lay over Alex’s chest while Cal holds his legs and the other man holds his shoulders. I continue praying, crying, and praying some more. It seems like forever before Alex’s body goes limp again.

I’m afraid to look because I expect to see the same vacant eyes the woman had. When I finally gather my courage, Alex’s eyes are closed and his face is still. His chest rises and I breathe again.