The Fortunates (Unfortunates #2) (17 page)

He pulls.

And I push.

It’s the natural balance of soul mates…evening each other out.

“Oh, shit…” Kade groans, releasing a guttural moan from his chest. He drops his head back, exposing his throat. I crane my neck and lick it from bottom to top.

I feel him swallow.

And, damn. It almost sets me off.

The chaos he’s created in the pit of my tummy fuses together and I lift my hips, ignoring the burn of my muscles in my legs. Our noses graze. Our breaths crash together.

“Marry me today,” he groans, flicking his tongue out to lick my bottom lip. “Right now. Marry me now.”

“No one is here to verify it,” I point out, sliding my hands up his chest and over his shoulders. Even I know a marriage must be approved by the head of a family. “It won’t count.”

“Fuck it.” He pulls the soft fabric of his shirt over the curve of my ass, bunching it at my hips. “Say
I do
and John can verify it later. Be my wife.” He kisses me deeply, taking me by surprise. “Do you want to?”

I stop moving and look at him.
Really
look at him. His eyes are wide and sincere and he purses his lips in uneasy anticipation. There’s an impatient kink in his eyebrow, but he allows me a few seconds to gather my thoughts. This is something he really wants. Do I want to be his wife? To be linked to him for the rest of my life? Is that even a question? He’s the only one who has been there for me. The only who defended me when no one else would. Of course I want to be his wife. Who knows how long we have left. I don’t want to waste a second. “I do.”

His lips part as a sigh of relief rushes out. It blows along my skin, inciting goosebumps across the surface.

“I want to be yours. Not your wife, obviously.” He chuckles. “But your husband. I want to be your husband.”

I crush my mouth against his, threading my fingers through his hair. I never want this to end. I want to stay here in my room with him and never leave. Out there, reality is cold and unforgiving, but in here we can be whoever we want to be without judgement.

Lovers.

Soul mates.

Husband and wife.

I move my hips against him, drawing him deeper into my body. The tempo of our session has changed yet again to something
more
. He wraps an arm around my waist and around the back of my neck, pushing his fingers into my hair. I want this to last forever. I want us to remain infused like this because there’s no telling what’s going to happen to either of us when we’re apart.

It doesn’t take long for Kaden to melt and break apart underneath me and I absorb every groan, every shudder, committing it to memory. I kiss him softly and appreciate each supple lip.

“I love you,” he says, his lips moving against mine.

Our gazes lock. There’s no doubt about us now. We’re a force to be reckoned with.

A true team.

“I love you too.”

Chapter Sixteen

Nine

When I wake up, Kaden is gone. It’s dark out and the absence of delicious smells tells me it’s way past dinner. He must’ve left to run that errand he was talking about.

I squint across the room in an attempt to ease the ache creeping over the back of my head. No such luck. I suspect it’s a remnant of that nasty alcohol I was drinking hours ago. Ugh. I’m not even sure drinking alcohol is worth feeling like this afterwards.

I smooth my hand over my stomach, quelling the grumble of hunger that vibrates through it. Guess I can add hunger to my growing list of problems. I wonder if I go to the kitchen will there be anything left to eat?

BANG!

I jump and squeak, clasping my hand over my mouth as an aggressive fist slams into my door.

BANG! BANG!

I rush for the blankets that slid off the edge of the bed while I slept. In a frantic scramble, I
just
manage to pull them up to my chin as the door swings open and John Milano storms in, slamming the door behind him. His dark eyes glue to me, his bushy eyebrows pulling in to assist the rest of his face with its terrifying glare. John clenches his fists at his sides and leans forward on the slightest, most intimidating angle.

“How could you let this happen?” he demands in a harsh whisper, clenching his teeth.

He’s furious. What happened? What did I do?

“I…I…” I stammer as he snaps and paces my room, raking his fingers through his fine hair. “I don’t know what you’re—”

“You don’t know?” He laughs once. “I find that hard to believe. You’ve spent the whole day cooped up in here with him. The room smells of alcohol, soap, and sex. He didn’t tell you? How stupid do you think I am?”

I throw my legs over the edge of the bed and slide off, clenching the blankets around my naked body. “I don’t think you’re stupid at all. I can’t face your accusations or answer your questions appropriately when I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The angry red swells in his cheeks drain and his eyes soften into cautious slits. “There will be serious repercussions if you and Kaden Sario are found conspiring to sabotage the Secret Ribbon.”

I flinch. Sabotage? What is he talking about? He doesn’t trust me? He thinks I could betray this cause?
My
cause?

“I would never.
We
would never.” Angry heat prickles up the back of my neck. “If you could clue me in as to what this inappropriate visit is about I might be able to help you.”

“Fine. I’ll humour you.” John saunters across my room and over to the bar.

I wait, patiently, while he rubs its surface with the fabric of his sweater. I blush. Is what we did that obvious? After the couch, we washed again, and had food. After the food…well, let’s just say our energy levels were replenished. It is our honeymoon, after all.

John Milano grabs a clean glass and Kade’s bottle of whiskey. He tips the liquid into the cup and offers it to me. Ick. I grimace and shake my head.

“Suit yourself.” Opening his mouth, he tips the liquid down his throat and swallows hard before wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “Kade left earlier this evening to blow the mine.”

Dread punches me in the gut and knocks me off balance. I drop against the edge of the bed and sit, holding the blankets tightly. He wouldn’t. Kade wouldn’t do that. Not ever.

“No.” I swallow, desperate to keep myself from heaving. “He wouldn’t—”

“He did. I checked in with the moderators. He received clearance from the city to cross the fence. He didn’t appeal it. He didn’t dispute it.”

“How do you know?”

“Oliver—”

Ding. His name rubs me the wrong way. “Oliver? Oliver is—”

“—just as mad as I am.”

I stand up. “He has a problem with Kade.”

“Maybe rightfully so.”

“Rightfully so?” I glare at John. “Kaden has done nothing to you.”

“Not personally, no, but he doesn’t have to.” John singles out a button on his jacket and does it up. “The point of the Secret Ribbon is to stand up for those who don’t have voices. It’s about living in a more humane and sustainable society. If he has brought down that mine…he has murdered seven women, four men, and four children. There is no redemption for that and there will be no place in our new world for him.”

My heart quivers. Children? He’d never hurt a child. Why didn’t he tell me?

“When will he be back?” I ask, pushing myself to my feet once more.

John crosses my room, his long, thin legs carrying his hefty frame over to the door. “He left quite a few hours ago. He should be back by now.”

“You haven’t spoken to him?”

He grips the handle in his hand and turns it. “Oliver and I discussed it, but we figured it’s less suspicious if you were the one to talk to him at this hour.” He opens the door and pauses, sparing me a frown over his shoulder. “If he did it, Anna…there’s no protecting him.”

My stomach sinks like a brick that’s dropped in water and I nod, somehow managing to keep my face placid and calm. They might not think the best of Kaden Sario, but I do. There were bad things in this world that he had to force himself to do, but I know in my heart he would never hurt a child.

But if he did…

How can I justify that? How can I idolise a man who could bring himself to hurt something so weak and innocent?

I can’t.

I won’t.

∞

I plan my argument over and over in my head as I walk to the Sario house. It’s the last place I want to go, especially when it’s so dark and cool out. My bare feet patter along the footpath as I pass the oak tree to the left of the Sario mansion. I’m the only one outside. The only one on a mission for the truth.

What will I say? What will I do?

I pull the promise ring he gave me off my finger and squeeze it in my hand. There’s a chance our marriage could come to an end tonight…

Oh, how quickly a simple day turns into a complex nightmare.

I force myself across the dark, square tiles, feeling much like I did the day I arrived here on my eighteenth birthday. Scared and uncertain. Just like that day, my heart thuds every time my feet connect with the ground.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Dragging in a heavy breath, I stop in front of the large doors. The familiar smell of lacquer fills my nostrils and assaults my senses as I stand face to face with the head of a black lion carved flawlessly into the wood. Uncertainty swirls in pathetic waves through my body. There’s an inkling of a thought in the back of my head that I don’t want to acknowledge. It fabricates a story, a lie, that I can tell John and Oliver to spare Kade. I hate myself for it. How can I be so insensitive? So unreasonable? How can I go against everything I believe in to protect someone who doesn’t share the same values as me? Maybe he didn’t do it? But if he didn’t do it, why didn’t he tell me? Why is he hiding out in his house instead of joining me in mine? In our bed?

Exhaling, I tuck my engagement ring into the pink fold of fabric at my breast. The thought of giving it back to him socks me in the stomach…but what am I supposed to do?

I grab the thick metal handle and push on the door. With a loud clang, followed by an eerie creak, the door opens. I slip inside the warm manor and close the door behind me. Three moderators stroll by, eyeing me suspiciously as they cradle their guns in their hands. If one of them wants to shoot me, who would stop them? Maybe one of them should. It would save me a whole lot of trouble.

I keep my head down as I cross the foyer and climb the elegant staircase. The atmosphere in the house feels…off. Hair prickles along the back of my neck. Kaden and I are finally in a good place. Why does he have to ruin it? Why does he always have to ruin it?

Soon enough, I find myself lingering in front of his bedroom door. I don’t want to go in there, but there’s no way I’m going to hang out in the corridor and risk bumping into Vince.

Swallowing, I knock on the door and I wait.

Nothing.

Is he sleeping? Or is he not answering because he doesn’t want to see me? I grab the handle and it vibrates in its place as I press my trembling palm against it. I hold my breath and open the door. It’s dark inside. And silent. I step in and close the door.

“Kaden?” I whisper and my shaky voice disappears into the darkness. “Are you here?”

A leather seat creaks from the right and moisture drains from my mouth. Why is he sitting in the dark? Instinctively, I tighten my jaw as the soles of his shoes tap along the wooden floor. He closes the distance between us and I can’t see a thing.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I demand, rubbing my fingers over the palms of my hands. “John and Oliver are—unh!”

With a fast hand, he reaches around to the back and snatches a fistful of hair. The pain of it sears around my hairline and I hiss and suck air through my clenched teeth. “What are you doing?”

He steps closer until our bodies press together. Inhaling, he dips his head to the nape of my neck and drags the tip of his nose along my collarbone. He plants a gentle kiss at the base of my throat and trails his lips up my throat. I swallow hard—for the umpteenth time—and Kaden releases a tight, unfamiliar noise from deep in his chest as he slips his hand around my waist, to the small of my back. He tugs me closer, squashing our bodies together. It doesn’t feel good.

Nothing about this feels good. What right does he have to touch me like this? To treat me like I’m the one who is in the wrong?

“Take your hands off of me, Kaden,” I tell him, clenching my fists. “I’m mad at you.”

He chuckles under his breath and it’s lost in the dark as chills creep over my skin. “Oh, so
sassy
.”

My heart explodes into my throat. Gasping, I try desperately to pull away from him. From—“Vince.”

He pulls his hand from my back and wraps his long, strong arm around me, pinning mine to my side. “Relax,” he chides, squeezing me with unbearable pressure.

I wriggle.

He squeezes.

I struggle.

And he laughs.

Vince tightens his fingers in my hair and holds me tight. I can’t move my head, I can’t move anything. My breath escapes me faster than I can inhale it and the seizing feeling of claustrophobia creeps up on me as he locks me in his death grip.

“Relax,” he simply says, like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

“W-where’s Kaden?”

“Busy.”

Grunting, I fight him until my muscles burn under my skin, but there’s no getting away. He’s too strong.

“I’ll let you go if you promise to do everything I say.”

I nod and he believes it. The second he releases me, I turn and dive for the door.

Click.
The trigger of a gun ticks into place and I freeze, my fingers two inches from the handle.

From freedom.

My blood turns cold and my jaw begins to quake, causing my teeth to chatter and my lips to tremble. What have I done?

“Lock it,” he orders, amusement lacing his tone.

Shuddering, I slowly reach out and lock the door, trapping myself alone with Vincent Sario. I lower my head and slump my shoulders. This is it. The scenario I tried so desperately to avoid from the beginning is finally upon me. It’s naïve to think he’ll let me go without a scratch. It’s naïve to think he won’t take from me in the worst way possible. Vince wouldn’t be Vince otherwise.

Somewhere behind me, he flicks on a lamp, filling the room with a dim light. I remain still, not daring to touch the handle in fear of Vince embedding a bullet into the back of my skull.

“Hmph.” His warm breath blows across the back of my neck and I close my eyes. “I expected more of a fight from you,
Unfortunate.
”

The acrimony of defeat swirls with guilt in my stomach. I shouldn’t have come here. He glides the top of his gun along my shoulder, pushing down the strap of my dress.