I Thee Take: To Have and To Hold Duet Book Two by Knight, Natasha (ready to read books .txt) 📗

“I can drive just fine but why are you telling me all this now? You can tell me when we get there.” He knows the answer. I can see it in his eyes.

“Because you need to go first, Noah. I’ll follow as soon as I know he’s safe.”

“Scarlett—”

“I need to know he’s safe.”

“If he’s safe, there will be no reason to follow.”

“Then I’ll bring you back. If we disappear together, they’ll start a manhunt. As long as they see me, they won’t think anything of you not being here. I’m his wife. I’m the one the cartel wants back.”

“No. No way. I’m not leaving you behind. How will you protect yourself against them if he doesn’t come back?”

I reach under the pillow and take out the gun.

He sucks in a breath, shakes his head. “No. No fucking way, Scarlett.”

“Listen to me, Noah. This is my chance to get you out. This is our one real shot in all these years. And it may be the only one we get.” I feel my eyes fill up with tears, but I steel myself, harden my heart. I will not be weak. I cannot. Not now. “I couldn’t protect you against Angel and Diego but I’m not going to let anything else happen to you.”

“What they did had nothing to do with you.”

I don’t want to discuss what our brothers did over the last ten years, so I put the gun back under the pillow. “Let’s go. There’s food and water if you’re hungry and you’ll need something warm.” I walk past him into Cristiano’s closet and take the warmest sweater I can find. A thick wool one that still smells like him.

Worry interferes in my thoughts, but I shove it away. There will be plenty of time to worry.

Noah’s still standing in the same spot when I return but he’s holding the pistol. I look at him and he looks at me and I rush to him, taking that thing from his hands, more determined than ever that this is the right thing to do.

“Here,” I say, putting the sweater over his shoulders. I tuck the gun away.

“Scarlett. I don’t want to leave you behind,” he says, and I know from his tone that he’ll acquiesce.

I smile. “It’s okay. I’ll be okay. And besides, you’re not leaving me behind. I’m just coming a bit later.”

Leaving Cerberus in the bedroom we walk out into the hallway as casually as possible. We don’t pass any guards upstairs, but I hear them downstairs. They move quickly through the living room and out the front doors. I hear the chopper a few seconds later.

“Let’s go,” I tell Noah and we hurry to the door that leads to the cells. I only remember how dark it is down here once we’re through the door, but Cristiano thought of everything. There’s a small flashlight in the pouch we can use to make our way down the stairs and hurry as quietly as we can to the last cell. I think we both try to avert out gazes from the dark stains on the stone floor where Diego and Angel died.

I take the flashlight from Noah’s hand and pan it over the wall. Cristiano left the mattress slightly skewed and I find the boulder easily. Noah stays close behind and neither of us speak. I push on the boulder that is truly a door and after a few tries to find the right spot, it opens.

I smile, turn back to Noah whose eyes have gone wide.

“Here,” I say, walking into the black hole to pick up one of the bigger flashlights and switch it on. It blinks twice but stays on.

Noah steps in behind me, taking the sweater off his shoulders and slipping it on.

“How long is it?”

“Eight miles. It’s a straight shot.”

Noah looks at me. “Come with me. Now. We can go now.”

I shake my head, my eyes filling up again as I wrap my arms around my little brother. I can count the number of times over the past ten years that I’ve wondered if I’d ever see him again.

This time, the tears come, and I can’t stop them.

“Give me two days. I’ll be at the piazza. Under the tower. You know where I mean?”

“Yeah.”

“If I’m not there by nightfall on the second day, you leave and you don’t look back, understand?”

“Scarlett.” He hugs me so tight it hurts but I don’t want to let go. “Please come with me. Please just come away with me now.”

I hear how his voice wavers but just shake my head again, unable to speak.

“Do you love him?” he asks.

I draw back and look up at my little brother. I nod my head. “I think I do.”

“I’m glad.” He tries for a smile and hugs me to him again, holding me tighter than he’s ever held me before turning and disappearing into the tunnel.

I wipe my eyes as I make my way back up the stairs. It’s the right thing to do. I know it. But I also realize, in a way, by saying out loud that I would be there in two days’ time meant that it was a possibility I would not. And that this, tonight, was very possibly goodbye forever.

My mind is preoccupied as I reach the top of the stairs and turn the corner toward Cristiano’s bedroom. I don’t know where else to go when he’s not here, in the house. I’m an imposter without him to validate my presence. I don’t realize in time that the door is ajar or maybe I just don’t remember having left it that way. But when I walk inside, I stop dead because the room is not empty.

And it’s not Cristiano standing there.

It’s Dante.

And he has the gun Cristiano gave me pointed right at me.

24

Cristiano

Blood. Me on the cold, white marble floor. No. Not cold. But dark. Slippery like that night. Slipping in my own blood.

Someone calls my name but it’s an echo.

“David sends his regards.”

My uncle did this.