Levi follows behind me, pressing his hand to my back to help me over the destroyed door, and while his touch makes me flinch, I kinda need it there.
Getting past the entrance, Roman leads me through the property as though he specifically knows every little twist and turn, every tiny little walkway and stone that makes the beautiful home. “You designed this, didn’t you?” I mutter, refusing to look up to see the smug expression across his face.
“Sure fucking did. Built it with my own goddamn hands,” he says proudly, making me cringe at the thought of the comments I made in the car about what a brilliant kind of imagination the designer must have had. Fuck me, why do I always have to go and open my mouth too soon? Though I’m not gonna lie, I’m kinda impressed. It only makes sense why he’s so sore about having this place taken away from him. This was supposed to be his home, the property he raised a family and grew old in, and now his uncle is living out his dream. Fuck, I’d be pissed too.
“WHO’S THERE?” comes a voice hollered from deep inside the house, making my back stiffen. Levi steps in a little closer and I don’t doubt he’s prepared to save me if all hell were to break loose.
Roman stops at the opening of a massive formal living room and silently waves me in, and with Levi’s hand still resting on my lower back, I step through to the impressive room. Naturally, the lights are out and it’s nearly impossible to see the finer details of the room, but from what I can make out, it’s fucking gorgeous.
Huge windows fill the side wall, each exquisitely dressed with expensive curtains that have been pulled back at the sides. There must be at least ten windows along the wall, spanning what I’m assuming is the whole length of the property. Hell, if all the furniture were moved out of the way, this room could host the best kind of parties.
There is seating for at least a hundred people and it’s clear that this room was designed specifically for the man of the house to lead some very important meetings, though the kind of meetings that would be held here are certainly not the kind of meetings I want anything to do with.
“YOU CHOSE THE WRONG FUCKING HOUSE TO BREAK INTO. DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” the voice says, sending a chill down my spine.
Roman chuckles to himself. “Shit,” he says, glancing at Levi. “Can you hear that? Hasn’t even seen us and he’s already shit-scared.”
Levi laughs and leads me toward a stunning couch. I take a seat and watch as Roman picks the darkest corner to sit in while Levi steps around the back of my couch, always hovering close. “What do we do?” I murmur, glancing across at Roman who sits with his gun resting on his thigh.
“We wait. He’ll come to us. No need to go hunting.”
“And then what? We just kill him?”
“Something like that.” His eyes sparkle with excitement and it throws me off. I always seem to forget just how much they love this fucked-up little lifestyle. This is their domain, their heaven. Why would they ever want anything different?
Levi’s hand falls to my shoulder and I glance up at him as he holds his finger to his mouth in the universal sign for silence. “Shhhhh,” he whispers. “Listen.”
My brows furrow as Levi’s hand falls away from my shoulder. I concentrate on the heavy silence until the frantic sound of someone dashing from room to room upstairs catches my attention.
A sick smile twists over my face and I can’t understand why it thrills me so much. The guy thinks he’s being discreet, moving around the mansion as though he has the upper hand, but his heavy footsteps are like a map leading us directly to him. Just as Roman said, we don’t need to worry about finding him, he’ll come to us.
The heavy silence lingers in the room, and as the seconds tick by, my nerves get stronger. It takes nearly five long minutes for Antonio to move downstairs and another few before he even ventures to this side of the mansion, but when he does, both Roman and Levi shuffle around, making sure they will have the advantage.
A moment passes before Roman glances at Levi and nods toward the opening of the formal living room. My gaze snaps toward it and I suck in a breath seeing the tip of a gun pushing into the room, shortly followed by their cousin’s face.
Antonio peers into the room for a long second, taking in his cousins before glancing at me through narrowed eyes. He assesses the room, probably wondering where Marcus is, but it’s not like the brothers are about to spill secrets, especially ones that let this asshole know that Marcus is alone, weak, and vulnerable.