Mateo jerked away from the sidewalk and onto the quiet road. I slid my hand to her thigh, itching to go higher up her leg and feel her bare skin on my hand. It was already 1 a.m., so I had no doubt we’d be home in no time, and I knew exactly what I was going to do to her as soon as we got inside. I couldn’t get enough of her. Her body. Her mind. Her attitude. She was like an everlasting gobstopper—you never got tired of sucking on it. I snorted at my one thought, gaining her attention.
“What?” She grinned at me, her eyes the happiest I’d ever seen them.
“Nothing.” I dipped my head so our faces were closer. “I was just thinking about all the things I’m gonna do to you once we’re home.”
“Lorenzo.” She shook her head, but there was no denying the way her breaths picked up. “You’re so bad.”
“I’m bad?” I pointed at my chest and raised a brow. “You’re far worse than me.”
She gasped. “I am not.”
“You are too! You’re the one who keeps sneaking in the shower with me every morning.”
“I already told you.” She pushed some hair behind her ear, trying to look innocent, but I knew her way better than that. She may have been able to fool everyone else, but there was no fooling me. I knew her too damn well. “I’m saving water.”
“Sure.” I chuckled, whispering my hand up her arm and to the side of her face. “You’re also—”
“Fuck!” Mateo shouted from the front of the SUV, swerving as a car came out of nowhere and nearly side-swiped us. “Sorry, boss.” He looked frantic as he glanced out of the window and then to the mirrors. “He came from—”
The other car swerved, slamming into the side of us, and I held Aida closer. “What the fuck!” Another car came up the other side, only this one didn’t swerve into us, it opened its windows, something glinting off the streetlights, and then I realized—
“Gun!”
I shoved Aida down into the floorboard, trying to cover as much of her body as possible as the other car hit us again. The SUV tilted, Mateo losing control of it, and then metal crunched, mixing with the blasting of bullets.
“Stay down!” I shouted at Aida, feeling the blood pumping through my body and adrenaline taking me over. Her hand gripped on to my thigh, her nails digging in, and then we were both shunted forward. My head smacked off the edge of the center console, but I’d managed to keep Aida safe.
I groaned as the car rolled to a stop. I tried to take stock of everything. My ears pinged, smoke filled the inside of the SUV, and when I looked up, a pair of eyes stared back at me. Eyes I knew well. I opened my mouth, about to say something, but something smacked me in the temple. I lost grip of Aida, lost all sense of where I was, and then everything went black.
CHAPTER 19
AIDA
I wasn’t sure what hurt more: my aching body, or my thumping head. I didn’t want to move, too afraid I’d make my head throb even more, but I rolled my head from side to side, wincing as the banging inside my brain intensified. What the hell had I done last night? I screwed my face up, smacking my lips together, and groaning at how dry my mouth was. I needed a drink, and definitely some painkillers.
I reached my arm out, my eyes still closed, but it wouldn’t move. It took me way too long to realize I wasn’t in bed next to Lorenzo. Instead, I was sitting up. Had I fallen asleep on the sofa last night? I frowned as I tried to open my eyes, but they felt like they were stuck together like I’d just slept for twenty-four hours straight.
My hands jerked to wipe at my eyes, but when they wouldn’t move a second time, my eyes snapped open, blaring sunlight nearly blinding me. I slammed them close again, my heart racing in my chest as I slowly remembered what had happened last night.
Opening the piano bar.
Mateo driving.
Car swerving.
Lorenzo holding me down.
Bullets.
And then…
Nothing. I had nothing after that.
Oh my God, what had happened? Where was I? And where the hell was Lorenzo?
I kept my eyes closed as I listened for any sounds, trying my hardest to hear something. But it was silent except for my own breathing and…
I slowly opened my eyes, sagging in relief at the sight of Lorenzo in front of me. My gaze tracked his body, his legs tied to the chair, his arms tied to his thighs, and rope banding around his stomach. A quick glance at my own lap told me I was in the same position.