Filled with incredulous fury, I helplessly watched from the backseat of the SUV as Eden deftly avoided the two vehicles attempting to box her in once we took our exit onto a more secluded stretch of road. There hadn’t been a cop car in sight after we’d gotten back onto the highway to head home, and at that point my suspicions had mounted. This shit just sealed the deal on my accuracy...and the fact that it wasn’t the first time Eden had done this.
“Where the fuck are our people, Tony?” I snapped out when he answered the phone, ignoring Eden’s brief glare in the rearview mirror.
“You’re going to have to be more specific, Santos. I don’t have a fucking clue what you’re barking about,” he said, far more calm than he should have been given the situation had he known about it. Fucking Vinnie, this is his doing.
“We’re on our way home, and these fucks are trying to cause a wreck or some shit. Not one cop has shown up, Tony, and you know they should be up my ass, waiting to cart me back to jail if I step the least bit out of line. There was supposed to be a discreet escort anytime Eden left the estate, and there’s fucking no one here.” I was beyond pissed, and if it came down to it, I’d be up on actual murder charges because there was no way I was letting anyone touch Eden. Our escort should have made themselves known the instant the first vehicle started to tailgate us, yet that hadn't happened. I knew they had followed us on the way in as I'd occasionally seen them behind us, but the last time I'd caught a glimpse of them was when we'd left the parking lot to head home.
“I’m finding out now. Don’t do anything stupid, Santos. We can’t afford it,” Tony warned. If he said anything else, I didn’t hear it since I hung up on him. Fuck him if he thought I wouldn’t protect her. I knew he likely hadn’t meant it that way, but I wasn’t going to back down if shit went south.
“Seatbelt, babe, this might get bumpy,” Eden muttered as two more SUVs approached from the opposite direction, one in the wrong lane.
“Angel, do not play chicken with them. Just pull over and let me deal with it.” Of course she fucking ignored me and kept driving while I went for the gun that should have been under the seat. “Goddamnit, Eden, would you listen for once?!” I yelled, though I was more frustrated that I’d forgotten the firearms had been removed until all this bullshit house arrest mess was over than at her. Not that it seemed to faze her any.
The headlights on both vehicles flashed as a phone rang in the center console, but I was positive she hadn’t taken hers out of her purse. One hand stayed on the wheel while the other popped the catch and took out a phone that was most definitely not hers. Not the one Vanni had given her anyway. She put it on speaker and stuck it in a cup holder as a man’s voice filled the cabin of our vehicle.
“Get ahead of them and go between us. We’ll make room.”
Eden’s “Got it” preceded the call disconnecting, and she met my stare in the mirror, guilt filling her forest green eyes. “Seatbelt, please.”
“You have a lot of explaining to do when we get home, Eden.” I didn’t need to be the cause of us wrecking, especially when she was pushing the speedometer into triple digits, so I kept my voice even and cold despite my anger. I even put my seatbelt on, taking note that her shoulders relaxed just a bit when the catch clicked shut.
“Just so you know, I gave my word, so you’ll have to talk to Vinnie. I wouldn’t even say that much if this hadn’t happened.” She might have felt guilty, but her voice was distinctly unapologetic. I hated it, but she fit right in with the lot of us. She was loyal to what she believed in, and somehow, even after everything we'd done, the loyalty was to us. Not to mention the woman didn't know the meaning of 'back down'.
Moments before we were in danger of a head-on collision, Eden maneuvered the vehicle to straddle the dotted line, and the SUVs parted to let her through. I twisted to watch as they closed ranks, slamming on their brakes once she was clear, our pursuers doing the same. My phone buzzed incessantly in my hand, and I absently answered it, keeping my eyes on the shrinking figures exiting the vehicles.
“Santos!” Tony’s yell finally caught my attention.
“Yeah, I’m here. And we’re good, but Vinnie and I are not. Did you know—”
“I didn’t, but we can deal with that later. Are you sure you can get home safely?”
“Yeah, it’s being taken care of, unless more show up, but we aren’t too far out now.” I could hear muffled voices and assumed Tony had his hand over the mouthpiece of his phone, probably answering Vanni and Marco. “Hey, do me a favor and keep the others inside. I need to have a word with Eden when we get there.”
My glare bored holes into the back of Eden’s seat as Tony reluctantly agreed and hung up. I thought Eden might try to talk her way out of it, but she remained silent until we finally pulled through the gates and into the garage. We sat in silence, the ticking of the cooling engine the only sound in the space around us.
“You’re never doing that again,” I growled, unclipping my belt, then hers, before I hauled her through the seats and into the back with me.
“I don’t have a choice. I made a promise,” she said quietly, clenching her jaw and refusing to look at me.
"You know, I'm really fucking tired of being a bystander, of being unable to protect my loved ones—that circle is small enough to count on one hand. I'm done with this shit, Eden! It stops now."
At first, all I got out of her was a shrug, but then she got comfortable and snuggled into my lap, bringing in a stark sense of nostalgia to temper my anger. The discussion wasn’t over by a long shot, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to just hold her. We used to sit like this all the time, watching movies or hanging out with the guys. Just like now, she'd tuck her face against my neck, and my hand would automatically come up to rub circles on her back.
"Maybe Marco has the right idea," I muttered, her familiar scent wafting up from her hair. When I didn't finish my thought, she hummed in response, prompting me to spill my guilty desire. "It wouldn't be able to be me or Marco, but if you were carrying Vinnie's grandchild…"
She stiffened before slowly sitting back to stare at me in disbelief. "Did you not hear what Doc said about that? And what the actual fuck, Santos! You're just gonna have Tony or Vanni knock me up so I'm grounded to the estate?!"
It was my turn to shrug. I wasn't about to apologize for considering any and all avenues to keep her safe, but… "I didn't say I would, but you can't blame me for thinking about it, angel. I'd do anything to keep you out of the situation. It was one thing to get your license and a check-up, but I know you've left for more than that. I don't care for the implications that that little stunt back there has made."
Brows arched, she gave me that look, the one that said I was an idiot. "Um, have you not considered that I'd like you safe as well? That your safety might be the only reason I offered to come back early?"
A groan tore from my chest as I thumped my head back against the seat. She was right, but I didn't have to like it, and I'd be plotting with Tony to put an end to her escapades.
"I can see that we aren't going to agree, so maybe we should shelve this discussion for later and head on inside. The others are probably waiting to hear how everything went." It was a flimsy excuse since we'd both texted them with live updates, but I was two seconds from reverting to caveman tendencies like clubbing her over the head to lock her up or staking my claim with my dick to prove she was mine. Maybe both.
As if she read my mind, she brought up my heat-of-the-moment promise from earlier. "You still planning to take care of yourself if I don't?"
"I'm fairly positive that your near-death experience took care of that problem," I retorted, amusement lacing my tone.