Demand - Lisa Renee Jones Page 0,5
the door.
“I’m not owing the police chief another favor over Gallo,” Kayden says.
More shouting and knocking ensues.
“Gallo’s going to follow us when we leave,” Adriel warns.
I have no idea why, but suddenly Carlo’s piercing green eyes are locked on mine, and there is something dark and dangerous in his stare, something that sends a shiver down my spine.
“You’re Ella,” he states, and before I can confirm, he adds, “You saved Enzo.” His tone is flat, void of emotion, as if it’s an observation rather than a celebration.
But whatever it is to him, it’s gut-wrenching to me. “I bought him time,” I say, and I swear I can almost feel the blood that must be on my skin beneath my clothes. “I pray Nathan can save him.”
“Carlo,” Kayden says, dragging the man’s attention from me to him. “I’m going to ride with you and your men.” Shifting his gaze to Adriel, Kayden directs him, “You’ll drive the F-TYPE that I favor and lure Gallo in the wrong direction. Then circle back here and hold down the castle so Matteo and Nathan can focus on their jobs.”
Adriel’s expression hardens. “You know I want in on this. And you need a man on your left and right—not just Carlo.”
“Get your fucking sister out of here,” Kayden states, making it clear that he heard what I said to him and actually listened. “Then, and only then, can you exit retirement. Until then, you tend your store.”
Adriel’s eyes flash with fury, but he wordlessly drops back from the group, disappearing in the direction of the garage.
“Kayden!” Gallo shouts. “Open the fuck up.”
Kayden gives Carlo a two-finger wave. “Go get your men ready.”
Carlo turns away, but not before I catch the gleam of satisfaction in his eyes, and the word dangerous comes to mind again.
“I have to go,” Kayden says, facing me. “Raul’s a vicious, paranoid bastard, and when you make those kinds of people uneasy, someone ends up dead.”
“You know this kingpin well enough to know that about him?” I ask, still trying to get a grip on the politics of this, and really not sure how I feel about it all.
“I know the police chief’s favorite beer, too, sweetheart,” he says, and before I know his intent I’m in his arms, his mouth slanting over mine, his tongue doing a deep, passionate stroke before he releases me, and without a word he turns away and starts walking.
“Fuck,” Matteo curses, and I whirl around to face him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Note the silence,” he says, holding out his arms. “Gallo heard the garage door open, and he’s standing in the middle of the driveway, clearly intending to stop Kayden from leaving.”
While a paranoid cartel leader with an impatient trigger finger waits for him. I can’t do nothing, and there is no way that doing something won’t have consequences.
In what’s sure to be a defining moment in my life, I walk toward the front door and unlock it.
two
“No, Ella,” Matteo shouts, lunging in my direction, but I gamble that he won’t risk a confrontation with Gallo by following me outside.
I step onto the porch and shut the door behind me. The lawn is alight thanks to the motion detectors Gallo has obviously triggered, but I don’t seem to be able to locate him. Hurrying across the porch and directly into a gust of air that reminds me a hoodie is not a coat, I scan for Gallo and suck in a breath as the wind punishes me for wearing just a hoodie in February. It’s not until I’m down the steps and on the circular drive that I spy Gallo to the left, just in front of the garage, and thankfully the door is now shut. “Detective!” I shout urgently, running toward him. “Detective!”
He faces me, another gust of wind lifting his trench coat, and even his suit beneath is flapping around. I hug myself and run toward him, trying to convince him he needs to do the same, and it works. He jogs forward to meet me, away from the garage, and the instant I am in front of him, his hands come down on my shoulders. “Are you all right, Eleana?”
“Yes. Of course.” I resist the urge to back away from his touch for fear it will shift his attention back to the garage and delay Kayden’s departure. “It’s just—”
“Is Giada okay?”
“Giada?” I blink in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
The garage door opens behind him, and he releases me, turning toward it at the same moment