Chapter 8

My guardians are morein love now than they"ve ever been. I thought growing up that they were just two pawns chosen by my father to watch over me, but in reality, they are two of the biggest romantics that I"ve ever seen. They were never able to have children, so being able to raise me afforded them an experience they would have never had.

Not only did they train me to be the best I can for my father, but they also showed me what true love can look like. I couldn"t even make it all the way through the dinner without one of them touching the other, thankfully they had the good sense to end the visit early. I don"t think I could have stood by and watched them paw at each other another second.

I"ve never wanted much for myself regarding family, only to prove to my father that I was strong enough to join my real family, but part of me is starting to see the benefits of having someone that I could come home to every day and be one with. I"d love to be able to come home from whatever job I had and see my woman there waiting for me.

When I let my mind wander, the only person I ever see waiting for me is Melisande. I figured it was because I"m so close to her, but I"m starting to think that maybe this is more than just always being close to her. The emotions that woman can stir up in me with just one look has me questioning my sanity. I drive down the west side highway trying to make it back down to the apartment when an alert comes through on my phone.

"Fire escape in use."

Dread and panic crawl up my gut as I press call on the phone icon to reach Mel. Sometimes she"d go outside to sit on the fire escape for some air, but I don"t understand why the fuck she"d do that in the middle of the night, especially after I"ve told her that she doesn"t need to be messing around out there.

The phone rings and rings, but she doesn"t answer. I call again and the same result.

"What the fuck? " I press harder on the gas trying to get home. A few seconds later, another alert pings on my phone telling me the person either closed the window or has gone back out of it. I call her again and still no answer.

"Mother fuck! What the hell is going on." I grumble out and have to swerve drastically when I look up from my phone and see someone just idling in the middle of the fucking road. I"m going to fucking kill myself before I make it to the apartment.

"Melisande, pick up the damn phone." I snarl in the air and call her again.

I push the car faster when I can"t contact her and the alert from the fire escape is no longer active. I stop at a red light and activate the fucking tracer I have on her phone. It"s not moving, but when I activate the new one, I attached to her mother"s name chain, I see it"s moving in the direction of the alley. What the fuck? Someone came into my home and stole my fucking woman?

I laugh out loud at the audacity. Whoever was brave enough to come after her must have forgotten they"d have to go through me.

I don"t even bother to go upstairs to see if she"s there. There"s no way that she"d let them take that chain away from her, not without calling me. Either way, if she"s in the alley or not, I"m going to get that chain back for her.

I squeal to a stop just as whoever is in the white van tries to pull away.

"Hey man, move out of the way. I have a delivery to make here." The man screams out of the window. I listen hard to see if I hear Mel screaming. The tracker that I implanted in the necklace says that she"s in the area, so either she"s under the truck or she"s inside of it. Either way, the bastards in front of me aren"t going to make it out alive.

I don"t want them to see it"s me until it"s too late, so I yank my hoodie on and stumble out of the car. Even though I"m sure that I"ll never get caught. I"d rather not take any chances right now. I left the gun I have in the car and pull out my switchblade. I don"t have my suppressor and I don"t want to chance the noise. I can get rid of these bastards without drawing too much attention. I keep the hood down and step closer to them.

"Sorry, brother, I think you have something I need. I just need a taste." I do my best to sound like one of the junkies I pass daily.

"What the fuck did I just say? We don"t have anything for you here." He responds. When I"m close enough and it"s clear I"m not listening, he steps out of the van, annoyed.

"I think you might."

I lift my head, so he can see who I am clearly, and the complete shock that crosses his face is more than enough to let me know he understands just how bad he fucked up. I push him back against the van and I take my switchblade to his neck. I slip the side of it straight down past the artery, and it sprays all over this partner.

"No, Mikey! What the fuck!" The other man yells out.

He hops out of the van and stares at the body in shock for a second. He tries to rush me, jumping over his friend who"s bleeding out on the concrete. The second man knocks the knife out of my hand and punches me a few times in the face. The blows stun me, but they"re nowhere near hard enough to take me down.

I"ve been trained my entire life to take a hit and keep on coming. I push him back against the van and turned around, so his hand is behind his back. I jam his head in the window area of the driver's door and press the small button, so the glass slides up. I keep it pressed until he"s stuck and flailing trying to get out.

Once I know he"s completely subdued, I bend down and pick up my blade. I jab it as far as I can into the back of his neck and when I see bone, I slam it in further, hopefully severing the spinal column in the process.

He falls limp in the process, but just to make sure that the job is done I release him from the window letting him fall to the ground. Once he does, I bring my foot up high and stomp on his neck until I can hear his bones break.

Once both of them are dead, I pick them up, trying my best to keep the blood off my clothes, and heave them into the dumpster. I rush over to the back of the van and even though I don"t hear her, I can see the door shaking as if someone is trying to kick against it. She"s trying to get out. She better not fucking be hurt. I"ll revive those motherfuckers and kill them again if she is.

I quickly open the back of the van and her eyes go wide when she sees me. She collapses on my chest and sobs. I don"t know if it"s because everything happened so fast or because I allowed myself to take her as my woman, but having her out of danger makes me want to break down inside. The feeling is so overwhelming. I need to get her home and safe. I need to do it now.

"Hold on to me, Rabbit. I got you. I break the binds on her arms, and she instantly wraps them around my shoulders. The trust and fear racing from her straight into my body.

I pull the gag out of her mouth and I race us to the front of the building, where we take the elevator up to the apartment.

"What the hell is going on? I feel like people are just have it out for me. I don"t understand." She whimpers between gasps. She"s one step away from having full-blown hysterics.

"I don"t know, babe. I can"t call it, but I need you to know that I"m never going to stop protecting you, okay? I"m always going to be here for you." I do my best to reassure her.

"Why? Why do you have to? None of this makes sense." She stares into my eyes as we make it off the elevator. "They were talking about looking for me for a long time. They said that they knew I"d show up. Why are people looking for me, Xander? What"s going on here? I feel like I"m in my very own episode of the fucking twilight zone." She cries harder.

I want so badly to tell her that she"s going to be okay, but if the Di Cesaro family is already sending people to the house for her, it means I was wrong when I told my father they didn"t know where she was specifically. They know where she is, and they"re not going to stop coming until they have her. I"m not going to let them.

We just need a new plan. One that involves leaving New York. I know she"s not going to understand, but I"m hoping that she won"t question too much.

"I don"t know, Mel. I"m so sorry this is happening." I press my lips to hers and I can feel the desire and need consuming me. When she pulls away, I hear her say the three words I didn"t think I wanted to hear.

"I love you, Xander."

I want to tell her that she"s wrong, that she doesn"t know me, but she does. She knows the man I"ve been for her over the past ten years. The man who would stop at nothing to make sure she"s okay. What she doesn"t know is the man who has also stopped at nothing to keep her hidden.

I kick open the door and take a step inside. It seems like I keep fucking up more and more. I would have never walked into a location without checking for the possibility of danger, no matter how comfortable I was in the situation.

"Oh, well, isn"t this sweet? Sorry, I"m going to have to break up this loving moment."

I can"t move fast enough before someone from the shadows hits me hard against the side of my head. I fall, dropping Mel in the process. My head swims as I look up and see the one man I don"t want to see.

"My niece, it"s so good to see you."

Luke Di Cesaro is standing in my apartment, and he"s about to take the one person who could force his big brother from his spot at the head of the Di Cesaro family.

Melisande Di Cesaro.