10. Salvatore

10

salvatore

Darkness has never been my friend.

Since I was a child, I dreaded the dark. The circumstances were understandable given what I had been through at the hands of Lucius. But it’s a dislike I’ve carried into adulthood, even so many years after triumphing over the piece of shit who pretended to be my father.

The lights go out as I’m teasing Delphine by licking and sucking on her titties. I’ve got her right where I want her when the room goes dark. Tension clinches my insides. I lean back and then stand up off the bed, my hand automatically falling to my piece in my holster.

“Grab the kids and lock the door,” I say. “The power went out.”

Before Delphine can offer any protests, I’m out the door. I head down the hall as several of the other doors open. Stitches pokes his head out in the hall alongside Sasha.

“Psycho, what in the hell’s going on?”

“Come with me,” I say. “Sasha, grab the kids and wait with Delphine.”

The couple do as I tell them and split up. Stitches hurries behind me. Sasha turns to go meet Delphine and gather the kids from their rooms.

Stitches and I are footsteps away from the staircase when the last door in the hall pops open and Ernest emerges.

“What in the world is going on?” he asks.

“You should go be with Delphine and Sasha. They’ve got the kids?—”

“I’m coming with you two to find out what’s happened. Have you forgotten I was once the man of my household?”

I concede his point, giving a nod.

It’s true. While Ernest and I have not always seen eye to eye, the man always protected his family. His overprotectiveness over Delphine was part of what initially caused friction between us. She wasn’t even allowed to see me. Be around me anywhere, even at school.

When it’s counted most, Ernest has done what he needed to. Delphine told me all about the time he tried to help her escape Lucius and the Neptune Society’s clutches—he’d been shot in the chest, which allowed her to make her escape.

He’s been nothing but an amazing grandfather to Dominic, Serena, and Dante.

The three of us descend the staircase onto the ground floor. Stitches covers me like he usually does whenever we’re in potentially dangerous situations.

It’s entirely possible that the lights went out because of some fluke reason. It could be weather or even the location being shoddy (we are up in the mountains).

Or it could be a more nefarious reason we’ve been plunged into darkness.

I dial my security on shift. They’re posted at the doors as well as around the perimeter of the property.

“Not sure what’s going on, boss,” says Lev. “It seems like the whole place’s been cut off. All the other houses in the area too.”

“Find out for sure.”

We hang up with no more clarity than when I called him.

“He says it could be an area-wide thing,” I say.

Ernest steps past me. “There should be flashlights in the utility closet. We could be stuck like this for a while.”

“Good thing it’s past the kid’s bedtime. They’ll fall right back to sleep,” says Stitches.

But I’m barely paying attention to what he’s said. I’ve moved over to one of the windows in the entrance hall, peering out at the dark snowy landscape that surrounds us. Some would say the environment is serene and calming with nothing but trees and snow for what feels like miles.

For a guy like me, who detests the dark and errs on the paranoid side, not so much.

We check out the rest of the ground floor as a unit. Ernest carries the flashlight while Stitches has his Glock out and ready in case we encounter any surprises.

I’m at the helm, scoping out every room to confirm nothing’s up.

“So it really is just a power outage,” says Ernest with a deep breath. “Sounds like we need to return to our rooms and make use of some good ol’ fashioned candlelight.”

“I can think of a couple other things Sasha and I will be doing.” Stitches waggles his brows with a wide grin plastered on his face.

We return upstairs. Ernest retreats to his room while Stitches and I go check in on everyone else. The kids are all knocked out as Stitches predicted. He and Sasha take Bryce with them to tuck him into his bed.

Our three little ones are spread out on our king-sized bed, dozing away without a care in the world.

Delphine stops at my side. “Should we move them?”

“They’ve made themselves comfy. I’m not getting any sleep tonight. You climb in bed with them. There’s enough room for you.”

“Then I’ll stay up too,” she says. “You can tell me what you think is going on.”

“Phi… I told you. Power outage.”

“Your reaction was much more than that.”

We glance over at the bed to make sure the kids are still out. Dominic’s releasing little snores that sound like a cub in hibernation. Dante’s sucking on his thumb as he sleeps, a habit of his we’ve been trying to ween him away from. Serena’s nestled between pillows, my princess clutching her favorite stuffed bunny.

I lower my voice more than it already is. “You know how these things can be, Phi. I’ve got to be on guard. Even when it seems like it’s nothing.”

She softens moving closer, reaching up to frame my face with her hands. Her touch is immediately soothing, releasing some of the tension clenched inside my body like only she can.

“I hate that you have to be on guard all the time,” she sighs. “Part of this trip was supposed to help you unwind. Get you to let go and celebrate Christmas.”

My hand covers one of hers as it rests on my cheek. “You’ve been doing that. But I’m always going to be ready for anything that goes wrong. It comes with being in this lifestyle. You know that better than anyone.”

“I’ll make you relax,” she whispers then presses a soft kiss to my mouth. “Next time we’re alone, I’m going to suck your cock so good you’re going to be out of it for the rest of the night.”

I chuckle at her promise, more than aware she’s serious. Leave it to Delphine to make such a threat given our circumstance.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“You still haven’t seen my surprise and what I have planned for you.”

“Looks like I have something to look forward to.”

She links her hand with mine and tugs me toward the bed. Instead of laying down with the kids, we sit down on the small sofa by the window and huddle close. My arm comes around Delphine and she burrows against my side.

It’s how we remain for the rest of the night.

The power’s on come morning. I drifted off to sleep at some late hour after Delphine did. I sit up, lifting my numb arm from under her, and glance around the room. The kids are right where we left them, spread out on the king-sized bed.

I’ve got a crick in my neck and an ache in my back standing up from the sofa. It wasn’t the most comfortable place to rest for as long as we have, but it was better than disturbing the kids while they rested. I leave Delphine asleep on the sofa and the kids in the bed so I can scope out the rest of the vacation home.

Ernest is already up, seated in the kitchen sipping on coffee.

“Merry Christmas,” he says in greeting. “How’d you end up sleeping?”

I crack my neck on either side. “Not the best night’s sleep. You?”

“Same. I found it hard to sleep straight through. Coffee? I made a whole pot.”

I join him at the table and accept the mug of black coffee he passes me. “Power’s back now. That’s all that matters.”

“Has Delphine mentioned anything about Marcel calling her?”

“Should she have?”

“He tried calling me last night. I have four missed calls from him. But when I tried calling him back, he didn’t answer.”

“He hasn’t answered my calls either.”

I look over my shoulder at the sound of Delphine’s voice. She’s wandered downstairs and walked into the kitchen, still in her clothes from last night.

“It’s true,” she says, frowning. “Marcel called several times and then wouldn’t answer. I think something’s wrong.”