Page 261 of The One
Nico snorts. “If you’re wondering whether it was love, don’t. According to my mother, it was lust at first sight. She was about to be shipped off to marry my… well, let’s call him my birth certificate father. She wanted one last night of freedom, snuck out to a bar, met your father, and yada yada yada, nine months later, I was born.”
By now, both men have lowered their weapons, an unspoken, intuitive truce settling between them.
“Did my father know about you?”
Nico shrugs. “Apparently, yeah. What he did with that knowledge? No idea. And frankly, I don’t care.”
He checks his watch and lifts an expectant brow at Mateo.
“Now, if you wouldn’t mind handing over the two necklaces and telling me where to find the third piece…”
Mateo crosses his arms. “As soon as you get us to the island,” he counters.
Nico chuckles. “Works for me. Let’s move. Our sonar picked up the explosive on the bottom of the boat. Wouldn’t want to get toasted now, not when we’re this close to getting everything we want.”
I grab Teo’s arm and check his watch. A jolt of panic hits me.
“Nine minutes.”
Nico whistles, and the bedroom door swings open. Another guy, about his age, steps out, his gun tucked visibly into the waistband of his jeans.
Teo and I exchange glances.
Nico laughs. “What? You didn’t think I’d be stupid enough to come here alone, did you?”
With a firm grip on my hand, Teo tucks Sofia’s gun into his waistband, grabs the backpack with all our essentials, and leads us out. The four of us move fast, the storm still lashing the boat tied to the back of our yacht, though the worst of it seems to be passing.
“So this is your boat, not Sofia’s?” I ask as we climb aboard.
“Correct. We let the crazy bitch’s boat drift away when I got here.”
He starts the engine, and we speed off. The farther we get from Mateo’s yacht, the tighter the coil in my chest winds. Every second drags, my pulse hammering against my ribs.
As Teo’s watch ticks over to midnight, I hold my breath.
Boom.
A deafening explosion splits the night right on cue. The shockwave slams into us, sending a tremor through our small boat.
My breath catches as the force rolls through me, like a punch to the chest. Heat licks at my skin even from this distance. I whip around in time to see the fireball bloom, an inferno swallowing the dark. Flames rage, devouring everything in their path. By the time it burns out, there won’t be anything left.
Teo pulls me in closer.His arms cage me against him, his breath warm against my temple. When I tilt my head up, his eyes are already on me, burning with something deeper than relief.
No words. Just the silent pull between us.
We did it. We’re free.
For now.
IfNico keeps his word.
Chapter Ninety-Nine
Mateo
Nico keeps his word, guiding the boat quietly along the shoreline until he spots a jetty and a darkened house perched further up the rocky beach.
The storm that raged earlier has lost its fury, but the wind still whips Mari’s hair, tangling it around her face. The rain has eased to a drizzle, and the air smells of salt, burned fuel, and scorched metal.
