Page 69 of Empire of Carnage
We stood there, watching the villa burn down until César finally made his way over to say his goodbyes. He’d fulfilled his end of the bargain and earned his freedom, without death.
“Te amo, Princesita,” he told her, punching her shoulder softly.
“If I can ever repay the favor, just say the word.” She didn’t hug him, and he didn't reach for her like I would have expected them to.
Maybe because it would be harder to face the emotions than either of them were prepared for.
“Actually…” César said. “You could tell that stubborn doctor to come back over the border with me.”
“What?” She looked at him like she didn’t understand.
“That Irish skin, she’s gonna burn up down here Princesa. My Médico ended up signing up for a Doctors Without Borders program, so I’m… desperate for a good club doc,” he told her, scratching the back of his head nervously.
“Desperate for a good doctor, or desperate forthatdoctor?” I instigated, hoping to force the words out of the man myself.
He gave me a cutting look, but Celia paid no mind.
“If you think I can make Emory O’Connor do anything—” Celia started.
“No, she’s just as hard headed as you are. But she’s indebted to Zerkos, and she’ll go— or stay—where he tells her to.”
“I’ll see what I can do, Lobito.” She reached up on the tips of her toes and placed a kiss to his cheek before he turned around and walked into the mass of leather vests congregated in a circle.
I’d kind of miss the bastard.
And I’d never fucking tell him that.
From the outside looking in, it reminded me of when loving parents dropped their kid off at college and stuck around that first day just to make sure they were settling in okay. Now César would be packing up and heading thousands of miles back to Grimm’s Reach, because she had proved she could make it on her own.
“What do you need?” I turned her towards me, wiping a rogue tear that fell from the corner of her eye.
“I need to change out of these clothes, I need a torta like nobody’s business, and I need to squeeze the truth out of that ugly pendejo,” she said, looking up at me. “In that order.”
“And the villa?” Zerkos asked.
“Let it burn, there’s another home further south, away from the city. It’s smaller, but since The Diablos are gone it’ll be just big enough for us all,” she explained. “There’s another villa adjacent to the property and the Crows can house there.”
“Send me the address,” Ronan said, casually tossing the keys to Santos.
“Where are you going?” he asked him.
“To get the lady her torta. I’ll meet you there.” He smirked, and she leaned into him and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lip before turning to Santos and changing her expression into a frown.
“You had to blow up the fucking Mastretta?” she chastised him, flicking her hand in the air to wave him off.
“You ran off like you have no regard for your own safety.” He scowled, raising his voice back at her.
Oh. This was going to be an actual argument.
“Because I knew if you went in there, I’d have to worry about whether or not you were going to come out alive too,” she yelled back, stepping up to him and getting as much in his face as she could, considering her height.
“So that’s how this works? You get to decide whether you live or die while you put us on a shelf to look at us, and keep us safe?”
I spaced myself from them, unsure if this was a “we” thing or a “they” thing. I saw both sides of the argument, and for that reason alone I knew I needed to get the fuck out of here before either of them tried to drag me into their corner.
“At least then I don’t have to go through the pain of thinking I’m going to lose any of you all over again. If you’re waiting for an apology, it’s not going to come from me Santito.” She emphasized the nickname like she wasn’t happy to be saying it at all.
“Kane, are you not going to say anything?” Santos called out to me, ruining my plans to try to stay Switzerland for this entire thing.
