Page 76 of Hostile Devil
He’s beside me in a flash, cracking the window open to help me and peering out at the sloping slates. “Me? Afraid of heights. Do you even know me?”
“Then what are you waiting for, cabron? Get the hell out of here and keep moving.” I’m fighting the urge to sit down, gritting my teeth from the effort of staying upright.
His searching eyes are filled with suspicion and brotherly concern. “No. You need my help, Gio. Go first and I’ll shove you onto the roof.”
My stomach rolls. I rub a hand down my face, trying to stay focused. “You’re stalling, Mat. We’ll both go up… in smoke at this rate…” Fuck, it hurts to breathe.
“Fine. But you’d better be right behind me.” He steadies his footing on top of the cast iron radiator and hauls himself out into the night air.
“Do you think I’d make it easy… for you to make a move on India.” I blink away black blobs and shiver, feeling ice cold.
“Jesus, Gio. She has no interest in me. That girl was made for you. And the way she worships you...”
My heart malfunctions, randomly skipping a few beats and then speeding up again. I grab onto the window frame for support and growl. I need to be with her right now.
I don’t know where I find the strength to climb through the window, but I do. When Matheus’ hand reaches for me, I gladly take it and use his strength to heave myself onto the rooftop.
“Go that way.” I point toward the ocean at the rear of the house. “We’ll be able to jump onto the extension from there.”
Matheus stays low, scrambling ahead from one slant to another and constantly peering over his shoulder at me. “I reckon we’ve got about sixty seconds left,” he shouts, in a rush.
But I don’t give a fuck about the seconds slipping out of reach, not when my pulse is thumping in my throat and my lungs are growing tighter with each inhale. My footing is sloppy, each step starting to slow down, my vision blurry, and my knees growing too weak.
I don’t think I’m going to make it off this roof alive.
My mind drifts to India, wondering if she can see me up here. If she’s waiting for me somewhere safe, away from the bomb that’s about to devastate our home. The thought of reaching her gives me the extra push I need—the motivation to scramble harder and faster. She makes my heart keep on beating.
Almost reaching the extension, a thunderous blowout creates a high-pressure blast.
In front of me, Matheus leaps into the air and I lose my footing. He’s out of sight now and I’m clinging to a turret watching violent flames, thick smoke, and broken tiles burst into the sky at the front of the manor house. Even though I’m breathless and losing too much blood, I barely manage to throw my leg out and secure my boot on the rain gutter, clambering onto hands and knees.
Where the fuck did Mat go?
If I wasn’t so cold, I’d be sweating from the exertion.
Finally meeting the roof overhang where I know there’s a gable wall, I gaze downward, my eyes gritty and my head swimming. Thankfully, Matheus is on the flat roof of the corridor linking the old house to the new. The look of fury on his grimy face matches his frustrated snarls and scraped hands.
“What the hell are you doing?” I call to him, my nostrils flaring, watching him launch himself at the wall and slide back down again.
“Christ.” His eyes flick upward, and he drags a hand through his disheveled hair, exhaling in a gust. “You’re okay. I was trying to climb up again to find you.”
“You think I need your help?” I mutter, throwing my legs over the edge and using a drainpipe as my rope, gradually lowering myself to his level.
“We all need help.” He places his hands on my hips to anchor me. “And right now, you need it more than any of us, Gio. You look like shit.”
I swallow, my throat desert dry. “Charming. And I was going to tell you how… proud I am of you, Mat.” I swipe my forehead with the back of my hand, feeling sick.
After dropping onto the stone path surrounding the exterior walls, my knees buckle under me.
“Come on, brother. Time to get you to the hospital.” Matheus hauls my arm around the back of his neck, snakes my waist with his own, and supports some of my weight.
Interlinked, we leave the burning building behind—the house I had once thought was my home. It only became a real home when she was in it with us.
“You did good today, Mat. Shooting those fuckers… without getting hit.” I blink wildly, doing my best to see straight. “And trying to deactivate a bomb takes balls. You’d make a decent soldier.”
“Papá forced me into law instead of giving me a city to rule over like Dré. I’m bored shitless, Gio,” he admits. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, and everything fell into place when you brought me here. I want to join your kill team as your trainee. I’ll do whatever you tell me to do.”
“No.” I grit out. “You’re twenty-two, over-the-top smart, and the world is at your feet. Choose something else.”
