CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-EIGHT

Lyla’s POV

“Katrina,” I cried, pushing the table away so I could run. She walked towards me, tears in her eyes. “My mi amore,” she breathed, taking me into her hands.

I crashed into the bosom of the elderly woman, tears pouring down my face. “I have missed you so much.”

“I heard all the things the bad men did to you,” she sniffled. “I am so sorry.”

I turned towards Xiomar. “How is she here?”

“After we got attacked, we knew we needed to keep her safe. So Isiah found a way for her to work in Horace’s house.”

“Is your grandson with you?” I asked Katrina.

“Yes, he is in the servants quarters.” She stared at me. “You have changed.”

I blushed. “Leaner?”

“no,” she replied. “Stronger.”

“Come and join us,” I said, dragging her. “We're having dinner.”

“I go back to the kitchen now,” Katrina said. “I'll check on you, okay?”

“Okay,” I nodded, a tear falling. “It's really nice to see you.”

She smiled at the boys and left through the open door.

“I was wondering if she was safe,” I breathed. “Thank you,” I smiled, walking back to my seat.

Emilio got up and sat down in the empty chair next to me. “You want a tour of the grounds?”

I nodded, my stomach suddenly tight. “Thank you for the meal, Isaiah.”

He seemed so much at home here, his humour gone. “Anytime,” he replied grimly, going back to his phone.

Emilio grabbed my hand and we ran out, stopping at the entrance. The guards glanced at us, their eyes hidden yet I saw how their fingers tightened against the triggers.

“Let me show you my favourite place,” Emilio breathed, running towards the back.

“Slow down,” I cried out. “My feet hurt.”

“Hop on my back,” he replied, squatting. I climbed his back tenderly, then he started sprinting again.

We passed a well manicured garden and a pool. “Wow,” I whispered. Even in the dark, Horace had stationed lights everywhere in his compound, and the glow from the illumination shine everywhere. “Your uncle might just be richer than my father.”

“He is,” Emilio said calmly. “He may have left the mafia, but he is still who everyone comes to when they need help with certain things.”

I nodded and tested my head on his back. Soon, he came to a stop. “Here,” he said.

I came down from his back, my boots hitting mud. “Where is this?”

There was a huge construction. “Is this—” I barked out a laugh, “an amusement park?”

Emilio had the audacity to have a shit eating grin. “To you normal people,” he replied, dragging me along. “This is where my uncle trained us. We learned how to crawl and hide in special places here.”

At an unopened amusement park?

“How is this even here?”

“My uncle doesn't like having neighbors, so he bought it. Couldn't find a way to get rid of all of this though,” he replied, hitting the trunk of a merry go ride. “He just decided to keep it. Later, he saw the use. We learnt to shoot moving targets here, how to blend in with the crowd.” A sadistic grin stretched across his lips. “Once, my uncle wanted to kill a man, so he threw a birthday party for Xiomar and everywhere here was packed. We had a bet, whoever killed him without anyone noticing git ice cream for a week.”

“Who won?”

“Achilles,” he answered. “He slit the man’s throat, while walking. I saw that shit and knew I wanted to do it again,” he looked up at the big wheel. “We need to climb.”

“Why?” I swallowed.

“Because I want to take you up there, but I don't know if this old rusty metal is still good.”

I shook my head. “No thank you,” I said, recalling final destination. “I value my life a bit.”

“Done be a puss,” the handsome bastard flashed me a grin. “I'll make it worth your while. Climb up with me, and you'll ride my tongue as much as you want.”

My God. He pulled off his shirt and held the first bar. “I have done this a lot, Lyla. Come on, join him.”

I shouldn't be so stupid. Ugh, I groaned internally, climbing after him. After what seemed like forever, my head broke out at the top.

He was already sitting in one chair and he pulled me up, placing me next to him. “Good girl,” he breathed.

“That sucked,” I groaned. I glanced down, suddenly awar of just how high we had climbed.

“How do we get back down?” I asked him.

“Same way.”

Why did I let him convince me to do this? “So,” I settled on the chair. “I have never been on one of these things before.”

“Virgin,” he laughed. “There so much you need to do, Lyla. I hate that for you. I hate your father so much.”

Yeah. “You're second in line,” I replied. The mansion looked so far away, yet the skirt was so close. “Did you know Achilles killed Yasmine?”

“No,” he replied. “When we joined my brother in my father's compound, we could tell something had changed, but he refused to share with any of us,” Emilio sighed. “He was very close to her.”

“The man that caused that,” I said cautiously, “he is dead?”

“Achilles put multiple bullets in his head. Trust me, this isn't a graze like Christians. He is dead.”

“I wish it didn't happen to him. I would have loved to meet her.”

Emilio dragged me closer to him. “Yasmine was a very eccentric woman. You would have hated and loved her, more hatred at first. She used to whip us whenever we failed a mission and I am not talking about spankings. Her father was a don so, she grew up tough.”

I slipped my hands into his. “You think we can be free if this one day?”

Emilio grew silent. “You want to be free?”

“Yes,” I replied honestly. “I want to be able to walk in public without the fear of a gun being pointed at me.”

He hummed. “I guess that is feasible,” his lips curled in a small grin. “In the meantime, while don't I give you a temporary escape?”

“How?”

His blue eyes flashed. “I remember something about you riding my face.”