Chapter 32

Unspoken Desires - Chapter 32

Damian

Lessia was dead.

Matt and I both knew sending Vincent to protect her was a mistake, but we both had our own personal reasons not to go.

Matt was still holed up in the abandoned complex, trying to get Svetlana to talk, but she won’t budge. Not until she sees her uncle, Mikhail. So Davide and Demetrius went to get him.

My reason for not going is currently taking care of all our patients: Gino, Alexandra, Constance, Alessandro, and even fussing over Matteo. Watching her work has given me new insight into her thought process in a way it never had before.

Miguel Cattaneo is on his way back from Montreal and wants to personally question Maria. Matteo wasn’t thrilled, but that’s between him and Miguel.

Vincent’s back too. Sareena gave him a sedative to help him sleep. We’ll get the answers we need tomorrow.

⸻

I knew it was time to finally call Luca and fill him in. I wasn’t sure how our Capo would react. All of us have been ignoring the calls from New York.

It was 10 p.m. here, so it’s 1 a.m. in New York. I hoped I could leave a message, but no such luck.

“Damian, why the fuck haven’t you answered our calls? What the hell is going on over there? And please tell me Gabriella is with you?” he barked the second he picked up.

For the next hour, I told him everything; from beginning to end. I didn’t lie. I wouldn’t. Not to my Capo.

He was furious at first; we’d defied orders. But eventually, he accepted that we did what we had to do.

Before ending the call, he gave me one final demand: “Bring Gabriella home as soon as possible. Her future fiancé, Darius, is coming to New York to make their engagement official.”

I hung up after that. I couldn’t do that to her, and not to Maximus. They were sleeping in each other’s arms upstairs after consoling one another for hours.

“What’s that look for?” Matt asked from the doorway.

I glanced up. He leaned against the frame, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, holding two beers.

“We’re screwed,” I said with a smirk, taking one of the bottles. “We defied both the Benedettis, brought Gabby without permission, got one of their top operatives killed, and we helped emotionally break the heir to New York. Luca also wants us to bring Gabs back immediately so they can announce her engagement.”

Neither of us said anything after that. We just sat in silence until Sareena came downstairs and walked into the kitchen.

“Go talk to her, brother,” he said quietly. “You know how you felt when she was over there. Petty fights aren’t worth ruining your relationship. I’m going to grab a few hours of sleep before finishing my interrogation with Svetlana.”

———————-

Sareena

I was exhausted and starving. I hadn’t even realized it was nearing 2 a.m., when I finished treating the last of the patients.

All of them had improved, and they were all back on the medications they’d missed.

I had just opened the pizza box sitting on the counter when Damian walked in. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with his disappointment in me, so I grabbed a slice and headed toward the door. But he took two long strides, spun me around, and pulled me into his chest.

“We haven’t done that in a long time,” he chuckled softly.

“Damian, I know you’re mad because I acted impulsively without thinking things through. But I helped get everyone out. I kept them alive. Please… just let me have this night.” I pleaded.

“Sareena…” he breathed, but instead of finishing, he kissed me. Rough and desperate.

“I love you so much,” he whispered, kissing me again. “I’m sorry.” And then in for another kiss.

I didn’t push him away. I needed him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled my face away just enough to whisper, “Take me to bed.”

He lifted me easily, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to the only room left; the kids’ room, with a single bed shaped like Lightning McQueen from Cars.

Neither of us cared. He laid me down gently and started taking off his shirt.

Oh, how I’d missed watching him undress. The intensity in his eyes, the warmth of his smile, his abs, his pecs, that perfect six-pack… and the V-line pointing straight to the place I’d been aching for.

Two years we’ve been together. We met just before my eighteenth birthday, and now we’re getting married next year. But we still hadn’t made love.

We’d done almost everything else… except that.

He pressed down over me, kissing me again. There was a hunger, a raw need in the way his lips moved against mine. His touch was everywhere, warm and reverent, but it still wasn’t enough. I wanted more.

“Sareena,” he said gently, his voice breathless. “Do you want to stop? Because if we keep going, I… I don’t think I’ll be able to.”

He dipped his head and wrapped his mouth around my nipple, sucking gently. I gasped, my fingers tangling in his hair, back arching as the sensation shot through me.

“I don’t want you to stop,” I whispered, barely able to get the words out. “I want to… feel you.”

He paused, eyes searching mine, looking for any kind of hesitation. I leaned in and kissed him softly, then deeper, until I felt his control start to slip again.

Slowly, nervously, I shifted my weight and guided him to lie back against the mattress. My thighs trembled slightly as I straddled his hips. He was so beautiful beneath me, his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.

I kissed my way down his chest, savoring every inch of warm skin, the way his breath caught when I traced my tongue along the lines of his abdomen. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was doing, but I wanted to please him. I wanted to make him feel how much I needed him.

When I reached the waistband of his pants, I hesitated for a heartbeat, but he looked down at me, his eyes filled with something deeper than lust. Trust. Longing. Love.

I slipped my hand beneath the fabric and gently freed him. He was hard and warm in my hand, and the sound he made when I touched him made my heart race.

I lowered my mouth to him slowly. His hips jerked and he whispered my name. Encouraged now, I took more of him in, letting instinct guide me. He was thick and pulsing, and every soft moan that escaped his lips made me bolder. I wanted to give him everything he gives me.

He threaded his fingers into my hair; not controlling, just grounding himself. I moved slowly at first, then with growing confidence I went a but faster, taking in more of him.

I let his breathing and the sounds he was making take control of my movements.

His whole body was trembling now, and I could feel how close he was.

“Sareena…” he groaned, his voice rough and wrecked. “You feel… incredible.”

I felt a swell of pride. I was doing that to him. I was making him fall apart like this.

He was trembling beneath me, just about to let go… when the entire house shook with a deafening bang.

————————-

Matthew

I was jolted awake by a huge explosion, that made the house rock. Almost felt like an earthquake. My heart started pounding, and I shot up and rushed to the window.

A fire inferno lit up the night sky above the abandoned complex that our guys were held in.

I threw on my sweats and bolted out of the room. By the time I made it to the porch, Sareena, Damian, Max, and Gabriella were already out there. Their silhouettes bathed in the orange glow of the flames. No one spoke, we all knew who was inside those buildings.

Mikhail Bocharov. Svetlana Bocharov. Maria DeLuca, but more importantly Demetrius and Davide.

My stomach twisted. Could any of them survive? I squinted into the horizon and caught it, blades cutting through the air. A helicopter; fast but low and headed straight for us.

“Everyone get inside and get armed!” I barked. “Chopper incoming!”

Panic ignited into precision, and everyone moved. Max disappeared upstairs, setting up at the top window. The M134 Minigun in hand. That monster could chew through steel.

Damian ran across the back yard and vanished into the trees with a .50 cal sniper rifle, positioning himself behind thick brush on the far edge of the property.

I grabbed the Barrett M82 from the weapons locker, chambered a round, and climbed onto the roof. The air around me was electric, charged with adrenaline and anticipation.

Matteo appeared beside me, calm as ever, hoisting an M240. “What do you think of this beauty. Fires 7.62 rounds at about 700 to 1,000 a minute. Balanced and reliable, just like me.” He flashed a grin, his tone oddly casual.

The helicopter loomed closer, searchlight sweeping over the forest line like a predator hunting prey. The house was dark, blacked out entirely. From here, we were invisible.

“They’re probably scanning for heat,” Max whispered over comms. “And they’re not here to talk.”

Matteo stiffened beside me. “I see her, that’s Svetlana in the back, beside her must be her uncle. He’s manning the light.”

“Mikhail,” I growled. “Both of them got out.”

“Anyone got a shot?” I asked through the comms.

“Clean one on Uncle Smirnoff,” Matteo replied. “But it’s a mock gun. I fire and we lose the surprise factor.”

“I got it,” Max said, steady and cold. “Firing in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…”

Bang.

We watched Mikhail tumble from the side door of the chopper like a rag doll, landing hard in the yard below. The spotlight died with him.

The helicopter swerved, engine whining in rage. Gunfire rained down on the house. But we had prepped for this, the others were huddled in the center of the structure, protected from the incoming fire.

“I can draw them off,” Damian said calmly over the comms. “I’m on the far side. They’ll pivot if I fire.”

Before I could object, a shot cracked through the air and a scream followed. It was Svetlana. Damian must’ve clipped her.

Just like he predicted, the chopper swung wide, its guns turning toward the trees. That was our cue.

“Light it up!” I yelled.

We opened fire; Matteo with the M240, Max raining hell from the top floor, me squeezing off precise rounds through the Barrett’s scope.

Another body fell from the open chopper door, a limp figure crashing through the dark.

But the helicopter surged upward, jerking into a sharp climb.

We didn’t let up, kept up with the assault.

I noticed the tail rotor sparking, then it spun. Hard.

The chopper started to drop in a slow, spiraling descent, until it vanished behind the tree line, a dull thud echoing in the distance.

No explosion. Just eerie silence.

I didn’t exhale until I heard Damian’s voice in my ear again.

“She’s not dead,” he muttered. “Matteo, you’re going to have to call in the clean up crew to confirm.”