Ruthless 18+

25

CHAPTER 25

Almost a month has passed since the announcement; Azrael has been recovering, and I nearly tied him to the bed. All he wanted to do was work, so I locked him in his room and threatened everyone in the house. At night, I would sleep on the couch until he insisted I sleep beside him with a pillow between us.

Venice got a lead on the snipers. It seemed that Piro, Xane, and he had a plan, and they used the soldiers that they let escape as a tracker, but they had been moving to different areas weekly.

I was able to travel to my grandparents; I told them about my mother and Liz's death. They were shocked and devastated and said that they warned her about my father. It was hard to see older adults in pain, but it was customary to grieve; I wouldn't allow myself to.

My relationship with Daniel grew; he would visit me and laugh at what I had done with Azrael. He updated me today on what his and Azrael's team have been working on before he leaves for a business trip. The snipers were competent but not as bright as us; they went to the same place every 4 to 5 days, and that was almost 20 soldiers tracked.

I took one step after another till I reached Azraels' room. I opened it and saw him getting out of the bathroom, a towel hanging too low on his waist and the other holding his head. Fucken hell, those toned abs and the tattoos all over his body. The water fell quickly down his body and stitches, my throat went dry, and my blood heated on my face, making me release a breath. When he looks my way, I slap my eyes with my hand, still standing at the door.

"Ms.Genovese, I didn't take you for a stalker."He laughs.

"You didn't tell me you were taking a shower," I responded aggressively.

"It's my house, Iris." I feel stupid, so I remove my hand, and I don't know if I regret it or feel pleased; his back muscles flex as he pulls out a shirt and wears it. He brings his hand to his lower towel and removes it; I shut my eyes and open my mouth.

"Fucken God Azrael." My mouth hissed at him unconsciously; I heard him laugh and walk toward me.

When he stopped, he leaned down to my left ear, "Glad you know that I am a God." he hesitated to pull back but whispered, "I wonder how you would scream that."

I turn to him, not expecting the zero space between us; I look him in the eyes. This is how close we were during the dance, but I would have been on my knees without a second thought if I had one look he gave me. What am I doing? I step back, trying to collect myself; I came here to tell him something.

"We need to talk," I say in a rusty voice and curse myself.

"All right," he smirks. I go to the couch, and we both sit.

"So?" He consumes my thoughts so I look out the window and focus on remembering what Daniel informed me.

"We know where the snipers are." His amusement turned to a cold and dark expression.

"Well, Iris, you will finally have your war."

"I never wanted war." I breathed. "I wanted revenge." I cleared.

"Get ready, I'm taking you to the underground." he stood walking away, then stopped and looked at me. "Bring extra clothes, Iris." I draw my eyebrows together before parting ways.

I go back to my room and pull out my black outfit. My closet is filled with black color. A few were white to beige, but I didn't touch them; I couldn't. I go back to the mirror to change; while doing so, I notice my tiny baby bump and run my hand over it, smiling. I have taken a break from any aggressive or violent activities since Azrael was shot; I work out, eat as much as I can, and rest.

As Azrael suggested, I go down fully clothed in black with a bag of other clothes. I head out and see Azrael holding Rowan in the car, and he turns the steering wheel left and right; Azrael is making sound effects. Azrael looks my way and makes a beeping noise; I laugh and approach them. He made beeps again, causing me to hurry; I entered the car and sat beside them.

"Iris."Rowan boomed with joy.

"Hello, young Sicilian." I greeted him. Rowan would go to boarding school and come on holidays and sometimes weekends, depending on how busy we were. "And old Sicilian." I smiled at Azrael.

"She called you old." Rowan laughs, and Azrael raises his eyebrows at me.

"Old, seriously, mind you, I am only 27."

"Well, you are still old." I teased; I hid my surprise about Azrael's age. He looks way mature for a 27-year-old man.

"Well, buddy, Iris and I have some stuff to do so that we can play later." Rowan nods, and Azrael picks him up and takes him inside, personally handing him to his sitter. When he returned and sat in the car, my eyes shifted to the vehicle, fully taking her in.

"Wait."I froze.

"What?" he frowned, worried.

"This is an Audi R8 V10, matte and black."I squeals.

"You know about cars?"He gave me an impressed look.

"No, but I know about my future car," I say, examining her.

"Well, she's a beauty."

"What did you name her," I asked

"Name her?"

"You're kidding." I paused, shocked.

"It doesn't have a name." I released an ouch sound; he started the car.

The car roared, sending shivers down my spine and vibrating underneath me. My heart pounds in my ears, and I breath, "Someone rails me in this car." I pause, shocked. Did I say that out loud?

I look at Azrael to make sure, but he looks at me shocked and then switches it up to a smirk.

"Let's play some music," I suggest before he opens his mouth and says something that will make me more embraced.

An hour later, we reach the woods; Azrael stops and waits. I looked at him, confused, but it was clear when I saw the grass rise and an underground garage waiting to welcome us. I stay silent until we park, he gets out, and I follow him. After what seemed to be almost 20 security systems, Azrael had to put his thumps, hands, eyes, and face recognition. We entered a hallway of training rooms with kids, teens, and even adults training. Azrael stops in front of the door and enters a code. The door opens, and the lights switch open as we enter.

The room was so big, nearly the size of a football court; there was climbing, jumping, and crawling like a military exercise. Azrael put down his bag and took off his coat, and I did the same while still in the room.

"Remember when I told you I trained you to survive?" he asked, and I nodded in reply.

"Well, we are taking field training, you against me. I noticed your leg work; you do a lot of cardio so you won't have a problem with most of the exercise."

"Okay."

"You see that red stone?" He pointed toward it, and I nodded again.

"We will have to get it back running, but we'll have to go through the line of challenges first." I love challenges.

"All right, let's do this."I went down, fixed my shoes, and walked to the start line.

"Wait, what does the winner get?" I shout across the field.

"Anything," he answers back.

"Then work those legs, Mr. Sicilian," I called for him, and he winked.