25 Stone Someone threw a blanket around Giada, tucking it between our bodies to cover her nakedness as she clung to me like a leech. I strode out into the parlor area and straight through to the arches as she sobbed against me, her hands grasping and her legs a vise around my waist. One arm under her a*s, the other across her back, I continued right out the front door, bypassing Klingon and his Vipers who offered nods. Volkov’s guards and the would-be buyers sprawled all over the f*****g place. The three drivers rested their heads against the driver seats, bullet holes between each set of eyes. A van sat beyond, just inside the gate, the engine running. Klingon’s VP yanked open the side door for me as I approached, and I climbed into the far back seat, hidden by dark-tinted windows.

