\[Rosco’s POV\]
I stare at the rubble in front of me once again, being reminded that what happened here wasn’t an accident and was intentional. For there to be this much devastation, someone had to have been behind it; no mere accident could reduce the place to this state.
After waiting for the sun to go down, we swam back to shore, and once we were sure those searching for us had given up for the night, we came here.
‘We will get revenge,’ Fabian growls, mirroring my anger as I realize just how close to dying Denali had been. ‘And we will make them suffer.’
‘Right,’ I respond, moving forward until I reach what looks to be the dresser from our room. ‘That’s a promise.’
Kneeling, I take in the remains of what should be holding Denali’s most precious thing and then begin to cipher through them until I spot something shiny. That had to be it—the pocket watch that I was looking for.
Slowly, I unbury it and then take in the cracked screen and the broken hands. Feeling my heart squeeze, I wonder how upset she will be over this. Although it seemed to be in one piece, it wasn’t completely intact, but these issues could be fixed.
Turning, I take in Denali as she stands at the edge of the property with her arms wrapped around herself. Even from where I am, I can see her shaking from the cold. Standing, I make my way back to her and wrap my arms around her, sharing my warmth with her until the sound of jet engines reaches us.
Looking up, I watch as Marty’s private jet begins to descend until it is close enough for him to throw down a ladder for us.
Clasping into it, I begin to climb while Denali clings to me like a monkey until we are safely inside.
“You look like shit, man,” Marty chuckles as I gently place Denali down on a seat. “What the hell have you managed to get yourself into?”
As he speaks, he takes me in, and then Denali. From the flash of curiosity in his eyes, I know that he isn’t going to let me go without telling, and honestly, I didn’t feel like reliving my hellish day just yet.
“Later,” I respond. “First, did you bring the clothes I asked you to?”
“Is that how you speak to your friend you haven’t seen in years?” Marty pouts.
Letting out a growl of warning, I wait until he bursts into laughter and then turns and heads toward the back of the jet. When he returns, he carries a stack of clothes in each hand.
“Here you are,” he announces, passing the clothes to us. “Now praise me for being able to help you out of your hard time.”
“Beat it,” I snap. “We need to change.”
Unphased by my behavior, he heads toward the cockpit, and once I’m sure that he isn’t going to come back, I turn and fix my gaze on Denali.
“Up,” I order.
Obeying my command, she gets to her feet and eyes me curiously until I reach around her and begin to untie her gown and then pull it off of her so that I can take in her bruised and tattered body. Fuck, I was going to kill whoever was behind all of this shit.
As this thought hits, Fabian becomes agitated, making it difficult for me to even calm down.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, pulling her against me and burying my face in her matted hair. “This is all my doing.”
“Yours?” She repeats, wriggling in an attempt to look at me.
“Don’t move,” I growl, strengthening my hold on her. “Just stay here with me for now.”
“Rosco,” she murmurs, slowly beginning to untense. “Look at me.”
For a moment, I don’t move as I wonder how my face even looks, but soon I begin to release her enough to look down into her sparkling blue eyes.
“This isn’t your fault,” she says gently. “Even if you and I weren’t together, this would inevitably happen.”
Wincing, I try not to imagine where she would be now if we weren’t together. If I wasn’t there to save her time and time again, would she still be on this earth? The thought left me with an awful feeling of emptiness and made me want to kill everyone who dared go against her, starting with her own family.
“I will destroy them all for you,” I promise her.
“I don’t doubt it,” she smirks. “Now, can I get dressed before your friend appears?"
“Right,” I growl. “Please do.”
Releasing her entirely, I watch as she pulls on the clothes that Marty provided her with before changing into my own, but as my pants hit the floor and the sound of metal clanging reaches me, I stop.
Reaching down, I lift them from the ground and begin to go through them until I find the source of the noise, and once I’ve got it in hand, I pass it to Denali.
“Here,” I say, dropping the watch into her hand. "It suffered some damage, but we can get it fixed.”
Nodding, she stares down at the watch as if it were the most important thing in the world, and I guess to her it is.
“My mom left it for me,” she explains, turning it over so that I can see the initials on the back. “She said that it was very important and that I never let it out of my sight.”
As she speaks, she twists the watch around again and again in her fingers until it suddenly snaps and the face plate crashes to the ground.
“Shit,” she hisses, taking in the broken object, but before she can bend and attempt to clean up the shattered pieces at her feet, she furrows her brows.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“This,” she murmurs, grabbing at what looks like paper that has been folded into a tiny square. “What is this?”
“Open it,” I urge her. “Your mother said it was important; maybe this is what she meant.”
Remaining silent, Denali pulls the paper from the watch and then slowly begins to unfold it until it is a single sheet of paper, and as she stares down at it, her eyes grow wide with shock.
“This,” she gasps, lifting her large gaze to me. “It’s a will.”
“A will?” I repeat, shock rolling through me. “Are you sure?”
“See for yourself.”
Hissing, I take in the paper as she passes it to me.
"Well, I’ll be damned." I grin, reading the words on the paper. “This is exactly what we need to take down your father and Beatrice.”
“Yeah,” she manages, her shock and hope clear in her eyes. “But how can we when we’re currently wanted fugitives?”
“Leave that to me, mi reina,” I murmur, kissing the top of her head. “I promised you the world, and I intend to keep my promise.”