Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
It was a room with a queen-sized bed and a small sitting area. It was nice enough to be a room in a hotel, but it felt empty and cold without Theo. “Thank you.” I saw my bag on the couch but didn’t reach for it.
Axel took off his cap before he ran his fingers through his flat hair. “You can let me know if you need anything too. You have my number.”
I sat on the couch, the only light in the room coming from the lamp on one of the nightstands. “Thanks, Axel.”
He lingered in the doorway as he held the cap at his side. “Would it make you feel better if I told you I’m not worried?”
I shook my head.
“You haven’t seen what Theo’s capable of. He wouldn’t be the Skull King if he weren’t the most ruthless son of a bitch there ever was. But I won’t tell you the details, because I want you to still like him.”
“I don’t like him,” I said. “I love that man…with all my heart.” The tears that I’d suppressed in front of Theo came out and streaked down my cheeks like rivers from a hot spring. “If I lose him…I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Axel watched me cry from the doorway, immobile like he didn’t know what to do or how to comfort me. He eventually came forward and tossed his hat on the coffee table. He was about to take the seat beside me when he chose the armchair instead. “I told Theo I would take care of you. Just the way he would take care of my wife if something happened to me.”
I gave a loud sniff as I tried to suck everything back in. “I don’t care what happens to me.” Whether Bolton took me again or I ran to another country to start over, it didn’t make a difference. “I just can’t live without him.” Even if Theo killed Bolton and I was a free woman, I wouldn’t want anyone else. I wouldn’t want to start over. I wouldn’t want to go on dates with men who looked like boys in comparison. “He lost his wife, and my husband was a fucking mistake. We’re supposed to be together.” I didn’t believe in destiny or soul mates or any of that stuff. But I believed in us.
Axel dropped his gaze, like he didn’t know what to say. He remained that way for a long time before he looked at me again. “He’ll come back, Astrid. I know he will.”
“How…?”
He was quiet for a while, staring at me as he tried to find the words. “He knows you’ll be at risk if he loses, and he’s not going to let that happen.”
Chapter 10
Theo
I called Octavio the second I dropped off Astrid. I didn’t have time to mourn the separation. Didn’t have time to worry about her. Now, she was Axel’s responsibility, and I trusted he would care for her the way I would care for Scarlett if our situations were reversed. I gathered my closest guys and told them to prepare, without telling them the location or the target.
Because I was paranoid.
If Bolton knew I was coming, it would make my life difficult. It would decrease my odds of victory. He must have known I would torture his colleagues until I got the information I wanted, so there was always a chance that the Carson tip-off was just a setup.
I was prepared for any scenario.
We took two Hummers out of the city and made the drive to Rome. A commute during the day would take hours with traffic, but in the middle of the night with no cars on the road, it took us no time at all.
I hadn’t spent a lot of time in Rome, but it reminded me of Florence, with the cathedrals and ancient buildings with walls full of history that no one remembered. I’d already pulled Carson’s information myself so no one would know I had that intel. I had her address, a nice apartment that seemed out of a single woman’s budget.
Which told me that Bolton had paid for it. It was more than an affair. He was a fucking sugar daddy. Putting his mistress in a beautiful apartment so she would keep her mouth shut and not blow up his marriage.
Despicable.
I stared at the building from the street, seeing that all the windows were dark because the lights were out. It was a single building with two luxury apartments, and she occupied the one that faced the street.
Which meant it was easy to see.
Octavio was behind the wheel, smoking his cigar with the window cracked as we remained parked at the curb. “How do you want to play this? Just blow the place to hell or sweep it?”
“There’s a woman in there.”
“So?” Octavio asked.