Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
He watches me, amusement dancing in his eyes, but there’s a hint of sadness in them. “She’s playful. Uninhibited. And maybe a little vulnerable.”
“Is drunk Ollie playful and uninhibited? Or would that require a lobotomy?”
He snorts and shakes his head.
We finish our food, the tension easing as we fall into an almost comfortable silence. Despite everything, this feels somewhat normal again. We found a groove with each other back in The Cove. Maybe… despite everything… we can find it again.
Maybe.
I lean back and close my eyes.
It’s safer for me not to love him. If the time comes when Carlos makes good on his promise, it would kill me.
We have to find Carlos. We have to get to him before he gets to us… or neither of us will survive this.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Ollie
I work the whole flight, catching up on what I missed during my trip down to Colombia, but mostly, I’m trying to ignore the beautiful, captivating, infuriating woman beside me. She snores adorably in her sleep, and there’s a little bit of drool in the corner of her mouth. I smirk and take a little video. That could come in handy.
I frown when I rewatch the video. She’ll wake up with a throbbing arm and a hangover. I’ll have to watch for that. I shouldn’t feel bad for her. I can’t.
Early morning sunlight peeks through clouds as we land at our small, private airport right outside of The Cove. I scrub a hand across my eyes, grateful to be home but fucking exhausted. While Renata slept most of the six-hour flight home, thanks to the drinks and meds, I haven’t slept more than a few hours in days.
Still, I have to stay alert. Moving from one place to the next is always when we’re most vulnerable.
She needs her sleep, so I don’t wake her until we’ve landed. I hate being the one who drags her back into the present and back to being in pain.
“Renata.” Her head’s on my shoulder, her beautiful face so peaceful. I feel like a dick. Maybe I could carry her off the plane and get her to the car without waking her—
“Mmm?” She sits straight up, and her eyes fly open.
Maybe not.
“Why didn’t you tell me we were almost here? I like to know these things.” It’s true—she hates being left out of the loop and surprised. It’s partly why her brief captivity before was so maddening to her.
“You needed sleep. How’s the arm?”
With a sigh, she looks down as if just remembering what happened. “Still there, I guess. It’s fine.” She looks ahead when the door opens. “Ride waiting?”
“Yeah. Mikhail said straight to family headquarters.” I have to do what my oldest brother and pakhan of our Bratva tells me. I want her alone. I want to take her away from everyone, just the two of us, to the moon if I had to. I blow out a breath. “The closer we are to family headquarters, the better.”
She grumbles and shifts in her seat. “Alright, I got ya.” She looks groggy and confused. “That was fast.”
“Time flies when you’re fast asleep.” I pull up the video on my phone and show her.
“You made me do that! Delete that, Ollie!”
I snort. “Not a chance. This is prime blackmail material.”
She tries to look annoyed but gets this little look where her lips twitch, but her face quickly contorts in pain when she holds her arm. “Ugh, my head. My arm. What the fuck. Little slash like that shouldn’t hurt so much.”
“It wasn’t a little slash, but we’ll have you looked at when we get back.”
When we exit, the familiar sight of home brings a sense of relief. While my brothers have settled in nicely here, my job hasn’t afforded me that luxury. For years I’ve been a nomad, moving from place to place.
Until now.
I look at the beautiful woman beside me. We’re getting married. Does that mean I’ll actually get a chance to put down roots?
“Is that your driver?” she asks, pointing ahead to the car that’s waiting for us. I stifle a yawn. God, I’m fucking exhausted.
I shade my eyes from the sun and squint. “I think so.”
I take our bags and head out while the flight crew begins their cleanup. I’m eager to get her back to my house.
“Where did they decide we’re going?” she asks.
“Family headquarters.”
Renata nods but doesn’t offer much. She’s focused on the driver. I can’t see him from here, but everything looks legit. That’s our car. He’s standing in front of us, as is protocol.
I take our bags, and this time, she doesn’t argue with me about it.
Good. I just want to get home. Back to safety, where I can drill down security and make sure she’s safe again.
“Who’s back at the house now?”
“My mother and sister, I know that, but I’m not so sure about my other brothers. We’ll have a meeting this morning and decide what’s next.”