Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 66962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
“It’s good for you to talk to people.”
“Not irritating shits like Carlo.”
Rogue huffed. “Keep telling yourself that.”
“I’m not good company for anyone.”
“You can be, and even when you’re not, I don’t mind hanging out here.”
I sighed. I was in no shape to get more wrapped up in Carlo than I already was. He’d been fucking perfect in bed, and if I saw him again, there was no way in hell I would be able to resist him. I’d allowed myself a few moments—more than a few—of tension relief. That was all this could be, and even then, look what it had done to me.
You were fine with it when he was here. It was only when you let yourself think about it too much that it became a problem.
“I’ll work with the horses, but I’m not babysitting a mobster who can’t even care about his own safety.”
“Damn, you sound just like Grant.”
“He chose to take on Carlo.”
“I’m fairly sure he didn’t have a choice, seeing how close Lucien and X are.”
“Possibly not, but he’s sure as hell not pushing Carlo off on me. He’s not my commander anymore.”
Rogue grinned. “I’d love to see the look on his face if you said that to him.”
I shook my head. “In the marines, I wouldn’t have dared.”
“I bet not.”
Rogue laid a hand on my arm. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, you can go on and take care of your chores. I’ll be fine.” Surely I’d eventually forget Carlo, even his delicious scent.
8
CARLO
After a few days of me not running away, I was allowed out of the barn. Jacob had insisted I borrow a pair of his boots. I’d hesitated since they were covered with mud, and even clean and new, they would have been hideous. He warned me I’d really be sad if I wore my shoes to the barn. He’d been right. We were walking in dirt and hay—straw I was informed, not hay—and I had to work to dodge horse shit. I wondered why anyone would want to spend their days like this.
It only took a few days for me to start to see why all the muck, and the rain, and the cold—okay, it wasn’t that cold and nowhere near as rainy as it was in southern Italy this time of year—was worth it.
The men working the ranch spent the day dirty and sweaty, though it obviously kept them fit. They looked way better than even the most dedicated men at my gym in Rome. What made all that misery worthwhile was the horses. Playing with them, especially the foals, was worth the scratches on my hands, the ugly boots, a torn sweater, all of it. I could sit and watch them for hours. By the end of the first week, I didn’t even notice how smelly the barn was.
Maybe staying at this unusual safehouse wasn’t so bad. The food was good. Jacob and Rogue were fun to talk to, and somewhere out there, Blade was in his cabin hiding from me. I would see him again, no matter how much he wanted to keep me away.
9
BLADE
The sun was shining bright the next morning. I stood on the porch drinking my coffee and enjoying the cooler air. There’d been a time in the desert when I thought I’d never feel a cool breeze again, but today, the air was crisp and fresh, and I wanted to be out in it.
I didn’t need a therapist—or Grant or my mother or anyone else—to tell me that was a good thing, but should I follow that instinct when I’d promised myself I’d stay right there at the cabin until Carlo was gone? Days had passed since our… meeting, and I hadn’t seen him, not that I really thought he’d come all the way out here. Grant wasn’t going to let him stray far.
A bird twittered as if calling to me. I took another deep breath of fresh air and listened to the whinny of horses in the nearest pasture.
Why should I stay locked up in my cabin because of some mafia brat? If I saw him, I could just ignore him. Most likely, Grant was keeping him in the house under constant surveillance.
As I walked along the perimeter of the pasture, the only sounds were horses snuffling and cantering around the enclosure, birds singing, and insects chirping. There was no sign of another human being anywhere near me. That was just how I liked it.
Then why are you disappointed not to see Carlo.
I scoffed at that nagging inner voice. I wasn’t disappointed. Why the hell would he be all the way out here anyway? If he were looking for me, that would mean the rest of the guys here weren’t doing their jobs, and that just wasn’t likely.
Was it?
From what I’d heard, other clients had managed to get around them, and I already knew Carlo was crafty.