Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
After the sight of Fleur’s face, it wasn’t enough. I’d planned to kill Ivan with my bare hands. Most organized crime and gangs worked against the government, not with them, so I had an unfair advantage in that respect. Without President Martin’s intervention, it would have been harder and longer to capture Ivan, to scare off his supporters once he felt our wrath. It was an asset, but right now, it felt like a pain in the ass.
I could have gotten to him on my own—if I’d had the opportunity.
“How is she?” I asked.
“She’s fine. Staring at me with puppy-dog eyes right now.”
“Bring her home. I’m on my way.”
“On it.”
“And stick around. I need to talk to you.”
Luca paused for a moment as he let the silence linger. “I knew this was coming…”
When I got home, Luca was downstairs waiting for me.
Fleur must have gone upstairs to give us a moment to talk.
He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes guarded like he didn’t want to have this conversation.
I stared at him and tried to find the words, but maybe the words were unnecessary. He knew my intentions just by looking at me, seeing the heartbreak in my eyes. My life was forever changed by what had happened, and that didn’t need to be explained, not to Luca. “You’ve got this, man.”
He gave a quiet sigh as he directed his stare elsewhere.
“We knew this would happen eventually. And at least it’s not happening because I’m dead.”
“I know. Just won’t be the same.”
“We both know you’ve been after my job this whole time.” I forced a smile, trying to cheer him up, even though I needed to be cheered up myself.
He smiled too, but it was clearly forced. “You caught me.”
I shook his hand and clapped him on the shoulder. “Thank you.”
He offered a slight shrug.
“What will you do with the traitors?”
“Wait, you’re done, like, now?”
“Immediate retirement.”
“Jesus.” He gave a sigh. “Just got the job, man. Haven’t thought that far ahead.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.” Power had been exchanged and the conversation had finished. But he stayed like he had more to say and didn’t know how to say it. “We’re still gonna go to Holybelly together on Sundays, right?”
I smirked. “Of course.”
“And we’re still gonna drink?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good,” he said. “Just wanted to make sure.”
20
FLEUR
Bastien wasn’t himself, even when a week had come and gone.
He didn’t look at me the same, like the bruises were too painful to bear. Only when they started to fade did he behave more like himself. He was home with me every day, slept through the night beside me, worked out in the morning before he had breakfast with me. We didn’t talk about what had happened. It seemed like he wasn’t ready for that.
We lay together in bed, naked under the sheets, his skin fiery to the touch because he was still warm after doing all the work just moments before. But he was never hot enough to push me away and cool off.
I traced his jawline with my fingers, feeling the coarse hairs of his beard. “How are you?”
He hiked my leg over his hip, his hand on my ass. He didn’t address the question, sidestepped it with his silence like he didn’t want to confront it.
“If you want to go back, you can—”
“I have no desire to go back.”
He seemed distant and withdrawn, carrying a depression so heavy I could see it weigh down his shoulders. “Then tell me what bothers you.”
“What bothers me?” he asked. “It fucking hurts to look at you. That’s what bothers me.”
“I’m fine, Bastien. It’s already healed so much.”
“Doesn’t matter. I failed as a man when I let it happen in the first place.”
“You did not fail me,” I said gently.
“I did. If Godric hadn’t gotten there, you would have been entirely on your own. I wasn’t coming, Fleur. I was trapped in a warehouse fifty miles away, and it would have been literally impossible for me to save you. I promised I wouldn’t let anything happen to you…and I broke that promise.”
We finally had our lives together, finally had the peace that we desired, but it was destroyed by his disgust in himself. “That night we had dinner at Jules Verne…and I walked out. I left because I was scared of your world.”
“As you should have been. I wish you hadn’t come back.”
That hurt more than when I’d been punched in the face. “I came back because I chose this life with you. I knew the risks but chose to stay. You put this all on yourself and forget that I was an equal participant. When I drowned, I still chose to stay. I chose to risk that all over again because the alternative was unthinkable.”
He continued to stare at me, but his eyes were so hard and vicious. “I made you feel like shit for leaving.”