Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
This feeling that I have now with Isla is uncharted territory. I want her, need her. I feel as if I would do anything for her. To the point of even charming her by wooing her with a date or two. If Alonzo or even Luc saw me like this, they’d say I’m going soft. Which is why I keep my plans private only to myself.
“Where do you want to take me?” Isla asks with excitement in her eyes. “Let me guess, a fancy restaurant maybe? Please tell me you will not take me to see a ballet. I’m behind in my training, and I can’t bear to be reminded about it.”
“No, neither of those things. I want to take you to my other favorite place, second only to the ballet theater. I think it’s beautiful and soothing.”
“Soothing?” she asks, intrigued. “That seems like an odd descriptor for a first date.”
Her brow wrinkles delicately.
“Is something wrong?” I ask.
“No, not at all. It’s just strange to think about going on a date with you.”
“What, I’m not your usual type?” I tease her.
“Honestly, no, you’re not,” she laughs lightly. “I don’t normally date dangerous killers. But for you, I seem to make an exception. It just seems so strange to go from your prisoner to your date.”
I feel a pang of guilt, one not strong enough to want to release her, though. Yet, it is important to understand that even caged birds crave moments of freedom.
“I will never let you go, Isla,” I say. “I can’t. Everything you are belongs to me now. And no one—not even you—gets to take it away from me. That said, I’m sure you can tell by now that you’re not the only one feeling captivated and imprisoned by the other. You may not hold physical power over me, but I’d be lying if you didn’t still hold the power to bring me to my knees.”
Isla’s face changes. She looks emboldened, like a queen—my queen. Her queenly appearance unexpectedly captivates me.
“Get dressed,” I say as I reach for my keys. “I want to take you there now.”
“No driver?” she asks. “Aren’t you normally surrounded by an entire entourage of your men?”
“Yes, I normally am. But not today.”
A knock on the door interrupts us. A quick look out the window shows Luc standing on the front stoop. His unprompted visit signifies importance.
“This won’t take long,” I say, cuing Isla to go to her room and give us some privacy to handle matters of business. I wait until she’s out of earshot before I open the door.
“I wasn’t expecting you,” I say as I let Luc inside.
“I know, my apologies. But I figured you’d want to hear what I found out as soon as possible.”
“And a phone call wouldn’t have sufficed?” My displeasure over being interrupted in my home is audible.
“I wanted to take precautions with such sensitive information,” he says as we walk into my study.
I have a feeling that Isla is a keen eavesdropper. Not knowing the purpose of this sudden visit, I want to avoid her hearing anything inappropriate or alarming. “So, you know how you asked me to do some digging around about Angelo Barone’s wife?” Luc asks. “I found out a few things about Natalia Barone that I think might interest you.”
“Such as?”
“Such as how incredibly unhappy she is.”
“I already knew that, Luciano.” I frown with disapproval. “I hope you didn’t come all the way here to disturb my peace and tell me things I already know. Natalia has always been an elegant, sophisticated, and observant woman—one clearly trapped inside a loveless marriage for years. Anyone with eyes can pick up on that fact.”
“Agreed, but did you already know that she is not only unhappy but also secretly disapproves of her husband’s brutality?”
“I could assume as much,” I shrug, still not impressed by any new information.
“And that her complex relationship with her husband, mixed with the silent contempt that she holds for him beneath her public shows of loyalty, has prompted her to do something completely shocking?”
“Get on with it,” I demand, growing frustrated.
“Natalia Barone has been helping women escape her husband’s trafficking ring behind his back,” Luc says bluntly.
Now that is something surprising that I did not know about. “The Barones only traffic drugs and weapons, not women.”
“That’s what I thought, too,” Luc continues. “Turns out, he has a secret ring of sex trafficking that has roots all the way into some of the darkest corners of the underground and all the way up into the laps of some high-level officials, too.”
I groan aloud when I hear that last part. This sounds precisely the sort of case Hal Monroe, that arrogant detective, would relish. Men like him are scum.
“How do you know about this?” I ask him.
“I killed two birds with one stone. I also went to talk with Alonzo’s daughter like you wanted.”