Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“My father doesn’t either.”
“He won’t get to you. He’d have to come through me to do it.”
“Why don’t you stay here with Nikolai,” I said. “Rafael and I can take care of patrolling the rest of the house. Nikolai should have someone here as a last line of defense.” If it were Alex in danger, I would never leave his side.
Lorenzo studied me for a moment. “I think it’d be better to have us all on lookout.”
“That’s a big window, bro,” Rafe said. “Somebody could sneak in here easily. Niko is safer if you’re here.”
“It’s okay,” Nikolai said. “You don’t have to stay.”
Lorenzo laid a hand over his. “I’m staying. I just don’t like my brothers thinking they’re in charge of this operation.”
No shit. He always wanted to be in charge, but Rafe and I owed him many times over. We could handle this situation without him standing over us, and he needed to realize that.
And maybe you need to realize you’ve fallen for Alex just as hard as he’s fallen for Niko.
Rafe had been prophetic when he’d mentioned the large window overlooking the backyard. Dimitri had come right through the window, intent on taking Nikolai, but Lorenzo had thrown him right back out of it.
Rafe and I killed two of Dimitri’s men, but Dimitri managed to get away despite his injuries. Lorenzo was ready to explode, and I wanted to chase Dimitri down and rip his head off.
All I could think about was how I would feel if someone hurt Alex the way he’d hurt Nikolai. I would kill anyone who even touched Alex, much less tried to hand him off to some fucking monster like Ivanov.
I spent the rest of the night at Lorenzo’s house, not about to leave him alone in case Dimitri sent more men after Nikolai. I’d only managed a couple of hours of sleep when my alarm went off, and I had to shower and get dressed to go teach, as if I could concentrate on a class knowing the danger Nikolai and Lorenzo were in.
I was buttoning my shirt when my phone rang. It was Lorenzo. I really hoped there wasn’t more shit coming down on us. “I’ve got to leave for class in five minutes. What’s up?”
“I need you to stay here. Remington’s coming to discuss our next move.”
I’d hoped I could at least get through my classes before having to plan our method of attack. I wouldn’t leave Lorenzo unprotected, but I’d made a different life for myself, and I wasn’t giving it up to go back to being a warrior for Remington. “Didn’t you hear me earlier? I told you I have to work today.”
“You’re going to have to get someone to cover for you.”
I’d known from the moment Lorenzo called that I would stay if he needed me. I had to remind myself that I wasn’t giving up on having a life separate from our criminal enterprises. I was helping my brother. He needed me, and I’d never turned him down, but I also wasn’t going to make it easy.
“You fucking owe me.”
“I know.” He sounded exhausted, and I knew he wouldn’t make me stay if he didn’t need me.
Lorenzo sent me to watch over Nikolai while he talked to Remington. Even though we hadn’t spent much time together, I was already convinced that Nikolai was head over heels for Lorenzo and would do anything to stay with him, even put up with a family immersed in the same type of crime as his.
Niko was sleeping when I entered the room, so I stood by the window, letting the jumble of thoughts in my head run around in circles.
What was going on with me? Why was I suddenly interested in a student? It wasn’t just me wanting someone younger. Nikolai was stunning, but even if he weren’t falling for my brother, I wouldn’t pursue anything with him. There was no spark there. At least I knew I hadn’t developed some fetish for men his age. I had no desire to chase after any of my other students.
Alex was the one chasing after me.
And if he wasn’t, would you just let him go?
I didn’t want to think about the answer to that.
It would honestly be easier if it were a fetish I could indulge away from work. This went way beyond that. Alexander was mine. I couldn’t stand the thought of him with anybody else. I wanted to lock him up at my house and not let him leave.
He was a danger to himself. He needed protection. He needed someone to make him take care of himself. I could do that. I would fucking love to do that.
“Are you all right?” Nikolai asked, voice heavy with sleep.
“I’m fine. Why?”
“It looked like you were thinking about something that made you sad.”
I needed to do a better job covering up my emotions. “I’ve got a situation I have to deal with. It’s not sad, just complicated.”