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)
“So some maniac that buys people could be after me, and you didn’t tell me.”
“Yes.” At this point, there was nothing to do but tell the truth. “I didn’t want to scare you.”
“You just wanted to break my heart by sending me away.” He sucked in his breath. “I… I didn’t mean…”
He stood and walked away from me. “Alex.”
He shook his head. “Don’t.” I tried to give him a few moments to think, but part of me wanted to scream that it had broken my heart too.
He paced around the room, and I worried he’d make himself sick. Then he stopped and met my gaze. “You… You don’t think that Mitch… that this man that he went to meet… Could it have been Ivanov?”
“Yes, and except for the hair color, the man who was following you might have been him too.”
Alex swayed. I wrapped my good arm around his waist and pulled him back against me. I was relieved when he didn’t fight me. “I don’t know. I hope not, but I’m going to find out, and I’m going to keep you with me so he never gets close to you again.”
“Mitch could be his prisoner. He could’ve been sold to someone. I can’t believe this is happening.”
I put Alex and Mitch in danger. This was my fault. “I told you I wasn’t a good person to know.”
I thought he’d finally agree with me, but he turned in my arms and glared at me. “No, it’s not you. It’s the people you were fighting. But you shouldn’t have hidden this from me.”
Alex was trembling, and I hated seeing him so scared. How the hell was I supposed to know what to do? I’d never had a fucking relationship. I wasn’t sure this was a relationship. I wasn’t sure what this was.
I pulled Alex to me. “I’m sorry. I don’t really know what I’m doing here. I was trying to do the right thing to protect you, but I fucked up.” Admitting how wrong I’d been felt like it would kill me, but Alex deserved honesty.
34
ALEX
The pain in Dante’s eyes made me ache. “I’ve hated being separated from you. I missed you so bad, but I never doubted you did this to protect me. No one has ever cared about me like you do.”
He kissed me gently, but I longed for something rougher.
“I missed you too. I’m going to fix this. I’m going to find Mitch and find out who was following you. This has to end now.”
If my friend’s life wasn’t in danger, I would have insisted he show me just how much he’d missed me, but that had to wait. If Ivanov or his allies had really kidnapped Mitch, we had to find him fast. If he were still alive. “What if they… What if they killed him?”
Dante’s expression hardened. “Then they will suffer, but let’s pray he’s all right. He might just be doing something stupid. He might not be with Ivanov’s men.”
“How likely is that?”
Dante sighed. “Not very.”. He let go of me and stepped back. “I’ve got some calls to make. You’re about to meet my older brother and see Rafe again.”
“Does Lorenzo know about us?”
He shook his head. “No, and this meeting is not going to be fun.” He gestured toward the kitchen. “Get something to eat and sit down. I’ll take care of it.”
I did as he said, knowing he didn’t need me to argue. I was sure his older brother, who’d taken care of him, wasn’t going to like finding out he was fucking a student. I hurried back to the living room with my snack, needing to hear as much of their conversation as I could. But by the time I got there, I only heard Dante say, “I’ll see you soon,” before ending the call. He was using his neutral voice, which meant he was pretending to be calm.
“Was Lorenzo okay about everything?”
“I asked him to come here, but I didn’t tell him why I need him.”
“And he didn’t ask?”
“He asked, but I told him it was an emergency, and I’d explain when he arrived.”
I envied how close Dante was to his brothers. “Would he come no matter what if you asked?”
“Yes.” He held up a finger, asking me to wait, and placed another call.
“Rafe, I need you at my house, ASAP.” … “Yes, but I’ll give you the details when you get here. Lorenzo is coming too.”
I heard Rafe whistle through the phone.
“Enough. Just get moving.” He ended the call and met my gaze again.
“All of us would come if the others asked. We don’t need a reason.”
“That’s amazing. I can’t imagine my family reacting like that.”
“I would come for you anytime.”
His words were comforting but somehow also hot as hell. “How long will it take them to get here?”
“Not long enough for me to do what I want to you.”