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)
Dante joined me and Mitch on the sofa, and Bébé sat down with his wife and put an arm around her. The others found seats as well, and Bébé indicated Ambrose should debrief us.
“They had Mitch stashed at some sort of compound out in the bayou. There were some high-level men stationed out there. We don’t know whether they were only there to watch Mitch or if they were waiting for a big meeting, but we got rid of them. The rest of his top people have been taken out by Remington and Corbin. They’ve made hits over the course of the last few days.”
I glanced at Dante, and he smiled. Could I really believe they were closing in on Ivanov, even though he’d escaped tonight?
Emilio has managed to freeze all of Ivanov’s accounts that we’re aware of. We’re closing him down. He’s going to get increasingly desperate. He will show himself again.”
“Emilio is the best hacker I’ve ever met,” Dante whispered to me.
Ambrose glanced toward his uncle. “Do you want to take it from there?”
Bébé nodded. “An anonymous tip has gone to federal authorities. So law enforcement will be moving in on Ivanov as well.”
Dante scowled. “We need to be the ones to take.”
“I understand how you feel. I believe we can work it out for him to end up in our hands, no matter who captures him first.”
“What kind of connections do you have?” I asked, then immediately clapped a hand over my mouth. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”
Bébé chuckled. “If you need something done in this town, our family can manage it. I think that’s enough detail.” I nodded, and Mitch did too.
“So what do we do now?” Lorenzo asked.
“For now, we wait and watch our backs. You should be suspicious of anything that seems off. If your gut tells you something’s wrong, believe it and contact Remington.”
“I don’t like this,” Dante said, reaching for my hand and twining his fingers with mine.
“None of us do,” Ambrose said. “We’re going to move on this as quickly as we can.”
“What do we do for now?” I asked. “I have classes, and I can’t just hide.”
Dante pulled me to him. “We’re both going to take a leave of absence from the university. That will put off the decision about how to handle our relationship and give us some time to conduct our search while you stay close to me.”
“What about Mitch?”
“I’m going to stay here for the rest of the semester,” he said.
Babe said, “My wife and I have enjoyed having someone younger in the house, and we’ve offered Mitch a full scholarship to finish out the rest of his education. In exchange, he’s agreed not to mention anything about what happened today or what he may know of our family.”
I glanced at Mitch. “Are you okay with that?”
He smiled. “Hell yes. Why would I say anything when I get to live here and then go to school for free? It’s a great deal. I love it here.”
There wouldn’t be any frat parties or sorority girls wandering around the Theriots’ mansion, but I had a feeling that might be good for Mitch. He might thrive in a different atmosphere.
My heart fluttered at the thought of Dante describing what we had as a relationship. That still didn’t mean he meant for this to be long-term, but I remembered what he said to me about how he had fallen for me. I glanced over him. Was there a chance this could be something more, something permanent?
He smiled at me, and I felt my body relax. “I should take Alex home. He’s had a hell of a day. For the record, he’s never going to be bait again.”
“I expected nothing less,” Remington said.
As Dante and I said our goodbyes, I hugged more people than I ever had at once in my life. Eventually, we freed ourselves and began the drive back to the city.
41
DANTE
While talking with family, I’d focused on Ivanov’s escape, how to handle it, and how to protect Alex, Mitch, Nikolai, and the rest of us, but now that I was alone in the car with Alex, all I could think about was how much I needed to touch him, to kiss him, to be inside him. I needed to show him he was mine and make sure he understood how deep our bond went. I also wanted to hurt him for choosing to put himself in danger, but only in the way he liked.
I made a rash decision, wanting to fulfill a fantasy I’d never thought I could. But unless I found a way to force the dean to keep me on, I’d fucked up my chance to continue working at the university. Why the hell not take an even bigger risk?
When I turned onto the main road through campus, Alex sat up straighter and turned toward me. “Where are we going?”