Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 57028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Father has taken off his suit jacket, looking somehow more… well, like a person. A man instead of the dark figure he’s been my entire life.
I clutch Evie’s hand tightly under the table, feeling her fear blazing up her arm.
“Our tech guy used Mason’s phone to trace all copies of the video,” Rafe says. “They’re all gone, Evie, every single one. You don’t have to worry about it ever again.”
“Thank you,” Evie replies. “You’ve all done so much.”
“It’s the least we could do,” I tell her fiercely. “I mean that. It’s less than you deserve.”
That’s not saying a lot, because she deserves the world.
“What happens now?” Tash asks.
“I’ll keep my feelers out for The Vultures,” Father says. “But if they know what’s good for them, they’ll go to ground. They’ve lost their only leverage. I’d recommend that you ladies stay with your men for the time being.”
“That’s their choice,” I growl.
Evie turns to me sharply with clear shock on her beautiful face.
“Your. Choice.” I lean down and kiss her on the cheek. “If you want to leave, you can leave. I’ll arrange for a security detail to watch you – or you can go without.”
“You’d leave her unprotected?” Father says in shock.
I swallow. “I’d hate myself for it. And I’d never forgive myself if something happened to her. But I will not to be her prison warden anymore. I’m a man hungry, desperate for my woman to need me like I need her. It’s true. But I won’t force it. Evie is her own person who can make her own choices.”
She smooths her hand up my back, over my neck, and through my hair. “Thank you,” she whispers. “Tonight, I choose to get some sleep… alone, if that’s okay?”
I try to hide my hurt.
“I need some time to decompress, to let my thoughts settle.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself,” I tell her. “You can have the master bedroom.”
“No–it’s okay. I’ll take one of the spare rooms.” She turns to the table. “Would you guys be offended if—”
“Are you kidding?” Tash cuts in. “Go, hon, get some rest.”
I stand when Evie does, taking her hand and walking with her through my house.
“Thank you,” she says outside the door of the spare room. Meatball meows, and Evie smiles a little nervously, almost like she’s afraid to let herself smile. “Meatball says you’re the best kidnapper a woman could ask for.”
I laugh ruefully. “You better tell the little man I’m not a kidnapper anymore.”
She grabs my shirt, pulls herself in for a kiss. “Just know, Dom, I haven’t lied to you. About what I want. About us. It’s just… everything. My head is a mess. I need to sleep. To forget.”
“I understand.” I pull her in for another hug. “If you need me tonight, wake me up. Don’t suffer alone.”
“I won’t.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
We share a kiss, then I return to the others.
“Is she okay?” Tash asks.
“She’s a fighter,” Father says.
I run my hand through my hair. “It’s been a long day. She needs time for her mind to settle.”
“For what it’s worth, I think she cares about you too,” Tash says. “But Evie hates feeling trapped… I wouldn’t push her.”
“I won’t,” I say. “From now on, we’re a partnership.”
If she’ll have me–if she doesn’t change her mind. If she doesn’t decide, she needs her independence back.
CHAPTER 26
EVIE
Itry to sleep, but I can’t stop tossing and turning.
It’s not just the memory of Mason keeping me awake. I think about the drive into Vulture territory earlier today, talking about kids and a future with Dom. I think about what Mr. Russo said, saying he wanted to be involved in our lives… as a grandfather and father-in-law.
I think about the future twinkling in front of me, tempting and promising.
But how can I be certain I have control? That I’m choosing this?
Sitting up, I nibble on my lip, looking at the door. Perhaps there’s one way to prove I’m in charge… or maybe that’s my neediness tricking my mind into doing what I desperately want.
“Stay here, boy,” I whisper.
Meatball huffs and rolls onto his back like he’s saying, You don’t need to tell me twice.
I walk through the estate, heading toward the master bedroom.
I don’t knock. I step into his room without hesitation, because I don’t need to be uncertain anymore. Not with him, not when the lights go out. The door clicks shut softly behind me, sealing us off from the rest of the world.
He’s sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows resting on his knees, hands loose, almost relaxed but with a quiet tension humming beneath the surface. His head tilts just the slightest, as if caught somewhere between waiting and something more. Something dangerous, magnetic.
When his eyes lift to meet mine, they’re already burning, smoldering embers behind a calm facade.
We’re past the point of pretending either of us can fight what’s pulling us in.