Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Sure, but do I believe it enough to trust him with my life? Or, more importantly, with Hadley’s?
She didn’t know. What she wouldn’t give for a crystal ball to tell her what the right answer was. But, in the end, it didn’t really matter. Dmitri wasn’t an option. That meant she had to throw herself on Cillian’s mercy. To do anything else would only postpone the moment when her half brother took Hadley away from her.
I said I’d do anything to keep her away from the Romanovs. I meant it. She took a shuddering breath and reached for her phone. It’s now or never.
Chapter Fourteen
Cillian set another stack of papers aside as his phone rang. He was almost pathetically grateful for the distraction. As much as he enjoyed his job, doing it for hours on end wasn’t his idea of a good time. While Aiden was off doing what was necessary to get information that would help them figure out what the hell was going on, Cillian needed to clear off as much work as he could so he would be able to focus solely on that project when it showed up.
But a break wouldn’t hurt him any now.
He grabbed his phone, grinning when he recognized Olivia’s number. “Hey, sweetheart.”
“Are you busy?”
He straightened at the tone of her voice. He’d heard her pissed and turned on and amused, but he’d never heard her sound so…vulnerable. Almost like she was scared. Every instinct he had demanded he go to her, but that was a damn problem since he didn’t know what was going on or where she was. Then find out, asshole. “What’s wrong?”
She laughed, the sound soft and broken. “I probably shouldn’t be calling you right now. When push comes to shove, we barely know each other.”
If he let her keep going, she was going to talk herself out of the original reason she’d called him. Cillian took a deep breath and made an effort to sound as calm and soothing as possible. “You can trust me.”
“That’s just it. I don’t have a choice right now. You know that saying ‘Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t’? In this case, it’s dead wrong.”
He pushed to his feet, adrenaline spiking through him. She was in trouble. She wouldn’t be talking this way if anything else was going on. “Where are you? I’m walking out the door right now.”
“Wait.” Olivia took a deep breath and, when she spoke again, she sounded more centered. “I’m sorry. I’m just rattled. That bastard always gets the best of me.”
The roaring in his ears didn’t abate one bit. Someone had threatened her—that much was clear. The realization didn’t do a damn thing for his blood pressure. “Tell me what you need and it’s yours.”
“Just like that? What if I said I needed papers for me and Hadley to have new identities and enough money to disappear forever?”
That was one thing he could do. He’d had connections before he took over as the moneyman for his family, and now he was the one who would coordinate that kind of thing if any of their people needed to disappear. The thought of sending Olivia off and never seeing her again left a bad taste in his mouth, but she’d called him for help. From everything he knew about her, the fact that she’d even picked up the phone was a goddamn miracle. “Then I’d make it happen.”
This wasn’t about him and his needs. This was about a woman in trouble—a woman he cared about. He’d never considered himself a guy with a hero complex, but apparently some of Teague’s white knight attitude had rubbed off on him, because he cared more about keeping Olivia safe than keeping her close to him. Though if there’s some other option…
No. He’d spent the majority of his life thinking only of himself and being a selfish little shit. Now wasn’t the time to backslide into that.
And she still hadn’t said a damn thing. He rubbed the scar on his shoulder, wondering why the hell it decided to start aching right now. “Is that what you need, sweetheart? It’ll take me a little time to put together, but I can make it happen.” He had money of his own, though he rarely touched it for anything other than his clothing. It would be nothing to withdraw the amount she’d need to land on her feet somewhere else. He didn’t have to think twice about it. The papers would be slightly more complicated, because he needed to keep that information out of O’Malley hands.
“You’re being for real, aren’t you? You’d just write me a check and let me go.”
She sounded so shocked, he almost smiled. “Well, I wouldn’t write you a check, since that shit can be tracked. But a duffel bag full of cash wouldn’t be a horrible idea.”