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)
“If something happens to you…” Silence for a beat, and then two. “You’re right. Damn it, I know you’re right. Just don’t do anything to get yourself killed.”
Her heart tried to beat its way out of her throat. “I won’t.” Now wasn’t the time to play the hero, and the suit had never been something Olivia aspired to. She wanted a quiet life. A home. A family. A man who loved her and her daughter more than he loved anything else.
It seemed so simple, and yet it was an impossible dream.
She was Dmitri Romanov’s half sister. No matter what else she did with her life, that would always be there, hanging over her head. There was no escaping that particular identity, no matter how much she wanted to. Even if she changed her name, it would always be lurking, ready to take her out when she least expected it.
First Hadley. Then deal with everything else.
They wound through neighborhood after neighborhood, the houses getting smaller and in poorer repair. Finally, he pulled up at a curb. “She’s two blocks down. Yellow house on the right.”
It was slightly cheerier than its neighbors. Though the paint was fading and peeled, there were flowers in a pot on the front porch and curtains hanging in the windows—something floral and bright. It said something about the kind of woman Sergei’s aunt was. In different circumstances, maybe she would be someone Olivia could have connected with.
It didn’t matter. If she was helping Sergei, then she was as much the enemy as he was.
She took a deep breath, but it didn’t do anything to calm her. “Okay.”
Cillian stopped her with a hand on her arm. “You go in the front door. You have five minutes before we bust down the back, Olivia. That’s it.”
It wasn’t much, but in reality, a lot could go wrong in the space of five minutes. Lives could change. Lives could end. She gave a jerky nod. “Okay.”
“Get Hadley and get down. We’ll take care of Sergei.” From the grim way he said it, he meant permanently.
Good.
She slipped out of the car and walked down the sidewalk, every step taking her farther away from Cillian and closer to danger. She had the sudden urge to run back to him and tell him that she loved him. What if that was my chance and I’ll never get another one? What if Sergei kills him? What if he kills me? She’d spent too much time around the man to underestimate how dangerous he was. There might have been a time when he’d hesitate to hurt her, but it had disappeared right around when he’d stolen Hadley from her bed. All bets were off now.
It took entirely too little time to make it to the yellow house and walk up the steps. She knocked before fear could paralyze her. There were heavy footsteps on the other side and she barely had time to brace herself before the door was flung open and she was face-to-face with Sergei. His blue eyes went wide. “You.”
Everything that she’d been trying so hard to control came rushing to the fore. “Me.” Olivia shoved past him and into the house. “Where is she?”
She barely made it three steps when he grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. “How did you know about this place?”
“Dmitri. How else?” She laughed, the sound high and nearly hysterical. “You didn’t really think you could hide anything from him, did you? If anyone should know better, it’s you.”
He tightened his grip. “Who else is with you?” He moved to the window, dragging her behind him, and peered outside. “Where is that boyfriend of yours?”
Hopefully sneaking up to the back door right about now.
She ignored the question and looked around. Despite the floor plan, the décor was bright and downright cheery. This place was obviously well loved. “Where is Hadley?” She wanted to call out for her daughter, but if she wasn’t here, she wasn’t in the line of fire of what was about to go down. “What have you done with her?”
“You really think I’d hurt a child?”
That wasn’t a damn answer. She shoved at him, but he only gripped her tighter. I’ll be wearing those bruises tomorrow if I survive this. “You forget. I know you. Do you really want me to answer that?”
He shook her hard enough to snap her head back. “Don’t be a bitch, Olivia.”
“You first, Sergei.”
He started to turn a mottled red color, a sure sign of violence to come. “You always had a smart mouth on you. Maybe it’s time to teach you a lesson once and for all.” He glanced at a hallway—if it could be called that. It was barely three feet deep, ending in two closed doors.
Hadley.
He was talking about hurting Hadley.
No. “You’re right. I did.” Somehow she managed to keep talking despite the pain radiating from where he held her. Keep focused on me, you piece of shit. You leave my baby girl out of this. “You know, I always suspected sex was so boring with you because you had to hurt a woman to get it up. Looks like I was right.”