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)
“Don’t you worry about a thing, dear. I don’t need to know where you’re going—just keep that beautiful baby girl of yours safe.” She walked out of her apartment and pressed a quick kiss to the top of Hadley’s head. “Try to call and let me know you’re safe once in a while.”
“I will.” Her eyes burned, but she blinked past it. This wasn’t forever. She had a life here and, while it might not be particularly glamorous, it was hers. She’d fight tooth and nail to keep it. She just wasn’t dumb enough to ignore the threat dangling right in front of her face. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Good. Now don’t let me keep you. Go.”
She went. Cillian met her at the bottom of the stairs. He did a double take at the sight of Hadley in her arms, but then he was next to her, his hand resting on the small of her back as they crossed the parking lot. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He was too busy watching everything else to notice, surveying the area for a threat.
He really came. He didn’t demand an explanation. I called, and he showed up.
It was a whole hell of a lot to wrap her mind around. She’d hoped—of course she’d hoped—but she hadn’t really believed he’d come through for her, no questions asked, until he’d done just that. Trust issues much, Olivia?
Only totally.
With her track record, who could blame her? From Andrei right down the line to Sergei, not a single person had ever once dropped everything and come to her when she was in need. There were always conditions and power plays—if they even came at all.
She hooked Hadley into her seat, and then they were in the car and driving away from her place. She glanced back, but they’d already turned the corner, and the building was no longer in sight. Olivia sat back in her seat with a sigh. It’s not forever.
It sure as hell felt like forever.
She shot another look at Cillian, but he was relaxed in the driver’s seat…as long as she didn’t pay attention to the way he watched the review mirror. “You think we’re being followed?”
“No, but I’ve recently graduated into the ‘better safe than sorry’ mind-set. Going the roundabout way isn’t going to hurt us any, and if we are being followed, it should throw them off.”
“Oh.” She pulled her knees to her chest, feeling seriously out of her element. She’d been so damn naive to think she’d left this life behind her. “I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing.” But he said it gently. “If I didn’t want to help you, I wouldn’t help. The offer to disappear still stands, by the way.”
God, he was seriously too good to be true. She’d heard his conviction on the phone, but seeing it in person only drove that fact home. He wouldn’t hesitate to give her a stack of cash and a set of papers and send her on her way. So eager to see the back of me? She shut the thought down. It was petty and downright wrong.
He was here…taking care of her. Shouldering part of the burden so she didn’t have to go it alone. Her heart beat too hard at the realization. It was nice to have someone she could lean on—actually lean on—who would show up when she needed them, and was so damn capable while doing it. Because he wanted to be here. If he didn’t—or didn’t want to deal with her special brand of bullshit—all he would have had to do was tell her to fuck off.
As if reading her mind, he said, “I’m here because I want to be. No one held a gun to my head.”
Because Sergei wasn’t here to see us make our getaway.
She was just a little ray of sunshine today, wasn’t she? Olivia checked on Hadley—still sleeping—and settled into her seat. “Let’s get this Q and A out of the way so you know what you’re getting into.”
“It can wait.”
“No, it can’t.” She already felt bad enough about bringing him into this mess. For him to do it without knowledge of exactly what the threat was would be unforgivable. “You remember how I said I have an ugly history?”
“I remember.” He turned onto the turnpike, heading west.
“Well, I might have underrepresented that threat.” The panic she’d been fighting ever since Dmitri left tried to close her throat, but she forced herself to breathe past it, even though the effort left her light-headed. “You ever hear of the Romanovs?”
His hands went white-knuckled on the steering wheel, but his voice was still just as calm as it had been since he picked her up. “Out of New York? Run by Dmitri Romanov? Those Romanovs?”
“The very ones.” Of course he’d be familiar with the family. People like him had to be aware of the threats around them, and Dmitri was nothing if not a threat. The next part was harder to get out than she’d expected. “Dmitri…He…” She took a shuddering breath and started again. “We share a father. He’s my half brother.”