Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 105065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
“English, please?” I ask.
Ronan flashes his eyes at me, only for a second, but they are shining with hatred.
“Is he okay?” I demand. “Is Lach okay?”
“He sent me to take you to another safe house,” Ronan says. “This one’s been compromised.”
I glance at Alexei, who doesn’t look convinced. To be honest, I’m not really either. But Ronan couldn’t have known I was here unless Lachlan told him, right? And he’s always trusted Ronan to be my handler. Still, something about this feels fishy. But if there’s a chance for me to get back to Lachlan somehow, I’m going to take it.
“I will deliver the girl personally,” Alexei says. “If what you say is true, you should have no problem with this.”
Ronan gives a stiff nod.
The next two minutes is a blur of Alexei barking out demands in Russian to Franco and Ronan watching me carefully. They usher me out the door and into a silver car while Ronan climbs into the Beamer and takes his place in front of us.
As we drive through the forest, I try to formulate an escape plan. Now I have three men to shake off, and it isn’t going to be so easy. Especially considering I gave Ronan the slip once, I highly doubt he’s going to let that happen again.
But it doesn’t matter. I’ll do whatever it takes, I tell myself. I have to. Because I can’t let Lachlan sacrifice himself for me and the mistakes I’ve made. I can’t let him die because of my actions. I love him. I love him so fucking much it’s crazy. I thought I was incapable of such things. I know I’m incapable of loving anyone else this way.
I don’t know how he did that. How he got past my armor. But he did. He tore it all to bits.
Ronan’s brake lights flash ahead of us.
Franco snaps out something in Russian, and both him and Alexei pull out their guns.
“What’s going on?” I shove my head between the seats, trying to see what’s happening.
The next thing I know, there are two loud pops and a hiss of air as the front tires of the car deflate. Alexei and Franco are speaking in Russian, glancing behind us, and I’m getting the gist that someone’s just fired those shots from the trees somewhere.
So why the hell is Ronan stopped?
Glass shatters as they take out the tail lights next.
“Jesus!” I duck and take cover. “Who the fuck is shooting at us now?”
The men jump out of the front and crouch behind the doors as they fire back. There seems to be some confusion about which direction the bullets are coming from. Like there might be two shooters. And I know instinctively, one of them is Ronan. Either way, I’m not going to stick around to find out. I grab for the door handle and fling it open. I know we’re a whole hell of a long way off the beaten path here, but I’ve got to get away from these crazy motherfuckers.
Ronan’s got to be absolutely frigging nuts, shooting at the Russians like this.
He has to know this is going to start a war. I can’t understand what’s happening, but honestly, I don’t care. I don’t have time for whatever the hell they’re doing, or whatever plan they’ve concocted for me. I just need to get to Lachlan.
I army crawl across the forest floor, my chest heaving with relief as the sound of gunfire grows more and more distant. Pine needles and cold gravel dig into my skin, but none of that matters. As soon as I’m far enough away, I’ll start running. I’ll steal a car if I have to. I’ll do whatever it takes.
All these thoughts are going through my head and they’re the only thing I can focus on. So when someone grabs me from behind and covers my mouth with a foul smelling cloth, it catches me off guard. Much too late, I realize I’ve just been chloroformed.
***
When I wake up again, I’m hog-tied on the back seat of Ronan’s car. I’ve got a wicked bad headache and the way my body feels I’m guessing they weren’t all too gentle when they went about the business of tying me up.
I wrangle myself into an upright position and glance out the window. We’re on the freeway, headed back towards Boston. Relief swells inside of me like a balloon, but it’s short lived.
Conor is riding shotgun, and he’s pale as a sheet. Ronan’s grip is like a vice on the steering wheel, and nothing about this situation is making any sense at all.
“What happened to Alexei?” I demand.
Ronan’s gaze meets mine in the rear-view mirror, and it’s never looked colder.
“Are ye sympathizing with the Russians now?” he asks. “Lachlan told me ye hated them. Not surprised that was a lie too.”
I ignore his jab and focus on what’s important. “There’s no way Lach would have authorized you starting a war with the Russians. I want to know what’s going on.”
Ronan laughs. A cold, dark laugh that reaches deep inside of me to unlock an entire vault full of dread. What if he was right in front of me all along? What if he’s the rat? It never even occurred to me before, but now…
“Where are you taking me?” I press. “I want to see Lachlan.”
“Oh ye’re going to see Lachlan alright,” he says. “Didn’t I tell ye what’d happen if you fucked him over?”
Conor glances back at me, and he looks like he’s going to be sick. And that’s when I realize Ronan isn’t the rat at all. He’s gone rogue. To protect Lachlan.
“You’re taking me to Niall,” I say quietly. “Aren’t you?”
Ronan doesn’t answer. He doesn’t need to. His hatred towards me is rolling off him in waves. His loyalty to Lachlan runs much deeper than I ever could have expected. And there’s a good chance he’ll be paying a heavy price for this as well.
“What about Scarlett?” I ask quietly. “She didn’t have anything to do with this… please…”