Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 110824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
“Hmm…” Sam says. He’s not arguing, but I can tell he’s not agreeing to letting Sloan take his place making sure I’m safe. I don’t tell Victor that, however.
“This is all silly. I don’t need a bodyguard, what I need is food. Are you taking me out for food, or what, Sam?”
“Definitely. I found this quaint little eatery that you’re going to love. They make the best Stroganoff I’ve ever tasted.”
“Even better that Anya’s?” I laugh as I ask.
“I can’t say that out loud. I swear that woman knows if someone is disparaging her cooking.”
“I still remember when she threw a shoe at you and I swear it curved the table just to hit you,” I giggle.
“Right? It was my own fault. I should have never told her that her Mikoyan was dry.”
“You really shouldn’t have. You know it was a perfect cutlet.”
“I did, but I was a kid,” he replies with an easy smile. For a second, we’re both lost in our memories.
“I hate to interrupt a trip down memory lane,” Victor growls. “I want a kiss goodbye, Gia.”
“Victor, I mean, things are better, but you did…” I stop talking. He didn’t lie, but he kind of did by omission. Plus, he just plain hurt me. He might not think hiring that girl was a big thing, but it clearly was.
“Baby,” he whispers, pulling me into his arms.
“You hurt me,” I respond.
“I know, sweetheart. I promise, I’m going to do my best to make up for that. It won’t happen again. From here on out, there will be no secrets.”
I do my best to smile at him. It might not completely reach my eyes, but it mostly does.
“Okay, but there better not be.”
“I do have one request, however.”
“What’s that?”
“Make sure you don’t end up in Sam’s lap again. If you do, I will kill him. It’s my right as your man.”
“You’re acting insane,” I breathe out.
“Just do as I ask. You may not understand this, but right now the need to cut the bastard in pieces for even touching you is raging through me.”
“I…promise.” I don’t know what made me readily agree, other than the fact I was afraid for Sam’s life. I look over Victor’s shoulder, but apparently Sam has disappeared—maybe to check his nose and get rid of his washcloth. That’s probably a good thing. I’m not sure he’d like the way Victor is calmly talking about killing him.
“Good. Now, I’ve been listening to Niko, Marco, his brothers, and Antonio since early this morning going over our directives, dying to leave just so I could spend a little more time with you. I need some good, and you’re everything good in my life. I need your mouth.”
“It’s really unfair how good you are at sweet talking,” I mutter.
He bends down to whisper in my ear. “Give me your lips, Kitten.”
I lean up, meeting him and as our lips touch, Victor kisses me with a sweetness, a gentleness that I can’t remember ever experiencing. It’s an enticing combination, making me lose myself in the man I thought I had lost, but a man I’m starting to think might be mine completely.
victorio
. . .
“Are we going to get there in time?” Levi asks.
I look over at him and Zane and don’t really know what to say. We had plenty of time to get into position, but after a two hour hold up with the plane, we’re running late. Air traffic control had several employees that didn’t show up and were too short staffed to allow us to take off safely. Then, on top of that, their computers inside went down. We were stuck until it was all fixed and extra staff finally dragged their asses inside.
I sigh, turning my attention back to Levi. “EZ and his men are already there. She’ll be okay,” I tell them, and I hope I’m right.
Helena has herself in some very hot water. Zervas has apparently gone off the rails. He has Helena as a hostage right now and is traveling with her. I don’t know all the details. We’re the grunt work. We’re meant to track her down and extract her. I need to make sure we do that. Marco is flying down, but I’m not sure he’s going to get there in time either. He’ll be later than us since he’s coming from Greece.
Our plans are in motion and Helena has managed to get a message through to EZ’s woman, Liberty. She’s given her some clues and I guess we’re chasing those. EZ is supposed to brief us when we rendezvous and go after the son of a bitch.
I look out the window of the DeLuca private jet and wish I were back home. One good thing about taking over Niko’s former position, I won’t be going on any more of these missions unless we need extra fire power. I don’t mean to sound like I don’t care about Helena, I do. The thing is, I need to be with Gia. Walking in and seeing her in another man’s lap shook me. I still don’t know how I didn’t kill that son of a bitch. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that I knew it would hurt my woman. That’s the last thing I want. Besides, I was the idiot which had inadvertently caused her pain. She’s right. I should have known that hiring someone I had slept with in the past would hurt her. I’ve never had a relationship, so the feelings I have for Gia are as new to me as they are to her. I don’t question them, though. I was telling the truth. She is everything to me and I don’t want anyone else—ever.