Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
“I won’t push you,” Mom goes on softly.
“Thank you.”
“But if you tried a little something, I wouldn’t be mad.”
I pick up a grape and pop it into my mouth. Mom smiles, then looks over my shoulder at the doorway. “Ah, Henry!”
“My brother?” I say. Suddenly, the events of last night don’t seem so bad.
A nice-looking woman carries the baby through, handing him to Molly. He’s the cutest little bundle ever. Mom leans over. “Ania, this is your baby brother. Henry, this is your big sister. Do you want to hold him?”
“What if I drop him?”
Mom laughs, “You won’t. Anyway, babies are tough. Kidding!”
She makes me laugh, and it feels so good, so easy. “Okay …”
When she hands him to me, I gently cradle him to my chest. His eyes are closed, but then he opens them, and I’m sure he smiles.
“He recognizes you already,” Mom says sweetly.
“Do you think so?”
“Definitely.”
“Can I give him a kiss?”
“I bet he’d love that.”
I lean down and gently kiss him on the forehead. He makes the cutest cooing noise ever.
“See, you’re a natural,” Mom says.
I gently rock him, and then Aiden walks onto the balcony. He’s back to being detached, not even looking at me as he says, “It’s time to go. Your brothers are waiting, Ania.”
“Can’t she finish her breakfast?” Mom asks.
I gently hand Henry back to her without looking at her. “It’s fine.” I don’t look at Aiden either as I walk back inside glumly.
We drive in the middle of many other cars, just like we often do back home when Mikhail or Dimitri have a job to do and need to beef up security. I made a point of sitting in the back as Aiden drives. Maybe it’s petty, but I don’t know how to act after last night.
“How are you feeling?” Aiden asks after a long silence. We’re driving toward the outskirts of the city. It feels like the buildings are getting shorter and shorter.
“I just hope we can all get along.”
“Hmm.”
“What’s hmm about that?”
“It’s naive, Ania,” he says bluntly. “I broke into your compound. I took you. They’re not going to be happy.”
“Don’t worry. They won’t hurt you.”
He sighs tiredly. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”
I fold my arms, ignoring the implication in his words. The message is clear. They need to worry about him hurting them. The closer we get, the more I think about my mom, Henry, and the kiss. Somehow, in the space of a day and a night, I’ve got a bunch of reasons to want to stay with my kidnapper.
Finally, we arrive at a waterside bar. Three cars pull up, and several men walk out, all wearing dark suits.
“What are they doing?” I ask as Aiden parks across the street.
“We’ve agreed our men can search the premises. No weapons. That’s the deal on both sides.
“My brothers aren’t liars.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm, to you, too.”
He glances at me in the rearview, a smirk on his lips. I have to turn away because, suddenly, I’m smiling too. He makes me do that so easily.
A minute later, a big man in a suit walks out and waves at us.
“It’s time,” Aiden says, pushing the car door open.
I climb out, too, hoping I’m doing a good job hiding the nerves coiling around me. Aiden walks into the bar first, then holds the door open for me. I almost joke about him being a gentleman, but it feels out of place.
Down a corridor, we reach the bar. Dimitri quickly walks over to me, looming and serious. He pulls me into a hug. “Ania. Goddamn, it’s good to see you.”
Mikhail walks up beside us, his floppy hair in disarray, a wild look in his eyes. It’s the same look he got after he tortured the man who was working for one of our rivals. He’s a good and sensitive man, but he can be brutal when he needs to. “Ania,” he whispers, leaning forward and kissing me on the head.
Dimitri looks at Aiden. It’s rare to see my brothers standing eye-to-eye with anybody. It’s a strange sight. “I take it you’re Aiden.”
“The kidnapper,” Mikhail mutters.
Dimitri gives him a look. “Let’s all sit down.”
Mikhail runs a hand through his hair.
The four of us go to a table in the center of the room. Nobody else is in here, but we all know men surround the building, the Bratva’s and Aiden’s, all ready for a fight.
I realize too late that I’ve naturally sat on the same side of the table as Aiden. It puts me and Aiden against my brothers, which I didn’t want.
“First,” Dimitri says, “let’s all be grateful that no lives were lost during all this. If you’d hurt one of our men, Aiden, this would’ve gone very differently.”
“Hmm,” Aiden says, just staring at him.
Dimitri narrows his eyes. He’s never been a bully, but I think he’s used to people being at least a bit intimidated by him.