Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
I can make an excuse to take our dinner inside. He made the offer sincerely. He didn’t like that she was in the least uncomfortable. There was no need for it. You’ve been through enough today.
Her eyes met his, the moon catching her just right, so that her blue eyes shone like gleaming jewels. His gut reacted with a strange roll.
I’ve never had anyone looking out for me before. It feels odd.
Odd good or bad? he prompted.
Her smile washed through his mind. Intimate. Only for him. It was such a new concept for both to have someone else to think about. To worry about. To care for. He liked that he was continuously uppermost in her mind. He couldn’t get her out of his.
Good, I think. I could get used to it. She glanced at the circle of people in the chairs around the fire pit. These men are the ones looking after you. I need to get used to them. Get to know them. Eventually, I’ll feel more at ease with them. It’s important for me to know for myself that they would never betray you.
He was in her mind, so he knew she was hoping what she said was true, but she didn’t think it would come to pass. She didn’t believe she’d ever be truly comfortable around men, especially a large group of them, humans or shifters.
It’s us. They would never betray us. If you’re certain you don’t want to go inside.
I am. And the food is good. You were right about Gedeon and his ability on the barbecue.
Gorya inclined his head and forked another bite of steak and mushrooms into his mouth. Gedeon was a master on the grill.
She’s pregnant. Maya narrowed her gaze at Gorya. Meiling, she’s pregnant. There’s no way you didn’t know.
Gorya kept his features an expressionless mask but laughed when he spoke intimately to her. Of course I knew. I thought it best to allow you to find out for yourself.
“Gorya,” Rodion announced. “The Amurov helicopter landed a few minutes ago. You’re about to have company.”
Gorya sighed. “I should have known. How many?”
“Timur and Ashe,” Matvei said. “They brought Kiriil Sokolov and Arman Morozov with them.”
I was raised with Timur, and Ashe is his wife. Kiriil and Arman are shifters from the Amurov lair. They left when we did.
Do you trust them?
I trust Timur. The others I trust as much as I trust anyone I’ve known for a long time. They’ve never betrayed us.
That tells me very little.
That tells you, Maya, that I’m very careful.
Gedeon heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Gorya, you did send the text to your family telling them you gave me the order to shoot you. Most likely, Timur is here to murder me.”
Meiling put her feet up. “Sorry, honey, but I’m just too tired to save you tonight. If he comes in guns blazing, you’re on your own.”
Maya brushed the back of her hand across her mouth, but Gorya could see the laughter in her eyes. She liked Meiling despite her intention to stay distant from her.
“Don’t look at us,” Rodion said. “I’d miss the food, but I’m not tangling with Timur when he’s in one of his black moods. Gedeon, if he thinks you’re going to kill his favorite cousin, no doubt he’s got a target painted right in the center of your forehead.”
“Thanks,” Gedeon said. “You’re making me feel better every second.”
Kyanite waved his fork around. “You were the one crazy enough to take the job. The three of us would have said no. Timur, Fyodor, Sevastyan and Mitya? They’re all insanely protective when it comes to family. You should know that, Gedeon. You’ve been around them enough.”
“I did tell him,” Meiling said. “I think he was a little too eager to shoot Gorya and didn’t think it through.”
“In all fairness, Rogue rubbed Slayer the wrong way deliberately,” Gorya said. “We thought that might help Gedeon make up his mind.”
Meiling laughed. “That was just mean, Gorya. You know he likes you.”
“Not anymore,” Gedeon declared solemnly. “I’m back to being a loner.”
“You never stopped,” Matvei pointed out. “You’re antisocial, Gedeon.”
Kiriil Sokolov opened the heavy gate leading to the center courtyard, glanced around and stepped back to allow Timur Amurov to go through. Timur was a big man, with wide shoulders and scars on his face. He perpetually wore an expressionless mask on his stone-cold features and a threat in his dead ice-cold eyes. His trench coat swirled around his boot-covered ankles, the inner lining covered in dozens of loops to hold the weapons he carried with him.
His gaze took in everyone and then settled on his cousin. There was no smile as he strode right up to him. Gorya rose to greet him. “Timur. What a surprise. You didn’t let me know you were coming to visit.”
Timur gripped his shoulders. “Did you think I wasn’t going to come when you sent a text that said Gedeon had orders to shoot you and I wasn’t to retaliate? I’m not losing you, Gorya. If something is wrong, you reach out. We’ll deal together. If you need to come home, then do it. We’ll all pull out of this thing we have with Donovan. We all made that promise to one another.”