Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 51589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
“I think you turned out pretty well.”
I smiled. “Sometimes I’d long for a hug or a snuggle. But I knew she didn’t like it, so I never asked.”
He met my eyes across the table. “You can ask me anytime.”
The sincerity and simplicity of his words rang true. They brought a lump to my throat, and my eyes were damp as I smiled. “I’ll remember that.”
He crossed his arms, tapping his shoulders. “These are yours. Just say the word.”
“Okay.”
He cleared our plates and carried them downstairs. The sun was beginning to set as we ate dessert, the raspberry gelato sweet and tart on my tongue. Then he held out his hand and pulled me to my feet. We danced close in the waning light, and I sighed in contentment in his arms, my head resting on his chest, the sound of his steady heartbeat soothing under my ear.
“Great date,” I whispered.
“Our first one,” he replied.
“First of many.”
He tightened his arms, and that was when I felt it. The tension in his body that had been growing during dinner. More than once, I had noticed his intense gaze directed my way, yet when I would meet his eyes, he would smile and blink, making me think I had imagined it.
What I didn’t imagine was the hold he had on me. How close his embrace held me to his body. The stiffness of his shoulders I realized had been there all night. Something was wrong, and he wasn’t telling me.
“Say it,” I whispered. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Julian made contact with your captain.”
I stopped moving, standing in the protective shelter of his arms, the world outside this moment suddenly invading our peace with a loud scream.
“When?”
“This afternoon.”
“And?”
“He stated he was shocked but grateful to find out you were alive. He told Julian he would make the arrangements for your safe return to the States.”
“So, we wait,” I whispered.
“We wait,” he said grimly.
I lifted my gaze to his, meeting his intense, steady gaze.
“I will protect you,” he vowed.
“I know.” I swallowed. “Take me downstairs, Marcus. Make love to me and hold me all night. Please.”
“Missy, sweetheart—”
I cut him off with a shake of my head. “Please. I need to lose myself with you tonight. Reality will come soon enough.”
He ran a finger down my cheek, nodding. Then he bent and swooped me into his arms and carried me downstairs to his bed, his mouth never leaving mine.
Chapter Thirteen
Marcus
The next morning, I met with Julian, and he informed me he’d received a call from Dan Jared.
“He told me Missy would be ‘collected’ on Friday.”
“Two days from now,” I said with a frown.
He nodded, looking grim. “We need to be ready.”
“We are. The building is covered. You’ll be there?”
We had decided my warehouse was the best place for this to happen. We knew every inch of the place and could cover it with the most efficiency.
He nodded. “I’ll have extra men stationed like we planned. They’ll be followed, but by so many cars they won’t pick it up. Between that and the tracking chips, Missy won’t slip through our fingers. Once they take her to Zander, we’ll get him.”
My gut churned at the thought of letting her out of my sight, but I nodded.
“How is she?” he asked.
“Terrified,” I replied. “Trusting me to make sure she comes through this okay.”
“She will.” He studied me. “If you don’t believe it, then we have a problem.”
I tapped my chest, meeting his eyes. “The thought of him getting close to her does something to me in here. Simply the notion he could touch her, hurt her in any fashion, ties me in knots.”
“Then stop thinking of her as Missy. Think of her as one of the other women you have helped. Step back personally. Otherwise, you’re no good to her.”
He was right, and I knew it. But I wasn’t sure I could do that anymore. Missy had become part of me. I felt her pain and anxiety as if it were my own. Her joy made me happy; her laughter brought mine to the surface. Her worries and fears made me tense. Her certainty in me, in the fact that I would protect her and keep her safe, was both touching and terrifying. I wasn’t sure what I would do if anything happened and she was taken from me. The urge to grab her and run was stronger than ever. It took all of my strength to tamp it down and follow through with the plan.
“I’m trying, Julian.”
We shared a silent look of determination.
“Let’s do this.”
That afternoon, I worked at my desk, Missy in the chair in the corner. She was unusually quiet and pale. Her hair was down, the honey-red color catching the afternoon light. She had an open book on her lap but wasn’t looking at it at all, instead staring out the window. Damien worked at his computer, Allen on the other side of the office. Leo had been called away by his wife, the call having come in moments after I came back from seeing Julian. He had picked up his phone, staring for a moment at his screen, then calling his wife and talking quietly. He hung up with a curse and stood, his face ashen and drawn.