Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
I say nothing. Our deal is finished. I met my sister, feel worse than when I started, and now I’m going back to America—and to what, I’m not sure, since my life is in ruins and there’s nothing waiting for me back there but more misery.
Chapter 5
Peter
I finish my last set of weights and stand in the extra bedroom cooling off. Sweat drips down my body. I keep thinking about the look on Adrienne’s face before she turned and left the cafe, the way she stared at her sister, the hurt in her eyes and the self-loathing, and I wanted to do something to defend her. I even told Reina she went too far.
“Don’t defend the child,” Reina said. “She has to learn to defend herself if she wants to be worthy of her name.”
That’s a sentiment I’m all too familiar with.
I head into the kitchen, make some coffee, drink some water, and listen to the shower running. Adrienne’s awake, and when she’s ready, I’ll take her to the airport, give her enough money to get her home, and she’ll finally be out of my life. I haven’t run this by my family, but I’m not concerned about what they think. If they’re not happy, they can assign someone else to babysitting duty.
I have bigger problems.
Adrienne comes out with wet hair, wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts. She sits at the island on a tall metal stool and looks at me with those pretty green eyes, and I know what she’s going to say before she says it.
“I’m not going home.”
I groan like someone punched me in the gut. “And why not?” I ask. I was so close to getting rid of her.
“I’m not ready.”
“That’s not a good excuse. We had a deal.”
“I’m going back on it.” She sits up straighter. My eyes brush down her lips, her throat, her breasts. I like the way she holds herself, rigid and strong, like her spine is an iron rod. She has fire in her, even if she doesn’t see it yet. I wish I could explain to her that Reina’s used to cutting people down—women like Reina don’t get far in organizations like Le Milieu without the ability to slice flesh with nothing more than a look and a few words. But Adrienne will only see it as pandering, and maybe it is. I’m torn between wanting to send her away and wanting to protect her, and I don’t know which impulse is stronger.
The need to be a selfish prick like I’ve always been, or the desire to open myself to something new.
To change for the better. Or at least to change at all.
I say, “Explain to me why I shouldn’t drag you into that room, force you to pack, then drag you to the airport and throw you onto a plane myself?”
“Aside from the obvious problems, I can be useful.”
“Useful, how? No, seriously, Adrienne, what sort of skills do you have that will be useful to me?”
She looks frustrated, but doesn’t wilt. Good, I like that. “I can’t fight. I can’t shoot a gun. I can’t pick locks or negotiate deals. But I have a good memory. I’m in good shape and can run for a long time. When I say I’m going to do something, I don’t give up until I do it. There’s no halfway with me, Peter. I’m all or nothing.”
“You want to be all with me then?”
Her mouth twitches. “I want to be here. That’s all I know.”
“And I want you to be gone.” When she doesn’t react, I lean forward, getting closer to her. “Don’t you hear what I’m saying? I don’t want you, Adrienne. I’m not a babysitter. I’m not a bodyguard. I have my own problems right now, and you’re only getting in the way. I’ve spent my whole life taking orders from my family and doing my best to take care of myself. I’m not the kind of man you need right now.”
I’m too much of a selfish prick after all.
Her face twitches, but she still doesn’t slump. “I can help you if you’ll let me.”
I throw up my hands. “Aren’t you listening? I don’t want your help.”
“You don’t know what you want.”
I laugh bitterly and turn away from her. I feel her staring at my bare back and when I look over my shoulder, her head’s tilted like she’s studying my tattoos. I take a slow breath to calm myself before leaning up against the counter opposite her.
“You don’t understand what’s happening here, so I’ll explain it. This deal I’m working out with Reina and her people, it’s happening behind my family’s back. They don’t know about it and I don’t intend to tell them. What I’m doing is dangerous, Adrienne, more dangerous than normal. I have no backup, I have no support, I have nothing but myself. I’m all alone out here trying to make this happen, and I can’t keep worrying and wondering if you’re okay.”