Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
“I trust you,” Gian finally replied. His posture remained relaxed, but his mouth still twisted in a frown. “But I’m worried for you, Massimo. Enzo and I are returning to Italy tomorrow. You have to stay here with Duarte while we arrange the payment on our end. We won’t be around to watch your back.”
Shit. I hadn’t realized my friends would be leaving so soon. It would be up to me to play the role of charming Italian guest to solidify our alliance with the drug lord, a man who was notorious for his lavish parties. I would have to figure out how to navigate the social niceties with one of the most dangerous men in the world, and I’d have to manage it while keeping Evelyn close.
No matter the challenges, releasing her wasn’t an option. Cartel violence had almost claimed her life twice now, and Crawford had done nothing to stop it. Evelyn wouldn’t be safe as long as he was breathing.
“I’ll be fine,” I promised the brothers. “I can handle myself.”
“We know you can,” Enzo agreed. “But this isn’t a situation you can fight your way out of. You almost attacked us over this woman. You can’t lose your shit like that around Duarte’s people. Especially when we won’t be around to help you.”
I offered him a grim nod, acknowledging my fuck-up. My possessiveness when it came to Evelyn clearly worried my friends, but now that I had her under my control, I’d be much calmer than I had been when Crawford still staked his claim over her.
I fixed Gian with a steady stare. The coup meant everything to both of them, but we all knew that Gian would be the one to take control of our organization when the time came. He was the cleverest of us, and his keen strategies had gotten us this far. I owed my fealty to him above all others.
“I will do everything in my power to seal this deal with the cartel,” I vowed. “We’ve been planning this for years. I won’t fail you now.”
If I had to play the part of affable guest to Duarte’s mercurial host, I would do it. Evelyn might try to put up a fuss, but she was no match for me. She’d be more amenable once she realized that I would take better care of her than Crawford ever could.
I resolved to lavish her with beautiful clothes and expensive gifts. I would prove to her how I could keep her safe and comfortable. And give her more pleasure than she’d ever known. Then, she wouldn’t want to leave.
I wasn’t the most subtle man compared to my wickedly smart friends, but I could be persuasive. Charming. Ruthless.
No matter how much she might protest at first, Evelyn would be mine.
Chapter 14
Evelyn
Hot water rained down on my bare skin, washing the dried blood from my side.
Massimo’s blood. He’d risked his life to save mine.
I pumped out an excessive amount of body wash from the fixture on the wall and worked it into a lather. The soap slicked over my ribs and the curve of my waist, white bubbles turning to pink foam.
My stomach lurched, and I braced my hands against the tiled wall to steady myself. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes to focus on quelling my nausea.
I still felt weak and wrung-out from my panic attack, and I didn’t have the energy for another one. Exhaustion dragged at my limbs, but my fear-soaked senses were on high alert.
There was a criminal in the next room, separated from me only by a flimsy lock on the bathroom door. I wasn’t foolish enough to think that would keep him out. I’d seen his intimidating physique when he’d taken off his shirt for the doctor to clean his wound. Massimo could easily break down the door to get to me.
Despite the heat of the shower, a shiver raced over my skin.
I was trapped in a drug lord’s urban fortress, and I’d foolishly thought it was a safe house.
I will always protect you, Evelyn, Massimo had vowed. He’d proven himself three times already.
My gut twisted.
He’d proven it when he’d killed for me.
No matter what he said about keeping me safe, I knew the truth with crystal clarity: I was his captive.
On the night I’d been kidnapped by the cartel, they’d planned to use me as bait to get to George. Was that Massimo’s intention too? He’d said that he was hunting my fiancé as a favor to Stefano Duarte.
I want my money. His angry words rang through my mind. If I’d tried to save her, they would’ve killed me too.
He’d always said that his work with the DEA meant everything to him. His desire to be a federal agent had been one of the things I admired most about him. It’d been his career aspiration ever since I’d first met him in our freshman year of college. He was supposed to be one of the good guys.