Chapter Nine
In which Morana gets to know her security with an uncomfortable visit to the Panic Room.
Morana…
“Who wasthatspooky man?”
We’re driving home and for a change, Cameron is not ignoring me and glued to his phone. He knew who I meant right away.
“Nolan O’Rourke, I didn’t get a chance to introduce you properly. He’s a billionaire and a bit mad.”
“Who looks like a supermodel,” I murmur, “if the supermodel was a serial killer.”
“I’m thinking I should question that further, but movin’ on. He does business with everyone in the crime world. He’s associated with every organization but allied with none of them,” Cameron explained, “he’s the only man I’ve seen who can move around like that with no consequences.”
“How did he know who I was? I’m sure I’ve never met him before.”
He runs a hand through his hair, smiling wryly. “Nolan knows everything and everyone. He enjoys stirring up trouble and knocking people off balance. But his presence tonight plays in our favor. The word will be out by midnight that we are married and you are off the table as a bargaining chip.”
The fact that he added that last bit made me unexpectedly emotional. I know he hadn’t done any of this to protect me, but still. He had promised that I would be safe as his wife. My father couldn’t use me anymore.
I give him the first real smile I’ve had since I was taken. It’s on the tip of my tongue to thank him and I shut up in time. He did take me from what promised to be a genuinely horrible future. But I don’t know this man. I don't know what his game is, other than wanting to destroy my father’s Bratva. And he could be planning to make me a part of that destruction in a way that will burn me to ash, too.
The rest of the drive is silent, and he helps me out of the car back at the house.His house,I remind myself. The lights are dimmed, aside from the two-story entryway. I’m so used to having Miss Kevin bustling around, and the standard bristle of bodyguards that the silence is unsettling.
“Have a drink with me.”
It’s less of a suggestion and more of an order from Cameron, but he’s in an oddly soft mood.
“I hear this has turned into your favorite room in the house,” he says, pouring me a glass of wine from the bar in the library.
“How could it not be?” I scoff, “This is library porn at its finest!”
“Library porn?” he laughs, “What the hell?”
“You know, Pinterest-worthy? The perfect mix of books and couches, the correct ratio of elegant wood paneling to majestic windows? The built-in window seat is so perfect that I would live in here if you let me.”
Cameron’s never really laughed around me, andblin, damn it, it just makes him hotter. He throws his head back and I admire his beautifully sculpted profile. I’m used to spiteful snickers, or the uneasy laughter my father’s sycophants give for anything they think might be meant as funny. But this man laughs heartily, like he doesn’t care who hears him, his hugely muscled chest heaving.
Gulping my wine, I hold out my glass for a refill, hoping he’ll have another drink, too. Can I possibly get him drunk, loosen him up a little? Maybe I can dig out more information about what’s in store for me.
A Russian and a Scotsman,I think wryly,it’s a fair fight.
Two more glasses of wine and I’m giggling about an explanation of the Scottish insults that Cameron and his brothers used to trade back and forth.
“So, when Dougal said, ‘Yer bum’s oot the windae, ye fuckin’ bampot,’ he was saying ‘You’re talking rubbish, you unhinged tit.’”
I’m laughing hard enough that getting my breath back is next to impossible, so when the lights go out, I can only give a startled wheeze. My hands reach out, searching for Cameron, and he takes my hand when I find him.
“Just an outage, lass. We have a backup generator, no fear.”
“Does your security system and the outdoor lights still work?” I whisper, my heart thudding painfully in my chest. This is more than an outage. Is it the Stepanov Bratva? My psychotic cousin? Cameron has enemies, I’m sure.
With a long whine, the lights go on again and I hear electronics booting back up.
“Lass, you’re pale as pudding.”
I realize how close I am to Cameron when he cups my face in his huge hands. “Just an outage, Morana. And my security system is on a separate power source.”
