Les looks at me. “It’s Viktor Orlov’s wife.”
“What the fuck, Les?” Zane growls. “You kidnapped the man’s fuckingwife?”
“He beats the shit out of her, Zane,” Les says quietly. “I wasn’t lying about that.”
“Fucking hell,” he mutters, then takes a deep breath. “When do you need me?”
Just like that, he agrees. Les doesn’t know the power she still holds over that man. He risked his life for her, and now he’s risking his job. That’s one of the reasons I want her to stay the fuck away from him. I see how she still looks at him, whether she wants to admit it or not. Les still has deeply buried hurt feelings about Zane, and one of these days, they’re going to bubble over. I just don’t know how it’ll end. My choice would be to fucking kill him and get him outof the picture. But something tells me that will hurt Les no matter how much she threatens him to do it herself.
“Two hours,” Les says. “I can’t have you come to where we are. I need to throw him off this trail.”
“Are we talking police escort or what?”
“I can’t have you risk picking her up in the station's car,” Les says, laying her head back on the swing. “I shouldn’t be asking you to do this anyway.”
Zane chuckles. “I’m already in it, Beautiful. Now tell me the plan.”
“We’ll be in a burner car. I’ll text you what kind and where to meet us when we figure it out.”
“You need to send one of your guys. You don’t need to be involved anymore,” Zane says, and I feel myself agreeing with him.Mark it down because it will never fucking happen again.
“What is it with all you assholes thinking you can tell me what to do?” Les rages, getting pissed all over again.
“I’m not going to ask what other assholes,” Zane says. “But if they’re worried about your safety, they have my fucking respect. You’re getting in too deep, Les.”
“It’s my fucking job!”
“No,” he says evenly. “Your fucking job is to run that family and let the ones you trust protect you.”
“You’re telling me you think I should hide behind them?” she scoffs.
“I’m telling you, I want you to live to breathe another fucking day. Because a life without you in it isn’t one to live.”
I agree with him again and want to punch myself in the face. He just told my girl that he can’t live without her, and I’m nodding my head like a dumbass.What the hell is wrong with me?
He isn’t wrong, though. I can’t imagine living without Les in my life I will follow her into the afterlife, no questions asked.
“Please don’t do this right now, Zane,” Les pleads, and I can see the guilt creeping onto her face. The same look she gets every time something about Zane is brought up. That tells me all I need to know. Les still has feelings for Zane.
“One day, Beautiful, you will listen to me,” Zane threatens. “Text me the details,” he says, and then the line goes dead.
She drops the phone onto the swing and pulls her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.
“Talk to me, Pretty girl,” I say and silently promise I’ll listen to whatever she says.
She lays her head on her knees to look at me. “He tried to kiss me the other day.”
I swallow down the expletives. “And?”
“I was going to let him,” she whispers, her eyes filling with tears. “I have five of the best guys, and I was going to let him.”
I thumb a tear away before rubbing a hand up and down her back. “You aren’t over him,” I say simply, shaking my head when she goes to argue. “You need to stop denying it, Pretty girl.”
“It’s been six years,” she says miserably.
“And you guys never worked through any of that bullshit.”
“Are you telling me to talk to him?” she asks, surprised, and then shakes her head. “I don’t need to.”
