I nod, my mouth slightly open as he leaves with the rather imposing man who cut out the light with his body and drove the heat inside me away with his cool gaze. It’s only when they disappear that I allow the air to rush back into my lungs as my hands grip the edge of the table. However, the most surprising thing of all is how much I already miss Julius now that he’s gone.
9
JULIUS
Eddie wouldn’t interrupt me if it weren’t important, and as we make our way to the cabin used as an office, we don’t speak. As I head inside, Eddie follows, closing the door carefully behind him before taking the seat opposite me.
A bottle of whiskey is on the table with two glasses, and as I splash some Dutch courage into the glasses, I say roughly, “What’s up?”
“I had word there is a welcoming committee waiting when we leave the airport.”
“As expected.” I lean back in my chair, and he nods, a thoughtful gleam in his eye.
“It appears that Francesco Carlos has his sights set on the prize and has staged an intervention.”
I take a gulp of the whiskey because Francesco is a cruel motherfucker who wouldn’t hesitate in cutting us all down and taking the prize and to hell with the consequences. He’s always been a loose cannon, and I should have guessed he would take his shot at this.
“What are you thinking?”
Eddie always has a plan, and he leans forward.
“We land somewhere else first.”
“Where?”
“There’s an airfield not many know about in France. The plan is to land there, rent a car and head toward London.”
“To Joseph.” I shake my head. “He is otherwise occupied, and it would be the first place our enemies would search for us.”
I think hard.
“We’ll head through Europe as American tourists while you clear the way.”
Eddie nods, his mind obviously working hard as he grips the crystal glass in his huge hands.
“You’ll need new identities.”
“You can arrange that.”
Everything is on board required to make that happen, and I’m confident that as soon as we land, Eddie will have our entire trip mapped out for us.
“I will arrange for Giorgio and Connor to shadow you.”
“Shadow being the operative word.” I remind him of that, and he sighs heavily.
“It’s dangerous. I don’t like it.”
“Life is dangerous, and with a prize like Rose on offer, I would be disappointed if it was easy.”
He rolls his eyes. “I forgot you thrive on danger.”
We share a grin because we’ve worked so closely together we are almost of the same mind and thought process. Eddie is my right-hand man, who I’ve shared many dark moments with.
“We’ll make our way to Spain, where we’ll take a commercial flight to Denver.”
“Good plan.”
We own a ranch in Denver in the mountains, and it willbe easy to take a helicopter from the airport to the ranch, where we are assured of protection. Once we are there, it would be virtually impossible for our enemies to reach us.
