“Worth it.” I feel his smile.
“Can we come back?” I ask.
“Any time you like, Olivia.”
Despite it only being twenty-four hours, it feels likeeverything has changed.Monumentally. Malakai holds my hand against his thigh in the back of the car as we travel to the airport, absentmindedly stroking his thumb against it while he checks his phone with the other.
I’m too busy watching the scenery out the window to mind.
But his cell rings, drawing my attention.
“Dean.” He answers.
I hear the tinny sound of Dean’s voice but it’s too low to make out the words but whatever it is, has Malakai’s hand tightening on mine.
“We will be home in about eight hours.” Malakai says.
“No. Wait till I am there. I can’t do shit here, Dean, and knowing right now will fuck me up. I’ll meet you at the house.”
I’m watching him now, seeing the stress on his face, the anger now lining his body.
“I’ll call when we land.”
He hangs up the phone, curling his fingers around it as he turns to face me.
“Everything okay?” I broach.
“Fine,” He answers but I immediately know it’s a lie.
“Is it about…” I pause, swallowing, “your business?”
“It’s about you.”
My lashes flicker, “What about me?”
“The men who attacked you,” He turns away fromme, but his hand still holds mine tightly, not letting go, “They were hired. Dean has just found out who hired them.”
Fear pumps through me, spiking my heartrate, “Who?”
“He’ll be letting me know when we get home.”
I let out a stuttering breath, swallowing.
Malakai turns to me again, “Whoever it was, they won’t get another chance. No one will be able to hurt you again, Olivia.”
“I believe you.” But it didn’t stop the very real, very potent terror in my blood.
“Would you like to be with me when he meets us?”
I think about it, trying to squash the fear in me. What would knowing do? I already know this isn’t inherently about me, but him…
“No. I don’t want to know.”
“Okay, kitten.” His hand loosens and he strokes my skin again, “Okay.”
The flight home goes without incident. Malakai is in his head, quiet and brooding so I’ve tried to distract myself. I scrolled endlessly on social media for the first two hours of the flight, but that started to get on my nerves so I opened my kindle app and tried to read, but my mind cannot focus. So now I’m looking out the window, sipping on a wine and watching the fluffy clouds beneath the plane. We’ll be home soon, and Malakai will know who targeted me.
I still stand by not knowing.
