The driver clears his throat, glancing in the rearview mirror. “Boss?”
Zak’s one-word reply is, “Doc.”
Okay, it’s good he’s asking for medical help. But,boss? I turn my attention back to his stupid handsome face. “You’re the boss?”
He leans his head back against the seat, looking like his injury, the chase, the whole crazy ordeal is finally catching up.
“Yeah, Pakhan.”
“Oh my God,” I whisper, stunned. Because I know that word, too. That title means he’s not just some small faction leader; this man reigns over an entire criminal empire territory.
He turns to look at me. Even bleeding and exhausted, he’s fucking magnificent. With his dark eyes, stubbled jawline, and that damn smirk.
“You okay?” he rasps out.
“Am I okay?” I bring a finger to my chin, pretending to think.
He lets out a tired chuckle. “You helped me. I won’t forget it.”
“Great. I’m so glad my near-death experience was useful to you.”
His full, sculpted lips twitch at the corner. “You’re funny.”
“I’m traumatized.”
He raises a hand and pushes one of my curls behind my ear. The contact is brief, but the brush of his skin against mine sends warmth all over my body. Settling me, tempering my high emotions. Or replacing them with an entirely different kind…
“You’re cute when you’re scared.”
I bat his hand away. “I’m not scared; I’m furious. And where the hell are we going?”
Another short, rumbly laugh.
When I look outside, the SUV is pulling up to a massive estate with tall iron gates and guards. The whole nine yards. We drive up to a mansion that looks like something out of a mafia movie. Because apparently, that’s exactly what my life has turned into…
“Welcome home, wife.”
Two
Nadia
I stare at the three stories of stone and glass, with massive windows and perfect landscape, even in the dark. Zak’shouseis the kind of place that screams old money and ‘don’t fuck with me’. I swallow hard, my eyes wide.
He opens his door, then reaches for me. “Come on.”
I don’t move. “Take me home.”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re staying here.”
“I am not…”
“Nadia.” He stares back with a deep frown that does something to my insides. Something I’m definitely not acknowledging… “Get out of the car.”
I huff and climb out. Zak puts a hand on my lower back as we walk toward the entrance. The two men in black suits standing at the door nod at us.
