“There’s a bottle of water in the box.”
Stefan points in front of me and I retrieve it gratefully.
“I can’t thank you enough for helping me.”
“I’m happy to. You can rely on me.”
“I do appreciate it, though.”
Now I’m sitting beside him in the real world, it hasn’t escaped my attention that I now have a real world problem. I am attracted to a man, and I don’t know what to do about that.
If anything, I’m cross with myself because that isn’t supposed to be what this is about. The main reason for this is to find my mother.
I was raised knowing she had died in a road traffic accident, but something about the way my father operates tells me that wasn’t true.
Two of his wives died in mysterious circumstances, and the third one escaped. It’s always been at the forefront of my mind why three women would decide to leave a man who became the richest one in the world.
“We should reach the town in five hours. There are a few places to stop along the way for food and the restroom.”
Stefan’s husky drawl creates shivers of excitement in me; then again, he always had that ability.
As I contemplate a few hours in close proximity with the man I’ve been crushing on since he arrived at the convent, I decide that life outside it is already way more fun than the one inside. If anything, I’m enjoying a sense of freedom I never appreciated the benefits of before, and I don’t need one year to tell me what my answer will be at the end of it.
I’m not going back, and I don’t believe I ever was, Stefan or no Stefan.
CHAPTER 4
SIMEON
Iam immeasurably angry. After trailing the nuns around town, it soon became apparent that our one is no longer among them.
As we watch eight nuns climb back on board their bus, my fury knows no bounds.
“Fuck!”
Jack is pissed, rightfully so because we failed. Something that doesn’t happen very often and always comes with serious consequences.
My head is spinning as I attempt to work out how she escaped, and as my men drift back to their relevant cars, I slam my fist on the headrest of the seat in front of me several times in an attempt to let my anger out.
“What did we miss?”
My tone is threatening and full of rage, and Jack hisses, “That we were dealing with a woman who had a plan all along.”
“State the fucking obvious.”
My mind races.
“Head to the airport. She has a flight leaving in two hours. I’ll check in as normal and search for her there.”
Jack informs the drivers of the cars, and as we head out of town, I sense failure, and it’s not a taste I particularly enjoy.
I am the master of my particular game and one woman, one innocent woman in the ways of the world, has played me good and proper. If I weren’t so angry, I would be impressed, but now I am raging and liable to handcuff her to my side as soon as I set eyes on her.
We head to the airport in silence, and as soon as we reach the drop-off zone, I’m out and cutting through the crowds like a man on a mission.
Alice has been given a first-class ticket, more for my benefit than hers. I rarely travel commercially and when I do I demand the best. This is no exception and, if anything, I thought she would be grateful for that.
Once I have checked in, I head to the lounge, fully expecting to find her there, and yet when it’s apparent she is not, my anger consumes me.
