“Not when I have a small army surrounding this place.” He stands at the foot of the bed as I drag myself under the covers. “I should have brought more men to the church. That was a mistake. It won’t happen again.”
I pull the blanket over my head. “Gabe? Can you do something for me?”
“Yes,” he says.
“Don’t talk for the next ten hours. Wake me up if there’s a bomb. Otherwise—“ I close my eyes and squeeze them against tears. “Pretend like I’m not crying.”
He’s silent for a beat. Then I hear him walk out of the room, the door clicking shut behind him.
The blockage smashes free, and I tremble as I sob into the pillow, releasing all my pent-up terror and anger and fear, telling myself tomorrow I’ll wake up in my apartment, this dream will be over, and life can go back to normal.
CHAPTER 5
GABE
“Someone fucking talked.” I drink coffee and spear a sausage. Grease drips to the plate. Daniel sits across from me, his arm bandaged, his eye black and blue. “You’re going to find out who.”
He doesn’t seem surprised or bothered by the order. That’s why he’s one of my best soldiers.
That and the fact that his family owes a very bloody and violent cartel a lot of money and I’m the only person keeping them from getting killed.
Loyalty is overrated.
Motivation is much better.
“Should I start now?” he asks.
“No, you know what, get to it in a few weeks. It’s no problem if there’s a traitor in our organization.”
He laughs pleasantly. He’s so easygoing that it’s easy to forget how dangerous he is. I have to always remind myself that theleash is tight, but the leash also chafes. “You get sarcastic when you don’t sleep enough.”
“Thanks for that.” I shove my plate away. It’s six in the morning and the light’s streaming in through the windows. “Get to work. Tell me what you find.”
Daniel pushes to his feet. “By the way, how’s the wife doing?”
“Scared but she’s holding it together.” I cut a look at the bedroom door. “It was impressive, actually.”
“Maybe you married a good one.”
“Doesn’t matter either way.”
He waves a hand. “That’s what I like about you. I always know where people stand.” He leaves the room and silence falls again.
I keep watching the door, thinking.
This isn’t how tonight was supposed to go.
My enemies are much too close. There’s no way in hell they should’ve been able to track my movements last night. I had my people running screens and digital protections, but the Turks and the Russians still managed to pinpoint my location. There’s only one explanation, and I don’t like it.
But at least I got what I wanted.
A new wife. A young, beautiful wife…
She’s not what I expected at all.
Yelena told me about her before I shipped over to the States, except her description was lacking in what really matters.
Nika’s got backbone. It’s hidden underneath that soft, princess facade, but her spine’s like an iron rod. Only a woman with some serious self-confidence and strength would have the balls to negotiate in her position.
