Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
All going according to plan.
He hadn’t known Mae was going to be so foolish for the second time in less than a week, but he wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of the situation. In the last few days, he’d discovered that Aiden O’Malley had attempted to pit the FBI against him. He could admire the man’s genius, but he had no intention of spending the rest of his life in a prison cell—or rotting away in an unmarked grave somewhere. Once he’d realized Charlie Moreaux was none other than Charlotte Finch, it all became clear.
She would want revenge for that unfortunate business with the NYPD. It would never occur to her that he’d had nothing directly to do with it. He hadn’t even known the cops on his payroll were going to strike one of their own until after the fact—though he hadn’t stood in their way as they’d put together a case against her.
Dirty cops really were loathsome creatures.
It would be best for everyone if she put that all behind her and settled into a life with Aiden—and if Aiden himself did the same. Let sleeping monsters lie and all that nonsense.
But Dmitri knew people, and he knew that was a lost hope. Even if Aiden called off his vendetta, he wouldn’t willingly follow through with their deal regarding Keira—a deal that had clearly been made to distract Dmitri while O’Malley got his players into place. And that Dmitri couldn’t allow.
“We’re here, boss.”
“Keep the car running.” He slipped out into the brisk morning air and looked up to find the first rays of sunrise lightening the sky. If Aiden had alerted the family to the emergency, it would make Dmitri’s job significantly more complicated. He took his phone out as he strode down the block toward the O’Malley town house.
The phone rang several times before a sleepy voice answered. “Do you even know what time it is?”
Dmitri slowed to a stop, able to imagine Keira perfectly. Though it wasn’t her bed he pictured her in—it was his. Unforgivable. He ignored the voice in his head, relishing the sight of her tangled with his sheets, her hair spilled out over his pillows, her eyes barely open as she murmured her question.
Sentimental. Not something he was used to being accused of, even if he was the one doing the accusing. “Are you still wearing my ring?”
The sounds of rustling echoed across the line. When she answered, the sleep was gone from her voice. “Yes.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to offer her everything she could ever want and more, but for the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure how a person would react in a given situation.
Keira might come with him, no questions asked, because she wanted him.
She might choose him.
He couldn’t guarantee that she would.
So he went with the safer bet. “Your brother intends to break his word to me and cancel our engagement.”
“What?”
“You can stop it, Keira. Come with me now and I’ll forget that he was going to break his word.”
There was movement in the window of her room. She pulled the curtains back and stared at him from behind the relative safety of the glass. “If I come with you now”—her voice hitched—“promise me there will be peace. Give me your word.”
He couldn’t. Dmitri never gave his word if he couldn’t guarantee he could keep it. “I give my word that I will do nothing further to antagonize your brother and the situation.”
“But if he comes after me, you’ll finish what he started. No. I’m not signing Aiden’s death warrant.” She was a smart girl. She’d heard what he wasn’t saying.
He cursed in Russian. “I will do everything in my power to broker peace if you come with me right this moment.” The longer he stood outside the O’Malley home, the greater the chance someone would see and report it. “The clock is ticking, Keira.”
She hesitated, and he could practically see the wheels in her head turning. Finally, she nodded. “Give me two minutes.”
“Be quick.”
Exactly one hundred twenty seconds later, the window opened and Keira climbed out. She carried a small bag, and part of him was curious as to what had been important enough for her to pack. He’d get the answer later. If she was coming with him now, it meant he had the rest of their lives to delve into her secrets.
Anticipation curled through him as she climbed down the tree with ease. After the repeated frustrations and disappointments the last few years had brought, he was walking away with the single most important piece of the game as far as he was concerned. I win. He touched the small of her back, because he could, and turned toward where the car was still idling down the block.
He should have known it wouldn’t be that simple.