Chapter 28 – Sebastian
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
SEBASTIAN
I filled Gabriel in on the night’s events, and he immediately headed around to help, no questions asked. That’s pretty much my definition of a good mate—someone who will drop everything and come help ship a lowlife scumbag bastard off to get tortured by the LA Mafia.
Lauren is determined to see this through, but I explained to her that I needed the manpower. We need to carry the arsehole out of the building, get him in the boot of my car, and out again at the airfield. She is mighty, but she’s not that mighty.
Gabriel took in the scene with a quick nod, arriving right as Torres came back to consciousness. “Did you say he threatened Sam and Max?” he asked, glaring at him. When Lauren confirmed, he punched him even harder than I had. Lights out again. It was easier that way, anyhow. Meant he couldn’t struggle or shout for help as we carried him down to the garage. He’s too bloody big to wrap up in a rug, and sadly we’ve agreed to leave all his limbs attached so we can’t chop him up and chuck him into trash bags.
Lauren left me and Gabriel to do the heavy lifting and buzzed ahead of us, ready to deflect any passing interest. Fuck knows how she was going to explain it, but I was confident she could. In the end, we lobbed him into the back of my car without anybody crossing our path.
Now, after driving for the best part of an hour, we’ve arrived at this tiny airstrip, which turns out to be a few miles from Samantha and Gabriel’s new home. It’s deathly quiet at this time of night, with a reception area manned by a security guard who looks as though his nose has been broken multiple times. This isn’t the kind of place where Hollywood A-listers board their private jets.
We’re expected, and the guard waves us through right onto the tarmac, where a jet is waiting, all lit up against the night sky. The steps come down, and two extremely hard-looking men emerge, both dressed in black, both dark-haired with intelligent brown eyes, both from the same Hispanic crime lord supermodel agency as Alejandro.
“Ms. Montoya?” one of them says to Lauren, nodding respectfully.
“Yes,” she replies, “that’s me. I presume my cousin sent you?”
“He did. We’re, uh, colleagues of his, based in Barcelona.”
“Colleagues, huh?” She gives him a dazzling smile. Jealousy stirs unpleasantly as I watch her flirt with the guy, and I remind myself he’s only doing his job and that she needs to feel normal again.
“Well, admittedly not the kind who hang around the water cooler and gossip about Kevin from accounts, but we’ve worked together on projects for many years now. I’m Antonio Rivera, and this is my twin brother, Javier. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
He shakes her hand and lingers a bit too long for my taste. A low growl emerges from my throat without me telling it to, and Javier laughs. “Baby brother, behave yourself,” he chides. “We’re here to work.”
“I’m only your baby brother by five minutes. But you’re right.” He turns to me and Lauren again. “I apologize for my sheer charm and handsome good looks. I use them far too often.”
Lauren grins at him but places a hand on my arm. “This is my boyfriend, Sebastian Donovan, and his business partner, Gabriel Sullivan. If you ever need friends in London, they’re good men to know.”
“I see that.” Antonio nods at each of us. “Now, shall we get to the matter at hand? I believe you have some cargo for us?”
The Rivera twins walk with us to the back of my car, and when I pull up the lid, Diego Torres immediately starts yelling for help. We wait, letting him scream himself hoarse, waiting for him to get the message that nobody’s coming to his rescue. Eventually, Antonio shrugs and punches him, rendering him unconscious yet again. “That’s better. Okay, let’s load him in—big bastard, isn’t he? Was he hard to take down?”
“Ask Ms. Montoya,” I reply, helping heft his legs out. “She’s the one who took him. Had him zip-tied to a chair and bleeding by the time I turned up to rescue her.”
He laughs and shoots her an appreciative look. “I’m impressed.”
“Well, now my life is complete.” She holds her hand to her heart, but there’s no sting to her snark. “Do say hello to my cousin for me, won’t you?”
None too gently, the two brothers drag and bump Diego across the tarmac before hoisting him up the steps, swearing in Spanish all the way. Once he’s in, Antonio turns toward us, gives us a salute, and retracts the stairs. We watch as the plane taxis down the runway and takes off.
“Bit anticlimactic,” I say as we gather back at my SUV. “But I’m glad he’s gone. Gabriel, should I drop you at home, mate, and you can get your car from town tomorrow? Seems daft to drag you all the way back.”
He agrees, and we let him out at the edge of his driveway. I note with approval the additional cameras in the trees around the property and that the code on the security gate now involves a retinal scan. My daughter is in safe hands.
“So,” I say to Lauren as I start the car up again. “You fancy stopping off somewhere? Bit of food, a drink, whatever? It’s been a batshit-crazy day and I’m fucking exhausted, but if you’re hungry or you just need to take your mind off things… Or how’s this for an idea—I could see if that cottage is available? The one from that first night?”
I glance at her profile as I drive, not sure which way she’ll jump. “Yeah. Actually, that might be nice. I know I’ve got to go back to my place and sort it out at some point, but I really don’t have the energy for it right now.” She groans. “I hate that his blood and guts and piss are all over my living room.”
“Not to mention a couple of his teeth. You did quite a number on him. You want me to send someone round, start the cleaning?”
She shudders a little, and I turn the heating on in case she’s cold. “Maybe. Let me think about it. Part of me feels like I should do it myself—like I need to face up to what I did.”
“I’m going to take that as a yes and sort it. I don’t want you having to go back in there to deal with that shit. It’s your home, and he invaded it. You have nothing to feel bad about, nothing to face up to. You know he deserved it, don’t you? And whatever else is coming to him?”
“My brain knows it, logically, but my emotions haven’t quite caught up. I’m sure some of it’s the adrenaline and stress, but I keep remembering how close I came to killing another man. How easy I would have found it. Is there something wrong with me?”
“No. Not one damn thing. You’re perfect. Or at least you’re perfect for me.”
I pull over onto the side of the road and log on to Airbnb. “Shit,” I say after a few moments. “It’s booked. Some other cunts are probably fucking each other on our kitchen table.”
The sound of her laugh fills me with happiness. All is well in the world as long as she can still laugh. “Don’t worry, Seb. Let’s just go home.”
“I do have another option, if you’re up for it.”
She arches an eyebrow, obviously intrigued. “I’m usually up for most things, but I warn you, I am bone-tired. I don’t think I could deal with a chase and capture right now.”
“Of course not. But I have this place. Out in the woods, miles from anywhere. Some land, a little cabin. It’s pretty simple, but it has all the basics. You know, running water, electricity?—”
“Sex dungeon?” she quips.
“Not yet, but it’s a work in progress. Basically it’s my secret refuge. Nobody knows about it, not even Gabriel and Sam.”
“Why not?”
I shrug. I’ve asked myself that before and don’t have a satisfying answer. “I’m not sure. I think I like the idea of having a safe space I can hide away in, a place that’s only for me. Or maybe I’m just a twat, who knows?”
“Do you go there often? Do you… take women there?” She narrows her eyes at me, and I enjoy the flare of jealousy. She deserves it after all that flirting with the Spanish bruiser.
“I used to go there a lot more, every other weekend or so, but the last time was right after we first met. The day after we met, specifically.”
“Ah. I have that effect on men. Send them running for the hills,” she jokes.
I start the car up again. “To answer your other question, no. I’ve never taken another woman there. You’re the only one I ever want to take there. The only one I want, full stop. I love you. You know that, right?”
She puts her hand on my thigh and runs her fingers up and down my jeans. “I do know. And although I don’t say it enough, I love you too. I’m honored that you want to show me your secret hideaway, and I’m excited to be there with you, away from the rest of the world and its bullshit. Is there any phone signal or Wi-Fi?”
“It’s slow but reliable. There’s enough food and drink there to last a year, though, if the zombie apocalypse kicks in.”
“Good. Maybe we’ll stay a couple of days, then. I think I need a bit of R&R… and maybe a little nap. It’s so nice and warm in here now, and I finally feel safe again.”
My heart contracts at those words, and I’m glad she’s not looking right at me. If she was, she would have seen the sheen of tears in my eyes, and then where would my reputation be?