Chapter 13 Presley
Presley
Adrian kept looking over at me, as if he wanted to say something.
Ever since our little vent session, things between us were strained and awkward. I wanted to move into the room with Alex, but he reminded me that his entire staff was reporting to Markos. We were supposed to be planning a wedding, so sleeping apart wouldn’t exactly fly.
I understood that Adrian felt as though he was justified in his vengeance, but he had so much time to come clean and tell me what had happened.
Even during those months where I had been visiting him, and I had opened up to him, he hadn’t.
Even at the dinner, when I specifically asked about his brothers, he’d lied.
I was angry, and I was tired of men treating me like I was an optional tool to pick up and toss back into a drawer when it served them best. So, this morning, when he alerted me that we’d be venturing to the countryside for a picnic and that Alex was welcome to join us, I knew he meant that we’d finally found a way to get home.
I packed only my cell, charger, and my gun into my purse, knowing everything else could be replaced. I just wanted to get Alex home.
We took the Range Rover, which put Adrian in the front, next to our driver, while Alex and I were in the back.
After an hour of heading farther into the countryside, and away from civilization, I worried that Adrian might have been planning something else other than our freedom.
My stomach flipped as I stared out the window at the passing vineyards and low- hanging trees, the green hills, and the cliffsides.
Adrian laughed with our driver about a soccer game and other sports, as if nothing were wrong.
Alex tapped out a message on her arm for me to relax, which meant I was noticeably anxious.
I decided to make a show of excitement for my engagement by swiping through pictures of my wedding dress with Alex.
Ironically, before all this, I really was planning to marry Adrian.
Themes had been picked, center piece ideas and even the cake had all been decided.
While it made me sad, showing her how gorgeous the details of the dress were worked to take the edge off my stress, until I caught Adrian’s hurt expression in the mirror.
He held my gaze for several heavy seconds until finally, Adrian cleared his throat. “Presley darling, will these flowers along the hillside be sufficient for what you’d envisioned for our wedding?”
I made a show of looking out Alex’s window and smiled. “These are perfect. Can we pull over so Alex can help me look through them?”
Adrian muttered an order to the driver, and within minutes, we’d pulled over to the side of the road, and I started toward the hillside, holding Alex’s hand.
I knew he had to do something to take care of the driver, but I didn’t stick around to watch.
Moments later, Adrian began running behind us as he tossed a needle to the side of the road.
“Hurry, Markos is tracking the vehicle. There’s at least two of his cars behind us by a mile or so; we need to disappear into the trees.”
We began running, while I asked from over my shoulder, “The driver?”
Adrian’s hand came to the small of my back, helping me up the hill. “Ketamine. Markos has ways of ensuring he’s alerted if his men are killed or if the vehicle goes off course.”
“Who are we meeting?” Alex asked, hiking up the loose gravel that began sliding under our feet.
We both wore leggings and closed toe shoes because Adrian had made a big production of how we were going to the countryside to walk and explore, and needed the appropriate clothing to do so. Now I knew he was just preparing us.
My legs burned from lack of training and my regular exercise routine. While I’d done walking, swimming, and some combo drills in Adrian’s gym, I wasn’t nearly as toned or as well prepared as I used to be with Scotty in charge of my training.
“We’re meeting your brothers …” He trailed off.
Alex swung her gaze over to me as we locked eyes.
The twins were here.
My stomach flipped for an entirely new reason. Hate, hurt, and anger…it all swirled in my chest like a storm, forcing my lungs to ache and a burn to develop behind the backs of my eyes.
I hadn’t been home in almost a year, and if I knew they wouldn’t be there, then perhaps I’d feel a little bit better about returning, but the fact that I had already texted them sat like a fat elephant between us.
I’d unblocked them both when Alex had arrived that first night because I knew if they had to get in touch with me regarding her, I’d need to already have that done.
How I didn’t realize that I had opened an old thread, when I started texting Kingston, I had no clue.
Embarrassed wasn’t even the right word, and not because I was worried about Gio’s feelings. I was just ashamed that I had allowed Kingston to get under my skin so effectively.
“There,” Adrian said, nodding toward a small stone house that sat in shambles.
Large overgrown trees hung low, providing significant coverage.
We continued walking toward the house, all the while my stomach seemed to drop completely out.
Adrian could be walking us to our deaths, or the twins could decide to snatch Alex and leave me to die.
My eyes were on the ground, not even focused, when I felt Alex wrap her fingers around mine. I glanced up, seeing her reassuring smile, and felt a small wave of warmth invade my chest. It would be okay. Whatever was behind that door, it would be okay.
I heard the small kick of a stone and glanced up, seeing someone in a bulletproof vest, standing on the roof…or what was left of it.
“Stop there,” the man shouted.
Adrian paused and tried to reach for me, but I stepped away right as someone opened the door to the house. I froze in place as I locked eyes with a set of cool, gray eyes, followed by a pair of angry golden ones.
Fire trapped behind glass.
I stared, unmoving, while the twins emerged, both carrying high- powered rifles against their chests, covered in bulletproof vests. Kingston inspected me slowly and then moved his gaze to his sister.
“You okay, Alex?”
She nodded. “Just ready to go home.”
I didn’t like the prick of pain that unfurled in my heart at his obvious dismissal, but I should have known this was the game Kingston would play.
He knew he was in the wrong, that he’d hurt me, and yet, months later, instead of acting apologetic in any way, he just kept pushing me away, punishing me for something that didn’t require penance.
Gio’s attention was on me, but kept going back to a certain man who took up a protective position behind him.
Gio spoke in Spanish to said man, but I caught the name, Henry.
Moments later, an entire group of men shuffled around the building and began removing tree branches from concealing a helicopter.
“They’re ten minutes out,” Adrian said, glancing at his phone.
“Got it,” Gio replied, while Henry began speaking into a walkie.
Adrian stepped closer to the twins. “They’ll shoot at you.”
“We’ll get enough altitude before they do,” Kingston replied, leading us to the side of the helicopter.
They’d yet to fire up the engine, so I turned to Adrian, suddenly fearful that this would be the last time I saw him.
As angry as I was at him, I was disgustingly attached to the idea of being with him.
Of him protecting me from the twins and offering me an out where they were concerned.
It was artificial, and yet as Alex boarded the aircraft, I hung back.
“Would you…” I started and saw a vulnerability in Adrian’s gaze that made my throat tight. He stepped closer and gently pulled my hands into his.
“Ask me anything, and I’ll give it to you.”
I felt the twins hover nearby, but I didn’t pay them any attention as I stepped closer to my fiancé. “Would you come with me?”
His mouth twitched the smallest amount, so much that it nearly looked like a smile.
“Of course you’d ask that, the one thing I can’t give you.”
“Why can’t you?” I tucked my fingers into a tight fist at my side, hating that this felt like another rejection. Asking him was dangerous; once my father and Scotty realized what he’d done, and to what extent they’d plotted, his life might be forfeit.
“I have to get back and try to keep Markos off your trail for as long as possible. If I’m fast enough, he won’t know for a few days or even a week that you’re gone.”
Someone cleared their throat behind us, and I heard the helicopter engines begin to start up.
“I’m sorry, Presley. For everything.” Adrian pulled me into his arms and pressed his lips to mine in a kiss that felt like goodbye.
I was about to tell him that I could find a way to forgive him, if we just gave ourselves some time.
But someone pulled me away, and as I looked up, I saw a clenched jaw and amber stare that drove a hole into my chest.
“We were told you’d be returning with us,” Kingston snapped harshly.
I tried to pull my arm free, but he held firm. “I am, but let me say goodbye.”
Adrian stepped closer and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear before closing the space and pressing his mouth there, whispering, “I love you. Promise me, my darling, if I never see you again, then you need to chase the sun. Let it love you the way you deserve to be loved and finally embrace that fire that’s been simmering in your soul that you’ve been too nervous to release. ”
With one last kiss to my cheek, Adrian placed a note in my palm right as Kingston pulled me away. Ducking my head, I moved to the open door of the helicopter and then settled into the seat next to Alex. Across from me sat Gio, who was staring at me as if I’d stolen something from him.
I glanced out the window and watched as Adrian tucked his hands into his pockets and watched us fly away. Once we were high enough and hadn’t been shot down, I pulled out the note he’d given me.
I did some digging. I have a picture of that night, who killed my father. It’s been scrubbed from the internet, but I have someone who can find the things that don’t exist. I’m going to email you the image. Be safe, my love.