Chapter 20 – Early hours following morning – Saving Little Miss Red
CHAPTER 20
MIKI
EARLY HOURS FOLLOWING MORNING – SAVING LITTLE MISS RED
A fter Eilidh text again to say she was still stuck at work and wouldn’t be over tonight, I dragged myself to bed filled with disappointment.
Unable to settle, I tossed and turned for a while before giving up on sleep.
Although I knew Eilidh wouldn’t be finished working until very late and had to get up early again tomorrow, I needed to see her. She might not have come to me tonight, but I intended to go to her. I wanted her in my arms again, even if it was only to sleep.
It was crazy how quickly the sexy detective had got under my skin, but nothing felt right without her.
When I’d seen the way Romi and Glowacki had looked at their brides with love in their eyes, I’d been admittedly jealous. I’d thought I would never be lucky enough to feel that way.
Yet in just a few short days, here I was smitten with a woman who should be my enemy but was instead my obsession. A woman I believed was my future.
There were still obstacles in our way, secrets that could make or break us, but I held on to the hope that we’d work it all out.
Loving Eilidh was a risk, but it was one I couldn’t stop myself from taking. Trusting her with the secrets of my life, however, was a different matter. I couldn’t risk the repercussions to my family, and my Brotherhood, if she betrayed me.
I’d need to tread carefully, continue to build her trust and gain her loyalty. Then, when I was sure she had developed genuine feelings for me, I would tell her who I was.
Being pakhan was my birthright, and I tried to be a good one, but it wasn’t who I wanted to be. Once she knew me better, and understood me more, I hoped my criminal side would be easier for her to accept. Especially when she saw the effort I was putting in to change things for the better.
Considering her colleagues were corrupt and her world was no longer as black and white as it had been, I believed she wouldn’t be as averse to being with me as she would have been if we’d met under any other circumstances.
Of course, if we had, a relationship with us would never have had the chance to begin, so I guessed I should almost be grateful to the corrupt bastards.
“She’s on the move!” Marko shouted from his own room.
I opened the tracking app to watch the little dot.
“See you tomorrow,” I shouted back as I grabbed my jacket and car keys.
I’d already dismissed Boris earlier, and he was now back at the hotel and asleep. There had seemed no reason to have him wait to tail her home when I planned to meet her there, anyway.
The other guys were off duty too, so it would just be me and my Little Miss Red, and that was how I wanted it.
Smiling, I wondered how Little Miss Red would react when I turned up unexpectedly again.
I checked the little dot. She was closer to her house than I was, but I expected I’d get there just moments after she did. Then we’d have the rest of the night together.
My cock perked up at that thought, but it would need to bloody well behave itself. If Eilidh was exhausted, I would be content just holding her as she slept, but if she was up for more, I’d be happy with that too. I’d take whatever I could get. So long as I was with her.
Wind buffeted the car and rain battered against the windscreen as I sped towards Eilidh’s house. It was exhilarating. Excitement coursed through me the nearer I got to her home. I couldn’t wait to see my sexy detective.
However, as soon as I left the motorway, I ended up stuck on the slip road behind a line of traffic.
There had been an accident and the only thing I could do was wait for it to be cleared.
Damn it!
As I sat there impatiently tapping my fingers on the wheel, Marko called.
“I just got an alert. Someone’s inside Eilidh’s house!” he said.
“I’m pulling up the feed now.”
“It’s just one guy. He’s tearing the place apart, obviously searching for something.”
“Shit! I’ll call and warn her. I’m near her house but stuck in traffic. I don’t know when I’ll get there. Keep watching and keep me informed,” I said before switching lines and ringing Eilidh’s mobile.
It rang, then went to voicemail.
Shit, shit, shit!
I tried again.
Pick up Eilidh! Please, baby!
“Fuck!” I cried in frustration when it went to voicemail once more.
I doubted she would hear it before she got out of her car, but I left a frantic message, anyway.
“Eilidh, don’t go into your house; someone is there. Stay away! I’m on my way to your place now. Wait for me!”
My stomach churned with worry as I watched the little dot on my screen get closer to its destination.
My heart pounded and sweat coated my body as I waited for the last of the cars to be loaded onto a breakdown truck.
It was taking too bloody long.
Come on! I shouted and banged the palm of my hand into the steering wheel in anger.
As the little dot moved closer to Eilidh’s street, bile rose in my throat as I realised I might not get there until too late.
My agitation grew as the seconds ticked by. All the while, Marko gave me a running commentary on her intruder.
“He’s pouring petrol all over,” he cried.
Fuck, he was going to torch her house!
And Eilidh was almost home. If she ran into the intruder, anything could happen.
God, I felt bloody helpless being unable to warn her. I was going insane sitting there when finally, the line of traffic started moving again.
As soon as I was passed the accident, I overtook the few cars in front and put my foot down.
“She’s just parked outside the house now,” Marko informed me.
Don’t go in, baby! Check your messages first! Please, please check them! I pleaded, as if she might just be able to hear my subliminal messages. Or maybe somehow the universe would step in and help.
Neither happened.
“Shit! The bastard just hit her with something. She’s been knocked out!” Marko shouted.
My heart stuttered, then pounded hard against my ribs and I roared in fury.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I screamed down the phone.
Rage filled my veins. This guy was a dead man. I was going to fucking kill him.
“He’s gone. The fire brigade and an ambulance are on the way,” Marko said as I screeched to a halt outside my woman’s home.
Darting towards the house, I saw that the fire had already taken hold. There were flames in the living room. I pushed open the front door and was immediately hit by the heat.
My eyes stung, and the smoke made me cough as I hurried over to Eilidh’s crumpled form. Luckily, she was lying in the hallway near to the door. A coughing fit took me to my knees, but I managed to lift her up and stagger with her outside.
The first fire engine arrived just as I collapsed with her in my arms. The wind and rain hit us in the face, and she woke up coughing and wheezing.
Relief filled me as I hugged her to my chest. She was alive, but I couldn’t believe how close that had been.
I brushed my lips against the top of her head and murmured.
“You’re safe, baby. I’ve got you!”
Eilidh’s body shivered, but she didn’t seem to notice as she stared at the flames consuming her home.
After a few minutes, she started to cry. As my Little Miss Red sobbed her heart out, I held her close and vowed to find the bastard who’d done this and end his life.
Fury bubbled inside me, and I had to fight hard to keep a lid on it. I needed to be calm right now, for Eilidh’s sake. She needed to know she could rely on me to protect her from now on. And protect her, I would.