Chapter 7
OLLIE
I work the whole flight, catching up on what I missed during my trip down to Colombia, but mostly, I’m trying to ignore the beautiful, captivating, infuriating woman beside me.
She snores adorably in her sleep, and there’s a little bit of drool in the corner of her mouth.
I smirk and take a little video. That could come in handy.
I frown when I rewatch the video. She’ll wake up with a throbbing arm and a hangover. I’ll have to watch for that. I shouldn’t feel bad for her. I can’t.
Early morning sunlight peeks through clouds as we land at our small, private airport right outside of The Cove.
I scrub a hand across my eyes, grateful to be home but fucking exhausted.
While Renata slept most of the six-hour flight home, thanks to the drinks and meds, I haven’t slept more than a few hours in days.
Still, I have to stay alert. Moving from one place to the next is always when we’re most vulnerable.
She needs her sleep, so I don’t wake her until we’ve landed. I hate being the one who drags her back into the present and back to being in pain.
“Renata.” Her head’s on my shoulder, her beautiful face so peaceful. I feel like a dick. Maybe I could carry her off the plane and get her to the car without waking her—
“Mmm?” She sits straight up, and her eyes fly open.
Maybe not.
“Why didn’t you tell me we were almost here? I like to know these things.” It’s true—she hates being left out of the loop and surprised. It’s partly why her brief captivity before was so maddening to her.
“You needed sleep. How’s the arm?”
With a sigh, she looks down as if just remembering what happened. “Still there, I guess. It’s fine.” She looks ahead when the door opens. “Ride waiting?”
“Yeah. Mikhail said straight to family headquarters.” I have to do what my oldest brother and pakhan of our Bratva tells me.
I want her alone. I want to take her away from everyone, just the two of us, to the moon if I had to.
I blow out a breath. “The closer we are to family headquarters, the better.”
She grumbles and shifts in her seat. “Alright, I got ya.” She looks groggy and confused. “That was fast.”
“Time flies when you’re fast asleep.” I pull up the video on my phone and show her.
“You made me do that! Delete that, Ollie!”
I snort. “Not a chance. This is prime blackmail material.”
She tries to look annoyed but gets this little look where her lips twitch, but her face quickly contorts in pain when she holds her arm. “Ugh, my head. My arm. What the fuck. Little slash like that shouldn’t hurt so much.”
“It wasn’t a little slash, but we’ll have you looked at when we get back.”
When we exit, the familiar sight of home brings a sense of relief. While my brothers have settled in nicely here, my job hasn’t afforded me that luxury. For years I’ve been a nomad, moving from place to place.
Until now.
I look at the beautiful woman beside me. We’re getting married. Does that mean I’ll actually get a chance to put down roots?
“Is that your driver?” she asks, pointing ahead to the car that’s waiting for us. I stifle a yawn. God, I’m fucking exhausted.
I shade my eyes from the sun and squint. “I think so.”
I take our bags and head out while the flight crew begins their cleanup. I’m eager to get her back to my house.
“Where did they decide we’re going?” she asks.
“Family headquarters.”
Renata nods but doesn’t offer much. She’s focused on the driver. I can’t see him from here, but everything looks legit. That’s our car. He’s standing in front of us, as is protocol.
I take our bags, and this time, she doesn’t argue with me about it.
Good. I just want to get home. Back to safety, where I can drill down security and make sure she’s safe again.
“Who’s back at the house now?”
“My mother and sister, I know that, but I’m not so sure about my other brothers. We’ll have a meeting this morning and decide what’s next.”
The driver approaches. “Welcome home, sir. Ma’am. May I help you with your bags?”
“I’ve got them,” I tell him. He should know that.
Renata shakes her head and gives the driver a curious look, not meeting my eyes. “Were you already given the location of the safe house by security?”
We aren’t going to—
“Yes, all set, ma’am. Your location is secure.”
Renata smiles sweetly. “Perfect.” She turns to face me and beckons for me to come closer. Her sweet, warm breath on my cheek, she whispers, “He’s not your driver.”
I whisper in her ear, “No shit. I’m going to kiss you like we’re in love, then pull my gun. You dive for cover. Do not fuck around.”
She nods.
I kiss her cheek, her soft, sweet skin to my lips like honeyed butter.
I want her.
I want all of her. It’s like the first hit of an addict. One taste, one touch of Renata Carerra, and I need more.
With reluctance, I pull away, my weapon drawn.
The driver takes one look at me and dives into the driver’s seat. I pull the trigger.
Glass shatters as he peels away. Adrenaline courses through my veins as I toss Renata my phone. “Call Mikhail, get eyes on him!” I shout as I chase after the vehicle. I shoot again and again, hitting one tire, but the exit is so close, he turns sharply, and all I see behind him is a cloud of dust.
“Mikhail?” Renata’s eyes are wide beside me.
“Who are you, and where the fuck is my brother?” Mikhail thunders.
“I’m here,” I shout so he can hear me. “I had Renata call you. Our driver was replaced by someone and he tried to kill us. I tried to get him, but he got away. We need eyes on him.”
“Aria, did you get that?” Mikhail asks his wife. With Aria’s skills, she can find anyone, anywhere, anytime.
“On it. We’ve got a drone on Seventh, and I can tap into the security cams on the interstate in one… two… Come to Mama, baby.”
I look wildly around the parking lot. I need to get her the fuck out of here immediately.
“We need a car.”
“Viktor’s ten minutes out. Keep her covered until then, Ollie.”
Renata frowns. “Wish I had a gun too.”
“There’s no fucking way I’d give you a gun.”
“Well, what the hell am I supposed to do? Stand around and look pretty?” She looks down at herself in disgust. “As if I even could, covered in blood, my clothes all ripped, my hair like a neglected, abused Barbie doll.”
Jesus. Women. They focus on the wrong damn things.
“No,” Mikhail snaps on speakerphone. “Do what he fucking tells you. Hang up and get cover. Now.”
He disconnects the call, and she throws her hands up in disgust. “My God!”
I scan the area.
“There. Over by the hangar. Follow me.”
“Yes, sir. Whatever you say, sir.”
Not drunk anymore. Good. She’ll feel every smack when I give her the spanking she so obviously deserves.
“Why are you being so miserable?” I ask her, tugging her hand down so she sits on the pavement beside me.
Frowning, she doesn’t answer. I didn’t expect her to.
She’s not usually so difficult. While I’d hardly call Renata Carerra submissive or compliant, she’s rarely so exhausting.
She sits beside me cross-legged on the pavement, playing with her hair. Fuck, but it’s sexy watching her delicate, graceful fingers sweep the hair off her neck and begin to braid it.
“I don’t want to talk, Ollie. You have no idea what I’ve just been through. Let’s stop with the third degree.”
I grit my teeth. “You’re right; I have no idea what you’ve been through. Our only goal right now is to stay alive until our ride gets here.”
“Why?” she snaps.
“Why stay alive?” I look at her in surprise.
“Jesus, no,” she says, shaking her head. “I’ve got that sorted out. I like being alive.” She gives me a sidelong look and swallows hard. “At least most of the time, anyway. I’ve had my moments.”
What does that mean?
I nod, listening, but I’m still hung up on I’ve had my moments. It’s a stark reminder that there’s so much more about Renata that I don’t know, and I want to know it all. I have to.
“I meant, why do we have to wait for a ride? We’re sitting ducks here. My brother’s not like Javier, you know. I mean he—he wasn’t like Javier.”
A look of panic flits across her face. I play it off like she didn’t just fucking admit he’s alive.
“What was your brother’s method?”
“Javier was all about strategy and manipulation. He had his tentacles far and wide and thankfully burned all his shit to the ground before he got to power. My brother was wild and reckless.” She stammers a bit.
“He’d…he’d strike hard without thinking about the consequences, and anyone who’s taking over for him would be the same. ”
“I get your point about us being sitting ducks and all that. I don’t want to sit here any longer than you do. But I trust Mikhail with my life and now yours. So I’m not interested in doing anything that will put either of us in danger.”
She frowns. God, she’s beautiful when she frowns like that.
Correction. She’s beautiful no matter what she says or does.
“We’re staying here. It’s the safest bet.”
She wraps her arms around her legs, her eyes darting around the space outside the hangar.
“Is this what my life is going to be like?”
I stand beside her, my weapon drawn. She seems so small sitting beside me. I feel like I tower over her.
“What do you mean?”
She shrugs a slim shoulder and shakes her head. Unruly hair dances over her back and shoulders, and she swallows hard. “It’s just… I hate feeling like I’m out of control. Like someone else is managing my life for me, yet that’s exactly what happens when you boss me around and tell me what to do.”
I can’t risk taking my eyes off the view outside the hangar, so I scan again before I crouch down so I’m closer to her. The coast is clear. If we were at a regular airport, we’d be fucked, but luckily for us, we can do this kind of thing here.
I’m going to be married to Renata. It doesn’t matter. She’ll be mine whether she likes it or not.
“Ollie—”
I look at her. When her eyes meet mine, the guarded wall around my heart cracks. I feel it crumbling. A part of me wants to do everything in my power not just to protect her, not just to make her mine… but to make her fucking happy.
Jesus. I’m a goddamn pussy.