Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
When we entered the house, Jacob was in the kitchen. “Arturo’s fine,” he said before we could ask.
“Where is he?”
“In one of the guest rooms upstairs. One of the men who came with Ghost is a medic. Arturo had been drugged to keep him quiet, but otherwise, he wasn’t harmed.”
“Thank God.”
I took Rhys’s hand. “Let’s go see him.”
“He’s not in the best mood,” Jacob said. “Once he came fully awake, he said he was starving, but I’ve tried offering him food, and he’s turned his nose up at almost all of it. He says he just wants to go home, where he knows the cook.”
I blew out a breath. “I wish I could say I was surprised. He’s used to getting his way about everything. I’m sorry he’s been so rude to you.”
Jacob shrugged. “I’d be pissed off too if I’d been kidnapped and dragged here. Don’t you want to eat something before you go up?”
I was starving. I hadn’t eaten anything in ages other than a protein bar sometime in the middle of the night, but I needed to see for myself that Arturo was all right.
“Is that your roast beef from yesterday?” Rhys asked, watching Jacob lay out sandwich fixings.
Jacob grinned. “It is. So far it’s the only thing I could get Arturo to eat, but even then he only took a few bites.”
That sounded right. “I think he lives off meat, pasta, and bread.”
“If he stays here long enough, I’ll see what I can do about that.”
I snorted. “Good luck to you.”
“We could take sandwiches up with us,” Rhys said. “And bring one for Arturo.”
Jacob nodded. “Give me just a few seconds and I’ll have a plate of them for you.”
“Thank you, Jacob, and thank you for putting up with Arturo.”
“It’s the least I can do since Grant likes to keep me here in the house far away from any danger.”
“As he damn well should.”
Rhys scowled at me. “Don’t get any ideas.”
“You mean I can’t keep you inside and at my beck and call all the time.”
Jacob huffed. “I didn’t say anything about being at Grant’s beck and call.”
“I’ve seen you put him in his place, and you do a damn fine job of it.”
Jacob grinned. “I’d love to see his reaction if you said that around him.”
“So would I,” Rhys said.
Jacob looked between the two of us. “So this is official now?”
Rhys gave him a deer-in-headlights look. “Um…”
I reached for his hand. “Yes.”
“About damn time.”
“I thought so too,” I said.
Rhys stared at me, mouth open as I took the plate of sandwiches from Jacob.
“Come on. I need to make sure Arturo doesn’t cause more trouble before I send him home to my father.”
When we reached Arturo’s room, Grant looked up from the chair where he was sitting, typing on his laptop, while a very pouty Arturo scowled at a phone someone must have given him.
“Thank God you’re back,” Grant said. “Is everything taken care of?”
“Yes. Colton took over cleanup. As long as you trust him to deal with that, it’s done.”
“I’ll check on his job after we’ve had a chance to debrief.” Grant looked longingly at the sandwiches. “Is one of those for me?”
“I suppose we could share.” Grant grabbed one and so did Rhys.
Arturo huffed. “I’m starving, and there’s nothing here I want.”
All my worries about my brother vanished. Seeing firsthand that he was acting like his usual, entitled self let me know he was on his way to a full recovery.
I scowled at him, then turned to Grant. “Is this brat giving you trouble?”
“Why’d you bother to save me if I’m such a brat?” Arturo whined.
I rolled my eyes. “Why are you acting like a brat to the people who helped rescue you?”
“I want to go home. I told them I’m fine, but they don’t believe me. I don’t want to be here. I…” He squeezed his eyes shut.
I handed the plate to Rhys and sat down on the bed so I could pull him into my arms.
“I want my mom,” he sobbed against my shoulder. He might be a little asshole sometimes, but he was still a scared kid.
“In a few minutes, I’m going to call our father. Once I’ve got word from him that it’s safe for you to talk to your mom, she’ll call you, and I’ll make a plan to get you home as soon as I can without putting you in more danger.
“Fine. I… I don’t want to be here, but I… Thank you.”
“I hope you know I will always come to your rescue.”
He tilted his head and studied me. “You will?”
“Yes.”
“And Franco… He’s dead?”
I nodded. “Very dead, and I have the names of all the traitors who sided with him.”
“And you’ll kill them too?”
Had I been that bloodthirsty at his age? Probably. “I’ll make sure they are taken care of, but their exact sentence will be up to our father.”