Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 66962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
“Since when do you care about that kind of thing? Unless you’ve changed, you usually have a new man or woman every night.”
Fox grinned. “I take a night off occasionally, but this isn’t about me. This is about you and how good it would be if you had someone with you.”
“I don’t need you telling me what’s good for me.”
Fox held up his hands in surrender. “I miss you. I’ll never forgive myself for letting you go off on your own that day. If there’s anything in the world I can do to make your life better, I want to do it.”
“Just keep Carlo safe.”
“That’s a given. What I’d like to do is keep him safe and have him with you.”
“He’s not safe with me.”
He raised his brows. “Are you sure?”
“I froze, Fox. I fucking froze. I couldn’t pull the trigger.”
“The man wasn’t an immediate threat.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t trust myself. I haven’t trusted myself since… I don’t know that I ever will.”
“I would.”
Why did he have to be so fucking cryptic? “You would what?”
“I would trust you. If my life was on the line, I wouldn’t be afraid to have you backing me up.”
“No. I’m not the man I was before.”
“He’s in there somewhere.”
“I thought that, but I’m not sure it’s really true.”
“Carlo trusts you too.”
“Have you met him?” I didn’t like the thought of that. Fox flirted with everything that moved.
“Only briefly.” He didn’t seem inclined to talk.
“Rogue told you everything, didn’t he?”
“Actually, Grant did.”
“Grant? I didn’t think he had any interest in me and Carlo being together.”
“Grant has an interest in you being happy. He wants all of us safe and content. He worried about Carlo putting you in jeopardy, but he realizes now that you’re better off with him.”
“But Carlo’s not better off with me.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Maybe it’s time for you to leave. Isn’t it better for you to get Carlo back to Boston quickly?”
“You really want me to go?”
“I really want you not to talk to me about Carlo, and honestly, I don’t have much more talking in me.”
“That’s okay. I’ll talk, and you can listen.”
Fox told me about some of his recent exploits and the things that had been hard for him transitioning out of the marines. Before he left, he took hold of my arm. I was shocked I didn’t feel the immediate need to pull away. The bond we’d had was still there.
“Be very, very sure you want to let him go.”
“If it’s safer for him, then—”
“That’s not what I mean. He can go to Boston, then he can come back when things are resolved, or you could go with us.”
I imagined me being there and failing him again. I thought about negotiating a crowded airport and about meeting the Marchesis. “No, I can’t.”
“Just think about it.”
28
CARLO
I was sitting in the kitchen talking to Jacob when Fox came back in. I’d been shocked by just how big he was when I’d met him a little while before, but I hadn’t even remembered right. He looked like he could barely make it through the door. I bet he could carry me in one hand.
He’d been to see Blade, but part of me didn’t even want to ask how it had gone.
“Did he let you in?” Jacob asked.
“He did.” Fox glanced my way. “I couldn’t convince him to come back with me.”
“That’s okay.” It wasn’t, but it also wasn’t Fox’s responsibility to fix things. He was there to get me safely to Boston, not to get mixed up in my personal life. I could already tell he was going to do a much more efficient job protecting me than the two men I’d escaped from. “What time are we going to leave?”
“How soon can you be ready?”
“I didn’t bring much with me, so it won’t take long. I’d just as soon get going.”
There was no point in staying around the ranch if I wasn’t going to see Blade again. I’d enjoyed getting to know Jacob and Rogue and even some of the others, but I wanted to end all this—the lies I told at my mother’s request, the lie I told myself about being able to work out a relationship with Blade. If I put it all behind me, maybe I could adjust to living in Boston and following Lucien’s rules.
“Okay, I’ll meet you by my truck in half an hour.”
“We’ll miss you,” Jacob said
“When I started this journey, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m going to miss you too.”
29
BLADE
My phone buzzed with a text notification. I was going to ignore it, but something told me I needed to see it.
It was from Rogue. Carlo and Fox are leaving in 30 minutes. They’re meeting at his truck.
Shit. I was hoping Carlo was gone already. Now I had half an hour to rethink one of the biggest decisions of my life.