Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
“I’ll be fine. I’ll be here,” she said. “I can’t go back to the penthouse, can I?”
“Not today.”
She nodded. “You already bought this place, didn’t you?”
“How did you know?”
“The closet, you’ve already started to fill it with your suits.” She put her hands on my hips. “When will I get to see casual Andrei? Will he come back?”
“He will. He’s already here.” I kissed her temple, not wanting to leave her alone, but also knowing there was no choice.
Ivan expected a meeting and I had to contact Rage. Assuming he wasn’t pissed off from being ignored. While I’d been on my honeymoon, Ivan had been sure to send pictures to Rage of Lottie’s progress. Ive had eventually allowed her to shower and change, but even those images had been used to help our cause. The young woman was clearly special to Rage, and that was coming in handy right about now.
“Go,” Adelaide said, letting me go. “I’ll be here, waiting.”
I kissed her again. “I’m leaving Leo,” I said.
She had asked me not to be angry at him. It wasn’t Leo’s fault, and I doubted he would accept any beverage from her anytime soon.
I have no choice but to leave. As I do, I order Leo to keep an eye on my wife. Terrance is already seated in the driver’s seat as I climb in the back, cell phone in hand. I contact Rage and wait. Three rings and he picks up.
“What the fuck took you so long? If anything happens to Lottie…”
“You are not in a position to question me,” I said. “Lottie’s survival will depend on you, Rage.” I give him the location of the penthouse. “Be there in an hour. If you don’t, then I can assume you don’t care what happens to her.”
Hanging up my cell phone, I slide it into my jacket and sit back. There is no relaxing for me.
Having Rage in my penthouse is not the ideal situation for me. He is still a member of the Evil Savages MC, and for all I know, he could be playing me. I don’t trust anyone. Never. My penthouse would be tarnished after this.
Terrance drives us to the penthouse and I see Ivan’s car is already in my slot, so Terrance parks in the closest available space.
Ivan is the boss. He knows what he’s doing, but I have to wonder if I should question the man’s sanity.
Arriving at my penthouse suite, I walk in to find the place tidy. There’s nothing out of place, and Ivan is sitting at the dining room table, shuffling cards.
“Did you arrange it?” he asked.
“I made the call. He should be arriving in twenty minutes.”
“Excellent. Can I interest you in a whiskey?”
I shake my head and take a seat opposite him.
“Did she like the house?” Ivan asked.
“Yes. You knew she would.”
Ivan smiled. “There’s a lot I don’t know.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
Ivan didn’t speak. He flicked the cards over, one by one, and then gathered them up. “I don’t see the addiction to cards. The winning part, I get, but all numbers on some card never appealed to me. People waste so much of their money on the flick of one of these bad boys. Do you get it?”
“We’re talking about cards?”
“No, we’re talking about the addiction cards causes.”
I had no words. Ivan always had the most random thoughts. Sometimes I wondered if they dropped him on his head when he was a baby. Would that give him an excuse for his weird ways? I didn’t know.
“Do addictions make sense?” I asked.
“Addictions make sense, if you think about the body’s response to what’s going on around it. The happiness, the endorphins that are released. It’s a powerful drug.” He sighed. “But now I’m bored.” He put the deck of cards down on the table and stood up. “Is this guy known for being early or late?”
“I have no idea. Do you want to talk about Oleg?”
“No.”
Ivan’s the boss.
“How are Aurora and the baby?” I asked.
Ivan and I rarely made small talk. Until Adelaide came into my life, it had always been business. We weren’t close.
“They’re healthy,” Ivan said, running a hand down his face. As he did so, I noticed the way he leaned slightly to one side, as if he had some kind of ailment. Like a bruise.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
He wasn’t talkative today. Maybe I should have let him be his usual charming self and talk about the deck of cards for no good reason.
My thoughts drifted to Adelaide and I had to wonder what she was doing. I’d not yet installed any cameras so there was no way for me to steal glances of her on my cell phone. Not that I would with Ivan watching me. He already knew I kept a close eye on her, and he didn’t need to see my obsession in person.