Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Fast, I turned around and carried her away. Maxwell followed behind me, so close, he almost made me trip a few times.
Delphine called after us, “I’ll have to do things to this Eye of the Gator. Give me three days, and make sure you have the absinthe with you, when you come.”
We’re never coming back here again.
As if she heard my thoughts, a loud, wicked laugh escaped her.
Chapter twenty-one
The Rhythm of Love
Kazimir
Silent, Emily hugged me as I carried her up those stairs and out of the house in a blur.
When we made it outside, the cool night air hit my face.
Tisha and my men stood in the yard with their guns drawn and their eyes scanning the perimeter.
Meanwhile, Delphine’s people lingered on the edge of the porch. Their silhouettes were menacing in the dim light, as if they were moments away from leaping off and charging at us.
That’s all I need tonight. A damned shootout in this witch’s yard.
“Get back in the cars!” I barked, hurrying Emily down the stairs. “We’re leaving. Tisha and Maxwell, get in one of the SUVs. I’m riding alone with my mouse.”
My men began backing up, moving to the SUVs while keeping their gazes trained on Delphine’s shadowy followers.
“Alright, but we’re sticking to the plan?” Maxwell asked, keeping his pace with me.
For the first time since getting her, Emily lifted her head.
I looked at Maxwell. “We will have to get the kids first along with everybody else and then head to the airport.”
Emily shook her head vehemently, and her expression was one of adamant refusal.
“Mysh.” I frowned. “We are leaving New Orleans.”
Yet again, she shook her head, struggling against the hold I had on her, and those brown eyes were wide with an unspoken plea.
I stopped walking and scowled. “You were on the floor with snakes slithering over you.”
That memory shivered through me.
“We are going back to Russia.”
She waved one hand from side to side.
“Goddamn it, mysh.” I bared my teeth. “You want to stay?”
She bobbed her head.
Maxwell let out an exasperated breath. “Come on, Em. This shit is bugged out. Aunt Delphine scares me. Plus, she had Kazimir looking like a fucking chump down in the basement—”
“No one had me looking like a chump,” I snapped. “However, you were about to piss your pants several times—”
“Damn right I was! Shit. I think I might have pissed in my pants just a little bit. The normal amount of piss for a normal person dealing with crazy shit.”
Emily waved her hand again, letting me know that she absolutely did not want to leave New Orleans.
“Goddamn it!” I returned to getting us to the car. “We stay tonight, and once you get your voice back in the morning, we will talk.”
She sighed. The sound was so filled with fear it nearly broke me.
I gazed at her and lowered my tone. “But, your voice back or not, I will not budge on this. I want you far away from Delphine.”
“Eh, one more thing.” Maxwell hurried back to my side, dove his hands into his pockets, and produced a joint. “Take this, Em. She said you can smoke and that you would want to. Now. . .I wanted your first time to be just you and me on Bourbon Street, but—”
“Just give her the damn joint and get out of here.” I was ready to break someone’s neck.
“This motherfucker.” Maxwell handed it to her.
She gave him a sad smile and then took it.
“See you both at the hotel.” Then, Maxwell headed off with Tisha, leaving us to face the uncertain night ahead.
Soon, I helped Emily into the backseat of the car.
Next, I slipped in. “Get close to me, mysh. You are freezing.”
She curved those lips into a smile.
“You are smiling?” I slammed the door behind me and wrapped my arm around her waist. “I was terrified. My heart is still pounding in my ribcage.”
She placed her hand on my bare chest.
I turned to the driver. “Why aren’t we moving already?! Get us out of here!”
“Sorry, sir.” The driver rushed with starting the car. No sooner did it start up and the tires crunched over gravel, and we were speeding off.
“And put on some music. Surely, New Orleans has a proper jazz station.”
“Yes, sir.” The driver fiddled with the radio and then stopped on a smooth jazz channel.
The soothing sounds of a melodic saxophone and piano filled the car.
Keeping her hand over my heart, Emily watched me.
Could she feel the maddening pumping of that organ?
Did she have any fucking idea how much I truly loved her?
In the fleeting calm of the car ride, with only the soft jazz music playing in the background, I found a pocket of peace with my mouse. With my arms around her, all the chaos of the night melted away.
I studied my mouse. Even though she had been still on the ground for hours, she looked like she had been through hell and back.