Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
We were already somewhere over the Atlantic, finally on our way home. I regretted that I was leaving Mexico City without killing George Crawford myself, but I couldn’t deny that getting her away from him and Los Zetas calmed me with every passing mile.
Soon, we’d be back in my own territory, and I’d be able to get her settled into my life.
Our lives.
I just needed her to take the drug so that I could rest too. There was one small thing I needed to handle to fully ease my anxiety about her safety, and it would be much easier if she slept while I did what was necessary.
“Okay,” she sighed and took the pill.
“Good girl.” I kissed her again, pleased at her easy compliance. Evelyn sometimes frustrated me with her defiance, but she never argued without a good reason. I’d learned to respect the moments she chose to challenge me.
“I’d probably be too excited to sleep, anyway,” she admitted.
A slow smile stretched my lips. “Are you excited about going to Naples with me?”
Her bright grin hit me like a ray of pure sunshine. “I’ve always wanted to go to Italy. And now I get to go with you.”
“We’re not going on vacation,” I reminded her. “I’ll arrange citizenship papers for you once we arrive.”
Marriage to me would be the quickest way to legitimize the paperwork, but now wasn’t the time for a proposal. Evelyn deserved something far more romantic, and I would make the moment special for her. I resolved to buy a ring as soon as we landed.
Her brow furrowed. “What about getting through customs?” she asked, as though it had just occurred to her. “George still has my passport.”
“Carmen’s people made all the necessary arrangements with the border agents. No one will ask us any questions.” The right people had been paid to look the other way, and the cartel queen had provided an excellent forged American passport for Evelyn.
More details that she didn’t need to worry about. I knew my criminal activities would never sit well with her, so she didn’t need to know about the fake documents. I would ensure that our marriage was legal and legitimate when the time came. I would give her every aspect of a normal life that I could provide.
Evelyn blinked slowly, the sleeping pill already making her drowsy. She snuggled into me with a contented sigh. “Tell me about Naples. In Italian, please.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Tell me about where we will live.” She yawned. “I can’t wait to see it.”
My chest warmed, and I stroked her silken hair. I started to describe my home to her—the apartment we would now share. I told her it was too small, so I would buy her someplace bigger. Big enough for a family. We would pick it out together.
By the time I told her about the wealthy, safe neighborhood where we would settle, she was fast asleep in my arms, her breathing deep and even.
I carried her the short distance to the small bedroom at the back of the plane and laid her out on the bed. Then I pulled out the syringe the doctor had discretely given me when he came to the suite for his final visit this morning. I’d asked Stefano to help me acquire what I needed, and my new friend had delivered.
Evelyn didn’t so much as stir when I carefully slid the needle into her shoulder and injected the tiny tracking chip.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Now, I would always know exactly where she was. If I had to leave her for my business, I could check her location whenever I started to feel edgy without her.
The night she’d tried to run away from me had been the most awful experience of my life. Not knowing where she was and fearing for her safety had been agony. She’d almost been raped because I hadn’t been able to find her fast enough. If I’d arrived at that military outpost even a minute later…
I shoved the bloody memories away, cuddling her close so that I could breathe in her floral scent. It calmed me like nothing else.
She stirred at my side, slowly stretching her lithe body. For a moment, I thought she was waking up, but her eyes remained closed. Her brow furrowed slightly, and her cheeks flushed.
“Massimo…” My name was a low slur, but I understood that lustful tone clearly enough.
I sucked in a deep breath and caught the familiar, alluring scent of her arousal. She pressed her hips against my thigh, slowly grinding against me.
I stroked her hair, trying to calm my own burst of dark lust in response to her wanton actions. “Sleep, dolcezza. I’m right here.”
Her lashes fluttered, but her eyes remained closed, the drugs keeping her under. She moaned my name again and writhed in my arms.