Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
“My friend, Olivia, is coming for a visit in October, and she’s going to bring him then.”
“Athena, as much as I hate to break this up, the pilots are waiting on you,” Isidore interjected with a wry smile on his lips. “And please notice that you have hugged Edison good-bye three times now and hugged your only brother just once. I’m feeling neglected.”
Ed choked on a laugh as Athena crossed the posh waiting area to hug Isidore tightly. He rested his head on the top of her curly black hair and closed his eyes as he held her. They whispered little things back and forth in Greek that he’d guessed were poignant until both of them started giggling.
When Isidore finally released Athena, she turned toward Kairo, who was standing next to his boyfriend and grinned broadly. She slugged the mercenary in the shoulder. “You take good care of my brother for me.”
“I’ll protect him with my life,” Kairo agreed solemnly.
She sighed and hugged him tightly. “I’d like it better if you both stayed alive and out of trouble.”
After releasing them, she stepped away to stand next to the two assassins, who were watching all this family love with happy expressions. They’d said their good-byes to their nephew, Alexei, a couple of days earlier. He and Soren were still lounging in the sun on Santorini with Charlie and Will.
Isidore shook their hands. “Thank you again for all your assistance on this matter and for escorting my sister to school.”
“We were happy to help,” Gabriel graciously replied.
“Yeah, I think you thanked us plenty with that generous contribution you made to our bank account,” Justin chimed in as he took Isidore’s hand, causing Gabriel to roll his eyes.
With all the jokes made and good-byes said, Athena walked out to the private plane, Gabriel and Justin following close behind. Ed shuffled over to stand beside Kairo as they watched out the large window.
“Are you expecting trouble for Athena?” Ed asked in a low voice.
Kairo gave a small shake of his head. “Not really. This is more to make sure that Athena feels safe. She doesn’t want to have any bodyguards with her while she’s at school, and this will get her started with a sense of security.”
“Plus, I’m having my plane wait in California until Justin and Gabriel are ready to leave. They can take the private plane home as an added thank-you for all they’ve done,” Isidore said.
“That is a very nice bonus.” Ed chuckled.
Isidore turned to face him again with that look in his eyes. It was the same look he’d been giving them all since everything finally got sorted with his family.
Ed lifted both hands as if to ward the man off. “No, no, no. You’ve already paid me and the team plenty. I’ve also adopted your sister as my new little sister, and you’ve made one of my best friends very happy. I don’t want or need anything else.”
Isidore pursed his lips at him and Kairo cackled. “Okay,” Isidore finally conceded. He turned his attention back to the plane as the door closed and it began to taxi toward the runway.
Kairo flashed him a wide grin, and Edison could only chuckle. Kairo had his hands full with Isidore.
Of course, the idea that Kairo would end up with someone like Isidore was kind of funny. Kairo had always struck him as a self-sufficient guy, and Ed had thought he’d date the same. Not that Isidore couldn’t take care of himself. It was simply that he was too nice and needed someone to watch out for him.
Isidore clearly triggered every last one of K’s protective instincts. Considering everything that had happened, he was surprised Kairo ever allowed Isidore to step outside. Last he’d heard, Kairo was running a thorough background check on all of Isidore’s security team. It would be amazing if any of them still had a job when he was done.
With a heavy sigh, Isidore turned from the window as the plane disappeared from sight. His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes when he looked at Ed. “Shall we go find some lunch? I know this great place with outdoor seating that offers an excellent view of the city.”
“Yeah, but how’s the food?” Ed demanded as they started walking down the hall.
“The best, I promise. You’ll love it.”
They strolled out of the quiet section of the airport that catered to private planes and high-end clients and into the more crowded terminal where travelers were rushing to catch their commercial flights. It was surprisingly nice to be at the airport and not in a hurry for once.
Kairo released Isidore’s hand and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll text West and see if he wants to meet us.”
As they walked along, Ed couldn’t help scanning the people, easily shuffling them into a variety of categories—exhausted parents, distracted students, former military, business traveler, and checked-out vacationer. The potential threats were assessed with barely more than a glance running from a one to a five. Nearly everyone was a one—completely harmless. There were a couple of threes. He hated to admit that the smiling Kairo probably would have fooled him into ranking the man a three, and he would’ve been very wrong.