Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 71179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“That sounds great. Thanks, baby.”
She grabs a towel, throws it around her neck, and leaves the gym. I don’t hear her walking up the stairs because everything is soundproofed.
But she’s safe in the safe house.
If there’s a breach, I’ll know. I continue my workout, and by the end of it, I’m tired and hungry.
I walk upstairs, expecting to see Savannah in the kitchen fixing lunch.
But she’s nowhere to be found.
“Savannah?”
No response.
My hackles rise.
There’s no way she could even get out of this place. You need a code to do so, and I didn’t give it to her.
I should give it to her.
She was locked in that room with Miles McAllister, and I don’t want her to feel locked in again.
“Savannah?”
I find her in the bathroom, in the bathtub, her eyes closed. I stick my fingers in the water. It’s lukewarm.
The poor thing fell asleep.
I nudge her on the arm. “Savannah. Wake up.”
Her eyes pop open. “Shit.” She moves around, splashing water. “Damn. Where am I, Falcon?”
“You fell asleep, Savannah. Don’t you know you should never fall asleep in a tub full of water?”
“Of course I know that. God, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I grab a towel and hand it to her. “The water’s cool now. You need to get out before you catch a chill.”
She stumbles out of the tub, and I get a good look at her naked body. God, she’s so beautiful. Every part of her.
But right now, she’s shivering. I wrap the towel around her and hug her close. “Promise me you’ll never fall asleep in the tub again.”
“I promise.” She shivers. “That was really stupid.”
I say nothing more. Just hold her.
She finally pulls away. “I was supposed to make you lunch.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll throw together some sandwiches. You get dressed.”
“What are we going to do for the rest of the day?”
I cast my gaze toward the bedroom. “I have an idea.”
She chuckles. “That’ll be great, but what about after that?”
“Savannah, I can do that for a long damned time.” I kiss the top of her head and then I leave her in the bathroom, head through the bedroom and out, making my way to the kitchen.
My satellite phone rings on the table.
I take a look. It’s Leif.
“What’s up?”
“Just checking in to see if you’re okay.”
“So far so good. Good thing we’ve got a lot of books and movies here.”
“I’m sure the two of you can find something to pass the time.” The tone of his voice tells me he knows exactly what I’m planning on doing with Savannah.
“I taught her to shoot this morning. The girl’s a natural.”
“She should be, coming from her stock.”
“Can you believe they don’t teach their women how to shoot?”
“Doesn’t surprise me. I don’t know a lot about organized crime, but from what I do know, women are both coddled and treated poorly.”
“That’s kind of how Savannah was describing it.” I tap my fingers on the kitchen counter. “Anyway, I know you’re a newlywed, Leif, and I don’t want to bother you and Kelly too much, but I need you to find someone for me. And seriously, if you can’t take the time, give me the name of someone you trust.”
“Depends on how quickly you need it done and on who you want me to find.”
“Vincent Gallo Junior,” I say. “Savannah’s older brother.”
“Okay. Where was he last seen?”
“That’s just it. Nobody knows. According to Savannah, he left the family. Went to Europe. No one’s heard from him since.”
“Europe? That’s a lot of ground to cover.”
“I know. And he’s probably using a different name.”
“You got a photo?”
“Savannah might. I’ll see if she does, and if so I’ll send it to you by satellite.”
“What’s his middle name?”
“I don’t know. Savannah’s in the bathroom. Hold on. She should be out any minute.”
Savannah comes walking out then, wearing yoga pants and a large T-shirt. Her hair falls in damp waves around her shoulders, and damn, she looks luscious.
“I’ve got Leif on the line,” I say to her. “Does your brother have a middle name?”
“Same as my dad’s. Lorenzo.”
“Lorenzo,” I say into the phone. “Just a minute. I’m going to put you on speaker.” I push the button on the screen. “You there?”
“Yep,” Leif responds.
“Vannah, do you have a picture of your brother?”
“I did. But my wallet is somewhere inside Miles’s father’s house.”
“Shit.”
“Can you describe him?” Leif asks.
“It’s been years since I’ve seen him, but he looks a lot like my father. Dark hair and eyes. Tall. Around six two. Pretty muscular.”
“You just described every Italian guy I’ve ever laid eyes on,” Leif says.
“Yeah, I know. I’m not much help.”
“Are there any pictures of him online? Did he have a social media profile or anything?”
She shakes her head. “He’s been gone too long. My family always discouraged the use of social media, anyway. When you’re in the line of work that we’re in, you don’t want to be so easily tracked. And my brother was pretty private anyway. That’s why it was so easy for him to disappear without a trace.”