Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
“Right.” He nods and lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I’m just going a little crazy but I know you’re right.”
“I love it when you say that.”
“Damn, she really did a number on you.” He shakes his head and laughs.
“What?”
“I don’t know, but I can’t remember the last time I saw you smile like that.”
“Yeah, me either.” Lula makes me want to be a better man and I can’t say that’s a bad thing. “Maybe you should go in there and take a nap with your wife,” I suggest, and he nods.
“That sounds like a great idea.” He yawns and maybe now he can relax and get some sleep.
We stand up and as we walk out of his office my cell phone rings. I check it and see it’s my friend Sam from back in the States.
“You okay?” Kade asks on his way out.
“Yeah, I’m gonna take this. You go ahead.” Kade nods as he walks out and I answer the phone. “Hey man, how’s it going?”
“Pretty good, just calling back with that information you wanted me to look up.” My stomach tightens when I remember why I called him to begin with.
Sam and I go way back but we still keep in touch even though he travels a lot for the military. He does intelligence work for the feds when they need an expert and I knew he was the only one I could trust to help me out.
“And?” I’m not one to beat around the bush with him, and I don’t want to start now.
“So how do you know this chick you wanted me to look up?” he hedges.
“Does it matter?”
“I’m not sure how you got tangled up with the daughter of a mob boss but you might want to sleep with one eye open, if you catch my meaning.”
The knot that was forming in my stomach drops as I stand there completely still and listen to the rundown on Lula. She’s the daughter of Peter Guzik, the man who tried to kill Kade and then Collins. The man who was last seen in Europe, exactly where Vaughn and Berkley are right this very moment. Chills cover my body as Sam keeps telling me things I don’t want to hear, but I stand there silent as I listen to them. Once he’s finished my mind is a complete blank as I stare into space.
“Xander, you okay?”
I swallow hard and clear my throat just as the door to the office opens a little. I look up in time to see Lula standing there with a bright smile on her face. Her hair is in a messy bun and her cheeks are pink and all I can think about is how beautiful she is.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I say and hang up the phone.
“Everything all right?” She walks up to me and puts her hands around my waist, going up on her tiptoes to kiss me.
I kiss her back and don’t answer her because I don’t know if everything is all right.
Chapter Ten
Lula
“I’ll learn to make more things,” Xander says as I take my last bite of pancake and lick the syrup off my lips.
“I think I can live off your pancakes and you for the rest of my life.”
His hands free my messy bun and curls go everywhere as he kisses me. The change in him has been a one-eighty. Almost. I’m happy about that, but I still love the bossy side of Xander. He gets grumpy when he doesn't get his way with me, but it’s kind of adorable.
I pull back and lick the seam of his mouth. “What are we going to do for the rest of the day?”
My eyes close as I put my mouth back on his before he can answer me. I had no idea just kissing could be so intimate and it could make me feel so much.
“We can do whatever you want to do, love.” My breath hitches at the word love.
Earlier when I checked on Collins she was more than fine. I enjoyed getting to gossip with her, but more than anything the more time I spent with her, the more I realized I want what she has. Xander and his brothers are so different, but at their core they’re the same. I have no doubt Xander would cherish the woman he fell in love with, but what if he found out the woman he loves isn't the woman he thought she was?
“What if I want to go back to bed?”
Before I can finish what I’m saying, he has me out of my seat and he’s climbing the stairs to my room. He tosses me onto the bed before going back and locking the door—I’m sure so no one can walk in on us again. It reminds me of how Kade pulled him aside to have a little chat when I was checking on Collins.