Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
It’s not until I’m in the back of the car that the sadness descends to the deepest part of my soul, and I feel the loss of Nico in every cell of my body.
This is the right thing to do, I keep telling myself, despite my heart protesting with every mile that takes me farther and farther away from him.
My flight to London is on a private Learjet. My father organized me hitching a ride with one of his billionaire friends who happened to be flying there for business.
The car takes me to the Westchester Airport, and twenty minutes later, I’m boarding a sleek black Learjet sitting on the tarmac.
Drew Mott is an oil billionaire. A huge Texan with a larger-than-life personality. He greets me with a bear hug that almost knocks the air from my lungs. The only other people on the flight are his father, another bear of a man with white hair and a white moustache, and Drew’s assistant, a wiry-looking guy in his twenties called Jethro.
They sit at the front of the plane with a pack of cards and crystal tumblers already filled with amber liquid.
“You like poker, Bella? Want us to cut you in?” Drew asks.
“Are you kidding? I’d be broke by the time we landed in London,” I say with a wink. “If you don’t mind, I was going to try and get some shut-eye during the flight. Is that okay?”
“Of course! My plane is your plane.”
I settle in a seat in the back row and buckle in.
The door to the plane closes, and the engines begin to turn, gaining momentum.
Any second, the plane will begin to move, and we’ll be on our way.
Except it doesn’t
Instead, the engines wind down and stop.
My spine tingles.
I look around the cabin of the plane.
The door opens.
And in steps Nico.
45
Nico
“What the actual fuck?” Drew Mott barks at me when I board his plane. Six-foot-five, the eclipsing Texan towers above me. But he backs away when I throw him a warning look and walk down the aisle toward my bride.
Bella’s beautiful eyes harden when they focus on me. “What are you doing here, Nico?”
“I thought it was obvious. I’m stopping you from leaving.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t want to leave.”
She scoffs and shakes her head. “Your arrogance is astonishing.”
“Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
I can’t help but smile. She looks beautiful today. Oversized button-up shirt. Short skirt. Curls untamed and loose around her perfect face.
I was crazy to think I could let her go.
“You and me… we’re not over,” I say adamantly.
“Is that right?”
“We’ll never be over.”
“Do I get a say in it?” She fires back.
“No.”
My simple answer annoys her.
She shakes her head. “It won’t work, Nico.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. The only reason you’re leaving is because you don’t feel safe. But I’m here now telling you that I’ll do whatever it takes to make you feel safe, Bella. I’ll fucking burn down the goddamn world if I have to.”
She turns her face to the window. “You’re crazy.”
“Maybe. Probably. But it serves me well.”
Her beautiful face is tight. Her fear runs deep, and my chest constricts with the need to ease her suffering.
I soften my voice. “I’m sorry you got hurt. And I’m sorry you’re scared. But nothing like that will ever happen again, you have my word. You’re safe. Let me prove it to you.”
She shifts restlessly in the chair.
I’m getting to her.
“You can’t go around stopping planes,” she say as the last of her resolve crashes around her.
“I think you’ll find I just did.”
She sucks in a deep breath. “You’re delusional.”
“No, I’m fucking in love with you and am willing to do anything to keep you by my side.”
Her beautiful face softens. “It’s been weeks.”
“I would’ve come sooner, my love, but my stubbornness is as impenetrable as yours. But I’m here now, and this is me getting on my knees and begging you to return.”
“Is that so?” She folds her arms across her chest. “See, I might actually need to see that.”
“You want me to get on my knees and beg you to come back to me?” I ask. “Saving you from vicious killers isn’t enough?”
“It’s a good start.”
I step closer. “I made them pay for what they did to you.”
She presses her hand into my chest. “Do I need to point out that this happened because you forced me to marry you?”
“I think we can both agree that our marriage has been somewhat satisfying.”
Heat flickers across her face. But she won’t give in to it. “They came after me because of you.”
“And they have paid with their lives.”
She says nothing, which, in this case, is a good thing.
“I stopped the plane,” I add. “Surely that earns me some brownie points.”
The fact that I just used the words brownie points shows me just how much this woman has changed me.
“Maybe.” Her face softens, but she side-eyes me. “But you let me go.”