Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“You could let me go—”
Without warning, he struck like a viper and slammed his foot down on the man’s throat.
I looked away so I wouldn’t have to see it.
There was no scream, not when his throat collapsed. The sound he made was like a guttural moan.
Then I heard Bastien stomp again, and that made the man wince like an animal that had been shot but forced to live. There was another stomp and a restrained scream—and then silence.
I squeezed my eyes closed even though I was behind the table and gripped my arms with clenched hands, shaking like I was the bleeding victim instead of some man who had just tried to kill us. My knees were to my chest, and somehow, the silence was more painful than the noise.
Then Bastien spoke to someone he knew, like he was on the phone. “Must be doing a good job…because some assholes just tried to kill me.”
Bastien pulled the table away like I was trapped against the wall and couldn’t get out.
I just chose to stay there and hide.
“Sweetheart.” He kneeled down beside me, blocking my view of the guy who’d bled out.
It took several seconds for me to have the courage to look him in the eye.
His stare was no longer vicious like it’d been during the fight. It was kind and gentle, the way it was whenever he comforted me. His blue eyes shifted back and forth between mine as he assessed my state of mind. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
I trembled like I was afraid of him, but I just needed more time to process what had happened. “Me too.”
“It’s over now.”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure why.
He continued to assess me. “You’re still afraid. I hope I’m not the one you’re afraid of.”
I wasn’t afraid of him, but only because we were allies and not enemies. However, under different circumstances, I would be utterly fucking terrified. “No, of course not. I’m—I’m just overwhelmed.”
“Come here.” He was on one knee, and he opened his arms to take me.
I left the wall and moved into his chest, and then I felt his thick arms encircle me and hold me close. They were the same arms that had destroyed all his opponents, but they made me feel safer than I ever had.
“It’s okay.” He rested his chin on my head as he held me tight. “I’d never let anything happen to you, sweetheart.” He dipped his mouth and pressed a kiss to my hair as he cocooned me in the safety of his arms.
“Bastien.”
I didn’t know Luca very well, but I recognized his voice.
Bastien let me go and rose to his feet.
Luca was accompanied by other men, all dressed in black. He looked around at the scene as he walked up to his friend. The police hadn’t shown up yet. “How’d they know you were here?”
I stayed on the floor because I wanted to disappear into the corner.
“They must have been tailing me. The only people who knew about my dinner plans were Fleur and my driver.”
“And you trust your driver?” Luca asked.
“Yes.”
Luca didn’t ask if he trusted me. His eyes found mine across the room. Even though he spoke loud enough for me to hear, he talked about me like I was deaf. “She okay?”
“Shaken up, but she’ll bounce back.”
“Or she’ll bounce out…”
Bastien ignored what he said and nodded toward the man he’d killed with just his boot. “Wouldn’t talk. Said his employer would kill his family.”
“Think it was Godric?”
Bastien didn’t hesitate before he answered. “No.”
“Why are you so sure?”
“Because if he wanted me dead, he’d want me to know.”
Luca nodded to one of his men. “Load ’em up.” He turned back to Bastien. “Called off the police. Tried to keep it from the press, but I was too late. Martin will be pissed about the backlash.”
“I can’t control the people who want to kill me.”
“It’s literally your job, Bastien.”
Bastien watched the men remove the bodies and clean up the mess left behind. “No one has put a hit on me in a long time. So, they are either very stupid—or very desperate.”
“Maybe they’re angry with how we handled Regis.”
“We handled Regis how we handle everyone else.”
“Oscar?”
Bastien shook his head. “He has other interests right now.”
Luca stood there with his arms across his chest. “When you’re at the top, all eyes are on you. Perhaps someone else wants to be seen.”
“I’d be more concerned if this weren’t the most amateur attack I’ve ever seen.”
“Maybe that was why they did it,” Luca said. “Because you wouldn’t have suspected it…”
Bastien dropped me off at home.
He had business that required his attention, had to shake down his contacts to figure out who wanted him dead, so he didn’t have time for me. I got a quick kiss and a pat on the ass as a goodbye.