Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 122242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
"But you love your job."
"I love you more. Te necesito."
She's quiet for a long time, processing the situation. "That's why you tried to fight the way you felt, isn't it? Because of your job."
"Hell no. I didn't want you to think I was anything like Sanders." I sigh quietly. "And I was trying like hell to give you time to adjust. You asked for freedom. I wanted you to have that."
"I know you aren't like him, Octavio. And I realized something."
"What?"
"It's not just freedom that I wanted," she whispers. "I wanted…love. I wanted a home. You gave me those, Octavio. For the first time, I feel like I belong somewhere. You love me. That's freedom." The certainty in her voice wrecks me in the best way possible.
I hold her tighter, burying my face in her hair for a moment. "I do," I whisper when I can speak through the emotion coursing through me. "So damn much, angel."
"My dad loved me too," she whispers, awe in her voice.
"I think he loved you more than anything," I agree.
"Do you think…do you think Jordan will want to spend time with me? I mean after we deal with all the paperwork and stuff?"
She won't inherit everything until she's twenty-five, but her dad made sure she would be taken care of until that time. She has access to a monthly stipend that will more than cover her expenses. Hamby invested everything she would have received prior to today, more than doubling it. She'll never want for anything.
"I know he does," I reassure her, smiling. "He made me promise to keep in touch with him even after you sign all the paperwork for the trust. I think not knowing what happened to you for so long broke his heart."
"I can't believe my mom told me that he died." She sighs again. "I can't believe I forgot him."
"You were just a kid," I murmur, hating the thread of guilt in her voice. "Don't beat yourself up for not remembering what happened when you were little. He wouldn't want that and neither would your dad. Besides, you didn't forget him. You remembered him when you saw him today."
"I'm glad he came to see me," she says and then she hesitates. "Do you think Nikolai knows about him? I don't want him to target him too."
"I don't think you need to worry about them any longer." I sit up, pulling her up with me. Once she's straddling my lap so I can see her face, I tuck her hair behind her ears. "You should know that Rick Sanders is the one who told the Sedov where you were."
Her eyes widen.
"He's going to prison for it," I murmur, rubbing my hands up and down her arms. "And Milonov is dead."
"Did you–?"
I shake my head. "Tarasova did."
The news came in a couple hours ago. His body was recovered in a burning vehicle a few miles from Tarasova's territory. He'd been shot several times and beaten rather badly. I feel no sympathy for him.
"Nikolai?" Faith's eyes widen.
"He didn't send them after you last night. He didn't even know what happened until we told him. Sedov and Milonov decided to come after you when Sanders told them where you were. I guess they figured if Nikolai wasn't going to make a move, they would. Once you and your trust fund were under their control, they could have forced him out. With the promise of your dad's money in their hands, they might have been able to pull it off."
"I thought Nikolai decided to give me to Ivan," she admits, her voice small. "He said I belonged to him and that I never should have left him."
"The hell you did," I growl.
Her gaze snaps to mine.
"He was obsessed with you. But you were never his, and he never should have touched you. I decided weeks ago that he was going to die for what he did to you. I don't regret killing him."
"I'm glad he's dead. I hate him." Her face scrunches up again. "I hate all of them for what they did, but I hate him most. He was a monster."
"He'll never hurt anyone else."
"What about Nikolai?" Fear drifts through her gaze.
"I think Tarasova is smart enough to know when he's beaten. He knows if he comes for you again, he's going to have to come through me and Kincaid. Not even your money is worth him risking everything, especially now that he knows exactly how precarious his position is right now." I take a breath, worried about telling her the next part. "He knows about your notebook."
Her face pales.
"I know you worried that you didn't have anything of value to give me, but you were wrong. With your notebook and everything I already knew about them, we have a very strong case against him. I wanted him to know who was responsible for bringing him down, conejita. I wanted him to know that the woman he tormented was the one who ruined him."