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“They won’t be that foolish,” I assure her, and I believe that to be true. “They know I’ll be waiting. They know I’ll be ready, especially after tonight.”
“Desperate people do desperate things.”
Like my mother, I think, with a punch in the gut. “They do stupid things, too, sweetheart, and that’s what we’re counting on.”
The plane settles into a smooth ride again, at least for now, and Harper reclines her chair. I follow her lead and she rolls to her side facing me and rests her head on her hands. “Gigi’s an old woman, Eric. I really felt sorry for her.”
It’s the first time she’s spoken that woman’s name without me wanting to rip it out of her mouth. Instead of looking for the bad in Harper, I need to be thankful for the good. She might be all that saves me from hating the world. Well, her and Grayson. The two saints and the sinner. Grayson would laugh his ass off if I said that to him.
I shift to face Harper, and brush her hair from her face. “I was hard on you over, Gigi. I’ve been hard on you in general. I’m kind of an asshole.”
“You can be,” she teases, but turns serious quickly. “But it’s okay. I know that you have walls a mile high. And I get why.”
“They’re only inches high with you.”
Her eyes twinkle. “That’s not even a jump.”
“No, it’s not, but I think I might need to jump a few feet to overcome that asshole mark.”
“You’re tall and smart. I have confidence in you.”
“That makes me a very lucky man.” I kiss her hand. “Sleep now. We only have a couple of hours until we land.”
“How can I sleep? The plane. This damn family. My mother back there with them.”
“Your mother is safe.”
“Can we warn Walker Security that Gigi might be involved? What if me leaving has them turn on her?”
“You know Walker is already watching her. They’re damn good. They’ve thought of everything we’ve thought of.”
“How can you be sure? If this was your mother—”
“You’re right,” I say. “You’re absolutely right.” The plane is calm enough, for the moment at least, that I unbuckle and walk to the table where I left the MacBook in a compartment under the wooden top. I grab it, hold on as we shake a good thirty seconds and then make my way back to my seat. Once I’m secure again, I pull up the MacBook and try to connect but this time it’s a no-go. I show Harper the message I’m getting. “Sorry, sweetheart. It’s just not going to happen.” I shove the Mac into a pocket by my chair and turn to Harper. “Adam’s in charge in Denver and he’s damn good. He’ll protect your mother with his life. I promise you this. Rest, princess.”
“Princess?”
“I like that name for you,” I say, my voice rasping with about ten emotions I can’t name. “You’remy princess, not theirs. Not ever again. They don’t get to define us, remember?”
“But you—”
I lean in and kiss her. “Want you like I have never wanted in my life. Now rest. You won’t get to rest when you’re in my bed. Not the first night. Hell, maybe not the first month.”
A faint smile touches her lips but doesn’t quite reach her eyes. She’s a ball of fear and worry, and the only way I make that go away is to end the family I should have ended a long time ago. I cup her face and my thumb strokes her cheek. “Shut your eyes and think of something that makes you happy.”
“Ending this would make me happy.”
“Then I’ll end it, just to make you happy.”
She gives me another half-smile. “Just to make me happy?”
“Yes, princess. Just to make you happy.”
Her hand settles on my princess tattoo. “Maybe princess isn’t such a bad nickname. Not when you say it like you just did.”
“How did I just say it?”
“All low and rough and sexy.”
