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The bookshelf turned just enough for someone to slide inside.
Her eyes widened. “The safe room…”
“Come on.” I slipped inside and stepped into a square room made entirely of metal.
She looked around, seeing nothing but four walls.
There was a pad on the wall, and I hit the button.
The room started to move.
She jolted as we descended to the ground, looking around even though there were no windows to see the earth pass by. “It’s an elevator…”
We made it to the bottom, and the doors opened.
I stepped into the concrete passageway. Guns and supplies lined the beginning of a long, dark tunnel. “This tunnel goes all the way to Paris. If the alarm ever goes off, don’t hesitate. Run down here and join the staff. If the elevator isn’t there, give it a second because it’ll rise again.”
She nodded her understanding.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before…” Gilbert might still be alive if I had. No one had ever tried to take me down at my residence, so it was a possibility I never seriously considered. My arrogance had cost lives.
We rose back in the elevator to the main room. The bookshelf was righted once again, and we walked to the foyer. My car was ready in the roundabout. I turned to her in front of the open doorway, my heart heavy because leaving her was the most painful thing I ever had to do.
Her arms were crossed over her chest, her eyes sad. “How long will you be gone?”
“Not sure.”
“Is there a way we can talk?”
I never made personal phone calls while I was at the camp. We had satellite phones, but the reception was poor. Most of the conversations were just static. “No.”
The disappointment was heavy. “Be careful, okay?”
“Always.” My arms circled her petite body, and I brought her close to press a kiss to her forehead. She was more valuable than my money, my homes, my vault of jewels. She was the single most important thing in my life—and she had a beating heart that I had to protect. I’d never known love, not like this, and I hadn’t felt love at all since the night I’d lost my family. She seemed to fix that—or at least put a gauze over the wound. “Je t’aime, chérie.”
She pressed her forehead against my chest. “Je t’aime, mon fiancé.”
I kissed her again because I loved the way that sounded on her perfect lips. I hugged her tighter, not wanting to let go, wanting to stay for just another moment. But I forced myself to pull away, forced myself to do what must be done.
But I did leave my heart behind—in her hands.
The camp was exactly as it should be.
The guards were always surprised by my unexpected visits, but never unprepared.
My horse was taken away, Nathan went to retrieve my dinner from the kitchen, and I silently walked beside Magnus as we entered my cabin. The second I was on the premises, I stopped thinking about Melanie and focused on the things that required my attention.
Magnus seemed to know I was in a bad mood because he said, “Talk tomorrow?”
“No.” I pulled my sweaty shirt over my head and tossed it aside before I grabbed a bottle of water and my favorite scotch. I moved to the couch and took a seat, getting the water down before I started on the drink I really wanted.
Magnus noticed my unusual behavior but didn’t comment on it. He took a seat.
We talked about securing the deal with the Colombians, if Alix was still being a bitch, other matters that required my attention. It was all business first—the reason I was there. I drank my scotch as we talked.
He didn’t.
Guess he was more pussy-whipped than I was.
“I don’t understand the risk you’re taking. The risk doesn’t outweigh current profits.”
He resisted me at every step—and it was fucking annoying. “A business can’t grow without risks.”
“But we don’t need to grow. We’re already the biggest—”
“And we can be bigger.” I flashed him a hard look. “When will you understand that, even if I had everything, it still wouldn’t be enough.”
Magnus finally backed off and rose to his feet, his mood soured by our disagreement. “Goodnight.”
“No. I have something to say to you.” This was the real reason I was in a foul mood.
He turned back and stared at me, a leaner and younger version of myself. We were two years apart, but sometimes that felt like a lifetime.
“Raven is free to leave the camp. Take her to Paris. Leave here there.” My fingers rested on the top of my glass, anxious for another drink, but I’d already had plenty. That woman was the bane of my existence—and she fucking beat me.
Magnus couldn’t recover from the shock. His open stare lingered.
“But if she pulls another stunt, comes back to this camp and starts shit, I will kill her.” I took a drink. “Don’t call my bluff. You won’t be able to save her. Melanie won’t either.”
