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“No,” Griffin said. “She needed to work today. And I haven’t told her what’s going on…yet.”
“You didn’t tell her?” I asked incredulously.
“Sorry,” he snapped. “I was busy finding a dead body in the middle of the night and getting all this shit for you.”
He had a point. “Alright. Fair enough.” My arm moved around Mia. “I know Griffin looks like a murderer, but he’s not. Trust me. He’s a good guy.”
“Well, I am a murderer.” Griffin crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s what I do for a living, actually. But I’ve never been into hurting women. So we won’t have a problem.” As if nothing had happened, he picked up the flame gun and carried it to the corner.
When Mia and I had some privacy, I spoke to her again. “He would never hurt you. I promise you.”
She looked into my eyes for reassurance. “I was just hoping Vanessa would be here…”
“You don’t need her to be here. He won’t even touch you. This guy has a done a lot for my family because he’s so in love with my cousin. I understand why you’re scared because of what you’ve been through. But trust me on this.”
She found comfort in my gaze before she nodded. “Alright.”
“You should go downstairs so we can get to work.”
“Okay.” She rose on her tiptoes and cupped my face so she could kiss me. Whether she was fulfilling her end of the bargain or she actually meant it didn’t matter to me. As long as her lips were on mine, I was happy. She gave me a soft kiss then a smile before she walked out.
I turned back to Griffin, who was staring at me with a wicked grin.
“What?”
He shook his head then got to work. “Nothing.”
I walked Mia to the truck.
Griffin was already behind the wheel, waiting for her to join him. The engine was on, and he was scrolling through his phone to keep himself busy.
She looked up at me, her hands resting against my chest. “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s not too late…”
It was too late. I’d given her so much hope, and I couldn’t take it away now. “Yes.”
Her eyes softened. “I’ll see you soon, right?”
“In about a week or so.”
“You’ll call me?”
“When I can.”
She hooked her arms around my neck and hugged me, her luscious body pressed against mine.
My chin rested on her head, and I secured my arms around her waist. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid of Egor’s wrath. There was a real possibility he might not believe me. He might come to the house and find something that contradicted the lie I’d made up. I’d be risking everything, my life and my family.
But I had to try.
“Thank you, Carter. I can’t wait to see you again…” She tilted her chin up and looked at me again, the sincerity in her eyes. She squeezed my arms tightly before she leaned in and kissed me.
My hands cupped her cheeks again, and I kissed her, finding strength in the embrace. Her affection offset the terror in my heart. And a part of me believed that my family would be proud I was saving a young woman so she could be with her son. This wasn’t about the money anymore. It was about doing the right thing…even though I wanted something in return. “I’ll miss you too, sweetheart.” I squeezed her arms before I opened the passenger door and helped her inside.
Griffin kept staring straight ahead, indifferent to our interaction.
“Tell Vanessa I said hi.”
Mia stared at me with a prominent look of affection, like there were no words to describe how she felt toward me. She’d told me she hated me, that I wasn’t a good man. But now she looked at me like I was some kind of superhero. “I will.”
It was hard to shut the door and walk away. It was hard to do this on my own, to know she wouldn’t be in my bed that night to chase away the stress. If I could get lost between her legs, it wouldn’t be so bad. But I had to wait until this was over before I could finally get what I wanted.
I sat in my office and stared at my phone, taking my time before I made the phone call. Egor was a psychopath. I didn’t know much about him, but I knew he wasn’t an enemy I wanted to make.
But this was the decision I had made.
I had to follow through with it.
I was worried about the grief this would bring my family, but I had to remember that I was a terrifying opponent as well. The Barsettis were loyal to one another, and that’s what made us ruthless. We would stop at nothing to protect each other. A paid army was only loyal for the paycheck, but soldiers bound by love were a completely different story. My family had allies in many places, and now that Griffin was a part of our family, we were even more powerful. Egor had probably heard about the attack on Conway in Milan—and how we wiped out an entire team within minutes.
