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Truth was I hadn’t slept through the night since Guyana and was running on empty.
“Don’t apologize. You went through something traumatic. If I were you, I’d still be rocking underneath a bed, crying.”
I’d been opening up to Freya while we spent the afternoon together. She was easy to talk to and had a way about her that made me want to tell her all my secrets.
“You think I can go home soon?” I longed for some normality. Even though I hadn’t known Lucius for very long, his absence left a hole in my heart that I found difficult to patch. I hoped being around familiar things and spending time with Thea would help fix it.
“They don’t tell me anything since I’mjusta girl.” She shrugged and pumped her arms out like a gorilla, her voice going down an octave. “Because a real man keeps poor helpless women safe.”
I guessed she was doing an imitation of Gunner, and I laughed, nearly falling off the barstool I was perched on.
“Is that how you see me, spitfire?” Gunner’s deep voice rumbled behind her, and she jumped with a shriek, then whirled around.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what? Come inside the apartment I own? Or kiss my woman, who I haven’t seen all day?”
His words were followed by a move so smooth I suppressed a swoon. He engulfed Freya in his arms and tilted her back, then kissed the living daylights out of her.
She put up absolutely no resistance. Instead, her arms went around his neck, and one of her legs hooked around his.
Sofie stopped next to me, shaking her head. “At least I’m staying with Carter. He’s a lot less gross.”
I put my arm around her, loving the trust she displayed by once again leaning into me. “He never has women around?”
I found that hard to believe.
“Never. He said I’m the only woman he needs in his life.”
She said it with all the confidence a six-year-old could muster.
Freya had come back up for air, a dopey smile on her face. That was my cue to leave. “You mind calling Dalton to take me back?” I asked.
Freya nodded, her eyes still glazed over. I helped Sofie put all her things back in her backpack while we waited.
Dalton showed up ten minutes later. “Ready for a wild night of movies?”
I smiled at him, liking his easygoing manner. “How could I refuse such an offer?”
After promising Sofie an Uno rematch I said my goodbyes.
Dalton took me back to the house, and I watched movies with him until four in the morning, when I finally found a few restless hours of sleep.
Chapter21
Lucius
“Looks like business is booming.”Santino plucked a grape off the fruit bowl, wandering the elaborate rooms of the suite. We’d disabled the hotel’s cameras and snuck inside with a key card I’d taken off a chatty maid.
Ignoring Santino’s sampling of the food, I checked for cameras and microphones. My eyes burned and my body ached. We’d driven over thirty hours straight, taking turns covering the 1,300 miles to get to Caracas, pushing ourselves to our limits.
But there was no way I’d risk letting Sam’s killer get away. I’d hurt more people and blown up more things in the last week than the whole time I was with Maurizio. My actions were getting harder to justify, and I knew I was at a crossroads. If I continued down this path, I might never come back.
Santino pointed to an open suitcase. “He’s still here.”
We hadn’t been sure when we first received the information if we would make it in time. The reason why I’d been having trouble pinpointing his location was because he moved around so much.
I took one last sweep around the room before nodding at Santino. “All right, let’s do this.”
