AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Isaac shrugs, dismissing my gratitude before handing me a travel mug of coffee, my purse, and shoes. My mouth gapes open at not only his thoughtfulness but the fact that I’d been so distracted by him that I hadn’t even noticed I was barefoot and half naked.
“It’s no big deal. I had to throw yours away, it was destroyed.” Without another word, he spins on his heel and walks away, the silent demand for me to follow clear.
I quickly shove my feet into my shoes as I roll my eyes at his retreating back, but the first sip of the nectar of the gods he’s gifted me has all negative emotions dispelled immediately.
“Ahhh,”I sigh. He somehow even got my sugar-to-coffee ratio correct. As in, no sugar, all coffee. Realistically, I know he probably just dumped half the pot in the travel mug and called it good, but I’m just happy he’s not one of those frou-frou men who need to water down their coffee to something unidentifiable before consuming it.
Isaac and I settle into the elevator and he quirks a brow at my coffee moans. I ignore him entirely. We ride down in silence, him staring at me, me staring at him, only much more stealthily from the corner of my eye. I continue to sip my coffee, ignoring the heat that I feel radiating off of his body. Or maybe it’s coming from his intense perusal of the side of my face. Either way, I pretend it’s not happening, and I feel nothing.
Denial works for a lot of people and I’m beginning to think it’s a train I should hop on.
The elevator dings signaling our arrival. I hadn’t paid any attention to where he was leading me, and I have only a second to regret that mistake before the doors are sliding open to reveal the parking lot.
Ah, okay, good. Not a murder basement.
It occurs to me then that I still, despite my best efforts, know nothing of these men, beyond their many,many, physical assets, and yet, I’ve chosen to blindly follow one of them. Correction: blindly follow two of them, considering I literally tossed my keys at Eli last night, giving over the reins to my safety completely.
And sanity, but we won’t go there.
Isaac leads me to, you guessed it, a black SUV, that’s already surrounded by no less than four men, or guards, or whatever they are. All of them are wearing matching black outfits, the same as last night, but instead of suits, they are tactical.
Black combat pants, tight black t-shirts that are tucked in, exposing the tactical belts and various weapons clearly on display. My mouth drops open in shock. Holy shit, they aren’t even trying to hide that they’re packin’, are they?
I freeze mid-step, finally having the good sense to feel something beyond exhaustion and trust. Nerves begin to tumble around in my stomach, threatening to make my meager liquid breakfast come back up. Zac, finally noticing I’m no longer behind him, stops and turns around to face me from his perch next to the SUV and cocks his chin as if to say, ‘what the fuck is your deal?’
Steeling my spine, I squeeze the coffee mug in a death grip and barely resist the urge to scream in irritation.Cocky, insufferable group of assholes.Instead, I calmly ask, “Where are we going and why do we need the secret service to join us?”
There. That was normal. Rational. A safe, intelligent question if I do say so myself.
“Get in the car, Princess.” And then, he turns and climbs into the back seat, leaving the door hanging open in a poor imitation of my jaw. Scraping the stupid, useless body part off the ground, I snap my mouth shut and shoot a glare that’s only minimally weakened in ire by my lack of food and additional coffee.“Now!”
His last bellowed demand is punctuated by three of the four guards shooting me scathing looks. One of which not-so-discretely places his hand on one of his guns as he takes a step in my direction. My body begins to damn near launch itself into the car as my self-preservation skills finally make themselves known but my stubborn soul refuses to cower and submit to this asshole. To any of them. Not here, not in a situation like this.
Only in the bedroom.
So, I stand up straight, take a long, delightful sip of my drink, never breaking eye contact with the man. My coffee tastes like ash sliding down my throat, but I refuse to let it show on my face. Finally, Zac sticks his head out the open door and whatever he sees happening between the asshole guard and me, has him softening. Well, as soft as Isaac can get.
“Violet, please get in the car. They aren’t here to hurt you, they’re here to keep you safe,” then as a second thought he adds, “Bothof us safe.” I can hear in his voice that the addition physically pained him to say, though I’m unsure why. However, it’s effective in reminding me of the events that took place last night.
His life is the one truly in danger, not mine. No one wants to hurt me, except maybe that guy who saw me last night, but really, I’m like what? A bonus for his murder-y dreams? I’m not the main target. The guys are.
Taking a deep breath, I nod, and I don’t miss the way Isaac relaxes incrementally, as though he thought I would bolt. I swallow my nerves and offer him a tentative smile as I join him in the backseat. Two guards climb into the front, the other two into a second SUV, and then, we’re off.
We sit in a silence that teeters somewhere between comfortable and not. I don’t have the overwhelming urge to throw myself from a moving vehicle, but I also don’t have the urge to cuddle up with any of the men inside the car. Zac alternates between typing away on his phone and staring out his window. Every few minutes, I dare to allow my eyes to slide in his direction. His expression is unreadable,almost.
I can tell that Isaac tries to hide everything. His thoughts, his emotions, his reactions. But, every once and a while, he lets things slip past the façade. Whether that’s intentional or if it’s purely just because whatever is going on for him at that moment, it’s too big,too much, to hide. Like right now, his face goes from impassive and uncaring one second to stressed in the next. His brows pinch, his jaw ticks, and his fingers tap on his thigh. Then, he stops it. All of it.
It's kind of impressive if I’m being honest. But frustrating for a person who is attempting to get to know him. I have a feeling that if I really want to know who Isaac is, I’ll have to more than climb the walls he’s erected around himself. I’ll have to find some TNT and blow the fuckers down.
“What’s your last name?” I ask nonchalantly as I take another sip of my still steaming coffee. Insulated cup for the win.
If Isaac is shocked by my question or the fact that I’ve finally broken the tense silence after fifteen minutes, he doesn’t show it. He doesn’t even twitch as his gaze flicks in my direction. He moves slowly. Intentionally.Like a predator.My body tingles at the thought. That’s what these men are. Apex predators. Top of the food chain. The realization should scare me and have me running for the hills. Unfortunately, I can’t find any other internal response to that knowledge beyond the overwhelming feeling of safety.
And maybe turned on, but I’m dutifully ignoring that for now.
“Russo,” he says simply, though I hear a small amount of concern or maybe even suspicion beneath it.
I nod, filing that away for later. Maybe I can find some information on the guys with a quick social media search. “Favorite color?”
