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“I don’t need a babysitter, Edon,” she insisted. Jak worried that his being there might have screwed with their plan. Maybe he should have stayed in the shadows and just showed up at the plane just before it took off. That way she wouldn’t have had the option to tell him no.
“I need to think about it,” she insisted.
“If you think too long, your nephew will be here before his furniture arrives. Plus, it will give you a chance to see our new cabin and explore Colorado a bit. It’s really beautiful out here,” Bekim said.
Rovena dramatically sighed and hung her head. “Fine,” she agreed. “I’ll leave in a week or so,” she said.
“The jet is fueled and ready to leave tonight,” Edon pushed. Jak shot him a look, letting him silently know that he was being a bit too demanding.
“I have to pack,” Rovena insisted. “I can’t leave tonight.”
“Don’t pack anything too fancy,” Bekim insisted. “You won’t need that kind of thing out here.”
She stared down Edon and then looked back over at Jak. “I can see that I’m not being given much of a choice in all of this.”
“Correct,” Edon said.
“Fine, I can be ready to go tonight then. May I have the rest of the afternoon to pack?” she asked. Jak knew that her going back to her place to pack was taking a major chance.
“I’ll tag along with her, if that helps,” Jak offered. Edon nodded and Rovena threw her hands in the air and let them drop back to her side.
“You are just as bossy as they are,” she said to Jak.
“I just want to help keep you safe, Rovena,” he said. “Nothing more.”
“Mmm,” she hummed, and he wondered what that was about. “Let’s go then,” she ordered. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Bekim.” Rovena kissed Edon’s cheek on the way out of his office and he told her to behave and to be careful.
“Thanks for doing this, Jak,” Edon said, holding out his hand to him.
“Anytime,” Jak said. He meant it too. He’d do anything to keep her safe, whenever Rovena needed him. He just hoped like hell that she finally noticed him because having her ignore his existence for the past ten years was starting to make him feel that they might not be friends anymore—and that was something that he couldn’t live with.
* * *
He drove Rovena over to her place, reporting back to his family that she had gone underground. That would at least buy them some time to pack up a few things for her and get to the private jet that Edon had arranged for them. Of course, his uncle wanted to know how he’d gotten his information about Rovena. He lied and told his uncle that he had a trusted source inside the Garo family that gave him the report. Actually, it wasn’t too far from the truth. He trusted Edon, even if his family would think him a fool for doing so.
When their two families were at peace, no one even noticed that he hung out with the Garo kids. Edon, Bekim, and Rovena were his closest friends. Then one day, war broke out between the two families—not his war, but he still had to pay the price and let go of his past ties to friends he still missed. When he found out that the Tirana Syndicate was going after Rovena, he had a decision to make—deliver the woman he was still madly in love with or help her to get out of the country before his family sent someone else to do his job in his stead.
“I’d really love to stop for a coffee if we have time before the flight,” Rovena said.
“That’s not what this is, princess,” he breathed. He’d never dare call her that when they were friends. She used to beat up boys who called her a princess back in the day. But there was something about Rovena’s coldness toward him that had him wanting to shield his heart when she was around. Using a nickname that she hated would keep her at an arm’s distance and that was just what he needed to do while they took their little trip.
“Don’t call me that,” she spat, “you know I hate it when people call me that, Jak.” He knew everything about her—everything, but he wouldn’t admit to that now.
“My job is to get you out of the country, princess, not to care about what you like to be called. If you’d rather, I can do the job I’m being paid to do and deliver your head on a platter to my uncle. I’ll be sure to send the rest of you back to Edon with my apologies.”
Her gasp filled the car, “You wouldn’t,” she insisted, “you’re one of my oldest friends, Jak. You wouldn’t hurt me.” Playing the friend card wasn’t going to work on him—not after all this time.
“That’s complete bullshit,” Jak growled, “you haven’t spoken to me in almost ten years, princess. Hell, as far as you know, I could have been long dead, and you wouldn’t have blinked an eye. We used to be friends, but that was a long time ago, Rovena,” he said.
“I knew that you weren’t dead if that helps,” she said, “but our families have been at war, and being your friend wasn’t an option for me.”
“Again, I’m calling bullshit, princess. You had a choice; you just made the one that shut me out of your life. Just like today, I made a choice to save your life and walk away from my family. I might not ever be able to go back, and I’ve accepted that because it’s for you, Rovena. I wouldn’t be able to hurt you or worse, deliver you to my family. I wonder if you’d be able to say the same.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” she insisted. “I wouldn’t hurt you either, Jak. Well, unless you gave me a reason to.”
“Yeah, I saw the aftermath of what you did to my cousin. You’re still a pretty good shot.” She had nailed him in the kneecap, taking him down, and then, she point blank shot him in the chest, murdering him in cold blood. That’s when his uncle went ballistic and ordered her head be brought to him. She murdered his oldest son, and that would never be forgiven. Rovena’s only way out would be to leave the country, and still, she’d constantly be looking over her shoulder. His uncle would never give up searching for her.
“I’m sorry that he was your cousin,” she whispered, “but, I had no choice. He was coming after me, hunting me down, and he would have done the same to me if I had given him the chance. I just beat him to the punch.”
