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Chapter 67 – Talia
Two nights in thishotel hadn’t brought an end to our situation. We’d chosen this building because of the back entrances and because Constantine was very familiar with it. But that was likely the problem—it was like dangling the meat right outside the lion’s den. The devil hadn’t wanted to risk coming for me because the territory wasn’t his. He likely knew Constantine was visiting me in secret. I needed to leave. It was time to escalate the plan, but to do so meant I needed to leave the safety of LA and the butcher’s web.
Constantine’s hand wrapped around my hair. His hot breath lathed my skin as he held me close, his delicious kisses caressing the place where my pulse disappeared behind my jaw. Our desire wasn’t sated, neither was the terrible longing mastered in the face of this impending separation. I hid the tremble in my body well; any drop of hesitation or fear on my part would have him pulling back on this whole plan.
The soft drone of the AC filled the room, but it wasn’t the temperature of the room that sent a bone deep chill through me; it was the impending goodbye.
“Can we go back to Greece in a week?” I murmured, bringing my own lips against his throat. As my hand stroked up and down his back, I felt the soundless laugh rattle through Constantine’s body.
“Anywhere but there.” His voice was rough with the emotion he’d been struggling all morning to keep me from seeing.
“Okay, what about the Caribbean? It’s nice this time of year.” I wanted to soothe him, to let him know it was going to be all right. But it sure as hell didn’t seem that way.
“Pick a location—any of the islands! Or hell, maybe we’ll visit them all,” Constantine promised, body hard against mine. His rich, masculine scent was ripe. I wanted to bottle it up and carry it with me on this venture.
My phone pinged. The taxi had arrived, and it was time to take action.Dammit! Just a minute more.But if I delayed, Constantine might recant. We had to go forward; there didn’t seem to be any other way.
I pressed my lips against his skin again before pulling back. That iron grip tightened around me, but I shook my head, saying in a teasing voice laced with promise, “The Caribbean—by this time next week.”
“Talia—” My name was hoarse. I knew he stopped talking because he didn’t want to betray his inner desperation.
It reflected my own.Don’t look at him.I couldn’t. I couldn’t bear to see those midnight eyes. I dropped my gaze, studying the pattern in the carpet. I was pulled back, except this time I slipped away from him. Spinning on my heel, I grabbed my valise and sprinted for the hotel door.
I reached the elevator, and it took two tries for my fingers to find the button. There was the telltale click of the hotel room door as it opened behind me, but I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. If I saw that dark gaze watching me, I would break.
It’s going to be okay. The devil will take the bait. We’ll end him and go on a real honeymoon.With a ding, the cart reached my floor, and I stepped inside, not turning around until the elevator door shut. I was alone.I did it.I sagged against the back wall, staring at my reflection. A gorgeous woman stared back. A designer dress, navy blue at Constantine’s insistence, hugged her curves. He’d purged my wardrobe of anything black; a request I found curious.
I pulled the thick sunglasses from my handbag and smoothed my hair back. No one would see the redness around my eyes. The taxi was there when I exited the building, ready to take me to the north docks, where a great cruise boat towered above the land, waiting for me.
Waiting to take me away from Constantine.It’s going to be okay.
~*~
Families buzzed allaround me as I stood on the open deck of the cruise ship. Kids’ shouts were constant out here. They proclaimed they were enjoying their vacation, while their parents, haggard from the exertion of paying for the cruise, told themselves it was worth it.Was it?That was the question that played on repeat in my mind. But it wasn’t about the lives of strangers that I wondered about. It was my own twisted tale that I was considering. I’d spent three days lounging on the sunny, upper decks, and I’d learned a lot about the modern American family and how unlike them my story was.
Adjusting my position on the lounge chair, I cast another furtive glance around, but there was no one suspicious on board. And that was the problem, because this cruise didn’t dock until we were on the return journey. That meant these last few days had been a reprieve of sorts, but that would change when we landed later today.
“Miss Taurine, your lemonade,” a waiter announced, appearing at my side.
Marking my page with a thumb, I reached over and pulled a folded bill from my book bag and slid it onto his tray. “Thank you.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” he breathed. His smile brightened, but, being a well-paid cruise employee, that blue gaze didn’t linger on my bikini-clad body.
Having visited an underworld legend known as the Ghost Doctor, I was officially Becky Taurine for all intents and purposes. Word buzzed in the darker channels that Constantine was looking for divorce attorneys. We’d laid breadcrumbs, and as Puerto Vallarta was hours away, only time would tell if it was worth it. Thanks to mob gossip, the underworld knew I had left Constantine. That meant my father knew. But how he read the news and what his crafty brain deciphered was anyone’s guess.
I was keeping in touch with the team using an encrypted email. Unfortunately, they’d had no news to offer, so I had no choice but to continue this charade. I had to seem alone on this cruise for it to stand any chance of working. My father needed to be lured.
