Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 215412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1077(@200wpm)___ 862(@250wpm)___ 718(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 215412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1077(@200wpm)___ 862(@250wpm)___ 718(@300wpm)
Then he straightens, all bulk and gravity returning, and lumbers toward the front without looking back.
I relax into the couch, breathing in time with Wolf, as the plane carries us north through the dark, toward debts still due, promises not yet made, and the single most important priority. Taking back our little bird.
The island greets us with damp air and lush darkness. The moment we arrive, Monty and Kodiak peel off, heading straight to bed. They earned it.
Wolf and I should do the same. But we can’t. Sleep is a luxury for men who have their woman in bed beside them.
To my disappointment, the Russians stay. Crashing in the main house means proximity, eyes and ears everywhere, and I don’t have the privacy I need to work.
I’m set up in the guest house before the engine heat fades from my bones. Laptop open. Secondary rig humming. Satellite uplink clean. Air-gapped backup live. I test every line, every handshake, every packet on the network.
The Russians were good. Which means I assume compromise until proven otherwise.
My wrist throbs as I type, and my shoulder screams when I reach too far. I welcome the pain. It keeps me focused.
“Sit still.” Frankie flutters like a moth in scrubs, prodding at my arm.
“No.” I bare my teeth.
She already stuck Wolf with needles to send samples off to a lab to test for bloodborne disease transmission. Then she flushed his mouth, made him spit until his jaw hurt, and checked his gums and tongue for cuts. All necessary, given the amount of foreign blood he swallowed.
“This is why it’s not healing.” She catches my wrist mid-keystroke and clicks her tongue. “And that shoulder you’re pretending wasn’t dislocated…”
“It’s relocated.”
“By whom? You? With a vengeance?”
I go back to the screen. She doesn’t let go.
Murmurs drift from the couch behind me, Leonid’s growly voice, and Wolf’s louder, faster timbre, threading humor through horror as he catches Leonid up on the last few days.
I don’t turn, but I hear what Wolf isn’t saying. Where’s Dove? Who has her? How are we getting her back?
He’s giving me space to do what I’m good at, but his patience has limits.
“You need rest.” Frankie releases my arm.
“Abort mission, Mama Bear,” Wolf says. “The angry marshmallow won’t rest until Dove’s back.”
My mouth curves despite myself.
“Neither will I.” He rises from the couch and approaches the back of my chair.
Frankie drops a bottle of pills next to my keyboard and plants her hands on her hips. So much attitude for such a tiny woman.
“You.” She fixes Wolf with a withering look. “Don’t let him overdo it when you’re… You know…” She makes a jerk-off gesture.
“When we’re… What?” Wolf mimics her hand motion. “Buffing a breadstick? Starting a lawnmower? Slapping the bass?”
She sighs like she’s tired of all of us. “When you’re banging.”
Heat coils between my legs, unwanted, unhelpful, entirely Wolf. I set my jaw and keep typing, my heartbeat loud in my ears.
“Solid advice.” He nods. “I’ll add it to the pile of bad ideas we’re actively considering.”
Frankie rolls her eyes and pivots toward Leonid. He’s already striding toward her.
“Thank you.” Wolf watches her, his fingers tucked in the pockets of his lounge pants.
She turns back and closes the distance, taking Wolf’s face in her hands.
“Thank you for not dying.” She lifts on tiptoes and kisses his brow. “Now go get your girl back.”
Leonid stops by the door like he’s thinking about leaving something behind. He doesn’t posture or threaten as his dual-colored eyes stare at me long enough to be awkward.
Whatever he sees must pass inspection, because he nods.
“You did what most wouldn’t do. You surrendered your control when it counted.” He pauses, considering. “You don’t have to like how we live. You don’t have to agree with it. But if you stand with us, you stand all the way. No half-steps. If you’re all in, welcome to the family.”
Frankie squeezes my arm on her way past, already planning my recovery, like I belong to her workload now. She gives Wolf a look that says behave and disappears with her Viking husband into the night.
The door shuts.
The last time I stepped onto this island, I was escorted off by armed men. And now? The treasured jewel of the Strakh family patched me up, and a man built like a saga welcomed me into his bloodline.
That kind of turn doesn’t happen by accident.
Wolf’s reflection flickers on the dark screen in front of me. He hasn’t spoken or moved closer, but I know that look. He’s inside my head.
“They saw the video of the attack at the tattoo parlor. All of it.” His hands rest on my shoulders. “You didn’t try to save yourself. You gave up everything for Dove without knowing the outcome.” He bends closer, blanketing my back with his body heat. “If there’s one thing my family respects, it’s loyalty. You’ve been proving yours for over twenty years.”