AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I turn the vehicle on and roll down the window. “Get in before they start waking up.”
“Move up,” he says as he comes to the driver's side.
I shift up, and he climbs in, reversing the truck and pulling off.
“Where are we going? Back to the cabin?” I ask quietly
“No.”
Chapter 17 - Arseny
I drive the truck back to the cabin and take the keys out. “We can’t stay here. The townsfolk and their sheriff will be looking for us. Get out. We’ll take my car.”
I put the truck into gear and let it roll back down the hill. Boohoo for the asshole it belonged to.
We get into my car, and I follow the road back down the mountain. There are emergency supplies in the trunk in case I need to make a run for it. It’s a good thing, too, because we need to get back to the city. Emery is expecting me to arrange a meeting with him to discuss Elena’s release.
I don’t want to release her. I want to keep her and possess her. I want her to be mine. I know Emery won’t negotiate that, though. Not when he hates my family, and I just kidnapped his daughter.
We need to find a place to lay low. I know a motel that won’t ask any questions. Elena doesn’t say anything as we drive down the mountain. I take another route to avoid the town, and soon, we’re on the road to the motel and back toward the city.
“Thank you for saving me.” Her voice is so soft I almost mistake it for the wind. I thought I imagined her speaking.
I shake my head. “I will always protect you.”
I mean it—every word. I will still protect her even once I hand her over to Emery. I feel connected to her in a way I’ve never been connected to anyone else, not even my family.
She rolls down the window, and the wind whips her hair back.
“Last night…” I start to say.
She looks at me, and I fall silent. I don’t know what I want to say or how to explain my feelings toward her. All I know is that if anyone touches her, they are as good as dead, even if that someone is from my family.
My brothers have their wives. They can leave Elena to me without hassle. I wonder what Kervyn would say? Would he disapprove because she’s the enemy?
None of them took Mafia brides. They were all civilians with no ties to the underworld. They were all normal, sweet girls, but that’s not what I want. I want Elena’s fiery spirit. I like her tenacity. I enjoy her drive. And I want her lips wrapped around my cock while I fuck her throat and have her begging for me to take her.
I shift in my seat, pushing that thought out of my mind. Now is definitely not the time, not after what those guys nearly put her through. I can’t expect her to do anything sexual after that. It must be in her own time.
We’re silent for the long drive back to Vegas, which is made longer by the constant detours I take to confuse Elena and anyone following us. It comes to an end when I pull into the parking lot of the no-tell motel I picked out. We often send people to stay here when they need to lie low. This place is practically a second home to me.
I check us into a room, slipping the owner an extra hundred dollars for his silence. He gives me the key, and I lead Elena into the room.
It’s smells musty in here. The sheets probably haven’t been changed since the seventies, and who knows when they were last washed. The wallpaper is peeling off the wall in long, wide strips, revealing the bad paint job underneath. There’s a small television in the corner of the room, along with an electric kettle and two mugs. It isn’t the Ritz, but it’ll do for a few nights.
I take out the cuffs, and while Elena inspects the room, I throw one around her wrist and lock it before attaching the other to myself.
“Seriously?” she asks, tugging on the cuff. “I thought we were past this.”
“That was before you made an escape in the middle of the night,” I retaliate. “I trusted you when I shouldn’t have.”
She eyes me and then says, “Can we sit down at least? I’m still sore from running down the mountain to that stupid town.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t get eaten by a bear or a mountain lion,” I say as I follow her to the bed. I leave a space between us as I sit down. “What would you have done then? I could have found you dead.”
“I freaked out, okay.”
“You freaked out?” I growl. “Freaked out doesn’t cover this, Elena. You put your life in harm's way. What if I hadn’t found you when that guy grabbed you? What if he’d raped you? I’d never be able to live with myself. You say you have a business mind and make good decisions, but that was stupid.”
