Page 71 of Broken Empire
“AlrightI’llassume you know what you’re doing and leave you to it.Letme go tell my men to get ready to leave in the morning and call in the flight plan,”Huntersays before getting up and walking out the door.
“Yougood?”Iturn toGrayand ask him.
“Yeahman.Ihope you guys work it out becauseIlove her,” he says andIgive him the side eye.
“What?”
“Notlike that you ass!” he grins. “Ilove her like a sister andIhate thatIfailed her so much.Istill feel so guilty about everything that went down.”
Iwalk over to the couch and sit next to him before throwing my arm around his shoulders.LookslikeI’mgoing to have to get this one into therapy as well.MaybeIshould get them to do a session together.Yeah,IthinkI’lltry that when we get home.
“Hey, don’t feel guilty about anything because none of it was your fault.Itwas all mine andI’llbe the one to carry all the guilt where she’s concerned and for everything,Idid to her.Iknow for a fact that she loves you too, so just let me worry about making it all up to her.”
“Iguess,” he says with a sigh.
“Stopworrying,”Isay, giving him a kiss on the forehead, just asHuntercomes back in.
“Myguys will be ready to roll by morning.”
“Okaygood.I’llgo make some calls to my guys to make sure they’re ready over there.Whattime is our flight?”
“Wheneverwe get there,”
“Soundsgood.Nowyou two go get some sleep,”Itell them both before leaving the room.Ihave every intention of heading to my own room but whenIpass by hers,Ichange my mind.Iquietly slip into bed with her again and pull her into my arms.Inno time,I’mfast asleep.
* * *
Bythe timewe wake up in the morning she’s back to the silent treatment.Ilet out a sigh because why the fuck me?Don’tanswer, it’s rhetorical.Obviously,Iknow the whys, even ifIhate it.
Ihelp her get ready and then have to force feed breakfast to her in the kitchen because she didn’t want to eat and won’t speak either.Allthe way to the airport she still doesn’t say a word.Shejust looks lost in her head.Ileave her be for the time being but stay close in case she needs anything.
Whenwe get on the private jet,Iseat her by one of the windows and buckle her in, before sitting next to her withHunterand my brother across from us.I’mglad thatI’mnot the only one she’s giving the silent treatment to since she hasn’t spoken to eitherHuntorGraythis morning.
IwishIknew what the hell was going on in that brain of hers.Iclasp her hand in mine the entire flight and when we land,Ihelp her unbuckle her seatbelt, guiding her to the front, with my hand on her lower back.Shehalts her steps for a moment when she gets to the jet’s door and sees the outside.
Onthe tarmac, the menIhired as security are waiting for us, with a fewEscaladesto take us home with.She’sgoing to be getting round-the-clock security from now on until the issue withEmiliaand my father is resolved.
Infact, even after all this shit is resolved she’ll still be having round-the-clock security.I’mnot taking any chances with her life anymore.Ican see the questions in her eyes, but she still doesn’t say a word.
Igrab her hand and start to walk down the steps first keeping her behind me just in case.Idon’t expect anything to go down right now and even if it did all the men are capable of containing the situation.Noone except my men, my best friends and everyone who was at the cabin knows we’re here.Itried my best to keep it all under wraps.
Wequickly move to one of theEscaladesandHunterhops in front with the driver whileGraysonhops in the back withWinterand me.Wedrive off a moment later with us in the middle, while two of theSUV’stake the front and two take the back.
“Whereare we going?”Grayis the first one to ask when he notices that we’re not heading downtown to where the apartment is.
“You’llsee soon enough.It’sa surprise.”
Wedrive until we're close to the outskirts of town and we come up to huge iron gates.Thegates open and we drive down the long driveway with trees on both sides, so that the mansion is covered for privacy.
Amoment later the large white mansion comes into view and so does the surpriseIhad set up on the front lawn andIhear her gasp of shock.Weall get out when theSUVcomes to a stop in front of the doors andHunterlets out a whistle.Mymen disperse and go with the others that are currently patrolling the grounds.
“Makesure the guys are all ready for a briefing later,”Itell my head of security.
“Yessir,I’llget them all ready,” he says before leaving us.
“Whatis this place?Andwhy are we here?” my baby asks, finally breaking her silence.
“This, my love is our new home,”