Page 59 of Hunter's Revenge

Malik

And so it begins—war.

I’ve put the wheels in motion to start a war in my own home.

Gwen St. James and I are enemies now.

All the lighthearted feelings that came with meeting someone new and having off-the-chart chemistry are gone.

Just now she looked at me like she hated me. I expected nothing less. Everything I did, good or bad, led us here.

But no matter what she thinks of me, it was real.

I was real with her.

I can admit that. I’ve always promised myself to never shy away from the truth, and that’s the truth.

So, I won’t act like the sight of her heaving breasts in her little nightshirt didn’t harden my dick with all the things I still want to do to her. Or that I didn’t think of doing all those things to her just then.

My attraction to her isn’t a lie. The temptation I feel when I’m with her isn’t a lie.

None of what I did with her was a lie or part of the lie I created.

When I was with her, I was with her. She had all of me, something I’ve never given anyone.

But I can’t be that guy or whatever vision she expected from me.

Now it’s back to business, back to the plan, and I have to be me.

My steps sound heavy on the marble floor as I walk down the corridor.

It’s nearly lunchtime. Zakh assisted me to transport Gwen here. We arrived about two hours ago. He left shortly after and I stayed back to speak to Gwen when she woke.

Now that I’ve done that, I’m going to meet with my brothers at Desmier’s house.

I’m just going to speak to my staff first, then I’ll be on my way. I have a lot of work to do today to make sure everything is in order so I can focus on the cartel.

Taking over a cartel the size of the Navarro is going to be one hell of a task.

As time is of the essence and I need to put this wedding together in a few days, my brothers have each been completing individual tasks to move things along as quickly as possible.

Once everything is ready, we’ll make contact with Diego Navarro and set up the meeting of all meetings where I’ll hand him his ass.

I make my way downstairs and into the living room. There I find Jeanne, my head maid and custodian. As she worked for my parents when I was a child, she’s known me since birth.

After my rescue in Kazakhstan, it was clear that I couldn’t go back to the Navy, so I bought this oversized house because of the beach and my need to be near the water. My father got Jeanne to work for me, and she practically moved in before me to get everything ready. My father would say it was his way of helping me find someone good who was used to managing large homes. But I knew he sent her and a few other members of his personal staff so I would have people around me I could trust.

Those members of staff consist of my guards Yuri and Vladmir, and Kelly, another maid who I grew up with. All have been in my life since I was born.

They live on the premises. Jeanne, however, has always been in charge.

She takes care of everything here, and best of all, since she knows our ways of life, she does as she’s told and doesn’t question certain things others would.

Like holding someone captive. She’s fully aware and probably in complete disapproval of the fact that I’ve kidnapped a young woman and locked her away in my bedroom. But Jeanne will never express any of her opinions, even when I ask for it.

She looks at me when I walk in, pushing the ends of her graying ponytail over her shoulder as she straightens.

She was polishing the table that was already glossy but not perfect enough to meet her standards.