Page 91 of The Hermit

Lowering my head until my mouth is next to her ear, I murmur, “You’ll be safe with Evinka.”

She nods, her arms squeezing me hard. “Just be careful out there, and come back to me in one piece.”

“I will,moja láska.”

She pulls back slightly, and her eyes find mine. I see the words in her gray irises before she says, “I love you, Dominik.”

Leaning down, I press a tender kiss to her mouth and whisper, “When I come back after the attack, I want you to say those words to me again.”

With fear creeping into her eyes, she nods quickly. “Okay.”

I bring my hand to her cheek. “Don’t worry. I’m hard to kill. I’ll be back before you know it.”

She nods again, then pushes up on her tiptoes, kissing me with so much passion it has my heart hammering in my chest.

When she pulls away, a smile trembles around her mouth. “Go take your factory back.”

I stare at her for a moment before turning away to give Evinka a chin lift. Making eye contact with Alan, I order, “You keep them safe.”

He nods. “I will.”

Krystof and Sef follow after me as I head to where Santiago is standing by the open door.

His eyes drift over the silent street outside the building, then he murmurs, “The quiet before the storm.”

“Let’s go,” I say. Glancing at my two men, I order, “Follow the truck with the SUV.”

They jog off to get into the vehicle while I walk with Santiago toward the beast.

I watch as Enzo and Leo get into a Jeep, then my eyes flick to where Ilias, Cassia, and their men pile into an SUV.

Here we go.

We all know how important today is. If we beat the bratva, it will show the world the alliance is a force to be reckoned with.

I climb into the truck, and when Santiago gets in behind the steering wheel, we glance at each other for a moment, then he says, “It’s all or nothing, right?”

“Right.”

He starts the engine, and the truck rumbles to life. “Such a good fucking girl, princess,” he groans.

I give him a what-the-fuck look. “Do you need a moment alone with the truck?”

Santiago chuckles, the grin on his face wide.

When he pulls away from the building, I glance out the window. I see Grace’s blond head peeking around the side of the doorway, then Alan nudges her back. He notices I’m watching and gives me a thumbs-up before disappearing into the building.

“Knight should be in position already,” Santiago mentions as he drives down the quiet street at a slow pace.

“And he might take out every single fucker before we get there,” I grumble.

“You don’t have a lot of patience, do you?” he chuckles.

“None.”

“Careful that you don’t become like Ilias.”

I give Santiago a dark glare. “Do you want me to shoot you?”

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