Page 112 of The Hermit

“Good,” I mutter, turning my gaze to the shore where Santiago, once again, has a marquee up with a table covered in food and drinks.

The man is the complete opposite of me, but somehow, he’s starting to grow on me. I like that he just does whatever he wants.

When he spots us, he gets up from his chair and waves. “Ahoy, matey,” he calls out.

I shake my head while Grace chuckles.

We reach the shore, and Santiago comes closer. When he holds his hand out to Grace, I jump out of the boat and slap it away.

“Don’t touch my wife,” I mutter while taking hold of Grace’s hips and lifting her out.

“Hi, Santiago,” she says, a wide grin on her face.

The fucker shoots me a glance, a mischievous look in his eyes, then he says to Grace, “If you grow tired of his grumpy ass, I’m available.”

“Not if I fucking kill you,” I threaten while struggling not to smile.

Unfortunately, Santiago sees the smile, and the next second, I have his arm draped across my shoulders. “Hardass. Mark my words, we’re going to become best friends.”

“Only because you’re forcing me,” I say while my eyes settle on the rest of the alliance.

Not seeing Ilias, I wait until I reach the group before I look at Cassia and ask, “Where’s your father?”

“At home. We both thought it would be better for the alliance if I acted in his stead,” she replies, lifting her chin.

Thank fuck.

I nod, and while I glance at the pathway that’s been carved out between the trees, I mutter, “I’m good with that.”

I take a moment to greet Leo and Enzo, then grabbing Grace’s hand, I jerk my head toward the path. “Let’s get the inspection over with before we sit down to talk.”

When Santiago falls in beside Grace, I let go of her hand and wrap my arm around my wife.

“I’m having an emblem designed that we can put up above the entrance to the tunnel,” Santiago informs us.

“What kind of emblem?” Enzo asks.

“You’ll see. It’s a surprise.”

As we near the facility, Leo says, “It’s coming along nicely. When can we expect everything to be ready?”

“More teams are being hired to speed up the process,” I tell them. “Grace is pregnant, so it’s important to get it done sooner rather than later.”

“You’re pregnant!” Santiago exclaims, and then I have to grit my teeth as the fucker gives my wife a sideways hug before patting me on the back. “Congratulations!”

“Yes, congrats. May your child only bring you joy,” Leo says.

“Congrats,” Enzo mutters, not really looking interested in the subject, while he walks ahead of the group to inspect the pillars at the entrance of the facility.

Cassia smiles at Grace, then says, “I hope you have a healthy pregnancy with no morning sickness.”

“So far, I’ve been fortunate,” Grace tells her, then glances at the men. “Thank you for the well-wishes.”

Evinka comes to walk on my right, signing, “I’m going to check on the security building.”

I nod. “Make sure the security cameras cover all areas without any blind spots.”

After she heads in the opposite direction from us, I notice Enzo walking into the construction site.

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