Page 70 of The Hermit

I lean a little into Dominik and ask, “What are their names again?”

“Alan and Krystof,” he replies. “They’re Evinka’s guards.

“And the other two?”

“Sef and Martin. They just come along when we travel together,” he explains.

I glance at the yacht. “Where are they now?”

“Already on the island.” Dominik takes hold of my chin and turns my head so I’ll look at him. “Enough about them and attention on me.”

Seeing a possessive look in his eyes has my heart speeding up for the millionth time.

Just as the speedboat begins to slow down and Dominik glances at the island, I whisper, “I think I’m ready.”

His head snaps back to me, his eyes searching mine before the corner of his mouth lifts in a hot-as-hell smirk.

“Trust you to give me such big news right before I have to attend one of the most important meetings of my life.”

I give him a playful, apologetic look while shrugging.

The boat comes to a stop right on the beach and as Dominik climbs to his feet, he mutters, “Just you wait until we’re home.”

He helps me to step onto the beach, and in the distance, I see a marquee and people sitting beneath it.

There’s an attractive man who’s dressed in comfortable white clothes that make it look like he’s on vacation instead of at an important meeting.

To his right sits two other men dressed in suits like Dominik. Then my eyes land on a stunning woman who seems to be around my age. She’s wearing a red goddess dress that has a slit running up to her thigh, and sitting with her legs crossed, it exposes beautifully tanned skin.

“Starting on the left, the old man is Ilias Dimitrou. He’s the head of the Greek mafia and mostly smuggles illegal goods. The woman next to him is Cassia. She’s his oldest daughter and heir. Then there’s Enzo Oliveira, who’s an assassin. He also mass-produces counterfeit goods. Next to him is Leonardo Toscano, the head of the Italian mafia, and last and definitely the most dangerous is Santiago Castro, the only man who’s gone up against the Rojas cartel and lived to tell the story.”

“That’s a lot of information,” I whisper.

“You’ll get the hang of it.”

As we near the group of dangerous people, I realize that Dominik is teaching me about his business, which Dad never did.

It makes me feel like Dominik views me as an equal and not just his wife.

Lifting my chin high, I wipe all expression from my face.

I’m the wife of the biggest arms dealer in the world, and that’s all I want people to see when they look at me.

After Dominik has taken a moment to greet everyone and introduce me, he gestures at a chair and waits for me to sit down before he takes the seat beside mine.

The air is tense, and every cell in my body is on guard.

“I thought we had to bring our own chairs,” Leo mutters.

Santiago lets out a chuckle, looking way too relaxed. “This is more comfortable, is it not?”

“Thank you for the effort,” Dominik says to Santiago.

“So you’re Devlin’s eldest daughter?” Ilias suddenly asks me.

I quickly nod. “Yes.”

“I didn’t like your father one bit,” the man practically spits at me.

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