Page 84 of The Hermit

He sends the message, and clenching his jaw, he turns away from me.

I dart forward and take hold of his arm. “Are you okay?”

He keeps his face turned away while growling, “Go pack a bag for us, Grace. We need to leave.”

“Hey,” I murmur as I place my palm on his jaw, nudging him to meet my eyes. “Why won’t you look at me?”

“Because I’m angry as fuck.”

“Dominik,” I whisper lovingly. “It’s okay. I understand you’re pissed off, and it’s not directed at me.”

Finally, he lets me turn his head, and I stare up at my husband, whose expression is nothing short of fire and brimstone.

Even though I’m confident he won’t hurt me, fear still slithers down my spine.

“You will do exactly as I say during this trip,” he orders.

“Yes.”

He lifts his arm and wraps his fingers around my throat, and pressing his forehead to mine, he says, “If shit goes down, just stay by my side or with Evinka. No matter what happens.”

“Okay,” I breathe.

He gives me a hard kiss then pushes me toward the sliding doors. “Go pack. We’re leaving in an hour.”

As I walk away, I hear him send another voice message, “My factory in Peru has been taken by the bratva. I expect you all there with your men to retake what’s mine. I’ll send the address.”

The message must be to the alliance members. I guess we’ll find out if they’re all really in or out.

I rush to our bedroom, and yanking a bag out of the closet, I quickly place it on the bed and begin to pack three sets of clothes for each of us. If we need anything else, we can always just buy more.

When I’m done adding our toiletries, I quickly change into a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a pair of boots. If there’s a chance I might have to run, I’m not doing it in high heels.

Pushing the bag out of the bedroom, I notice the door to Dominik’s office is open, and when I peek inside, it’s to see him grabbing guns and knives from a cabinet.

I leave the luggage in the hallway and step inside. “Can I have a knife?”

His eyes flick to me. “You don’t want a gun?”

I shake my head. “I’ve never handled one.”

“We’ll fix that once we’re home,” he grumbles, looking like a thundercloud. He comes toward me, and crouching, he straps a holder around my right thigh and tucks a knife into it.

Glancing up at me, he asks, “Comfortable?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

As he rises to his feet, he says, “Stab any fucker who dares to get close to you.”

“Okay.”

I watch as he throws the weapons into a duffle bag before I head out of the office, pushing the luggage down the hallway. At the top of the stairs, Dominik grabs the luggage and carries it down.

I hurry to the front door and key in the code before pushing it open so he can just keep walking. As I pull the door shut, I glance into our home, hoping we’ll both come back in one piece.

I rush to catch up to Dominik, and as we head to the Hummer, I’m thankful he isn’t leaving me behind. I would lose my mind with worry, but at least this way, I’ll be with him at all times.

“Thank you for bringing me along to your meetings and missions.”

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