Page 65 of Fast Vengeance

His heart jumped when his cell phone rang. David. “Yes?” He held his breath, awaiting the reply. Please let her be there. Let her be okay.

“We’re five minutes away.”

A huge smile broke over his face, relief rushing through him. They’d done it. It had worked. “She’s there?”

“Right next to me.”

He closed his eyes, sagged forward to plant a hand on the tabletop. Thank you, God. Thank you. He’d waited so damn long for this. “Is she all right?”

“Of course. Do you want to talk to her?”

“No. Not yet.” He needed a few more minutes to compose himself, and he didn’t want their first words to each other after all this time to be over the phone.

The reunion he’d dreamed of was tempered by the knowledge that she had been working with the Americans and his own government. This might well be a trap, but his men were careful and he was willing to risk it. They had emergency evacuation procedures in place just in case something went wrong.

His first priority, however, was his daughter’s safety. Even if there was an attack, he would not leave without her.

He rubbed a hand over his mouth, his mind working fast. He’d thought many times of what he would say to her if he ever had the chance. Oceane would be angry and scared and confused and he didn’t blame her for any of it. He had a lot of work to do if he wanted a chance at repairing the damage he’d done to their relationship.

Manny didn’t deserve another chance with her, not after the things he’d done, but he would take it. More than that, he would guard it, nurture it with all of his energy for the rest of his life, however long that might be. As of tonight he was a new man, with a new life waiting for him.

The mansion’s security system beeped a few minutes later, alerting him that a door had been opened. His pulse thundered in his ears as he stood in the entryway to the kitchen and waited.

David appeared first, his face lit with a secret smile. Then he stepped aside, revealing the beautiful young woman standing behind him.

Manny exhaled in a painful rush as Oceane stepped forward, barely stemming the impulse to rush over and wrap her up in his arms. Looking at her was like a punch to the gut. It had been almost a year since he had last seen her. How could he have forgotten how the sight of her made it feel as though his heart would burst open?

Her skin was a pale, creamy brown, shades lighter than her mother’s had been, her hair a deep chocolate and less tightly curled, but the eyes and everything else about her were pure Anya.

A wall of emotion hit him, the force of it taking him off guard. His throat closed up, guilt and grief and regret all but choking him.

She stopped where she was, her body stiff, her blue-gray eyes cold as winter as she stared back at him. Full of hatred and a loathing that shredded him inside.

His fault. All his fault. God, if he could go back and change the past he would do things so differently. He would have told her the truth long ago and taken more steps to ensure she and her mother were protected. If he had done those things, Oceane would be rushing into his arms right now and Anya would still be alive.

He cleared his throat, unable to help the smile tugging at his mouth. He was so damn glad to see her again. “Hello, Oceane. I’m glad you’re here.”

She didn’t answer, just stared back at him with those icy eyes, the pain embedded there slicing him up.

Patience.

It wasn’t something that came easily to him. He was now accustomed to getting whatever he wanted when he wanted it, but for her he could exercise some patience.

He sighed. “Why don’t we sit down and talk,” he suggested, gesturing behind him to his office. The most secure room in the house, where even a bug David might have missed on her wouldn’t transmit anything.

She studied him a long moment, then relented and took a step forward, gazing around at the lavish décor and furnishings of the main floor. “This isn’t the same house we used to stay in.”

“No. I thought a change of venue was best. Make a fresh start.” The property wasn’t far away from that house, though, only four lots north up the beach.

He took a breath, forced his tight stomach muscles to relax. They would be leaving here in another hour or two, once everything was in place. Then he would have all the time he needed to repair their relationship. Until then, he had to make her comfortable enough to relax a little.

“Just in here.” He stepped aside to let her pass him, aching to hug her the way he used to. There was a time when her face would light up at the sight of him. When she had looked at him like he had hung the moon.

Those days were gone forever. But perhaps they could have something almost as good, in time.

She took the tufted leather chair he indicated as David shut the door for them. She seemed calm enough on the surface, but her nerves showed in the way she rubbed her hands on her thighs and the way her gaze darted around the room.

“Would you like something to drink? Or eat?” he asked.

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