Page 116 of Scarlet Angel

Scarlet comes around from the other room holding two Kevlar vests.

“Ivanov, you know how to stock a safe room. A man after my heart, you are.”

"About time you noticed," I say, taking in the sight of her—my scarlet angel turned warrior. She's transformed the safe room into a tactical command center with military precision. Pride and something deeper, something that feels dangerously like love, swells in my chest.

She grins, all fire and steel, reminding me exactly why I fell for her. This woman doesn't need saving—she needs a partner. And bloody hell if that isn't exactly what I plan to be.

CHAPTER30

SCARLET

“About time you noticed.”

I smile like a loon right back at him.

My deep satisfied breaths while preparing to fight for our lives borders on irrational, but it’s what he does to me. It’s the way he looks at me. With Nick, I feel taller and stronger. With him, I’ve got a partner.

He curls his index finger, gesturing for me to step closer. He’s leaving the choice to me, but his heated gaze leaves no doubt about what he wants.

A sudden flush of warmth spreads. His eyes sparkle. He senses it. Or maybe he sees how aroused I am.

“What’s the plan?” I half expect him to stalk towards me, lift my skirt, rip my panties, and bury himself in me. Or maybe that’s what I want. It’s doubtful he’ll actually flip me over the sofa. “Are we staying here?”

There’s a bedroom and a bunk room. The loaded pantry holds enough canned food to last months, if not years.

“I considered it,” he says, still eyeing me like he’s keen to get naughty.

“But?”

“My gut says we’re best off getting the jump on things.”

The practicality of his assessment disappoints, but I packed the bags because I expected as much. Not to mention the explosions.

“Where will we go?”

He jumps on a computer that’s sitting on a desk. It’s a desktop with a dial-up I can hear. “How do you feel about Greece?”

“It’s lovely,” I say.

“I’ve got a fortified home in Naxos. Off the radar. Owned by a shell company. Tracing it to me would be time-consuming, although not impossible. But if you’re game, that’s where I’m leaning. I like the idea of lying about naked with you.”

“There are lots of places in the world where that can be arranged. You’re thinking the Greek mafia might offer us protection?”

“Protection? No.” His fingers tap away on keys. I can only presume he’s on a secure connection. “There’s a bounty on my head.”

“On yours?”

“Yep. How much do you think my life is worth?” He holds an arm out and I step into his embrace.

“To me? The value is immeasurable.” I don’t like where he’s going with this. My nails scrape his scalp, and his tousled hair fills the gaps between my fingers. He buries his face in my belly.

The computer screen is unlike any I’ve seen. It’s old, with cursors that blink and green lettering on a black background.

The blinking cursor taps out numbers.

250,000,000

“What is that? Euros?”

---