Page 80 of Owned By Shadows

“We all have our roles to play, kid,” I say, and if his eyes weren’t closed, I know he’d be glaring at me for calling him that.

“Remember, life is all about perspective, boys,” Pat says, still flying the plane like it’s a piece of piss even as it shakes and shudders. “I had a mate who had sex two to three times a week, exercised twice a day, read two books a week, and yet every day he complained about how much he hated prison.”

A bark of laughter falls from my lips.

“That’s fucked up,” Bubby comments, though even he’s cracking a smile. His laptop pings, and his eyes open to look at the screen. “Nik’s sent some instructions on an alternate route and approach pattern.”

“Let’s see them, boy,” Pat states, and Bubby hands his laptop to the co-pilot—some big silent guy we only know as Ross and who hasn’t said a word the whole time we’ve been on the plane. Ross grunts, nodding, then hands the laptop back to Bubby before doing something to the dashboard in front of him.Presumably plugging in the route to the aeroplane GPS, but honestly, I don’t fucking know the first thing about planes.

It’s a tense few moments, where the plane continues to get tossed around a little, and by the time we make it to the other side, even I’m white-knuckling it. There is a savage beauty in being inside a storm like this, lightning streaking across the sky and the storm raging below us. Pat adjusts our path to always keep it that way because apparently, according to the man himself, flying through a storm is like taking a redhead to bed. That’s to say fun, but be prepared to have your balls bruised. His words.

“That’s it, fellas, we’re through the worst and we seem to have lost our friends,” Pat declares, and I breathe a sigh of relief as my heart settles back into a somewhat normal fucking rhythm. “They could still track us though, so keep your wits about you.”

Deciding that for now, the threat is manageable, I unbuckle myself and head into the main cabin, Bubby trailing after me and going back to his seat.

Iris is there, eyelids flickering slightly as Roman has his arm wrapped around her, his hand grasped in hers. The machines are all beeping quietly, with the sound that I know means she’s okay for the moment.

“How’s our beautiful girl?” I ask, crouching down next to her seat and taking her other hand in mine. Her eyelids lift slightly, a languid smile tugging her lips upwards, and fuck, it makes the world around me brighten to see it.

“Daddy,” she breathes out, and I lean in, placing a gentle kiss on her plush lips.

“I’m here, baby, and we’ve lost our tail, so it’s straight on to London,” I tell her, her eyes closing as she sighs a breath. She’s really out of it, though Andrei doesn’t look concerned, so I’m guessing this is expected.

“Andrei had to give her magnesium sulphate. It’s wiped her out a bit,” Roman tells me quietly, and I tuck some of her hair behind her ear. She sighs again, like my touch is something she’s been missing and desperately needed. Or maybe I’m just projecting.

“I’m okay, Daddy,” she says, her voice all sleepy. “Just tired.”

“Get some rest then, baby. I’ll be just over the way there,” I say, leaning over to place a kiss on her forehead, then getting up and heading next to Bubby.

“She okay?” he asks, his breathing calmer now we’re not being thrown about so much.

I huff out a breath. “As okay as she can be, all things considered.”

“She’s tough,” he replies, and I rest my head back against the seat, feeling the weight of the world pressing down on me.

“I know. I just wish she didn’t have to be.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

“WE GO DOWN TOGETHER (WITH KHALID)” BY DOVE CAMERON

IRIS

Iwake up from a dreamless slumber, my head facing the window, to find the night sky outside, city lights twinkling below us as we make our descent. We must be here, back in the UK and getting ready to land in Northolt, which is just outside London.

The hair lifts on my nape and arms, my thoughts going to returning to the place that Sergi operates from. He feels closer, his presence like tendrils of dark miasma reaching out for me.

I set my jaw in a firm line, my muscles tightening as if in readiness. I won’t let him take me, or take my baby from me. Never again will I be in his loathsome clutches, and I have all my guys to help ensure that doesn’t happen.

Well, I will have them once we land. I feel a little breathless at the idea of seeing Nik and Rowan again. It’s only been twoweeks, but it feels like a lifetime. I don’t want us parted again, can’t stand it.

“Hey, Princess.” Roman’s soft voice draws my gaze away from the lights below, and I get lost in his beautiful brown eyes. They’re more serious than they used to be, and I reach out, smoothing my thumb down between them. “Do you feel better?”

“Yes,” I answer, stretching a little in my chair.

“Your vitals are looking good, Iris,” Andrei tells me from the seat opposite mine. “The baby is too.” I smile, feeling lighter knowing that I’m okay. That my baby is okay.

There’s a lightness inside my chest that feels a little foreign because there’s just been so much to worry about recently.

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