Page 30 of Bastard
I stiffen. Hayden means Aubrey ...
“Five,” he says with snarl, “Ignoring all common sense, he allows you to relocate to a country where Westerners are prime targets for Jihadist groups.”
“Allows? What am I, eighteen again?” I hiss. “He ... andyouare not the boss of me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Always have been, always will be.” He abruptly stands and I instinctively step back. “Get dressed and meet me in my office in thirty minutes, where we’ll discuss the specifics of what I want from you.” He stalks to the door.
“I’m not working for—”
“My men are in Nmimpi,” he cuts me off.
“Is that a threat?” I glare at his back.
“I thought you’d want to know that no one was hurt.”
I exhale sharply.
“Make a list of whatever else you require and hand it off to one of my men to follow up on.” He hovers by the door like he’s waiting for me to process his words.
A list? One that, if what he says is true, won’t include sending help to Nmimpi.
A phone call to Diego.
A helicopter ride back to Malawi.
But ... at what cost?
“Luciana.” I swallow hard at the way he says my name. So sexy. So uniquely Hayden.
“Mark my words. If you ever pull a stunt like the one in Rome, if you dare to even wear that T-shirt again, I won’t be disciplined enough to walk away.”
10
“She’s not his usual type.”
A man snorts, others laugh, and I trip over my hiking boots realizing I’m the topic of conversation outside Hayden’s office.
“Prettier.”
“Braver.”
I grit my teeth, my temper twisting all other emotions into knots. As if my earlier confrontation with Hayden wasn’t enough to spark my outrage, hearing his men verify what the damn pink towels hinted at is—there areothers, more histype.
So why am I upset? What I should be doing is dancing.
Divorced, Luciana. You asked for it. It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?
“It’s been a while since his last visitors.” Dios, plural, not singular.
“Six months?”
“Longer. A year.”
I tighten my fingers into a ball.
“She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Man, are you that stupid? Keep your mouth shut before he hears you.”
