Page 319 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
Isaac removes the strands of hair fallen in front of her eyes before he twists her to face me. “Callie,” he croons, his tone calm and nurturing, “this is your sister, Isabelle.” I balk, shocked. “Isabelle, this is your sister, Callie.”
Callie’s head pops off Isaac’s chest, so she can run her eyes over my face. I assess her with just as much eagerness. She has the same rich chocolate brown eyes that Enrique and I got from our father, the same small nose, but her skin is a shade darker than mine.
I drift my watering eyes to Isaac. “The money? Your dealings with Vladimir?” In my disoriented state, I can’t form full sentences.
“Yes, I bought her.” His gaze lowers to Callie. “When I saw her eyes, I knew without a doubt she was your sister.” He returns his focus to me. “I couldn’t stop wondering what would’ve happened to you if Tobias didn’t buy you. Where you would have ended up? What monster would have owned you? So I couldn’t stand by and watch it happen to Callie knowing she has your blood running through her veins.”
Tears gush down my face. I never thought I could love Isaac more than I already do, but he continues to prove me wrong every day.
“Callie turned three last month. She's a little small due to malnutrition, but Jae said she's very healthy. She's a fighter, just like you.”
After adjusting Callie so he's holding her with one arm, he wraps his spare arm around my shoulders and draws me in close. My tears dampen his shirt, but the heat of Callie’s admiring will quickly take care of them. She’s staring at Isaac in awe like he's her knight in shining armor. In a way, he is. He did save her from the clutches of our father.
I don’t know how long we stay huddled together on the runway. It could be minutes or it could be hours. It’s impossible to tell because when I'm with Isaac, time doesn’t matter. It just stands still.
EPILOGUE
ISABELLE
Six Months Later…
“Are you ready?” Ryan’s tone is as cheeky as the sparkle in his eyes. “You know this is bound to happen, so you may as well get the inevitable over and done with.”
I roll my eyes before nodding. My sassiness is stripped from my veins when sirens bellow through the humid morning air. As my frightened eyes dart to Ryan, the beat of my heart turns dangerous.
When the dark blue sedan pulls to the side of the road as requested, Ryan waggles his brow before he exits the vehicle. “Remain in your vehicle with your hands on the steering wheel,” he advises the driver of the car, his tone stern.
I move to back him up, my legs quivering with every step I take. When the back passenger door suddenly opens, and Isaac curls out of the car, I freeze. Excitement dashes down my spine when I drink in his impressive body, which is concealed in an impeccably tailored three-piece suit.
When Ryan advises him to place his hands palm side down onto the trunk and to spread his legs wide, his jaw sets into a hard line, but he does as instructed through gritted teeth, of course. When Ryan gestures for me to frisk him, I shake my head. I could never.
Ryan glares at me before he motions his head to Isaac again, advising his demand is not a request. With my pulse shrilling in my ears, I glide my hands over the hard ridges in Isaac’s torso before drifting them down his splayed legs.
“That’s all me, baby,” he croons when my hands float past the panty-wetting section between his legs.
Desire shoots through my body, making the pulse in my sex as rampant as the vein working overtime in Isaac’s neck.
Once my search comes up empty-handed, I turn my gaze back to Ryan. “He’s clear.”
Ryan's lips twist as he huffs loudly. “Then I guess he's free to go… for now.”
Mortified, I make a beeline for the unmarked police car parked behind Isaac’s flashy ride. Halfway there, Isaac calls my name. When I pivot around to face him, my pulse quickens. He has the most seductive smirk etched on his ridiculously handsome face.
“Bring those handcuffs home tonight.” When his eyes drop to the cuffs holstered on my hip, it’s the fight of my life not to squeeze my knees together. “Catherine is collecting Callie this afternoon for a sleepover.” His voice is drenched with sexual undertones that has my pussy moistening in anticipation.
After a wink that reveals he knows he has me on edge, he slides into the back of his town car. I stand still, frozen in the middle of the street as his vehicle merges into the dense flow of traffic that always impedes Ravenshoe. Restless yearning rushes through my veins, overheating my body when my feverish imagination flashes up all the positions Isaac and I have discovered the past six months. Particularly, the ones in the sex swing.
I slide back into the passenger seat of Ryan’s unmarked police car before cranking the air conditioning full force with the hope of concealing my flushed cheeks that are shamefully displaying my arousal. When Ryan’s deep chuckle echoes around the interior of the car, my cheeks inflame even more.
My bottom lip lowers into a pout when he adjusts the level of the air-conditioning to a more suitable temperature. “Air conditioning privileges, choice of radio stations, and which donut stores we visit are off-limits for a rookie detective.”
He winks before pulling his car into the dense flow of traffic. I keep my eyes on the crowd, people watching, while also maintaining an observant eye on my surroundings. I’ve become more immersed in my love of people watching the past month. My eagerness spurred on by my desire to seek my brother, Enrique, in the dense crowd.
A week ago, when I was leaving Isaac’s club, I found a postcard slipped under the windshield wiper of my assigned town car. It was void of any postmark that would have alluded to its origin, but I know the card was from Enrique because it had the saying scribbled on the back that he quoted about Isaac in the hospital room when we first met.
On vash zashchitnik.
On khoroshiy chelovek.
