Page 60 of Depths of Destruction
"Then why didn't you move?"
"My home is here. My family. My business. It's all here."
I jab him in the chest. "That's where you're wrong. It's not all here.She'snot here."
His eyes darken as he looks away.
Yeah, dumbass. She's not with you, and it's your fault.
"If you don't mind, keep your notions to yourself. I appreciate you letting us stay and helping us get what we need. I'll keep Naomi safe, and when this is over, I'll let her decide what she wants."
He grunts. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He opens the door and steps back into the house.
I follow, trying to remind myself not to pummel him into the floorboards.
Naomi glances up and furrows her brows. She's sitting at the desk with a pen and paper. "Everything okay?"
Darien stands over her, puts his hand on her shoulder, and reads her list. "Fine. Do you need anything else?"
Get your hands off my woman.
"Andre needs to put things on it."
He clenches his jaw, handing me the list and pen.
I hate having to take anything from him, but I swallow my pride and write my sizes down for pants, shirts, and shoes. "Can I do a load of laundry while we're here?"
"Naomi knows where everything is."
Jealousy once again zings through my core. I must not hide it well. Darien smugly purses his lips at me.
We need to get out of here before I kill this guy.
He's the only person who can help us right now.
I can fend for us on our own.
Don't be stupid. I need to put Naomi's safety over my ego.
I hand the list to him. "Where's the restroom?"
He points behind me. After I do my business and wash my hands, I throw water on my face and stare at myself in the mirror.
Figure out where to take Naomi.
We need to go to Omoa, regardless. We can't fly out of Belize. Tinker will help me figure things out.
She'll get bored with you.Darien's voice is a blade shredding my usual self-confidence. Before we got here, I didn't question anything about Naomi and me. Now his words won't leave my head.
My relationships with women over the years haven't been anything to write home about. After my divorce, I went through the self-pity phase for a while. Then I had my bit of fun with one-night stands. I'd had a few relationships in the past, but my schedule with Interpol always created issues.
At least, that's what I blamed it on.
Deep down, I wasn't that into them, and work was an excuse. They were all nice, beautiful women. Nothing was wrong with any of them, and my buddies all couldn't understand why I didn't stay with any of them.
Until a few days ago, I was oblivious there could ever be anything more than the feelings I had for the women of my past.
Then I laid eyes on Naomi. From the moment I stared at the video of her, I felt like something in my core had been rocked.
