Page 64 of Savage Princess

She nods. “Like the man who was making our passports.”

“Exactly. The hotel that we went to where I had a contact—I put them in danger. It’s not that I was wrong to do that—it’s a part of this world—but I think, now that I know Vasquez is involved…it’s past the point of the kind of danger I should be exposing them to. Especially after so long—especially when it’s not Syndicate business.” I pause, considering. “Viktor is a part of this—the plan to bring you back to Boston, and he has a deal with the Syndicate now, so there’s an argument to be made that his interests and mine are also theirs. But it’s a fine thread and not one I’m willing to pluck too quickly unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“So we go to Vasquez.” Elena sits up, wrapping her arms around her knees as she looks at me. “If he’s as powerful as you say—”

“He’s the most powerful man in this city. If I can convince him that his interests are better turned towards what Viktor and I and our alliances can offer him, then we might have a chance. Diego has a lot of pull—but he doesn’t have as much as he thinks. There’s a chance I can offer him something better.”

“It’s a lot to risk on a chance.” Elena’s teeth worry at her lower lip, and she sighs. “But I think you’re right. What else are we going to do? We can’t just keep running forever, and we don’t have money or passports.”

There’s a slight wistfulness in her voice that makes me think she almost wishes wecouldkeep running forever. I can hear it, and I choose to ignore it, because there’s no point in entertaining the part of me that wants to take her and run far away from here—in the opposite direction of Boston, to somewhere that neither of us will ever be found by anyone ever again. A part of me that wants to abandon the life I’ve carefully built over the last twelve years, a life meant to insulate me from the chance of ever losing something that meant anything to me ever again, and risk everything on what I feel when she’s in my arms.

I’ve made that mistake once already, though—and it cost the woman I loved her life.

I can’t make it again.

“You’ll stay here,” I tell her, and I see her straighten instantly, her eyes narrowing. “It’s safer. I’ll go to Vasquez and negotiate for a way out for us. Without you there, he can’t simply take you and turn you over to Diego—”

“I’m not staying behind.” There’s a stubborn set to her jaw that I’ve come to recognize, and I know she’s not going to give in now any more easily than she ever has in the past. “I’m as much a part of this as you are, and I’m not going to wait idly by while you solve our problems.” She shakes her head. “After everything I’ve done, you think I’m just going to go back to being the damsel in distress?”

“You’ve never been a damsel.” Despite the ache in my side, I push myself up to sit, too, looking at her. “You’ve always surprised me with how capable you are. But this is dangerous, Elena—”

“So is everything now.” She glares at me. “The way we thought we were getting out of Rio was dangerous. The card games were dangerous. Everything I did while you were sick, was dangerous.I’velearned how to be dangerous, in my own way. It’s worse for me to sit here, wondering what’s happening, unable to help. If it goes badly, I don’t want to be on my own, wondering what happened. Either we do this together, or we stay here. I’m not letting you go by yourself.”

She laughs then, softly. “What would have happened if you’d been at that card game by yourself and been attacked?”

“I’d be dead now,” I admit. “But Elena—”

“No. You’d be dead. Full stop. So I’m coming with you.”

There’s no arguing the point with her; I know that. She’ll wear me down eventually—and she’s not entirely wrong. The card game went south partially because the other players picked up on her role in our ruse, but something else could have gone wrong. Elena is, despite my every instinct to keep her tucked away out of danger, extremely capable. More so than I could have ever thought.

“In another life, I think the Syndicate might have recruitedyou,” I tell her wryly. “As much as I hate the idea of that.”

“In another life, I might have done it.” She slides back down next to me, mollified by what she can tell is my surrender. “We’ll be okay, Levin. We’ve made it this far. This is just the last step.”

There’s that wistfulness again; I know she’s thinking of what comes after. Of Boston, and what that means for us both.

But tonight, that feels very far away. And when I lie next to her again, and she puts her head on my shoulder, I let myself enjoy it.

I let myself be happy, just for a little while.

—

It takes another few days for me to feel capable of the trip to see Vasquez. Especially if Elena will be with me, there’s no chance that we’re leaving until I’m sure I can protect her. The money is wearing thin—Elena shows me what we have left, and we’ll manage for maybe another week, if we don’t get out before then…or I’ll have to find some source of funds for us.

The room that started as a place where I’d thought I was going to die turns into a kind of haven for those few days. With the prospect of taking her back to Boston so close, it feels as if the time we have left is a ticking clock, and I find myself wanting to enjoy it with her, instead of fighting it. I tell myself that it will be over too soon, that she knows as well as I do what’s coming—and that I can indulge in what she wants…to enjoy that time.

I don’t admit to myself that it’s because I want it, too.

“Tomorrow, right?” Elena asks me as we get in the shower the night before, and I watch her strip down, feeling as if I could never get tired of watching her like that. Seeing her naked only intensifies the ache I constantly feel for her, and I realize too late that it’s taken me far too long to answer her question. She turns around, smirking at me, and I narrow my eyes at her.

“You’re getting a little cocky,” I tell her as she brushes past me, her hand grazing my hip as she goes to turn on the water. “But then again, you always surprised me with how brazen you were.”

“What’s a girl supposed to think, when you havethatreaction?” She raises an eyebrow as we both step under the water, gesturing at my cock, which is already hard as I watch the water glide over her skin. “It’s obvious that you—”

“That I what?” I reach for her, threading my fingers through her damp hair as I interrupt her. “That I want you?”

She nods, sucking in a soft breath as I brush my thumb over her lower lip. “I want you too,” she whispers. “I always have, ever since—”

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