Page 97 of Surrender (Angels Halo MC Next Gen)

samara

From the momentwe crossed over into New York State, I felt a change in Vaughn. He kept checking the mirrors, and each time his eyes shifted, my own tension began to mount.

“How many?” I asked in Russian.

“Two that I can see,” he replied in the same language.

“Hmm?” Abi blinked a few times, clearing away whatever she was thinking about at the sound of our voices after a lengthy silence. “Is something wrong?”

A muscle ticked in Vaughn’s jaw as he changed lanes. I didn’t try to turn to see which vehicles were following us. “Everything is fine. We’ll be at my parents’ place soon.”

“No,” Vaughn bit out in Russian. “We can’t go there. Let’s stick to the plan and go to the cabin upstate.”

“Even with this thing bulletproof, Abi will freak if they start shooting at us,” I reasoned. “Do you want her to be scared? Because I, for one, do not.”

He ground his teeth together so hard he risked cracking a tooth. I took his silence as agreement. “It’s better to go to the compound. The place is a fortress. And we can put Abi and Papa in one of the panic rooms. I redesigned them all three years ago. A bomb could go off and kill everything in a five-mile radius, but the panic room will still stand. When Papa first started having memory loss issues, we changed all the codes. Once they’re in, only I can get them out.”

His hand hit the steering wheel. “You will go in with them.”

“You need my help.”

“I need you safe!”

“You shot me a few months ago!”

“To keep you safe. If I’d wanted you dead, I would have killed you.”

“Will you two speak English?” Abi snapped. “Just because you’re conversing in a different language doesn’t mean I can’t tell something’s wrong. News flash, tone of voice is a big giveaway. And FYI, it’s rude as fuck.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled, chastened.

Vaughn released a pent-up breath. “My apologies, wildfire.”

“Why are you arguing?”

“We’re making a stop sooner than expected,” I explained. “My brother and I were disagreeing on which exit he should take to get there quicker.”

“Well, do it in English.” She shrank down in her seat a little. “I should have taken Russian instead of Spanish in high school.”

“They offered it at your high school?” I asked to distract her while Vaughn continued to watch his mirrors. At least he took the exit that was a quicker route to the compound.

“Spanish, Italian, Russian, and Japanese were offered. As well as ASL. I already knew Spanish, so I went with that for an easy A.”

“How about I teach you some basics?” I offered. “No isnyet. Yes,dah. Bye ispaka. Hi isprivet.”

She repeated each one. I beamed my pride and waved her over to whisper, “Now, look at Vaughn and say,ya ves’ tvoy.”

“Ya ves’ tvoy,” she said quietly, keeping her eyes on the front passenger seat.

His fingers bleached white around the steering wheel. I nudged Abi with my elbow. “A little louder.”

“Ya ves’ tvoy,” she said with more confidence.

I am yours.

“I ya vsegda tvoy,” he choked out, looking at her in the rearview mirror.

And I am yours always.

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