Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Victor was starting to have doubts about the brother’s place in Harris’s life. He also wondered if they had any brain cells between them. They did what they were told, screwed who they were told to.
Arriving back at Ivan’s private island, I was surprised by my overall excitement to see Freya. She moved forward to greet me.
“Did it go well?” she asked.
“As good as could be expected.”
She glanced past my shoulder and watched as The Butcher left the island. The Butcher had called Ivan and said to hurry his ass up, as she had a couple of leads she wanted to check out. I don’t know what those leads were, but until we could guarantee Freya’s safety, we were not going to move her from here. Ivan had this place tightly secured, and it was the only thing keeping her alive at the moment.
“That sucks,” Freya said.
“Are you hating the island?”
“I’m not hating it. I love the views, and you know, sitting on my ass all day, watching movies is fun, but...” She stopped.
“You’re missing your sewing room.”
She put a hand to her forehead and laughed. “It’s crazy, isn’t it?”
“It’s not crazy at all.”
“Also, The Butcher has been trying to teach me how to fight. Well, I don’t know if you can call it that, but I am learning to take a good slap.”
I paused. “What?”
“I asked her to teach me, and, well, her methods are a little dubious.” Freya tilted her head to the side. “You hate it?”
“I don’t like the fact you have to even consider learning to protect yourself, but it’s a good idea,” I said, reluctantly.
Being my wife was going to come with a ton of problems. I knew that. Being a member of the Volkov Bratva was not easy. We had a lot of enemies, and someone was always waiting in the wings to take over. My time being a Brigadier had taught me that, and I knew it wasn’t going to change.
“So, you’re not mad?” she asked.
“No, why would I be mad?”
“You didn’t look happy.”
“Circumstances are making me unhappy. We’ll continue your training.”
“You’d do that?” Freya asked.
“Yes, but not tonight. Tonight, we’re going to eat, watch a movie, and relax.”
Freya went on ahead of me, and it looked like she already had the same idea. I saw the television was already paused on a movie. I didn’t know which one, but knowing my wife, it was a chick-flick of some kind. She was not into horror, nor action either. She didn’t like murder or death, or violence. I had to wonder how and why Ivan thought me and Freya were a good match. I didn’t mind death. I’d killed a lot of people.
The scent of beef filled the air, and my stomach rumbled.
Ivan had given Umberto time off. He’d given all of my staff some time off, including Rafael. Until we handled The Grid, no one was safe. My staff had gone into hiding for now. Ivan, once again was taking care of everything. I couldn’t help but wonder if there was anything that man couldn’t do.
I told Freya I was going to freshen up, and left to go to my bedroom. Entering my space, I looked to see if The Butcher had left anything for me. There was nothing. No letter, not even a threat. I took a quick shower, changed into a pair of shorts, and made my way back to the kitchen.
Freya was already serving our dinner, so I grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses. I knew she didn’t drink, but I poured her a glass just in case she would like to try some. I also took some water to the table, so she would have options. There, I was being a caring husband. I hated to admit it, but I had been a dick to her for no good reason.
Hearing some of the shit the brothers had said, that they would take turns teasing her, holding her beneath the water of the pool, or scaring her. No wonder she ended up with a house on her father’s land. I could imagine her locking that shit up tight. But then, I also remembered what she said about her father getting angry and trashing her space. Like I had trashed her quilt. I hated myself in that moment.
Freya hadn’t had an easy life. There had been no love. And it made me hate myself more for the way I’d been treating her. She didn’t deserve that kind of anger or aggression. Freya didn’t manipulate this wedding into being. This was between Ivan and Harris. My wife was innocent, and her reward was a shitty husband who didn’t appreciate her. She deserved a lot better than me.
This I did know: we were going to make this work. The more I learned about Freya, the more I wanted to make this life better for her. I knew if my mother and sister were alive, they would be embarrassed and ashamed by the way I had behaved. That was on me.