I enter the bedroom again but Adelaide is nowhere to be seen.
Seeing as I already paid for the house, I had the keys and there was no need for a realtor. Leo and Terrance were out front. No one else should be in the house, but fear raced down my spine. I called out her name, but she didn’t respond.
Rushing downstairs, calling her name again, expecting the worst, I heard her calling out that she was in the kitchen. Breathing a sigh of relief, I made my way into the kitchen and found her with her hands spread out on the counter.
“This is a nice space,” she said. “It’s big. You could host family dinners. Invite some friends over. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Fucking you on every single counter?”
She giggled. “No, we’re not thinking the same thing. I’m thinking Thanksgiving and Christmas. How about Halloween? We could decorate this place for when or if we have children.” I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around her.
“When, Adelaide. When we have kids.” I’d not been one for special occasions. I’d never celebrated a single Christmas or Halloween, or Thanksgiving. None of them had been important to me. Survival had. Kissing the top of her head, I breathe her in.
“I love the place, Andrei.”
“Good.”
“But you need to go, don’t you?” she asked.
“Yeah, I do.” I don’t want to let her go.
This is crazy. I’m not the kind of man to act this way, but the thought of leaving my wife fills me with regret.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll be here,” she said. “I can’t go back to the penthouse, can I?”
“Not today.”
She nodded. “You already bought this place, didn’t you?”
“How did you know?”
“The closet, you’ve already started to fill it with your suits.” She put her hands on my hips. “When will I get to see casual Andrei? Will he come back?”
“He will. He’s already here.” I kissed her temple, not wanting to leave her alone, but also knowing there was no choice.
Ivan expected a meeting and I had to contact Rage. Assuming he wasn’t pissed off from being ignored. While I’d been on my honeymoon, Ivan had been sure to send pictures to Rage of Lottie’s progress. Ive had eventually allowed her to shower and change, but even those images had been used to help our cause. The young woman was clearly special to Rage, and that was coming in handy right about now.
“Go,” Adelaide said, letting me go. “I’ll be here, waiting.”
I kissed her again. “I’m leaving Leo,” I said.
She had asked me not to be angry at him. It wasn’t Leo’s fault, and I doubted he would accept any beverage from her anytime soon.
I have no choice but to leave. As I do, I order Leo to keep an eye on my wife. Terrance is already seated in the driver’s seat as I climb in the back, cell phone in hand. I contact Rage and wait. Three rings and he picks up.
“What the fuck took you so long? If anything happens to Lottie…”
“You are not in a position to question me,” I said. “Lottie’s survival will depend on you, Rage.” I give him the location of the penthouse. “Be there in an hour. If you don’t, then I can assume you don’t care what happens to her.”
Hanging up my cell phone, I slide it into my jacket and sit back. There is no relaxing for me.
Having Rage in my penthouse is not the ideal situation for me. He is still a member of the Evil Savages MC, and for all I know, he could be playing me. I don’t trust anyone. Never. My penthouse would be tarnished after this.
Terrance drives us to the penthouse and I see Ivan’s car is already in my slot, so Terrance parks in the closest available space.
Ivan is the boss. He knows what he’s doing, but I have to wonder if I should question the man’s sanity.
Arriving at my penthouse suite, I walk in to find the place tidy. There’s nothing out of place, and Ivan is sitting at the dining room table, shuffling cards.
“Did you arrange it?” he asked.
“I made the call. He should be arriving in twenty minutes.”
“Excellent. Can I interest you in a whiskey?”
I shake my head and take a seat opposite him.
“Did she like the house?” Ivan asked.
“Yes. You knew she would.”
Ivan smiled. “There’s a lot I don’t know.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
Ivan didn’t speak. He flicked the cards over, one by one, and then gathered them up. “I don’t see the addiction to cards. The winning part, I get, but all numbers on some card never appealed to me. People waste so much of their money on the flick of one of these bad boys. Do you get it?”
“We’re talking about cards?”