Page 109 of Romancing His Heart

“Fuck.” My insides coil so tightly I feel sick to my stomach. “He can’t get his hands on her.”

“Ash is dispensing a team to your place for her now. But, Loki? You have to keep your distance until this thing is over. Vic is counting on you going to her.”

“I can’t leave things the way they are. We’re looking at a couple of months, at least, to collect enough evidence to put that fucker away. I-I can’t let her go off to God knows where thinking I don’t care about her.”

“Call her,” Luca suggests.

“This isn’t something that can be done over the fucking phone.”

“You might have to ask Ashton to talk to her for you then,” Seth admits. “It’s too risky to go yourself, and you know it.”

Lunging forward, I send my fist through the sheetrock. Then do it again, and again before Seth wraps his arms around my biceps and pulls me away.

“Loki, calm down, man. This isn’t forever, but you have to do the right thing here.”

“Fuck you. Going to her is the right thing,” I scream.

I know it deep down in my soul. Leaving things as they are, however temporary it may be, is a death sentence. Swallowing my pride, I choke out, “Please, Seth. I know how she thinks. Please help me get to her so she knows I’m not abandoning her. Everyone in her life has left.” I gasp for air like it’ll be my last as a surge of panic overtakes me.

“Jesus, Loki. Calm down.” Seth releases me as Luca grabs water from the bar. Uncapping the bottle, he hands it to me, and we all notice my hands shaking.

“I’m losing my fucking mind,” I mutter.

“Women will do that to you, brother.” Luca chuckles. “Try having one yell at you in Russian while hormonal and crying. It gets ugly, quick.”

Staring at my half-brother, I see a man instead of an enemy and nod.

“You know you’ll have to go into hiding?” I ask him. “Just because we put Vic away won’t mean you’re in the clear. It could take years to get to her father.”

Luca pulls at the back of his neck angrily. It’s something I often do, too.Did our father do that?I shake that thought away before it fully forms. Who gives a fuck what that piece of shit did.

“Yeah, I know. I’ve saved every cent I’ve ever made from the FBI. They froze all my other assets, and rightly so. I’m just glad I had to foresight to have my paycheck deposited into a legal account.”

“Are you worried about money?” I’m shocked by the level of concern I have for him, a man that’s been an enemy my entire life.

“No, Nadja and I won’t need much. The agency should be able to set us up nicely enough.”

I glance at Seth, and with a nod of my head, he knows I want him to look into that. Luca has lived the same life I have, but I have considerable means at my disposal, thanks to my parents. I’ll make sure they have all they need to live comfortably.

“We’ll make sure of it,” I promise.

I place the water bottle on the table just as we hear the front door chime indicating someone is here.Why the fuck didn’t the alarms go off?Seth has pulled his weapon and is already hugging the doorframe with Luca right behind him.How am I the only one unarmed?

“Loki? Where are you?” Ashton yells from the foyer.

“Jesus Christ, Ash. Warn us next time,” Seth yells, walking into the hallway. “I could have shot you.”

“Don’t be so trigger-happy, you asshole. I locked this place down. No one is getting in without the password and a biometric key,” Ashton fires back.

Luca places his Glock back in its holster and walks to the couch, shaking his head. “You’ve got some pushy friends. You know that?”

I laugh because it’s true. “Yeah, I know. But they’d take a bullet for me in a heartbeat.”

Luca nods with an unreadable expression on his face. “I hope to find that someday,” he mumbles.

Crossing the room, I place my hand on his shoulder. “You just did, Luca. We have your back.”

“Thanks, Loki. That … it means a lot to me.”