“It is,” Llir agreed. “I always pictured New York as just one giant city. Are you sure that we’re at the right address?” he asked. “This place is huge.”
Tarek checked Llir’s cell phone and nodded. “Yep,” he said. “It’s the same address that your brother sent us. This place is great.”
“Let’s get settled and then we can figure out dinner. I’m starving,” Llir said. Tarek was used to Llir calling the shots, but he could tell that Elira wasn’t.
“Your brother’s message said that he had the house stocked for us and that we shouldn’t go out until he gives us the ‘all clear’. Do you think we were followed?” Tarek asked.
Llir looked around and shook his head, “No,” he breathed. “We should be good.”
Elira seemed to relax a little bit. “What now?” she asked. “Do we just stay here? Will it ever be safe for us to go out?” That was a good question. They couldn’t just stay in hiding for the rest of their lives. Tarek knew that agreeing to be with Llir and Elira would make him a target. The Tirana family would already know everything there was to know about him. Even Altin seemed to know his story. They couldn’t live the rest of their lives hiding, looking over their shoulders, afraid of their own shadows.
“Let’s get in and we can talk about what comes next,” Llir offered.
“You have a plan then?” Tarek asked.
“No,” Llir admitted. “I wish I could tell you that I did but the extent of my plan included getting us to America. Now that we’re here, I have no idea what to do next.” At least Llir was being honest with them. That was a start.
“Come on,” Elira grumbled. “We’ll just have to figure this out together, guys.” Tarek had to admit he liked the sound of that. He could get used to the three of them making all of their future plans together—including how things were going to work between them in the bedroom.
Elira unpacked her meager belongings and hid away up in the master bathroom, soaking in a tub. She did seem to like her baths. That gave him and Llir some time to talk and hopefully, get reacquainted.
The house was enormous for just the three of them, but then again, it was Altin’s safe house and Tirana’s didn’t seem to do anything small scale. Llir found him in the family room and sat down next to him on the sofa, handing Tarek a scotch on the rocks, just the way he liked it.
“You look like you could use this,” Llir said. He leaned into Tarek’s body and rested his head on his shoulder.
“I do need this,” Tarek said, downing half the drink.
Llir sighed, “I feel like I let you both down. I dragged you halfway around the world with no plan in place. What if coming here was a mistake?” he asked. Tarek hated the defeat he heard in Llir’s voice.
“Look at me,” Tarek ordered. Llir sighed and turned to face him. “You saved us by getting us out of Albania. Your father would have made an example of us if we stayed there. He wouldn’t have let you get away with what you did and sooner or later, he would have caught up with us, Llir.”
“I know,” Llir admitted. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and scrolled through some videos, pulling up one and handing his phone to Tarek. “This was on my surveillance cameras this morning, back at my apartment.” He took the phone from Llir and watched as Alek Tirana’s armed men broke down the front door and searched Llir’s apartment. The same place that they were living in just forty-eight hours prior. They would have found the three of them there had they been just a few hours earlier.
“Fuck,” Tarek growled. “That was way too close for comfort. If they would have found us, they probably would have killed us and taken you to your father. Llir, you getting us out of there saved our lives.”
“Sure, but now what?” Llir asked. Tarek was used to his guy being self-assured and completely in control. Seeing him like this threw him off.
“As Elira said, we’ll figure it out together,” Tarek offered. “I’d like to think she’s right and that we’ll make a pretty good team. I just don’t want to push my way into your relationship with her. You two seem to have a bond already.” Llir reached for Tarek’s hand and pulled him snug against his body.
“I think you’re forgetting that you and I also have a special bond already, too,” Llir reminded. “We spent three years together. I’m still in love with you, Tarek. Having Elira between us won’t change how I feel about you or the fact that I’m developing feelings for her. I think we can just take this one day at a time and see where it leads. Elira seems to be on board with the three of us trying to work our way through this.”
“After everything, she’s been through—you think that’s a good idea?” Tarek asked. “I don’t want her to feel like she has to do this.” He hated that what they were asking her for might make her feel uncomfortable. From what Elira had shared with him, she was a virgin when her handler and his men used her body for their own pleasure. She had shared so much with him that he felt bad about not so easily letting her into his life. They barely knew each other but he had to admit, the sexual attraction between the three of them was off the charts. He hadn’t even really touched her yet, but it was all he could think about.
“I want her to get to know me—the real me. I don’t want to start our relationship under any false pretenses.” Llir knew him—all of him, including the fact that his family ran a crime syndicate that rivaled the Tirana’s. The Garo family name didn’t hold the same weight when it came to Albania’s top families, but they were one of the top five in the country. He was wealthy without his photography business but he didn’t use his family’s money. It didn’t feel right to touch the blood money that funded their nefarious business. He hated everything about the syndicate that he was born into, no matter how his three older brothers had pushed him to join them in the family business. He didn’t take the same path as Llir but then again, as the youngest, he had options that Llir didn’t have with his family.
Tarek’s father let him walk away because he was expendable and that used to bother him. But after seeing what Llir had to go through, being the oldest, he counted himself pretty damn lucky to have been able to walk away from his family.
“You think it’s a good idea to tell her about your family?” Llir asked. “I mean, my family is a lot to accept, maybe we should let her get used to the Tirana’s before we introduce her to the fact that you’re a Garo.” He had a point but not telling Elira about his family felt like he’d be lying to her and that wasn’t how he wanted to start things out with her.
“I get it—she’s fragile, but I want to be completely honest with her,” Tarek said. “Like I was with you.”
“I’d appreciate that too,” Elira said. She shot Llir a look, letting him know that she had heard the part about not telling her the whole truth and Tarek felt bad for his guy. She was going to give him some shit and he had a feeling that poor Llir didn’t stand a chance going up against her. She was tougher than either of them gave her credit for. They were thinking of Elira as a victim and not a survivor. She fought hard to come back from what she had gone through. She even found a way to work past her fears and let Llir into her life and her bed. Now, Tarek was hoping for the same from her, and the only way to have that was to give her the truth.