“What do you need me to do, Llir?” he breathed.
“For starters, I need you to pick up our new passports so that we can go to America. I have a guy who can forge them but I can’t leave my apartment,” he said.
“Is that where you two are staying?” Tarek asked.
“Yes,” he admitted. “You’re still the only one who knows about this place and I’d like to keep it that way.”
“No one will find out where you are hiding out from me, Llir. I wouldn’t do that to you,” he promised.
“Thank you,” Llir whispered.
“Text me your guy's information and I’ll go by to pick up everything tomorrow, if that works,” Tarek said. “I can sneak over to your place tomorrow evening.”
“That would be great,” Llir said. He wasn’t sure how he felt about seeing Tarek again. A part of him was dreading having a face to face with him and the other part of him felt giddy at the prospect.
He turned to find Elira standing in the doorway of the bedroom. He was hiding in there to make his phone call, hoping to keep his conversation private. “How much of that did you hear?” he asked.
“Enough,” she admitted. “We’re going to America?” she asked.
“Yes,” he breathed. “It’s the only way to keep you safe and stay one step ahead of my father.”
“You believe this man that you called will keep our location a secret?” she questioned.
“I do,” he said. He hoped that would be enough of an answer for her but by the smirk on her face, he was sure it wouldn’t be. He sighed and put his hands on his hips. If she knew him better, she’d know that was his go-to move when he was trying to avoid having a conversation. Elira crossed her arms over her chest and waited him out. “Fine,” he barked. “I trust him because we were in a relationship together for three years. I was in love with him. Hell, I’m still in love with Tarek but I can’t come out to my family. My relationship with a man would not be acceptable to my father.”
Elira giggled, something she hadn’t done much of since he brought her to his apartment to stay with him. She was usually quiet and hid away from him. The only real-time she spent in the same room with him was when they were having a meal, in the kitchen, and at night when they shared the same bed. She put up a fight every single night for the past couple of months. Elira threatened to sleep on the sofa, the floor, and the table, every single night. And every night, he’d talk her down and convince her to stay in his comfortable bed. Something about having her in his bed helped ease his mind enough to get a few hours of sleep. Actually, he hadn’t slept this well since he had Tarek in his bed and he wondered what that was about.
“What’s funny?” he asked.
“Just that your father doesn’t seem to approve of any of your choices. He wouldn’t have approved of your relationship with a man and he wants to kill us both over your decision to purchase me. You just can’t seem to win, Llir,” she teased.
He couldn’t help his smile, It had taken him over two months but he felt as though he was finally getting to see the real Elira—not the sad, scared woman he took home from that auction stage.
“No, I can’t. But I do know that I can trust Tarek.” He reached for her hand and was surprised when she let him hold it. “We can trust him. It’s not safe here for us. We need to get to America. My father’s reach isn’t as far as he’d like it to be. If we can get to America, I have some contacts there who will help us out.”
She got quiet and he thought that she was going to protest his plan. “Did you mean it when you told him that you want me?” she whispered. He didn’t pull her up against his body like he wanted. He refrained from sealing his mouth over hers—something he wanted more with each passing minute.
“I did,” he breathed.
“And that you felt a connection to me?” she said. “You said that too. Did you mean it?” she asked.
“I did and I do. I can’t explain why I jumped up on that damn stage and grabbed your leash. At first, I thought I had just lost my mind. Maybe I was in denial since it’s only been a few months since Tarek broke things off with me, and I didn’t want to admit how lonely I’ve been feeling. Maybe I saw that same loneliness in your eyes and that made me feel some strange connection to you. But I do know that I couldn’t let anyone else bid on you. I couldn’t let someone else touch you,” he whispered. Llir took a chance and stroked a strand of her long, dark hair from her face. It had fallen forward when she refused to look at him. He hooked his finger under her chin and raised her face so that she had to look into his eyes. She stared him down, defiance in her brown eyes and he knew she still wasn’t ready to ask him for what she so obviously wanted. He wouldn’t touch her without her permission and he wouldn’t break his promise to her now.
“As soon as we have our passports, we’ll leave for America. My father won’t be able to get his hands on you there,” he promised. He dropped his hand from her face and turned to leave the room. “I’ll order us some dinner and will let you know when it gets here.” He didn’t bother to turn around and look back at her. She wasn’t going to change her mind and he wouldn’t beg. After all, he was still a Tirana.
Elira decided to shower before their dinner was brought up to the apartment and he took his alone time to program his new cell phone. He knew that he’d have to destroy his old phone but before he did, he needed to wipe the memory. He turned his phone back on and found so many messages from his father and brothers that he almost turned it right back off again. He wasn’t a coward and running from his family wasn’t going to be possible forever. He pulled up his father’s number and hit send. He was going to have to face him sooner or later. With Elira in the bathroom for a few minutes, now was as good a time as any to face down the patriarch of his family.
His father answered after two rings, “Hello,” he shouted into the phone.
“Father,” Llir said.
Llir paced the room, watching the door for Elira to come out. The last thing he wanted was for her to think that he was selling her out. If she knew he was talking to his father, she’d think that he was betraying her and he had done so much work to earn her trust over the past couple of months. He was a fool for returning his father’s call before destroying his cell phone, but he didn’t think he had much of a choice. His father had left many threatening messages and Llir secretly hoped that he’d be able to talk his father down or at least explain himself to his father and beg for mercy—if not for himself then for Elira.
“You’re a fool, Llir,” his father spat as soon as he heard his son’s voice. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done to the family by taking that whore? Tell me where you are and I’ll send someone to come pick you up.”
“She’s not a whore, father,” Llir challenged. “She was innocent until she was abducted and raped by her handler and his men. She was a virgin, father.” He hoped to play on his father’s sympathies but he should have known better. Alek Tirana didn’t have a sympathetic bone in his body.