One of the things that Paul liked most about Andrew was that he wasn’t afraid to torture their enemies for information. It showed his loyalty to the organization. To Paul.
Paul didn’t feel bad in the least that this Russo had narrowly escaped being killed by pirates, only to die by torture at Andrew’s hands. His only concern was finding the rock Elodie had crawled under. He wouldn’t let her get away. He was Paul fucking Columbus. She should’ve been more grateful to him for giving her a job. Shouldn’t have said no. Shouldn’t have run. But now that she had, she’d signed her own death warrant. He’d look weak if he didn’t take care of her.
Andrew nodded and left the room as silently as he’d entered, but Paul didn’t even notice. He was too lost in the visions of payback running through his head.
More and more often Paul found himself obsessing over things that hadn’t gone as he’d wanted. Replaying different outcomes in his mind. His sons had subtly indicated they were worried about his mental health, but Paul brushed away their concerns. His kids just wanted to be in charge. Especially Jerry. Paul knew they were calling him paranoid behind his back…but he’d show them. Once he took down Elodie, things would settle again. He didn’t like loose ends, and the chef was a huge one.
Paul’s impatience was reaching its peak, but knew he could count on his capo. Andrew would find Valentino and get the information they needed to find the bitch.
She might think she was safe. But no matter how much time passed, Elodie Winters would never be safe from him.
Chapter Eleven
“I’m going for a run.”
The words barely registered in Elodie’s brain. She squinted her eyes open and saw Scott hovering over her. He had on a tank top and a pair of running shorts. She frowned. “What time is it?” she asked sleepily.
He smiled and leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Early. Go back to sleep. I’ll be gone about an hour and a half or so.”
“You’re going to run for an hour and a half? Are you nuts?”
He chuckled. “I’m a SEAL,” he said as if that explained it. Then he turned and headed for the door. Before he got there, he turned again and came back to the side of the bed. He leaned over once more and put his hand on her cheek. “For the record…I like having you here in my bed. Thank you for last night.” Then he kissed her on the lips and was up and moving before she could respond.
Shifting on the mattress, Elodie smiled. She was delightfully sore in all the right places. But glancing at the old-fashioned clock radio on the table next to the bed turned her smile to a grimace. Four-thirty. It was way too early to get up, especially considering it was her day off. She’d sleep for a bit, then get up, shower, and make breakfast for Scott.
She actually looked forward to cooking for the first time in a long while. Breakfast wasn’t exactly haute cuisine, but she made a mean eggs benedict if she did say so herself.
Turning over, Elodie inhaled the scent of Scott, lingering on his pillow, and closed her eyes.
She woke up later groggy and disoriented. When she looked at the clock again, she saw it was nearly nine in the morning.
Shit! She’d totally overslept. Sitting up, she also realized she was still completely naked. Bringing the sheet up to cover her chest, she inhaled deeply. It smelled like she was way too late to impress Scott with her prowess in the kitchen this morning. The scent of coffee, bacon, and bread filled the room.
Elodie climbed out of bed and went into the attached bathroom. She took a quick shower, making sure not to get her hair wet since it took forever to dry, and contemplated what she could wear after to greet Scott.
He had literally ripped her dress practically in half in his hurry to get her naked last night. Not to mention her underwear was probably still in the foyer of his apartment. She debated rummaging through his drawers, and decided she was going to have to. There was no way she was going to parade out into his living room without a stitch of clothing on.
Since it was a bit chilly in the mornings, she grabbed a long-sleeve gray dress shirt from his closet. She also found a pair of sweatpants that would work for now. They were huge on her, and she had to roll the bottoms so she didn’t trip over them, but at least she was warm.
Elodie knew she looked ridiculous, but she didn’t care. Wearing Scott’s clothing was intimate, and after last night, when they’d both gone at each other like sex-starved jackals, she figured he wouldn’t mind.
She took a long look out at the ocean from the window in his room and sighed. She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of that view. She hadn’t had time to appreciate it last night. And besides, it had been dark. But if she lived here, she’d buy one of those overstuffed comfortable easy chairs and plant it right in front of the window so every time she looked up, she’d see the serene Hawaiian surf. Looking at the waves was soothing; being in them, not so much.
In the past, when she’d woken up in a man’s apartment or house after sleeping with him, and not really knowing him, she’d felt awkward, making up whatever excuse she could think of to slink out as fast as possible. But surprisingly, she wasn’t embarrassed at all by her behavior from the night before. Being with Scott felt right. And easy. She couldn’t wait to spend the day with him, despite knowing she needed to spill the beans about her complicated life.
Eager to see him again, Elodie wandered out of his room and into the living area of his apartment. He was sitting at the end of a small table next to the kitchen, drinking what she assumed was coffee.
The second he saw her, his eyes lit up and he smiled and stood. “Come ’ere, sleepy head,” he said, holding out a hand.
Elodie padded over to him without hesitation. He pulled her into him, then sat, shifting her so she sat across his thighs.
“Morning,” she said softly.
“Morning. You sleep okay?”
“Like a rock. You?” she asked.
“Better than I have in months,” he returned.
“How was your run?”
“Good.”
“I can’t believe you ran for an hour and a half,” she muttered.
“I actually felt so good, I went for two hours,” he informed her.
Elodie shook her head. “Right, so we should talk about this now. I’m not a fan of exercise. I mean, I like to walk and hike, and go see beautiful wildlife and nature stuff, but I’ve never been the kind of person to like to exercise because it’s a healthy, responsible thing to do. We’ll never be the kind of couple to participate in partner marathons or stuff like that. I’ll go and watch and cheer you on, but I’m not going to strap a number on my chest and run for fun.”
Scott threw his head back and laughed so hard, Elodie thought he was going to fall out of the chair. When he got himself under control, he looked at her and said, “Noted. What about bike rides?”
“Only if there aren’t any hills and you get me an electric bike,” she quipped.
“Swimming?”
“In a pool or hot tub, where I can bob up and down and have a drink in my hand, yes. You already know how I feel about the ocean.”
He chuckled. “Can you swim?”
“Of course I can swim,” Elodie told him. “I’ll never make the Olympics. And swimming back and forth, watching that black line on the bottom of the pool? That’s boring as hell.”