She crosses her arms. “And then you leave.” Her brows furrow, and I bite my lip, remembering her earlier resistance to this trip once she learned we wouldn’t be staying for long.
I send Zachary a worried look, but he shakes his head as if I shouldn’t be bothered by her sadness. Instead, he says to Emmaline, “You will have fun on the island. There are a lot of nice people.”
“I guess,” she replies and grins again, thinking about something for a second before she asks, “Can I swim with the dolphins?”
Ah, sneaky little thing.
“We’ll see.”
“Daddy!” she exclaims and then raises her gaze to me. “Can you help me?” With her eyes just like mine begging me, my stomach flips and my heart melts while annoyance zips through me along with anger that probably won’t go away for a long time.
Why do I have to ask anyone’s permission in decisions regarding my daughter? Zach should have no more say in all this than me.
“Phoenix,” he calls my name softly, snapping me out of my dark thoughts, and leans closer to me, enough to catch my hand and place a gentle kiss on the back of it. “We spoke about this,” he murmurs against my skin, tickling it a little, and I snatch it back before I allow the sensation to erase my common sense.
A constant problem I have in his presence, so maybe I should just deal with it.
But he is right.
“We can’t tell Emmaline the truth yet.” He swallows my protest with a kiss before murmuring, “Not while we are hunted. Then you can claim our baby girl and do whatever.”
“I want legal documents, Zach. If you don’t give me my rights willingly, I will go to court for them,” I warn him, despite me lying on his chest, because I will never play second fiddle in Emmaline’s life. “And Sebastian has to know about her too. It’s his right.” He goes stone-cold under me, his eyes darkening, becoming almost reptile-like, ready for the attack, and he tightens his hold on me. Just the idea itself to involve Sebastian in Emmaline’s life kills him, but Sebastian has to know.
“After we catch the serial killer, we’ll do what you want,” he grates through his teeth before fusing his mouth over mine again, essentially shutting me up.
The plane touches the ground, and we bounce a little. Then it steadily moves onto the road while Emmaline claps loudly. “Yay! We’re here!” She lifts her hands up and then shouts so loudly I wince, “Patience, wake up! We’re on the island!” The woman startles in her sleep, choking on her snore before sitting up straight, gazing around her and putting her hand on her heart.
Once the plane stops, we unfasten our seat belts and get up, with the flight attendant opening the door to the plane and nodding to us. “I hope you have a great stay.”
“We’ll be here for two days, Marta. So, you guys have fun.” Her face lights up. She probably loves the prospect of spending some time by the beach.
The minute we step on the tarmac, I’m blinded by the sunlight, so I cover my eyes until my vision adjusts. I spot a man leaning on the hood of a black car.
His presence alone creates a dominant energy that almost makes it seem he is a king in this land of his.
His dark hair glistens under the sun as he straightens up, showcasing his height along with his piercing green eyes the minute he removes his sunglasses.
I even blink in surprise, not so much from the color but the void within and even… darkness? Despite the smile on his face, I think the man is almost lethal.
He wears black jeans and a shirt that stretches over his muscled body. Several tattoos grace his skin, and over all, he gives a don’t-fuck-with-me-or-else vibe, and to my shock, I exhale in relief inwardly.
Because Zachary is right. No one in their right mind will fuck with this man on his land. The unsub might not be afraid of Zachary since, in his head, he is a familiar person to him, and he has managed to hurt him, but he won’t be brave enough to venture into another man’s territory.
Whoever this man is… I think he holds a lot of secrets I would never want to uncover for fear of passing out from them.
“You certainly know how to make an entrance.” The man speaks up, his voice deep and husky, which sends shivers down my spine, as it’s almost sinister.
My God, who the hell is this guy?
I walk behind Zachary with Emmaline’s hand trapped in mine as we slowly descend the stairs, and Zachary laughs. “I aim to please.”
“Well, you informed me just hours ago about your visit. So, excuse me if everything isn’t top notch.”
“I’ll think about it,” he replies, and I expect him to shake hands with the man, but instead, they share a man hug with the guys slapping each other’s back.
“Good to see you, Zach. Wish it was under different circumstances.” He looks at me, his eyes almost drilling into me as he scans me from head to toe, but not in the way men usually do.
He has no interest in me as a woman. His gaze searches more for clues to my personality that can give him a hint about me. “You must be his woman.”
His woman?
Seriously?
Zachary wraps his hand around my shoulder, pressing me to him in a possessive display of ownership, and for the first time, I don’t mind.
Maybe because the man in front of me is so freaking scary I seek his protection. “Madman, this is my fiancée, Phoenix. And the girl peeking from behind her knee at you is my daughter, Emmaline.” I glance down to see her indeed doing that, just like she did when she saw me for the first time.
Then his name registers in my mind, and I swing my head back at him, my brows furrowing.
Madman?
The man laughs, although it’s so cold and detached I wonder why he bothers. “My name is Eudard Campbell. Madman is just a nickname.” If this was supposed to reassure me, it has the opposite effect, because my mind instantly plays pictures in my head that could have warranted such nickname.
He shifts his attention to Emmaline, and for the first time a genuine grin spreads across his mouth. “Hi, there. You are the princess your dad speaks about, huh?” She hides her face behind my knee again, and he drops his voice down to a whisper. “Do you want to know a secret?”
She looks at him, staying silent, but the desire to know the secret is too strong. People generally have low resistance when it comes to such things.
“I have a surprise inside the car for you.”
She gasps, “Really?”
“Yes. You dad said you love dolphins and would like to see one.”
Her loud squeal could have probably awakened the dead. “Daddy, there is a dolphin inside the car!” And she sprints to it with her sandals tapping loudly on the concrete as Patience hastily rushes off with her.
“Is there really a dolphin inside the car?” Zachary asks, and I blink at this, because what now?
Did he seriously just ask this guy if it might be true?
Once again, who the hell is this guy? Poseidon, the god of the sea?
I chuckle under my breath, thinking how the trident suits the guy, given his attire and all.
“The fluffy kind,” he replies, and then we see Emmaline opening the window and shaking the toy in her hand. “Look, Daddy!”
“Young miss, you are making too much noise,” Patience chastises her, closing the window while we continue to stand.