Page 108 of The Forbidden Billionaire
I shake my head. “I think I should be there when you address the team, Ella.”
“It’s nearly two p.m,” she says. “When can you get here?”
“I’ll contact Gabriel and see if he can arrange a heli flight for us, otherwise we’ll have to wait for Caesar. If Gabriel can, I suspect we’ll arrive around four p.m.”
“I can keep the team here for the afternoon. I’ll make something up, say we have an operational briefing. I should call the police.”
“He’ll be a flight risk. He’s smart, and he could give you the slip. Wait until I’m back, and we’ll see if we can work out who it is.”
She pauses. “Are you bringing Aurelia with you?”
“She isn’t going anywhere without me,” I say firmly.
“All right.” She’s smiling. “Let me know once you’re en route.”
“Will do.” I end the call.
I look at Aurelia. She’s white-faced but composed. I walk toward her and take her hands. “Don’t be scared. It’s good news.”
She lifts her chin. “I’m not scared.” But her eyes are full of fear.
I pull her into my arms and wrap them around her. “If you want, you can stay here, and I’ll ask Gabriel to put a member of his security team on the door.”
But she shakes her head. “I want to go with you.”
“Okay. I’d prefer that. I just wanted to give you the option.” I kiss the top of her head. “If I can, I don’t ever want to make decisions for you. It’s important to me that you know that.”
“I know.” She lifts her face, and I give her a long kiss.
When I finally move back, she says, “I should pack, then.”
“Okay, and I’ll call Gabriel.”
She nods and goes off to the bedroom.
I take my phone over to the window and look out at the ocean. I feel a twist of disappointment that our time here didn’t last longer. But we were only postponing the inevitable. It couldn’t last forever. At some point, we were going to have to return to the real world.
And now it looks as if we might finally have a clue as to who the bastard is.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Aurelia
My heart is in my mouth the whole flight back.
I know Luke isn’t going to leave me for a second, but it’s obvious that this man is obsessed with me, and that just creeps me out.
I’m both nervous and excited that this might be coming to an end. I haven’t had to think about it for as long as Luke, but over the last couple of days I’ve been looking back over the past few months and putting two and two together, and realizing just how worried Luke and my family have been for my safety.
It makes my skin crawl to think about all the messages they’ve intercepted. My neck prickles at the thought of this man hiding somewhere, watching me, fantasizing about me.
I think about the photos that Dom took and feel a wave of nausea. I was naked, although Luke insisted the duvet was up to my waist, and I was on my front, but even so, they showed me as vulnerable and subdued, humiliated and weak. I hate that Luke saw them. He’s not spoken about them, but it must have made him feel ill to see me lying there like that.
I lean my head on the window and look down at the hills of the Northland passing beneath us. Next to me, Luke squeezes my hand, but I don’t look around. I think about the company’s security team, and wonder if Luke’s right, and it is one of them. I don’t remember having problems with any of them. None of them ever asked me out, and I don’t recall being rude or rejecting any of them. But then I suppose the very fact that they’ve been stalking me suggests they’re slightly unhinged, so maybe they’ve taken something to heart that I can’t even remember.
Luke squeezes my hand again, and I look across at him. His brow is creased with concern. “You okay?” he mouths, because even though we’re wearing a headset with a microphone, he doesn’t want the member of Gabriel’s staff who’s flying the helicopter to hear.
I nod and smile, and he smiles back, but I know I haven’t fooled him. I’m not going to be all right until this is all over, and the guy is caught. I just hope it happens soon. I can’t keep on like this. I’ll be a nervous wreck.
