Page 110 of Broken Promise
“Trying to make sure that Rafe doesn’t see me.”
Noah glanced around warily. “And why don’t you want Rafe to see you?”
“Because he’s not going to like that I’m here. Or that I’m about to ask you to do something that he’s against.”
Noah rubbed his chin. “If he’s against it, then I’m probably not going to like this either.”
Ever since I’d found out about Oskar’s plan, I knew that we had to make it happen. It was the only way to end things.
“I want to help draw my brothers out of hiding. They’re too smart to fall for just anything, and even though we can wait for them to get sloppy, I don’t want to wait that long. There’s way too much chaos they could cause in the meantime. The only thing they want as much as the Jewel of the Sea is me because I have too much information that can be used against them. If they think they can recapture me, they’ll try it.”
“You’re right. Rafe isn’t going to like this. And neither do I.” Noah’s face was like stone as he watched me.
I looked away from his penetrating gaze. He saw too much, just like his wife. But I had to convince him this was the best way to end this nightmare because I wasn’t sure how much longer I could live like this. I put a hand gently over my abdomen. Knowing that I had a little life growing in there only strengthened my resolve.
My child deserved to be safe and have both parents around. If anything ever happened to Rafe because he was trying to protect me, I didn’t know what I’d do. I could see it as clear as Noah sitting in front of me. If we didn’t end this soon, Rafe would get hurt.
“I know you don’t like it, but I think you’ll help me anyway.”
“Why is that? You’re perfect for him, by the way. Only Rafe would find a woman who was just as relentless as he is.”
I smiled at the comparison. “Relentless is how things get done. This is the only way that we can control things. I’d rather take a risk when we’ve planned for it, than to have my brothers come for me later. If we’re surprised, things won’t end so well for us. What if Rafe gets hurt?” I closed my eyes and then used my trump card. “What if Lucia gets hurt? Or, God forbid, the baby. I can’t live with myself if this goes badly and someone else pays the price. Can you?”
Noah’s fingers tightened around the pen in his hand. “What exactly do you propose we do? Because as much as I want to end this, throwing an innocent woman to the wolves isn’t something I’m willing to do.”
I gave him a fierce smile. “First you should know I’m not that innocent. And they might be wolves, but I am meaner and will fight dirty. I have a family to protect now. If I pose as bait, they’ll come for me. I’m sure of it. I can lead my brothers back to the loft. If we’re ready for it, we can make sure no one gets caught in the crossfire.”
Noah’s eyes were intense as he listened, but I was happy to see that hedidseem to be listening. He nodded along as I made my points and then thrust his hands through his hair.
“I don’t like this at all, but I can’t disagree with you. This is probably our best chance of keeping things contained. It’s still a risk though. Your brothers are unpredictable at this point. What if they don’t want to come back here and instead try to take you somewhere else? What if they want to fly you out of the country?”
Those were the same concerns that I had, but I couldn’t show any weakness or Noah would call off the whole thing.
“I acknowledge the risks, but we can plan for all those scenarios. Which is infinitely better than sitting here and waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
He watched me for a long time and then nodded once. I felt like I’d just gotten a royal seal of approval. We still had a lot of work to do, but this was a start.
“When should we do it?” I asked.
“The sooner the better. I’ll get the guys to come up with a plan, and then we’ll hopefully be ready to go within a day or two.”
“Good. The sooner we get this over with the better.” Not just because I wanted it to be over but because it was going to be really difficult to keep Rafe from finding out.
As if he’d read my mind, Noah sent me a frustrated look. “I only hope he doesn’t take me out once and for all after this is done.”
* * *
Rafe
I grinned at my niece as she crammed one of my fingers into her mouth. The grin quickly faded when the little scamp bit me. “No, Izzy. No biting Uncle Rafe.”
Isabella scrunched up her face but seemed to calm down when she realized I wasn’t taking my finger away,
“I can’t believe how strong she is,” I muttered when she clung possessively to my finger.
“Apparently, that’s what’s supposed to happen. Hope she didn’t get you too bad.”
“Nah, I’m tough. She’s my niece, so I’m going to give her whatever she wants. Besides it was only my finger.”
