“Call it what you will, but I’m not staying here while Berkley is in London. She needs protection.”
“Kade sent security with her.”
“Would that be enough for you?” His mouth tightens slightly and I know I’ve hit my target. “While big brother is being a newlywed, I’m getting off of this island before he knows I’m gone. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t rat me out.”
X rolls his eyes and shoves his hands in his pockets. “I don’t agree with you leaving but I’m not a snitch. Just get back here as soon as you can. I don’t know what Kade is trying to keep from us, but it’s bad enough that he won’t let us leave.”
“That’s where you come in, middle child,” I say, tossing him a thumb drive. “I swiped that from Kade’s office right before the ceremony. Find out what’s on there and tell me what you find. I’ll be in the air for a while but I’ll check my emails when I land.”
“Will do,” he says, looking down at the drive and turning it over in his hands. “Why would he keep this from us?”
“Because he’s a hero?” I shrug, and X lets out a humorless laugh.
He comes over to me and for a second I think he’s going to say something but he pulls me into his arms and wraps me in a hug instead. “Watch your ass. I’m not over there to look after you.”
“Keep her safe,” I say, and we both know who I’m talking about even though he doesn’t answer me.
I grab my bag and slip out the back door of my place on the beach before I make my way to the landing strip. I convinced one of the flight teams to ready a plane for Kade and Collins for a surprise destination honeymoon. I thought it would be the best way to do it discreetly.
“Mr. Vaughn, are you here to bring your brother’s bag?” Avery, the pilot, looks at the bag I’m holding, and then his skeptical eyes sweep over my shoulder before coming back to me.
“Change of plans. We’re going to London.” I pat him on the shoulder as I climb the steps up the plane and settle in.
When he comes in after me he checks his watch and then raises an eyebrow. “I’m guessing we’re on the tail of the plane that left out of here just a few hours ago?”
“You are correct.” I grab the bottle of water next to me and take a drink. “No time to waste.”
“Yes, sir,” he confirms, and the crew readies for takeoff.
Once we’re in the air I feel better than I have since Berkley left the island. I might not be closer to her yet, but I’m in motion. There’s a lot of things that are still uncertain, like what danger our family is in, and how I’m going to convince Berkley to come back to the island with me. But one thing I know for sure is that I can’t let her get away. She slipped through my fingers the second she took off to London and I’m not going to let it happen again.
This time, when I show up on her doorstep, I’m keeping her.
Stolen to Keep… coming August 7th!
Sheltered by Alexa Riley
Blair Rosewood is preparing for her first day at her new job. She left her trailer park town to go to college and make something of herself. Now she’s in Charleston, South Carolina surrounded by people with money and she’s going to have to keep up. She hasn’t exactly ended up where she wanted, but she’s going to make the best of it.
But one night everything changes. Suddenly she’s taken from all that she knows and is being held captive by a man who is beyond obsessed with her. He’s created a paradise for her with no escape, and he won’t allow an inch of space between them.
How can he know so much about her? How can he look at her like he owns her? How can his big hands hold her captive yet be so gentle? How can she resist?
Warning: She’s been captured by a beast who refuses to let go of what he wants. But this brooding alpha has secrets of his own, and he’ll do everything he can to protect her from them.
Prologue Ryker
He didn’t deserve her. I knew that from the beginning. One look at her, and I knew she was too good for for him. Hell, she was too good for me too, but I still had to have her.
I’ve done my share of bad things, but this is probably the worst. It’s funny, though, because I haven’t lost a wink of sleep over it. And not for one second have I regretted my decision.
Even now as I watch her, I know what’s coming. I have to put an end to this, and she won’t like it. But I swore the first time I laid eyes on her that I’d do whatever it took to make her mine. And if that means breaking the law, then so be it. All I care about is if she’s in my arms in the end.
She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s a fighter. She’s going to fight me, fight for control, and even fight herself. She won’t want what I’m giving her, but eventually she’ll take it. Because she won’t have a choice. There will be no other option but me.
I look down at her sleeping body and she has no idea what’s about to happen. I brush a strand of hair away from her face, needing something before I go. I’m about to turn her world upside down, and this might be the last bit of peace I have for some time. The calm before the storm.
It’s still dark out, and though I want to stay longer, I can’t. I take one
