Whatever the fuck that meant.
"Hush," I said as I stepped up to the next available kiosk to print my own ticket.
"Sweet! I got upgraded to first class!" Chloe said with a bright grin. My heart dropped into my throat, realizing I'd probably not get to sit with her on the plane. The moment I logged into my reservation, the same words stared back at me.
"I did too," I whispered, glancing over at Hugo when he held up his own First-Class ticket. "That's so weird," I said.
"Nah." Hugo shrugged it off as his brothers printed their tickets. "It happens a lot. It's hard to fill up first class since it’s a lot more expensive for what is basically just more leg room. So they randomly upgrade people if they get last-minute economy bookings when the flight is full. No use having empty seats," he explained. "That's why I booked our flights together. Just to be safe."
"Makes sense to me!" Chloe sang as she followed Hugo while he led the way through the airport.
I shoved down my feeling of foreboding as my tentative excitement built. I hadn't really let myself look forward to the trip, always believing something would go wrong at the last minute. My ticket would go missing. I'd get held up at security. I'd miss the flight for any number of reasons.
Although we had a long journey ahead of us, with a stop in Lisbon before landing in Madrid and getting a connecting flight to Ibiza, for the first time in what felt like forever, I was excited to see what was coming my way.
I just hoped I wouldn't regret it.
2 Rafael
My shoes tapped against the tile as I made my way through my home. Most of the men kept their distance from the main house even on a good day, but knowing that only hours stood between me and mi princesa being in my arms meant they most definitely were as far away as the island would afford them.
Regina stood in the kitchen, chopping garlic to cook something for Alejandro that night. My greatest regret in going to meet Isa was that I wouldn't get to eat it.
I hated being away from her cooking.
"Mi hijo, why must you pace so much?" she asked, casting a wrinkled smile my way. She'd been my mother's best friend once upon a time, the only reason I tolerated her overly familiar greetings. She was the closest thing I had to family.
Regina had even taken my mother's place in my father's bed after he burned her alive. Not that she'd had much choice in that matter. Miguel Ibarra wasn't known for his kindness to women.
"Where's Alejandro?" I snapped, snatching a bite of peach off her cutting board while she tutted at me and waved her knife in my face. Another day, I might have laughed at the audacity of the woman.
"If he's smart? Hiding," she said, wrinkling her forehead while she turned her face back down to the peaches. Glancing at the watch on my wrist, I frowned. Isa's flight was due to arrive in a matter of hours, and she would make her way to Ibiza Town shortly after.
I very much needed to be in the city before then, so I could ensure all my plans went off without issue. I detested depending on other people to move the pieces into place. Nothing set me on edge more than the lack of control I felt knowing that if the hotel manager failed to give Isa the invitation to the party at my hotel, she wouldn't come.
I'd kill the fool and then have to come up with an alternative plan.
"I know you are eager to see your Isa," Regina said with a smile as she wiped her hands on her apron and took mine in hers. The stickiness of the peaches touched my skin, making me frown in consternation. "But she will love you. How could she not with a face like this?" she asked, tapping the end of my nose. I scowled at her as I moved to the sink to wash the peach juice off my skin.
"I imagine it would be easy not to when he scowls all the time," Alejandro, my second in command, said as he stepped into the kitchen with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Where have you been?" I growled, my voice holding every bit of the warning that had sent the rest of my men running to the other buildings in the compound to keep busy. "I'm due to leave in less than an hour."
"Rafael, you will be gone for a week. We will survive with you off the island for a few days," Alejandro said, raising a brow at my impatience.
I scoffed. "I have complete faith in your ability to keep my home from burning down. I am more concerned with how your conversation with Pavel went." He pursed his lips in thought. The hesitation did not bode well for my desires to delay the bastard's requests for a meeting. "Regina could make a nice supper out of your tongue if you aren't inclined to use it," I warned him.
He sighed, finally opening his mouth to tell me what I needed to know. "He does not want to wait. We knew he would be impatient. His livelihood is at stake."
"More like his life," I returned. "I do not care what you have to do to make him understand, but I will have nothing to do with Pavel until I have Isa safe on my island. He will wait until I deem it an appropriate time to discuss his removal as Pakhan."
"I'm fairly certain talking about his removal won't help him lean toward patience," Alejandro said with a shake of the head.
"So remind him he has sons. He doesn't need five of them, but I could kill one for every opportunity he takes to annoy me," I said, making my way to the windows to overlook the pool
