one of them. I’m cold and unapproachable for a very good reason and just take the whiskey the attendant hands me without passing a remark.
Sophia asks for a water and turns to look outside the window and I wonder what is going on inside that pretty little head.
As the jet taxis down the runway, I lean back and close my eyes, shutting the world out. I need this time to prepare myself mentally for a challenge that was always on the horizon.
21
Sophia
This is my worst nightmare and I can’t even speak. The emotion is tearing me up inside and I never saw this one coming. Who is this man beside me because he’s not the man I gave myself to and enjoyed getting to know? This man is a stranger and from the looks of him, he’s withdrawing from me as well as himself.
He’s taking me to them—it’s obvious. I didn’t even get a say in the matter; he made my decision for me. Is he handing me over to set himself free from whatever hold they have over him? It certainly feels that way and now I’m right back where I started, in trouble.
Briefly, I wonder what Tobias would do if he could see me now. Flying straight to the enemy. The only hope I have is that Ashton thought it was a necessary step. She told me to trust Maverick, but how can I trust someone who has kept such an important piece of information to himself? Would I have come if he told me—I doubt it but now I’m here, I feel curious to see where this will lead. Am I to be married off to a rival family to prevent a war? Is this the only solution to a problem none of us wants?
Then there are the Romanos. I’ve heard of them, of course, but never took the time to really listen. Now I’m a fool because I’m going in blind. Whatever my fate is, it’s a very different one to what I hoped for and yet the man sitting beside me is the only one I have ever fully trusted. Yes, I’m a fool because he has shut me out and I’m not sure if he will ever let me back in.
I look around and see the usual set up. Black clad guards that are all from the same mold. Courteous to a point, hiding a deadly heart. One false move and my life would be over—it feels as if it already is.
We don’t speak for the entire journey, mainly because Maverick doesn’t open his eyes. I know he’s not sleeping, it’s obvious, but he’s shutting me out and I can only hope it’s for a very good reason.
Three hours later, we touch down and I see a place that is unfamiliar to me. The sun is shining and has wide open spaces and leaning over, I whisper, “Where are we?”
“Florida.”
I lean back and look with interest at a place Tobias never wanted to visit. I never really understood why, but the reason is probably all around me. The Romanos. They own this state and I’m guessing Tobias avoided it for that reason.
As the jet comes to a stop, the doors open and I sigh as I see the usual fleet of black cars waiting. Some things never change and so I follow Maverick to the door and without speaking, take my seat beside him in the second car. There are no words spoken and Maverick is keeping his cards close to his chest. The guards give nothing away and I wonder what hold they have over Maverick to send a jet and guards to bring him here. They obviously want him badly because this is quite something.
Once again, we don’t speak and I guess it’s because the walls have ears and I’ve lived in this world long enough to know that conversations are reported back. So, I sit beside Maverick and say nothing. There are no looks, no gestures and no indication that we even like each other, which makes me think he is delivering me straight to Satan himself.
It takes another forty minutes before we sweep through large electric gates into paradise. I thought I lived in a mansion, but this is something else. There must be acres of grounds, all manicured to the point of ugliness. Nothing out of place and so much wealth it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Drug money, extortion, and built on the bones of the