Southern Comfort - Natasha Madison Page 0,72

mean, I don’t want anyone to kill him, but I want to.” She tries to think of the words.

“You want to bury him?” Derek says with a smirk, and Dominic’s voice cuts in.

“Just get what we need, or else I’ll be the next one hanging in my cell,” he says, and I look over at Derek, and he nods.

“It should be taken care of tonight,” he says. “Call me back tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Dominic says and hangs up.

“Who was that?” I ask Derek, and he goes to the computer and types something, and the man’s face comes onto the screen.

“Meet Peter Bostrov,” Derek says. “Also known as ex-KGB.”

“What is that?” Olivia asks from beside me, and the need to hold her hand rips through me.

“It’s ex-military for Russia.” I look at her.

“Oh, perfect. I have an ex-Russian spy trying to kill me. God, and I thought today would be a good day.”

“It started out good,” I say, and she smiles at me.

“It might end with me dead.” She tries to joke, but it gets to me. “I mean, not literally.”

“This is the man who broke into the house, and who was setting traps on your property,” Derek says, and now it’s my turn to look at him. “What I didn’t tell you until I got confirmation was that he was setting up traps at your house. He was going to light it all up.”

“Oh my God,” Olivia says from beside me, and whatever strength and fierceness she had ten minutes ago is gone. “Your parents.” She looks over, and the tears are running down her face. “And the horses and your house.” The sobs rip through her, and she folds over. I grab her now in my arms.

“I’ll give you guys a minute,” Derek says. After he walks out of the room, I hold her face in my hands.

“Look at me, darlin’,” I say. She looks at me, and her eyes are so bright I could get lost in them. “Everyone is fine,” I say. “We got all of the traps out and took care of it. I also have people at the farm locking it down so no one is going to get hurt.”

“But …” She starts to say and puts her hands on my hips.

“But nothing,” I say. “Now I want to warn you. Today is going to suck,” I say. “It’s going to be the suckiest day you’ve ever had. But …?”

“It might be my last,” she says, and I want to say it can’t be her last because we are just beginning.

“Can’t be your last.” I kiss her. “I still have a bet that needs to be collected.” She smiles now, and then there is a knock on the door, and Derek comes back in.

“Feds are here,” he says, and I look at her.

“I need to wash my face,” she says, and I nod and show her where the bathroom is. Then I walk back into the room and see Derek standing there with the computer in his hand.

“Is she okay?” he asks, and I shake my head.

“You going to say how you feel before all this?” I look over at him. “I never thought I would see the day that badass cowboy Casey Barnes falls in love and breaks his whole I’m never getting married bullshit.”

“It’s not bullshit,” I say and then turn back to look at the closed door. “I’m not getting married.”

“Then you’re not as smart as I thought you were.” He plugs the computer in.

“What the fuck does that mean?” I ask.

“It means that if you don’t marry her, someone else will, and then what?” he says, knowing that it’s going to burn me. “You going to watch her come visit Kallie with her husband and kids and not kick yourself for letting her go.”

“She …” I start to say, and then the door opens, so I stop, and I look over at her. “You ready?”

“No,” she answers honestly. “But there is no time like the present.”

“Let’s do this,” Derek says, and he walks out of the room. I grab Olivia’s hand and walk with her into the conference room.

We walk in, and I scan the room and hear Olivia say from beside me. “Isn’t he the butler?” She points at the butler from the hotel.

“Special Agent Duchene.” He says his name. “Thank you for not being a diva.”

“Did you know?” She looks at me, and I answer her honestly.

“I did. They got to me right before we took off,” I say. “Shall we