Page 43 of Desperate People

I feel safe now.

And that’s the only reason my eyes start to close and I somehow fall asleep in his car.

Chapter Seven-Balor

The ride through the tunnel is fast at this hour.

Empty streets.

Little traffic.

The city fades behind us like smoke in a rearview mirror.

But I don’t take her to my apartment in Manhattan.

Too open. Too obvious.

I take her to my home in Verona.

It’s nice. Protected. Far enough away from the city that never sleeps that I can breathe easier when I’m there.

Just the average New Jersey suburb with a little something extra, or at least I like to think so.

Close to Connor.

Close to Clementine.

Close to people I trust to guard what matters if I can’t be everywhere at once.

She’ll be safe here.

My estate is a fucking fortress.

I made sure of that.

I bought the property three years ago, gutted it to the studs.

Remodeled every inch.

Reinforced the windows. Smart locks. Perimeter alarms. Bulletproof glass in all the main rooms.

Fort. Fucking. Knox.

And now she’s here.

I radio the team at the gate as we approach, a secure line crackling in my earpiece.

“Lock it down.”

“Boss?”

“Full lockdown until I say so. No one gets in or out unless cleared by me directly. Understood?”

“Copy that,” comes the response.

The gates swing open silently.

The SUV hums up the long drive, tires crunching over stone.

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