I shot an encouraging smile in Juliana’s direction as she wrapped her lips around the fork in my hand. After our session in the playroom the day before, I had soaked in a hot bath with her for a couple of hours before drying her off, rubbing her body down with lotion, and cuddling with her until I got her out of bed this morning.
“That’s my good girl,” I quietly praised. She smiled a little. I tucked her hair behind her ear. “Proud of you.”
James stormed into the dining room, breaking our tender moment. I jerked my head up to look at him, my free hand settling on Juliana’s thigh in a protective gesture.
“She almost done eating?” James asked.
I nodded, setting her fork down. “What’s going on?” I asked him. Juliana’s hand settled over mine. I looked down at her. Her eyes were filled with nervousness and uncertainty. I flipped my hand over and gently circled my fingers around hers, giving them a light squeeze as I looked back up at my brother.
“Andres has decided to retaliate. He showed up at the club last night. Fucked up two of the girls so badly they’re in the hospital.” I gritted my teeth, my entire body tensing. “I have a safe house set up for her,” James told me, inclining his head in Juliana’s direction. “It’s up in the mountains. Completely remote. Surrounded by trees. She’ll be dropped off at a certain point, and the rest will have to be trekked by foot. There’s no electricity, no running water. It’s completely off the grid.”
“I’m going with her,” I told him without hesitation.
James nodded. “I figured. I’ve already sent three men up there to stock up some nonperishable shit before you two get there, but if I can’t get this taken care of in time, you’ll need to learn how to get your own food.”
I nodded once. That wasn’t hard. Growing up, Dad had thrown James and I into the woods a lot, forcing us to survive off the land for a couple of weeks before allowing us to come home.
It had been brutal. It fucking sucked. But we lived. And it gave us survival skills we wouldn’t have otherwise. Being a member of this family didn’t always mean we lived lavishly. Sometimes, like now, we had to go off the grid.
“You two have got three hours to get together everything you need. I’m giving you keys to a truck,” he said, tossing them to me. I easily caught them in my free hand. “There’s a map on the driver’s seat that will lead you to a private airport. From there, you’ll fly to the country I’m putting you two in. One of my men will drive you two to the mountains. From there, you’ll follow the second map to get you to the cabin. It’ll also be cold as fuck where you two are going, so pack accordingly. No electronics whatsoever. Got it?”
“Got it, brother,” I told him. I stood up and grabbed Juliana’s hand in mine, gently pulling her up from her seat as well. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and handed it to James as I walked past him.
He stopped me with a hand on my arm. He moved so he was standing in front of Juliana. She swallowed nervously as she looked up at him. I gently squeezed her hand, a silent reminder that my brother would never harm her.
“I know your family let you down a hell of a lot,” he told her. Tears sprang to her eyes. I gently squeezed her hand again. “But you’re part of my family now, Juliana. All of us here will do everything we can to protect you.”
With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room. She looked up at me, but I just smiled at her.
“Welcome to the family, baby girl,” I gently told her before leaning down to claim her lips in a soft kiss.
I led her up the stairs to our room. Once the door was shut behind us, I cupped her face in my hands and pressed my lips to hers. “Get some sleep, baby girl. I’m going to pack and then touch base with James one final time before we leave, okay?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry about all of this trouble,” she said softly.
I shook my head, tucking her hair behind her ears. “You’re mine, baby girl, and I always take care of what’s mine,” I reminded her. I pressed another kiss to her sweet lips. “Get some sleep. You’re going to need every bit of rest you can get because if I know my brother, we’ll end up making this damn trek through the woods in the fucking dark.”
She nodded. I kissed her again before sweeping her up into my arms, gently laying her on the bed. I slipped her shoes off of her before I covered her up. “Sleep well, little girl.”
She leaned up on her elbows and pressed her lips to mine before laying back down, curling up, hugging my pillow to her chest.
Fuck, she was so goddamn sweet.
Shaking my head, I walked to our closet and pulled down a backpack. I began stuffing clothes into it, rolling them tightly so I had more room to pack what we would need. I didn’t want to carry more than one bag since I knew I would be helping Juliana along the rough terrain, and I had no idea how long this walk to the cabin would be.
After double-checking I had everything I needed, I quietly left the room and went to my brother’s office. He looked up when I stepped in. “Everything good to go?” he asked me.
I nodded. “Everything is packed. I’m assuming when you said supplies, you meant shit to bathe with, right?”
He nodded. “Just remember, there’s no running water.”
I waved my hand in dismissal. “I’m sure I can boil some water, let it cool, and bathe that way.” He nodded in agreement. “Now, walk me through the protection you’re putting on me and Juliana.”
“Twenty men will be in the mountains with you,” he told me. “Forty total on the protection team, but they will work in twelve-hour intervals.” I nodded. “You won’t see them, but they’ll see you. Jaxon is the head of that team, and he will touch base with you every day to let you know whether or not I’ve given him any new information and to also let you know if there have been any sightings.”
“Understood,” I told him. And I was glad to hear that Jaxon was heading everything. I trusted that man with my life. “Airport – is it completely secure?”
James nodded. “I purchased this land myself. You’ll land on a frozen lake. Where I’m sending you two is extremely off the grid, Darren,” he warned me. “We didn’t deal with this kind of shit growing up. You’re going to have to be extremely smart about what you’re doing. I seriously can’t stress this shit enough.”
“I know, brother,” I assured him. He had to know I wouldn’t do a damn thing that would put my woman at risk.
He nodded. “I’m sorry this shit is happening when you two just found out Juliana is pregnant,” he apologized.
I shook my head. “This will hopefully give her time to come around to the idea,” I told him. “So, it’s not that big of a deal.”
He frowned at that. “She taking it hard?”
I just nodded, not saying anything else on the matter. He nodded in understanding, respecting my boundaries. “I won’t see you when you two leave. So, take care, yeah?”
I clapped his shoulder. “Always, brother.”