Cauldron walked down the stairs in dark jeans and a black t-shirt. Members of his staff were behind him, carrying his bags for his travels. His eyes locked on me when he saw me standing in the foyer, my rollaboard suitcase beside me. His look intensified as he came closer, until he was directly in front of me.
“I’m coming with you.” Our dilemma hadn’t been solved last night. We’d fucked on the couch then his desk. We’d somehow made it upstairs to my bedroom, and then he’d left me there. Exhausted, I just went to sleep.
“I thought this was resolved.”
I gave a slight shake of my head. “I meant what I said before. The only place I truly feel safe is with you.” Bones’s advice had been dead on. I could go anywhere in the world and Grave would follow me, but ever since I’d come into Cauldron’s possession, I was untouchable. A crowded room had never stopped Grave from pursuing me, except when Cauldron was in that room too.
His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked at me. “I have matters that require my attention. I don’t have time for you.”
“I understand.”
He turned to Hugo and gave a nod.
My luggage was taken with his and packed in the car. We sat side by side in the back and left the estate and headed to the private airport where his jet was waiting. He was on his phone the entire time, ignoring me just like he said he would. Then we were on the plane and, soon after, in the sky.
I looked out the window and watched Nice disappear as we headed across the Mediterranean. When I looked back at Cauldron, he was still typing on his phone, and the flight attendant had just brought us drinks and appetizers.
I saw the way she looked him over, trying to be discreet, but not discreet whatsoever.
It bothered me when it shouldn’t.
Hours later, we landed in Botswana, a place I had no knowledge of whatsoever. Lots of kids in school went on safari in Tanzania and South Africa, but none of them mentioned coming to the territory known for its diamond hoard.
We were ushered from the airport and into the countryside outside the city, where a private home was surrounded by a big wall. It reminded me of his French home, an oasis away from everyone and everything. Just like in Cap-Ferrat, there was staff to attend to our every need.
Cauldron didn’t stick around. He grabbed a gun and stuffed it into the back of his jeans before he headed to the door. He didn’t say goodbye to me. Didn’t say a word. Just disappeared out the door and headed to his next location.
Without him, I had no purpose, so I went upstairs to my bedroom.
TWENTY
CAULDRON
The armored tank traveled across the open landscape until it reached the rocky crevasses where the mines were tucked away. We came around the bend and spotted our site, the cargo trucks ready to sift through the dirt already shoveled in case anything was missed. Before the car came to a full stop, I got out and headed straight for Jeremiah. “Where are they?”
He turned to the peak of the mountain and nodded. “They’re on the north side. They dug straight into our tunnel in the middle of the night then caved ours in.”
“Did they now?” I stared at the mountain as if I could picture it all.
“They’ve been working all day to dig it out.”
“And we still don’t know the culprit?”
“They shoot on sight.”
I stared at the tunnel, my blood boiling underneath the surface.
“We could call in more men and have them ambushed from the north. But since we don’t know who we’re dealing with, wasn’t sure if that was wise.”
“Whoever it is, they have a death wish.”
“Perhaps they don’t realize it’s us.”
I scoffed. “Oh, they do.”
Jeremiah stared at the mountain for a moment before he looked at me again. “What do you want to do?”
“Pull all our men out. Cave in the entire mountain.”
Jeremiah stared at me as if he didn’t quite understand. “I’m sorry?”
“You heard me.”
“We’ll lose all our progress—”
“So will they. And do it when their men are inside.”
“They’re just villagers looking for work—”
“Well, they should have come to me if they were looking for work. Do it.”
Jeremiah continued to stare.
I turned to meet his look, showing him how little patience I had today.
“You aren’t thinking clearly—”
“Maybe if I shoot you in the head, I’ll be able to think more clearly.”
He stared, his eyes shifting back and forth. “We’ll do the demolition at nightfall when the excavation sites are empty. They’ll lose all their progress, just as we’ll lose ours, but innocent people only trying to feed their families won’t be sacrificed. I know that’s what you really want.”
I wanted to pull out my gun, but I let it sit in the back of my jeans. “What I want is to kill this motherfucker. So when he comes to the excavation site to see the destruction, I’ll put that bag over his fucking head.”