Page 71 of No Control
“Henry!” I cry out as he drives into me unabashedly, his groans primal and angry. His grip on me tightens, and consequently, the blade breaks my skin. I let out a scream at the burning sensation and Henry roars, ramming into me one last time. He drops the blade to the ground as he falls forward against me, releasing.
“Lydia…" he groans. He pulls out of me as soon as he finishes, spinning me around to face him. His eyes grow wide as my hand shoots up to my throat. I pull it away, relieved that it’s only a small cut. “I’m so sorry, Lydia.”
I wipe more of my blood on the tip of my fingers and shake my head as I press it to his lips. “It was exactly what I needed.”
His lips part, sucking them into his mouth. My breath catches as his tongue runs along my skin. Henry’s eyes stay locked with mine while he cleans my fingers off. Finally, I pull them away, and use my thumb to wipe away the red smear beneath his bottom lip.
“Thank you,” I whisper, a small amount of relief pulsing in my veins.
“Don’t thank me for ruining you,” he tells me in a husky voice, brushing his fingers across the small cut. “Go pack. We need to go.”
***
Thirty minutes later, I’m climbing into an SUV I don’t recognize with a driver that might be even more terrifying than Henry.
“This is Luca.” Henry clears his throat from beside me, nodding to the dark-headed and black-eyed man in the front seat. He looks like he belongs in the mafia, his biceps nearly as large as my face. I want so badly to pull out my phone and take a picture to send to Emma…
But I don’t think he’d appreciate that.
“You’re looking stressed this evening, Lydia.” He cocks a brow at me. “You should relax a little.”
What a compliment.
I glance over to Henry, who’s stifling a chuckle behind Duke sitting between us. I nearly smile at the rare sight, but then my mind reminds me of the assailant that fell on top of me—and whose body I had to step over while I was packing. Bile shoots up the back of my throat.
Swallowing it, I turn to Henry. “Where are we going?”
“To your ride,” Luca answers before Henry can. “Don’t ask any more questions. It’s better to just go along and keep your mouth shut. It’ll keep you out of trouble.”
Henry gives me a look, and I fall silent for the next forty-five minutes, staring out the window as the car travels down the highway, the ocean view fading away. Luca eventually turns into a small airport, maneuvering through dark hangers until we reach a small private jet, parked out front of a large white metal building.
I want to demand from Henry that he tell me where the hell we’re going, but I keep it in, resigning to leading Duke to the plane while Luca and Henry grab bags. They talk in low voices that I can’t make out, and so I focus on getting Duke settled. I pull my phone out one last time, checking for service. There isn’t any.
I slide it back into my pocket and settle in, finding a seat on the plane. Fatigue pulls at my eyelids, but I’m too scared of what I might see in my dreams. Henry pats Duke, who’s sitting on one of the couches, and takes a seat next to me.
“So…” I begin as his eyes rake over my body, pausing a little longer over the mark on my throat. “Where are we going?”
He cracks a small smile. “To see my sister.”
I nod, resting my head on his shoulder. I close my eyes, and then let myself succumb to the fatigue I was afraid of only moments ago.
twenty-nine
Henry
“Are you from Oregon?” Lydia raises her brow at me as I bump the jeep along the gravel road, leading up to my sister’s place. Her property consists of a ten acre, mostly wooded farm. The rural airport we flew into is only fifteen minutes away—and I did that on purpose.
I shake my head. “We’re not from Oregon.”
She purses her lips. “Okay…So then where are you from?”
“Nowhere.”
“That’s not an answer,” she quips, her expression displeased as she folds her arms across her chest. “I’m literally riding in the front seat with a man whose career is a hitman—and now he won’t even tell me where he’s from. Grand.”
I chuckle at her attitude, relieved to see she’s still got a little fire. “For the record, I only say nowhere, because we never stayed in one place very long.”
“Military?”
