Chapter 27: Late Thursday evening: Prepping to run

Unable to see Sonia alone, I’d spent the remainder of the time whenever I was at home, ensuring she knew how much I cared about and loved her. Every chance, we exchanged secret smiles, or I winked at her. It was hard to pull my gaze from her, but I managed to often enough to not get caught staring at her. It helped that everyone was too engrossed with our guests and the upcoming attacks to take heed of the fact that my eyes wandered to her so readily.

I’d shot some dark glances at Miki and even Dariusz every now and then, but thankfully, those seemed to have gone unnoticed, too. Things were difficult enough right now for everyone without me adding to it, but every time I heard Miki laugh with Glowacki or watched Dariusz tickle his sister, I wanted to strangle them both. Or beat the shit out of them.

In fact, I was imagining doing just that when Dariusz approached me.

With clenched fists and my whole body ready for a fight, it was difficult not to follow through and turn my dark musings into reality.

“Hey, how is everything? Are you all set for the next stage in our plans?” he asked me, clapping me on the back and grinning, reminding me he was a close friend and not an enemy, despite what my jealous heart thought.

“Yeah, all set,” I said, smiling back, my hands slowly unclenching and my posture loosening.

“I’ve got some stuff to do, then I’ll head off to fulfil my own part of this evening’s fun and games, and I will catch up with you later. Have a good one,” Dariusz shouted back over his shoulder as he walked away.

I was glad I hadn’t raised my fists to him. It really wouldn’t have been fair. The guy wasn’t even aware of his fated marriage yet. He might not even want it. I couldn’t help but pray that was the case because if both parties disagreed with the arrangement and refused the marriage, surely it would be called off?

Hope suffused me. That was a definite possibility, and I felt the rest of my pent-up tension flow out of me at the thought as I hurried to meet my men.

I was just dropping off a few more men at their hideout when I received a text from Sonia, and my hopes plummeted once more. Dariusz knew about the arrangement, and while he wasn’t fused one way or the other, he wasn’t going to contest it either.

Fuck! I flung the phone onto the ground in a temper.

Aw, shit. I quickly retrieved it. I needed that bloody phone. With everything that was happening, I didn’t have the time to get another one. Luckily, the protective rubber casing around it kept it from smashing. Thank you, Marko! I smirked. Marko insisted we all had these casings on our phones because he was sick to death from having to set them up and add his little tracking apps every time we broke them. Which, in our line of business and with our tempers, was a lot.

Scrubbing my hand through the scruff of my beard, which was badly in need of grooming, I scratched at my neck.

Damn it! So, we were back to our original two options again.

Climbing into my SUV, I closed my eyes and lay my head back against the seat as desolation threatened to overwhelm me. I wanted my Sonia. Hiding our relationship was killing me. I needed to be proactive. I still had my fingers crossed that Plan A worked. I was betting on it, but if it didn’t, I would need to prep for Plan B.

Several hours later, I sat at the desk in my office and began to make arrangements for all of my rental properties to be sold. I owned three flats within the same block that I had renovated when I first started my little sideline. I’d been renting them out ever since. A few days ago, I received an offer from a guy I knew to buy all three flats for his kids to get them on the property ladder. The offer was good, and I’d been thinking about it. Now, I saw it as an omen.

After emailing my lawyer to get the ball rolling, I started the process of selling off more of my assets and transferring more of my funds. It was an arduous task that would take days to complete, but it had to be done right. I had to be extra careful to ensure Marko couldn’t find my alternative identities. I needed to cover my tracks well. Luckily, I had learned a lot while working for him, and I knew exactly how to do that.

As that got underway, I emailed my contact and sent him a digital image of Sonia. Soon, we would have several new identities for her. We’d need more if we really did have to run, but one would suffice for now.

After closing my computer, I trudged upstairs to my room, wishing I could go to Sonia’s and spend the night cuddling her close.

Soon! I vowed. Very soon.