Malta with My Best Friend’s Dad by Flora Ferrari

Chapter Eighteen

Kane

Jocko and I stand on the rooftop of the house, looking across the open water to the Sicilian shore.

It’s the morning after my willpower crumbled and I stalked down the hallway into Kelly’s room, the morning after I unleashed myself on her because fighting the urge was starting to eat me up inside.

A strange peace settles over me as we stare at the glittering water, infused with the early-morning sun, and yet keep our gazes swiveling back and forth over the landscape to make sure no Bratva is going to appear.

The effort of holding myself back these past seven days – even with the welcome distraction of reconnecting with my daughter – has put me on edge, making every part of me feel taut.

But now I have the memory of her moans in my head, the way she shivered for me, and the glorious writhing of her body as I brought her to orgasm.

“I’ve got news,” Jocko says into the silence.

“Yeah?”

“Had word from the States. You know how you asked me to put a call out onto the airport, to check if any of the Bratva returned?”

I nod, remembering back to a few days ago when we formulated all our plans, working our asses off to try and get out of this bind. The obvious answer was to go to the police, but the authorities here aren’t as trustworthy as I initially thought. A deep dive via Jocko’s Stateside connections taught us that they’re friendlier with the Russians than we previously thought.

“Sergey has returned?” I say, hardly daring to let hope flare into my voice.

If Sergey has returned to America, it means we can take the women back there and I can get some true privacy with Kelly.

Shit, that’s a selfish thought to have, especially as my first, but I can’t deny the truth of it as it whirs inside of me.

Not being able to take her on a date, to be alone with her, to tame her curvy body and push up inside of her – it’s eating me up inside.

“Not Sergey,” Jocko says. “But most of his men have. Without him.”

My interest spikes. “Did you…”

I don’t need to finish the sentence, not where Jocko is concerned. “Yeah, I’ve done my research. The same as you’d do if our buddies knew you were alive. The Bratva has grown tired of Sergey’s pride, of his personal vendetta. We made the right call waiting this thing out.”

“But Sergey is still in Malta somewhere?”

Jocko nods gruffly. “With a few of his men, maybe four or five. He must’ve promised them a damn bounty if they’re sticking with him once the others have withdrawn their support.”

“Yeah, I’d say so. I think it’s about time we started making travel arrangements.”

“I’ve looked into that,” Jocko says.

I chuckle. “Of course you have, you efficient motherfucker.”

He grins, a rare sight for him. “Like I said…”

“I know, I know.” I laugh. “I would’ve done the same if I wasn’t supposed to be dead. So, what are our options?”

“I think we should take the ferry to Sicily and work our way to one of your European safe havens from there. We can get you the right papers to return to the States and…”

“And Sergey won’t be able to cover the airport and the ferries, at least not as well as he could when he had all his men.”

“Exactly.” Jocko nods. “It’s going to take me a day or so to do the proper security checks. And there’s this other thing.”

“What?” I ask.

He looks at me for a long moment, his eyes hard. “Are we going to talk about you and Kelly?”

I return his stare, fire pulsing through me. “How the fuck do you know about that?”

“It was a guess, but you’ve just confirmed it. Come on, Kane, I’ve seen the way you two have been looking at each other. Maybe Lena’s blind to it. But I’m not.”

I shake my head, unable to stop the note of pride from whirring through me. “You’re too clever for me, you bastard. Yeah, something is happening there, Jocko.”

He blows out a long breath. “With your daughter’s best friend? What the hell are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I’m obsessed with her. I’m thinking I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I’m thinking she’s the woman I’ve been waiting for, for a long damn time. I’m thinking she’s… she’s everything to me, Jocko. Everything. It’s the only way I can explain it.”

He tilts his head at me, the prospect that I may be insane flitting across his eyes.

“I don’t understand,” he says.

I nod. “Yeah, I know that feeling. I hardly understand it myself and I’m the one who’s experiencing it.”

Jocko pauses, staring patiently, the same way he always looks at me when he’s waiting for me to explain something. Something about being in the military makes moments like these easier to handle, smaller almost because they’re so much less catastrophic than what we’ve been through.

“Do you remember how clear your mind was in combat?”

“Of course I do,” he says.

“It’s like that, man.” I run a hand through my hair, a smirk touching my lips when I think about how my Kelly teases me about the gesture. “When I saw her climb out of the taxi outside Medina, I was convinced Lena must’ve brought somebody else. I didn’t recognize her at first. But I knew.”

“Knew what?”

“That she was the woman I was supposed to be with. I know how that’ll sound to a grim bastard like you.”

I grin, letting him know I’m joking, even if there’s a shred of truth in it. Jocko has always been the distant type, never staying with the same woman for long. He’s always said he’s afraid of opening himself up to a woman, and until recently – very goddamn recently – I agreed with him.

“So you want to be with her, what, forever?” he asks.

“Exactly. And I knew this the second I saw her. I know it doesn’t make any sense. I know I’m probably insane. But that’s the truth and I can’t fight it anymore. And what’s even crazier is that she feels the same. We both felt it, this instant connection, the moment we laid eyes on each other. If it wasn’t for the fact she’s Lena’s best friend things would be so, so easy between us.”

Jocko sighs heavily. “I’m not going to lie and tell you I’ve ever felt anything like that. But I’ve never seen you so passionate before, not even close. I can tell this girl means a lot to you.”

“She means the world to me,” I say firmly. “But so does Lena. That’s my problem…”

I trail off, chuckling, shaking my head as a thought occurs to me.

“What?” Jocko prompts.

“I’m just thinking about this crazy suggestion Kelly made. She said we should go on a date to try and make each other lose interest. But I know that’d never happen.”

“But you want to take her on a date. Or at least have some alone time with her.”

“Of course I do. But we’ll have to wait until we get back to the States for that.”

Jocko bites down. “Not necessarily.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know how Lena’s been asking to go back to Medina as soon as it’s safe, so she can do some more research for her novel?”

Excitement flares to life inside of me, followed a second later by a pang of crippling guilt. “Yes.”

“With Sergey’s men deserting him, I’m confident I could keep her safe for a few hours. You know I’d never let anything happen to her. That girl’s like a niece to me. And who knows, maybe Kelly is right. Maybe you can work this out of your system and Lena never needs to find out.”

Primal defenses roar awake inside of me, the beast within battering his chest and yelling no, no, fucking no. I can tell what Jocko’s implying as I read his steady expression.

He thinks that sleeping with Kelly will make it easier to forget her. He can’t comprehend how big and all-consuming my need for her is.

I can’t blame him. Jocko’s never felt anything like this, and to him, it probably seems the same as obsessive sexual attraction.

But it’s so, so much more.

“How confident are you you can keep my daughter safe?” I snarl. “I’m asking as one professional to another.”

“Damn-near a hundred percent. Sergey doesn’t have the men. He has no clue where we are. If he tries anything, I’ll have ten exit strategies. I’ll die and kill before I let anyone hurt your family, Kane. You know that.”

Our eyes meet for a moment.

His are hard, but beneath their solidity, I detect a glimmer – a glimmer that holds all those battles we fought together, all the times I saved his ass and he saved mine in Ramadi.

I should tell him no, no damn way. This makes me a terrible father. I can’t betray Lena like this.

I should roar no.

But my soul sings and my heartbeat picks up at the thought of being alone, truly alone, with my princess.

“Okay. Let’s do it.”