The Billionaire's Heart
Page 33
Ivan nodded slowly. “I agree.”
Samira reached out and held his hand. “Baby, please don’t go!”
Tariq rubbed her tenderly on the shoulder. “I think he’ll be okay. But Samira, you two can’t see each other anymore. It’s too dangerous.”
“No, Tariq, I love him!”
“You agree with me, right, Ivan?
Ivan nodded blearily. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I do agree with Tariq. It’s too risky. And you need to think about your education. You can’t let anyone come between you and your time here in America. Not even me. But when this is all over… this craziness… we’ll be together. I promise. Do you trust me?”
She bit back her tears. “I trust you, Ivan. I love you.”
He squeezed her hand. “I love you, too.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but the cops kicked down the backdoor and burst in, shouting loudly and pointing firearms at them. Samira froze and put up her hands. The officer-in-charge shouted to the paramedics and they rushed in too, turning Samira’s kitchen into a makeshift hospital for Ivan.
She tried to keep ahold of his hand, but a huge cop pushed her out the way. She stumbled into Tariq’s arms. “Oh, Tariq!”
He hugged her tight and kissed her on the head. “It’ll be alright, cousin. He’s going to survive.”
Samira nodded, allowing her tears to flood out. But somehow, even in amongst this carnage, she felt strangely optimistic about the future. Ivan had said they’d be together in the end, and she believed him.
Chapter Fifteen
Ivan lay nak**ed on the bed in Samira’s new room and tried to relax. He gazed at the light of the moon as it streamed in through the window and spilled over the lilac wall. It was hot tonight; his heart was heavy…
This new place Tariq had found for her was nice enough, but more importantly, it should keep her safe. It was in a more obscure area compared to where she’d been before, so hopefully whoever Jeremy had been working for wouldn’t find her. She’d requested a transfer to a different campus, which should help too, but Ivan knew the only way for her to be completely safe was for him to leave.
If you love someone, set them free…
His heart thumped with a painful longing. This was to be their last night together until… he had no idea. He’d spent the last few days in hospital, where he’d done a lot of thinking and he’d come to the conclusion that perhaps he would rather throw away his life’s work if it meant he could be with her. He would give everything up for her.
He rubbed his eyes and sighed. She’d gone off to shower and he was missing her already, even though she was only in the next room along. How the hell was he going to cope in New York with her here in California, knowing they mustn’t contact each other?
He grabbed his phone and decided to call Dylan while he waited for her to return from the bathroom.
Dylan answered in his usual delicate manner. “Ivan, where the hell have you been? I’ve called you like twenty times this week. Talk about f**king worrying us all.”
“Well, you can call off the search parties – I’m coming back to New York tomorrow. You wanna grab a beer tomorrow night?”
“Sure. But seriously, you okay? You’ve been out of reach all week.”
“I know, sorry. Work’s been crazy.”
Ivan hated lying to his brother, but he couldn’t tell him he’d spent the last few days recovering from a bullet wound in hospital. Dylan would go nuts… his parents would find out… it would just be too complicated.
“So you’re still in LA, right?” Dylan asked.
“Sure am. I’m with that fortune teller who said you’d find love in London.”
“Huh, that’s not gonna happen… But you like her a lot, right?”
“I do. A hell of a lot. She’s magical.”
“Ivan… what’s wrong with you?”
Ivan realised how stupid he was sounding. He shook himself out of it and opted for some banter. “I’m just saying I’m sure her prediction about you will come true.”
“Never.”
“Aw, come on, Dylan – you’ll find love. Even a miserable bastard like you must have some warmth in there someplace!”
Dylan chuckled. “Nope. That heartbreak at college put me off love forever. I’ll just make sure I never go to London, then her prediction can’t come true, right?”
“We’ll see... Hey, as I’m coming back to New York, you can tell Adam I’ll be at his birthday party next week. Okay?”
“Sure, he’ll be happy to hear that. You bringing your new lady with you?”
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