“Fuck,” I whisper, glancing over at Berkley again.
“Vaughn.” Xander’s voice is soft, and for some reason it grabs all of my attention.
“Yeah?”
“They know you’re in London.”
“What?” My voice is too loud for the quiet space and Berkley looks around like she’s checking for the librarian.
“It was on the FBI report. They know about you, and they know about Berkley.”
“Oh God.” My stomach drops and my heartbeat speeds up.
“I don’t know how much time you have, Vaughn, but you’ve got the best of our security there with you and I know you’ll keep her safe.”
I swallow, unable to form words.
“Just get back to the island as soon as you can. They still don’t know about it.”
I find comfort in knowing that my family is protected, but the fact that Berkley is so exposed here is making me anxious. I need to get her to a safer place and not one with so many access points. She’s only got to take her exams at the end of the week, so it’s just a few more days before we can be out of here and on the island.
I take a deep breath and nod to myself. We can do this. I can do this. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to either of us.”
“Just keep your eyes sharp, baby brother.”
“You can say you miss me,” I tease, needing to lighten the mood. It may not be the safest place for us here, but we’ve got security, and Berkley has me.
“Like a kick in the balls,” he says, and I can almost hear a smile in his voice.
“Speaking of balls, how’s Lula again?”
“Goodbye, Vaughn,” X says right before hanging up.
I end the call and the heavy cloud comes over me as I tuck the phone in my pocket and go back to the desk. Just then the librarian walks over to our table and opens her mouth with what I know is going to be a scold.
“Save it, we’re leaving,” I tell her, holding up my hand. “I’m hungry.”
Berkley hides her smile as the old librarian huffs away from us, seemingly upset she didn’t have the chance to kick me out.
“I’ve never seen Mildred so worked up,” Berkley says as I take her bag from her and then grab her hand.
“Normally old ladies like me, but it’s hard to charm them when I can’t talk.”
“Funny, because it’s usually your mouth that gets you into trouble,” she chides, and without thinking I swat her playfully on the ass as we exit the library.
She squeals as I pull her to me and I see our security there out of the corner of my eye. There’s not a moment we can have without the threat looming over us, now more than ever.
I just need a little longer and then we’ll both be safe.
Chapter Four
Berkley
Vaughn drops things in the cart as we move down the aisle. When he’s not looking I grab some items and put them back. We aren’t on the island anymore and he isn’t feeding a small army of people like he’s used to. Though as I watch his giant form move about the small grocery store I’m sure it takes a lot of food to keep him built as he is.
I can’t help but notice the women who openly stare at him. I know it’s because he’s not only hard to miss with his size but he’s way too good-looking not to. I know the feeling all too well because it’s hard to keep my own eyes on my textbooks with him sitting across from me. Somehow I pulled it off and I’m closing in on my studies. I can see the finish line, but it’s too bad I don’t know what I’m going to do after I cross it.
I thought Vaughn was going to be a distraction when he first showed up but he’s actually putting me at ease. I don’t feel so tense and the worry about a mystery person after me fades to the back of my mind. That feeling of being followed is gone with Vaughn so close and I know no one is going to get near me unless he lets them.
“You know my kitchen is small,” I remind him when he goes to drop four steaks into the cart. “And it’s only you and me.” He looks down at the steaks and puts one back.
“Green beans or asparagus?” he asks when we make it to the produce section.
“Neither.” I scrunch my nose. “The only vegetable I like is a potato.”
“You’ve never had mine.” He drops a pack of asparagus into the cart. “I cover mine in bacon and butter.” He winks at me before he goes back to cruising the aisles again.
Okay, that doesn’t sound half bad. I watch him as he stops to inspect different things but I notice he’s always alert. He’s been that way since he got that phone call in the library. He’s trying to hide it but he’s more tense than he was before. But to be fair, I tend to notice everything about Vaughn. My crush on him is growing no matter how hard I try and fight it.