Beloved Predator (Beloved Series #2)

Eleven

Ari

Patrick wrapped his arms around my waist and laid his head against my chest.  I felt his body relax as I gently ran my fingers through his hair.  After a while his hand grasped mine and he kissed it softly before bringing it to rest against his cheek.  I looked down at him and saw his eyes packed full of emotion.

"Do we have to do this?  Does it have to be you?"

I nodded slowly.  "I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's our best chance of luring him out."

He closed his eyes and shook his head.  "Just the idea of him anywhere near you—"

"I know."

"I can't lose you again.  I won't."

"No, you won't," I said softly.  "This ends tonight."

He brought his face up to mine and kissed me.  I wrapped my arms and legs around his body and kissed him back, pulling him tightly against my body.  When we broke apart a few minutes later, he shook his head sadly.

"We need to get up before I keep you in bed all day.  We have a lot to do."

"Oh, all right," I grumbled.  "What time are we leaving for the hotel?"

"Limo is picking us up at 3:15 so we can be there by four.  Photos and interviews start at six, and the party starts at eight.  Mom said they should be there by 7:30."  His jaw clenched.  "Georgia will be here at noon for one last security briefing."

"Well, we should get going then."

He climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom.  A few minutes later I heard the shower turn on.  Sighing, I sat up and clambered across the bed to stand up.  As soon as I stood up, I immediately regretted it.  My stomach started to churn violently.  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to try to stop myself from vomiting all over the floor. 

Patrick's nerves weren't the only ones shot to hell the past few days.  Ever since we learned James was headed to Seattle my stomach had been filled with butterflies made of lead.  I didn't want to add to his anxiety, so I'd kept quiet. 

"You coming?" he called from the bathroom.

I took another deep, cleansing breath.  Just one more day.  This would all be over tomorrow.  It had to be.

Georgia arrived promptly at noon.  She was dressed in a white dress shirt and black slacks.  She stopped in her tracks at the top of the stairs leading to the living room as soon as she saw me standing in the kitchen.  "Are you okay?  You look a bit green around the gills."

"Yeah.  My nerves are just shot to shit," I replied softly so Patrick wouldn't hear.

She nodded.  "Just one more day, Ari."

"I keep telling myself that."

Patrick emerged from the office and we all sat down in the living room.  After a few minutes spent talking about Amara, her posture straightened, and her face turned serious.  "The last communication we got from Sarah was last night.  I'm not going to tell you specifics, but I want you both to know we'll be watching and waiting for him to make his move."

"'Make his move'?" Patrick spat.  "In other words, you're going to let him get his goddamned hands on her again."

"He won't hurt her," she replied.  "We have to catch him breaking the law to arrest him so we can have him extradited back to Canada."