Seeing Carlos in front of our apartment door came as a surprise. My face tried not to reflect the stabbing pain in my heart suddenly was felt intensely, fresh all over again. Though it was better than seeing Layla, it only meant she had sent him.
"What are you doing here?" My feet stepped a bit closer but my voice was soft from shock.
He gave me a polite smile when he saw me before getting serious again. "Miss Holt has sent me to give you a message. She's experiencing some tension with her work and she thinks it'll be safer for you to go out of town for a few more days."
"A few more?" Quinn echoed immediately. "How'd she know we were out of town in the first place?"
"Social media posts are full of information. With that in mind, she asks that you refrain from posting to keep you safe." Carlos advised with a serious tone.
Quinn put a hand on my shoulder. "Bri?"
Ignoring her checking in, I directed the question to Carlos. "Why do I have to go out of town because of some tension?"
"Someone has made threats in regards to your wellbeing. He's done such things before so we have to take them seriously." Carlos paused for a moment. "She's concerned about your safety Miss Kingston."
Quinn's hand tightened around my arm with surprise as I froze with the additional shock. "We already have our bags mostly packed. We can even go out of the country."
"But..." My words trailed off. The fear of being in danger was now real. The reason I had ended things with Layla was now a reality. Things between us were over but I was still in danger.
"Would you like me to accompany you?" Carlos suggested before he continued. "I can not only pilot if you'd like to go out of the country but I have also been trained for personal security. Not to mention, I'm sure Miss Holt would feel more at ease that I'd be accompanying you."
Carlos' suggestion made me feel more comfortable with the idea of going out of town for a bit longer. If he could protect me then I didn't want to refuse the offer. My head nodded as Quinn hugged my arm. Carlos walked past us as he made a call. My best friend led us inside the apartment before she went to pack a bit more while I sat on the couch.
My mind was blank with disbelief. The fact that I was about to leave the country for my safety was not quite clicking in my head. When Carlos returned he stood next to the couch.
"She's happy with the solution. So, Miss Kingston, where would you like to go?"
"France." The answer left me before I could reply and a wave of déjà-vu came over me.
Quinn peeked out from the bedroom. "France? Oh, okay." She quickly went back into her room, probably to adjust what she was packing.
"Do you have a specific city in mind? If not, I can make some suggestions." Carlos spoke in a professional yet casual tone. A perfect balance that made me feel comfortable with him.
"I'm thinking a small town with a winery or a beach. Scenic but not crowded with tourists." My vision of my hideout was definitely Hollywood inspired but I figured being in a quiet town in France would be calming enough to combat my anxiety.
He thought for a moment. "I know a small town with a beach that's not a far drive from many wineries."
A soft sigh of relief left me. "Let's go there."
Carlos nodded just as Quinn left my bedroom with several bags. "Let me." Carlos offered before going over to take all the bags from her. I was surprised how easily he was able to situate multiple suitcases and bags. "I'll be sitting out front."
After he left, Quinn rushed over to me to give me a hug. Surely she was expecting me to cry from how scared I was but for whatever reason, I couldn't bring myself to cry. Maybe crying the night before had dried me out but I had a feeling that it was more to do with the nervous anticipation of when my path will inevitably cross with Layla's again.
The car Carlos had driven wasn't the usual black Bentley but an average black Volkswagen sedan. Though the interior was seriously upgraded, from the outside it would easily be overlooked. The fact that he was driving this to blend into traffic made me uneasy. Yet I got in the backseat with Quinn, allowing him to drive to the airport.
Naturally, Quinn flipped when we got to and inside the private jet. The familiar warm tones of the interior both soothed me and made me anxious. I immediately grabbed the soft faux fur blanket I had been wrapped in the last time and curled up onto the couch, wrapping myself in it like a cocoon.
My best friend sat next to me on the couch with the remote for the TV to put on a movie. "So much for trying to get you a routine and time to heal."
Her words stuck with me as the plane took off. With Carlos around, I'd constantly be reminded of Layla. On the drive he had notified us that all the arrangements in France was done. He didn't say it but I knew it was Layla who had booked it all.
Being on her plane without her was strange. Experiencing something that clearly meant a lot to her without her left a numbing pang in my chest. A part of me wanted to sneak to the bed which would no doubt smell like her but I dismissed the idea knowing it'd be too much for my emotions to handle.
We arrived at a small airport, one that looked like it was more part of a pilot's club than one for out of country tourists. We transferred to a heavily tinted SUV that took us to the villa. When we walked up to the villa, I was surprised to hear the crashing of waves.
When we got inside though, I was blown away. The light warm interior reminded me of the private jet but in a home. The exterior had a sandy coloured stone while the interior focused on a warm white that perfectly suited the light tones throughout the villa. Just past the modern and open kitchen was the dining room with a large window looking out to the ocean.
"Which room would you like your bags in, Miss Kingston?" Carlos inquired nearby.
"Oh... sorry, one second." I turned to head to where I assumed the bedrooms would be when I stopped. "You can just call me Brielle."
"Would that make you more comfortable?" He asked with a friendly smile while I nodded in response. "Not a problem then."
Hurrying to the bedrooms, I chose the first one which had a view of the ocean and a big bed. I returned to Carlos and tried to take my bags though he wouldn't let me. Quinn seemed a bit excited about the villa as well. It seemed a bit of a waste to be in a nice place while in a scary situation. Then again, it also made sense since Layla had booked the place.
The fact that she had picked this place out for me seemed oddly personal. The way everything was laid out and looked made me feel more relaxed than I cared to admit. The stone patio before the ocean held not only a pool but a hot tub as well.
My cheeks burned and a hand came up to my mouth when I recalled my last visit in one had been with Layla. I wondered if she had looked at the amenities and seen the tag for it, smirking to herself as she also recalled our intimate moment. My thoughts were rapidly getting wild and I had to force myself to focus on the view of the endless ocean before me to distract myself.
We had stayed in the French villa for almost a week before Carlos got the call from Layla to return.
Most of my time was spent on the patio and admiring the ocean or reading one of the few English books from the bookshelf. The sound of the waves and the sea salt scent in the breeze was soothing enough to keep my anxiety from going out of control.
On the second day at the villa, Carlos had brought out my lunch to me. He was an incredible cook to which came as a surprise to me. I appreciated that he and Quinn took the responsibility as I wasn't nearly as good as they were.
"How are you able to be good at so many things? Seems a bit unfair." I joked lightly. Carlos was casual with me and I got the impression that maybe he felt at ease being with me as well.
Carlos chuckled as he set my plate down on the table next to me. "Cooking is actually one of the things I do simply because I enjoy it. I cook for Layla a lot to kill time during the gaps between the times she needs me so I've gotten to practice a lot. But glad to hear you like it." His big grin looked so proud that I smiled in return.
"I do like it. Your food is refreshing and light while still being filling." I returned a soft smile before grabbing one half of the cut sandwich to take a bite.
Carlos laughed. "You sound like a food critic."
I finished my mouthful with a small laugh. "I do really like food."
He looked thoughtful and took a seat at the end of the table. "I feel as though I should explain why there's a threat to you."
My brows furrowed and I set the sandwich down, my appetite subsiding. "Isn't it because I'm close to her?"
"Mostly. The main reason though is that Layla's trying to leave the mafia." His words hit me harder than I expected.
With the news of being in danger was shocking so I couldn't accept it right away. Though for whatever reason, the fact that Layla was leaving the mafia didn't give me any thought to question it. As much as I wanted to ask why she was leaving the mafia, I knew it wasn't exactly Carlos' place to tell me Layla's personal thoughts.
My head nodded and I tried to smile at him. "I appreciate you telling me."
Carlos stood from the chair with a curt nod. "I'm not sure how much she wanted me to tell you but I figured you deserved to know that much."
"Thanks." He nodded again and went back inside.
The sandwich was forgotten as I turned to watch the ocean again. The view stayed pretty much the same but never seemed to bore me. Quinn had made use of the pool after lunch while we talked a bit back and forth. Mostly it was me refusing to join in there or the hot tub. The hot tub was definitely not happening.
Each evening in the villa, we had wine from a different winery to accompany dinner. After we finished our meal I would take a new bottle, my glass and a blanket back out to the patio. Drinking to myself at the ocean was the only way I could go to sleep at night.
The patio door slid open and shut and the quiet tapping of my best friend's footsteps came to sit in the chair next to me. Wrapped in a cardigan, she poured some wine into the glass she had brought.
"The weather here is so nice. Much different than where we went for our girls trip." Quinn started the conversation as I took another sip of wine.
"I like it." My answer was simple and vague but very little could stop her from continuing a conversation.
A giggle left her as I heard her glass set on the table. "How are you feeling? I noticed you're eating less."
My shoulders immediately shrugged. My deeper emotions seemed numbed since I had arrived, not wanting to accept the anxiety, fear or anticipation of what would happen. They all sat in the back of mind yet close enough for me to be unable to ignore them completely. In turn, that close proximity of my emotions made my appetite shrink but my urge to drink grow.
"Just waiting to see what will happen, I guess."
"That doesn't sound good, Bri." Her scolding was gentle but it still made me feel a bit guilty for being such a bummer while we were here. Her finger poked at my arm. "Hey. I didn't say that to make you feel bad. I'm worried about you. You've been more quiet than usual. Staring at the ocean like you're expecting her giant yacht to show up."
When she said it, I realized that's what I had been waiting for. As boats went by, I saw hers for an instant before my eyes adjusted to the reality. I laughed dryly at the realization. "How pathetic."
Quinn topped up my glass. "I don't think it is. You love her, right?"
Without thinking, I nodded my head. "I've never been this upset over a break up."
My best friend agreed next to me. "That's true. I always sort of envied the way you could bounce back from break ups so quickly."
"I think... I never truly loved them or at least knew my feelings for them were sort of surface level." Having a few relationships, they never lasted too long. And yet when I fell for Layla, imagining a future with her was as easy as breathing. Now that we were over made me upset because I did love her on a deeper level.
Quinn hummed quietly with a thought. "That's a good way to look at it. Do you think we'll be able to go home soon? We were told a few days but it's almost been a week now."
My shoulders shrugged before I took a large gulp of wine. "Who knows? Must be a big deal with whoever threatened me if we can't go yet."
The patio door slid open. "Understood." I looked back to see Carlos hanging up on a call.
"Everything okay?" As soon as I asked I regretted it since I didn't want to know the answer.
Carlos gave us a reassuring smile. "We're able to fly back. The only thing is that she's saying to be safe, you should both go stay with family for a night or two. At this point, they've came to an agreement and just waiting for things to settle."
The tension I didn't realize I was holding onto seemed to gently leave my body. I leaned my head on the back of the chair and nodded in understanding before Carlos went back in. In celebration -- as Quinn put it -- we finished the bottle of French wine and headed to bed.
An agreement was good. If Layla was able to leave the mafia, what would that mean for us? Obviously I was hoping that she would contact me and ask for me back. The reality though was that she probably was already looking for a reason to leave since she owned enough dealerships to keep her lavish lifestyle going.
Pushing the negative thoughts from mind, I settled in the bed to sleep. Anxiety began to creep over as I realized I had to go to my parent's house. I silently cursed, I hated going there.
New chapter, prob has the same old stupid little errors lol
Sorry if this chapter isn't the greatest, I don't feel it was needed to write every little thing about staying in France for a week so I fit it all into one chapter lolol
Edit: please admire the new cover, it took me far too long to make it lol