The Driver

Chapter 29

When I arrive at Ryder's I make a beeline for Reese's room. I knock on his door and when he opens he engulfs me in a hug. "It's so good to have you back even if it's only for a few more days" he says and I smile "it's good to see you" I say and then give him a serious look "if you want to replace me I have an idea, he'd need to be trained to fight but he's a good driver." I say and then hold out my phone that has a picture I took of him and his car "it's the guy who got ran off the track in my last race I helped him the other night and he's really good" Reese nods then looks at me "you know you're one of a kind right?" he says and I smile "just think about it okay? I've gotta go" I say and head to the kitchen to meet Dean and Ryder. When I get to the kitchen Dean hands me a small box and says "here as a gift for our last trip together" I open it and inside are the most beautiful throwing knives I've ever seen and the best part they were purple! I give him a bear hug "thank you Dean I'm gonna miss you" I say and he hugs me back "I'll miss you too kiddo" we head to Ghost as soon as Ryder walks through the door. I drive us to the airport and we board the private jet. After a few minutes we prepare for takeoff and I text Victor "see you soon" a moment later he replies "I can't wait to see you fireball" I settle into a chair and begin scrolling through my phone when Dean sits next to me. "I talked to Ryder" he says and I look up and make sure Ryder is still in the cockpit "and?" I ask him to which he shakes his head "dick move on his part and I hate that we're losing you because of it" he says I shrug "I know and I'm sorry I never should have let it happen but in a way I'm glad it did it showed me that I need to be more selective with who I trust" I say and he looks at me seriously "I know about your job offer Rae" I take a deep breath "how?" I whisper and he chuckles "don't worry I haven't told anyone but I put 2 and 2 together he gave you his card at the club and then when you danced at the gala he told you he was the only one there you could really trust" I nod "he was right and you should take the job I trust Victor he's a very loyal leader and treats his mafia like his family and I respect him" he says and I raise an eyebrow "but?" I ask and he looks at me "it will ruin the alliance between our two mafias and Ryder will be pissed" he says and I shrug "he has no right to be pissed for starters and secondly I've talked about that with Victor already he said if it comes to that he will offer a peace treaty where the mafias won't be enemies" I say and Dean sighs "for our sake Ryder better accept" he says and I put my hand on his "I'll talk to him" I say.
After awhile I fall asleep. When we are an hour from London Ryder wakes me and we have a group meeting on the plans for the trip. I am informed there is a meeting this evening as it's now Saturday morning and Alejandro won't be there but he will be there on Monday afternoon when he is holding a peace meeting. I roll my eyes and Ryder says "what is it?" I scoff "you know as well as I do that it's not going to be a peace meeting! He's there to take out the other mafia leaders" I say and he looks at me "why do you say that?" He asks and I look at him "my gut says it and so does my research it's the same pattern as the other attacks" I say and he nods "we will be ready for an attack" he says and I nod "yes sir" he growls and grabs me forcefully by the arm and drags me to the room at the back of the plane. Once inside the room he releases my arm and looks at me angrily "can I count on you to do your job?" He demands and I stand my ground "I have never let emotion get in the way of doing my job before and I won't let it get in the way so yes I will protect you because that is my job" I say sternly and he nods "I don't mean to be a bully but this is a serious trip and I need to be able to trust that you will do your job" he says and I laugh "I'm not the one who can't be trusted here" I say and he looks taken aback "I've never been anything but honest with you and have kept all of my promises so you can believe me when I say I will do my job and protect you at all costs this week" I say and leave the room. I put my headphones on and tune everything out until we land.
Once we land I grab my things and we load up Ghost and head to the same hotel we stayed at before. We check into our rooms and agree to meet back in 4 hours to head to the meeting. I head to my room and open the door. Once inside I'm immediately pulled into a hug and melt into the arms of Victor. "How'd you know what room I was going to be in?" I ask still in his arms and he chuckles "I'm the leader of the strongest mafia in Europe you think I can't find out where you're staying and get into your room?" He says and I laugh and lean up to kiss him. "Thank you I'm glad you're here" I say truthfully. We walk over to the couch and sit together and he wraps his arm around me and I rest my head on his chest. "I could stay like this forever" he says "me too wait" I say and quickly take off my bra leaving my shirt on "now I can stay like this forever" I say and Victor laughs and kisses the top of my head "you're something else fireball" he says and I chuckle "I know" I say. "Can I ask you something Rae?" he says and I nod "anything" I say and he traces circles on my arm "do you still have feelings for Ryder?" he asks and I laugh "hell no" I say and he immediately sits up "what did I miss?" he asks seriously and I tell him what happened on the plane and he growls then checks my arm and sees a faint bruise forming. "I'm gonna kill that bastard" he says and I quickly try to calm him down "it's okay I promise it just makes me more sure than ever that I never should have trusted him but" I say and  place my hand on his jaw "if I hadn't trusted him and taken a job with him I never would have met you so I'm glad it happened" I say and he leans into my touch and pulls me to his chest "I am never letting you go Rae I promise" he says and I believe him. We stay on the couch like that for 3 hours. When I realize I only have 40 minutes to get ready I sit us "I have to take a shower and get ready for tonight's meeting" I say and he nods "I know I should go and get ready as well" he says and I smirk to which he chuckles "you're irresistible you know that?" he says and I head to the shower "I know" I say and he follows me to the shower. After we've showered and made out for awhile in the shower we dry off and get dressed. I quickly dry my hair and put on my wig and makeup and hide my knives. With 5 minutes to spare I look at Victor and he gives me a kiss "I have to go but I'll see you again at the meeting" he says and I kiss him goodbye. I grab my keys and head to the lobby to wait for Dean and Ryder.