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.This is all so horrible, so many people hurt.There are still men trapped in the mine and I don’t even know what’s being done to rescue them.If my father is acting like a human being, for once, and putting the safety of the men and women who work for him before his own gain…”Jason’s tough, all action exterior thawed, his eyes softened as he gazed down on her.“Toni, honey, I won’t lie to you, luv.This situation is bad.Nate’s already heard rumors that the mine had safety issues and there’s been some talk of bribes.Your family is going to be under the spotlight for months to come.If not worse… I’m with you all the way.I won’t let anything happen to you.You have my promise.The death threat was not aimed at your father, luv.The danger is specifically toward you and your mother.But I’ve got you, Toni.”Jason had taken her hands in his own, as he’d spoken, moving his thumb over her skin in soothing motions as he’d explained the situation.Her mind was running a million miles an hour.Why would I be threatened? I’ve never had anything to do with the family business.Never have, never wanted to.How is Mum dealing with this? “My mother…is she being protected? Where is the threat coming from? Who? Why us? We don’t have anything to do with the running of the mine—or any of Dad’s business dealings.”Toni knew she was rambling.It was just so unbelievable, unexpected.Her father was always going on about her safety, her security or lack thereof.Even the ridiculousness of Jason following her on this holiday, Toni had put down to her father being such a control freak.And what did Jason mean by rumors? Why was the mine not safe? Her family was rich.Her father made so much money every day it was ridiculous.Why hadn’t he spent it on making sure people were safe? He must not have known about the issues? She quickly squashed and pushed that thought away, since she knew first-hand that her father made it his business to know everything about everything.Toni had never liked being a Grimaldi, had never felt like she fitted the mold of an heiress.Now she thoroughly despised her heritage.Just the idea that her family might have had anything, even slightly, to do with this disaster or in not preventing it, made her sick to her stomach.Jason was doing his best to keep his anxiety in check.He should have been all over this.His job was protection.It was what he was trained for.But the bottom line was, ever since the phone call with Nate, Jason had felt a heavy weight on his shoulders and—more unsettling—his heart.Just the notion that Toni could be under threat had his blood pressure soaring.Being able to wrap his arms around her as she bravely dealt with what was going on—probably better than he was—was the only thing keeping Jason from coming apart.He’d tried so very hard not to fall for her, to try to maintain some sort of emotional barrier between them.He had failed.That fact never more clear to Jason than when Nate had spoken of the letters sent to the Grimaldi home.The direct threats to Toni’s well-being received on Grimaldi’s private phone.His blood had turned to ice, imagining her hurt or worse.He could not let anything happen to her.Jason didn’t think he could live with himself if even a hair on her precious head was harmed.He’d already been struggling to come to terms with the inevitable—of living his life without Toni wrapped up in his arms, or having her in his bed again, before it had all gone to hell.But he’d understood that.That was his future—a future where Toni returned to her heiress lifestyle, and he returned to his one room apartment and back to his solitary life.That said, there was no way in hell Jason was going to let some nutcase get within a mile of her.Toni might not be his future but Jason was going to make damn sure she had a healthy one in her outlook—or die trying.“We need to get packed up and move.Just give me a few minutes to book another flight and we’ll get going.Give me your passport, luv, I’ll need it for the airline ticketing information.”“Charles booked my flight already,” she said as she thrust her phone in Jason’s face.“See? It’s all in this email.Charles even had the hide to book me a first-class seat, despite all that’s going on at home.”It sounded like the thought disgusted her, and while Jason couldn’t fault the fact that Grimaldi’s people got things done efficiently, it did leave him in an unacceptable predicament.How the hell was he going to pay the cost for a first-class seat? Yes, it could be recouped through expenses eventually, but he didn’t have that sort of credit available to him up front.Jason didn’t even know how much it would cost exactly but he figured over ten grand, easy—especially last minute.He’d already all but maxed out his credit card sharing the expenses with Toni over the last three weeks.Toni must have picked up on his discomfort because she reached out her hand and stroked her fingers down his check.“What’s wrong, Jason?” she asked, her voice full of concern.Jason could have punched himself in the face—a habit he was getting into around Toni.She was the one with all the drama ahead of her and yet here she was trying to comfort his arse.Stop trying to be someone you’re not, dickhead.Now is not the time to let your pride get in the way.Tell her you don’t have the money to pay first class.She does.She’s a fucking millionairess.It took all the strength he could muster to make the admission.Jason tried hard not to let the bitterness flow through in his voice with the embarrassment he felt having to ask the woman he had fucked every which way for the last few weeks to lend him money, but it had to be done.Her safety was more important than his male ego.“I don’t have the funds available to pay for a ticket like yours and there is no way I’m letting you get on that plane without me.Either you can buy me a seat close to yours or we wait until Nate can organize it from his end.” Even though he felt like a fucking loser, Jason did not break eye contact with Toni as he made his humiliating confession.“That’s no problem [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]