\[Rosco’s POV\]
I sit and run my fingers through Denali’s hair as she lightly dozes with her head in my lap. After everything she went through, I didn’t have the heart to wake her, even though I needed to have a word with Marty, who had enough sense to stay in the cockpit so that Denali and I could be alone.
After finding her mother’s will, she was able to relax enough to fall asleep, despite the fear I knew she harbored, not only for me but also for herself. I would make sure to eliminate all of that fear for her, and once it was gone, I would make her a fucking queen.
Settling on this, I slowly begin to move, making sure not to rattle Denali. Once she is peacefully sleeping on the plane seat, I get up and head in Marty’s direction. When I find him, he is lounging beside the pilot with his feet propped on the dash.
“Yo,” I call, drawing his attention to myself. “I need a word.”
“Now you want to speak with me?” He asks, chuckling. “I figured you had forgotten all about your old friend for your wife.”
“Mind your tone,” I warn, motioning for him to come with me so that we won’t be overheard. When we are far enough away from the pilot, I lean against the wall and fix my gaze on Marty. “I know I’ve already asked a lot of you, but there is one more thing I need you to do for me.”
“And what is that?” He asks, cocking a brow. "Usually, when you ask for a favor, I know that trouble is sure to follow.”
“My wife is being framed for attempted murder, and I need you to steal some CCTV footage with me and delete any traces that remain of it.”
If they didn’t have that video of whoever it was masquerading as Denali, they couldn’t accuse her of being responsible for Anastasia’s baby’s murder. Once that was out of the way, we could go through the legal process of Denali getting back Emerald Moon and taking her rightful place as leader.
“Do I get anything in return?” Marty asks, being the businessman that he is. “You don’t expect me to go through so much trouble without a reasonable price.”
“The Berkley,” I respond. “You’ve had your eye on that property for a while. You complete this task, and I will give it to you.”
Even though the Berkley was one of my best properties, I was more than willing to give it away to protect Denali. If my father thought that he would hold me down by cutting me off from the pack and even his business, he was wrong. I would have been a fool to depend on him completely, and because I didn’t want him to know that I had my own dynasty built, I remained anonymous.
Remaining silent, I watch as Marty takes me in with a look of disbelief and distrust.
“You’re lying,” he huffs. “I’ve been trying to buy that property off of you for years. How can you just give it away to me? Is it because of that woman? What if she ends up not even being your mate?”
“I don’t care,” I sigh. “Mate or not, she is the one that I’ve chosen to be with for life, and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her and give her the world.”
"That the reason you already let her mark you?" He chuckles, nodding toward the fresh mark on my neck. "Man, I didn't expect such a cold bastard to be so warm and cuddly."
"Say that again, and I'll sew your mouth shut," I warn. "Only Denali gets that side of me."
"Man, you’re whipped!" Marty laughs. “Deal.”
As the words leave his lips, the pilot comes on the radio to announce our landing, ending any further discussion and giving me a reason to go back to Denali.
When I arrive, she is still fast asleep, and I can’t help but feel a pang of pain. Despite knowing that she was safe now and nothing else would touch her, I couldn’t ignore the marks on her skin that were reminders of what she went through.
Kneeling, I run a finger along a scratch on her cheek, traveling along it until I reach her hair and gently brush a stray strand behind her ear.
“If you want to touch me, do it right,” she giggles, reaching up and grabbing my wayward hand. “And do it when I’m awake; don’t you know touching someone while they sleep is considered perverted?"
“And?” I growl, flipping our hands so I can give hers a squeeze. “I think we’ve determined that when it comes to you, I’m a beast, mi reina.”
“Yeah,” she sighs, slowly sitting up and yawning. “Are we about there?”
“About to land,” I confirm, beginning to buckle her and then taking a seat. “Once we get to where we are going, you can get more sleep.”
Nodding, Denali lays her head against my shoulder and closes her eyes while the jet begins to shake from landing.
Later, we stand on the balcony of our suite that Marty provided for us, staring at the ocean as the city below went about their day.
“This is nice,” Denali sighs as I lay my head on her shoulder. “If only we could just stay here.”
“Are you saying you want to live in Italy, mi reina?” I ask, twirling her around so I can look into her eyes. “But if we did, you would end up letting your family continue to keep what is yours and get away with all the wrongs they have committed.”
“Not here, perse,” she sighs, stepping on tiptoe and kissing me. “Just like this, you and me, no troubles, no one trying to kill us.”
Again, a pang of pain shoots through me from what Denali is saying. I too want that for her and for us, but I knew we still had a long way.
“If I asked you to stay here while I went back to the States to give you that, would you agree to it?” I ask.
For a moment, she doesn’t speak as she stares up at me in disbelief, and I immediately know that she isn’t going to agree to what I asked.
“I can’t,” she responds quietly. “We’re a team; don’t forget that. If you’re going headfirst into something dangerous, then I’ll be with you.”
“Then we need to start training you to protect yourself,” I sigh, considering tying her up and locking her away even though I know she will be pissed at me for doing it. “Starting with weaponry.”
“When do we start?” Denali asks, perking up.
“In a week. By then, you should be healed enough to manage it.”
“Then what will we do until then?” She pouts. “We can’t just sit around and let things escalate further.”
“Don’t worry about that, mi reina,” I chuckle. “I’m already cleaning up the mess we left behind. You just relax and enjoy your time here."