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Twenty minutes later, her smile is gone as she’s escorted from the studio with a guard flanking her on either side. Gedeon takes up the rear, looking up and down the sidewalk like he expects gunfire to erupt at any second.
Laila breaks away from them in the last stretch and throws herself into the passenger seat, slamming the door before any of them can touch it. “Annoying.”
“What you call ‘annoying,’ I call ‘safety.’”
“It’s overkill.” She makes a show of pointing out each of the dozen bodyguards watching us pull away from the curb. “Carrie is convinced I’m some kind of European princess on the lam. I couldn’t even tell her the truth because, somehow, the truth is even more bizarre.”
“Your American accent is killer.”
She scowls. “I don’t like drawing attention to myself, Arsen.”
“Then stay home and conduct your yoga classes virtually until the Jasper situation has been contained.”
That was my idea, and I maintain that it’s flawless.
She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “Fine, I’ll take Seal Team Six.”
“Atta girl.”
With a final sigh, she turns in her seat to look over at me. “I know I’m being a brat. You had a lot worse to deal with today than some overzealous guards. How are Boris and his family doing?”
“Lena is pissed, but who could blame her? Jasper came for her children.” I tighten my grip on the wheel, imagining that I’m wrapping my fingers around Jasper’s scrawny throat. “But at least they’re safe now.”
“Still no trace of him?”
“None yet. I have all my best men searching. There’s no way Jasper is conducting blatant attacks like this and evading capture all on his own.”
She frowns. “Meaning what?”
“I think he’s working with someone.”
“But… who?”
My gaze teeters towards her. “That’s the question. The fact I have no clue means it’s probably someone hiding in plain sight.”
She rests her hand onto my leg as she thinks, absently massaging my thigh. She has no idea how much that one small gesture helps.
Suddenly, she squeezes hard. “Wait. You don’t mean— It can’t be Enzo, can it?”
I’m not sure whether I like that she’s beginning to think like she was Bratva born and bred.
“I have to consider all the possibilities. No matter how unpleasant they might be.”
“He’s our friend.”
“He’s an ally,” I correct. “And allies can turn into enemies easier than you think.”
“Guilia would never allow it,” she insists. “You and Enzo may be allies, but Guilia and I are friends. Real friends. She wouldn’t lie to me, and Enzo wouldn’t lie to her. There’s no way.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m inclined to agree,” I admit. “I don’t think Enzo has anything to do with this. I’m not entirely writing him off, but he stands to lose too much by working against me. Or, in any case, he loves his family too much.”
She sighs with obvious relief. “Good. I’m glad we cleared that up.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that Jasper isn’t working in isolation,” I muse out loud.
Laila clutches my leg again. “You’ll find him. This will all be over soon.”
I hope she’s right.
