Page 55 of The Beast of Moscow

Vera hoped not.

“Do you like flying?”

Vaslav released a woosh of air, tipping his head toward the porthole window, leaving his scarred cheek facing her instead. “Not particularly, but it’s sometimes a necessary evil.”

“Igor wasn’t happy to be left behind.”

That didn’t earn her much of a response.

Vera tried something else. “I also found the perfect spot to plant my lilac shrub this spring.”

Vaslav turned her way again.

She didn’t even hide her smile.

“Oh?” he asked. “Tell me where.”

“I always wanted to put something right in the middle of the backyard where I could put a bench. It’ll be all sun, all the time.”

“When it’s out,” he agreed quietly. “A bench would be nice.”

Tentatively, and only because she had the man talking, Vera said, “You seem ... tense today.”

Or maybe different.

“It’s an important day.”

“Because you’re going to Paris?”

Vaslav shook his head, leaning back toward the porthole window where he pointed out for her gaze to follow. “There’s the canal, see ...”

“Why were you looking for it?”

He didn’t even miss a beat. “I heard a body was found today.”

Vera’s gaze snapped to his, but she couldn’t see anything beneath the opaque lenses, and even his scowl had retreated for the moment. The man truly was unknown to her—in many ways. It should have been a red flag to her that she knew so little about him, yet he felt magnetic just sitting across from her on a private jet.

Except the warning only made her all the more curious.

She peeked at the paper in his lap.

Was that what he’d been reading? Vera didn’t get the chance to ask.

Vaslav leaned back in his seat, tugged the aviator’s off, and managed something of a smile for Vera. The chill his words had created low in her spine had started to crawl its way up her back, but it was gone the moment he turned his attention on her.

“So, you have three and a half hours, yes?” he asked.

“For what?”

“That’s the length of this flight.”

She hadn’t even realized.

“So?” she asked.

Vaslav chuckled. “You’d think you might have something to say or ask me.”

“Do you want me to ask you things?”