Page 170 of Mile High Ruin

A man beside me who has spent most of his life terrifying people and is now pretending not to care that his youngest sister is happy.

A little girl with frosting on her nose.

Something dangerously close to belonging.

It’s after dinner, when the cake has been cut and Anya has finally been convinced that eating a third slice would constitute a medical emergency, that I find Vadim alone near the terrace doors with a glass in his hand.

He looks relaxed. As relaxed as Vadim ever becomes.

His jacket is gone, his sleeves pushed back, silver hair slightly disordered because Anya attempted to place a paper birthday crown on his head earlier and he tolerated it for exactly eleven seconds before Marek took a photograph.

I should choose another moment.

Instead, I walk toward him. “Can I ask you something?”

His eyes move to my face. “You generally do regardless.”

“That was almost affectionate.”

“Don’t get accustomed to it.”

I stop beside him and look through the glass toward the garden. The grounds are darker now, lit only by lamps along the pathways and the faint glow from the house spilling across the nearest terrace.

“When can I leave?”

The change in him is immediate. The ease disappears from his face, and his glass lowers slightly. “Sloane.”

“I’m asking seriously.”

“I know.”

“My brother is at home. My life is there. I’ve been here long enough that I don’t even know what I’m supposed to tell people anymore.”

“You are safer here.”

“That wasn’t the question.”

His jaw tightens. “The answer has not changed.”

I turn toward him. “So no.”

“For now.”

“That means no.”

“It means until I know who placed the tracker in your bag and how Petrov knew our landing point, you remain somewhere I can protect you.”

The name hits differently now. I force myself not to react. “You can’t keep me here indefinitely.”

“I’m not keeping you prisoner.”

I laugh softly because the alternative is shouting. “Really?”

His eyes narrow. “You have access to the house, the grounds, your phone, anything you ask for.”

“Except the gate.”

“Sloane.”