AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stride to the door and open it. “I’m quite busy, Yuri.”
“Really?” Leaning forward, he stretches his arm above my head and rests his hand against the doorway.
I ignore his scent and towering presence. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be torturing someone?”
“Filled my quota for the day.” He brushes past me as though he was invited in for a chat. “Are you going on a trip?”
Closing the door with a hard click, I walk past him and snap the suitcase closed. “I’m taking a vacation.”
“Really.”
“Yes. I haven’t seen enough of this country and don’t want to miss experiencing it from the comfort of a Greyhound bus.” Crossing my arms, I pretend that facing down a famed enforcer is something I do weekly. “The rest of your shirts are at the dry cleaners. You can pick them up anytime.”
He flips open the suitcase, and I pray he knows nothing about what constitutes an appropriate wardrobe for fleeing from nefarious forces.
“It’s going to be an interesting trip. A dozen socks, an emerald green dress that would be perfect for a tropical resort, and three tubes of toothpaste. Seems like your heading for Vegas.”
“Yes, that’s exactly where I’m going.” The Faberge egg catches my attention, and I stride to the bookcase and grab it. “I might take a train. They have those sleeper cars. That could be fun.” My hands shake as I wrap the egg in the green dress and then walk into my bedroom.
“Stop, Lina.” He follows me like a shadow.
“Can’t.” I pull a drawer from the bureau and dump the contents into the suitcase on the bed. “When the travel bug hits, it can’t be ignored.” The envelopes sitting on the dresser catch my eye. “I’m using the money you paid me for the monograms to fund my…getaway.”
He moves into the room like he owns it. “Does the urge to take off happen often?”
“No.” I tap my finger against my mouth. “Let’s blame everything on the full moon in Scorpio. And the fact Mercury is in retrograde, and we might be in eclipse season too, so there’s that.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Rude.”
“Has someone threatened you?”
Cold fear slides down my spine. “Why would you ask that?”
“I can’t help if you keep me in the dark.”
I suck in a breath and drop down on a pile of clothing. “Astrology isn’t nonsense. And I can’t be associated with anyone who thinks it is.” He pushes a pile of skirts aside and sits beside me.
“We can talk about the planets after you tell me who to get rid of. I just need a name. Or initials. A picture would be helpful.”
“That’s so sweet.”
“You have no idea how many lives I would end to keep you safe.”
“And they say romance is dead,” I whisper as he takes my shaking hands between his.
“Did the boogeyman get in touch?”
A quiet sob escapes my mouth, and he lifts me into his lap as though my dress size isn’t in the double digits. “A letter arrived from a relative I didn’t know about.”
“I’m unsure how to relieve your fear since my life’s purpose has been to terrify others, but know I will destroy anyone who threatens you.”
“And people said having a crush on the Bratva’s most feared man was a bad idea.”
“A crush?”
I let out a strangled laugh. “That’s it. Focus on what’s important.”
