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“Can you make it out of the house unseen? Meet me across the street?”
My stomach does a giddy flip-flop as I nod.
“Good. Meet me there at ten o’clock? I’ll wait if you need to hold off until everyone’s asleep.”
Smiling, I lean up onto my toes for a quick kiss. “Can’t wait.”
A moment later, Mishka’s slipping through the door as he checks that the coast is clear.
I linger, watching him vanish down the hall so no one will suspect us of being in here together. I can’t wipe the grin from my face, and I nearly jump out of my skin at the soft chuff that sounds behind me a moment later.
Whirling, I press a palm to my heart as I find Boris gnawing contentedly on the head of his stuffed yellow duck. I’d completely forgotten he was there.
“You’re a good boy, aren’t you?” I coo, and I join him on the floor once more to give him some much-needed praise and attention.
22
MISHKA
Drumming my fingers on the steering wheel of the ancient 4Runner my brother and I bought together, I listen to the engine’s roar as I head toward Alina’s house under the cover of night. Street lights flash by like spotlights, accusing me of my crime.
I shouldn’t be going to pick her up. I shouldn’t continue to give in to my attraction. But I can’t seem to help myself. I’m drawn to Alina’s fiery spirit, her fearless independence, her thirst for fun. So, I’m being selfish and enjoying my time with her while I can.
But I don’t want our need for secrecy to thrust me and Alina into a relationship of lust with no connection. So much of what I like about her stems from her personality, and she deserves someone who can appreciate what’s real about her.
Plus, if I’m going to hurt her in the end, I refuse to take the coward’s way out.
Keeping things physical would make things easier for me, but I can’t ruin her life without giving myself the proper punishment. I like her. And if I’m going to make her suffer, I’ll suffer right along with her. I deserve that if I’m going to take her family from her.
I’ve planned something special for tonight, a proper date of sorts.
I pull up to the curb across the grassy tree-lined median of Commonwealth Avenue, killing my headlights a few doors down from Alina’s house and rolling to a stop to avoid making too much noise.
Putting my SUV into park, I look up at the dark windows of her house. It would appear as though everyone’s asleep. I watch the impressive Brownstone in still silence as I wait. Cars pass regularly, their lights flashing in my mirrors and warning me of their approach. And within minutes, the front door opens just a crack, allowing Alina to slip out.
She looks beautiful dressed in a loose-fitting, brightly patterned, long-sleeve top that she’s tucked into a pair of white high-rise sailing shorts. Her chunky heels finish the outfit off perfectly.
She looks adorable as she sneaks quickly down the front steps of her home and skitters across the street toward me. I get out to meet her halfway, keeping to the shadows beneath the median’s trees.
“Hi,” she gasps, smiling breathlessly as she reaches me.
“Did you have a hard time getting out?”
“No, just… had to wait for the guards to switch shifts.”
Grinning, I interlace our fingers and lead her toward my vehicle. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t make me sneak inside, then. I’d have probably gotten shot.”
Alina laughs softly. “I should hope not. I thought you were a survivalist.”
Snorting, I help her up into the cab and close the door. Rounding the front of the car, I hop in and head toward a sneaky little speakeasy on this side of town that few people of the upper echelons know about. If we’re keeping this on the down low, better to be safe.
“Where are we going?” Alina asks, watching as we wind through the side streets of Boston.
“Somewhere secret,” I say mysteriously.
“If you hadn’t spent the last twenty-four hours trying so hard to keep me alive, an evasive statement like that at this time of night might make me wonder if you weren’t taking me somewhere dark and abandoned to kill me,” she teases.
My gut twists as she hits too close to home. I would never kill Alina. But her family? They’re at the top of my very short list.
