I just have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
23
EVGENY
Feeling the walls and the crowd closing in, I lift my gaze to the high, domed ceiling and trace the bright mosaic, the sun’s wavy spikes in deep oranges and golds catching and throwing the light below.
The Friends of the Public Library lit up the L.A. Central Library until it blazed with light, the marble floors so shiny I could almost see my reflection. L.A.’s elite packed the place, dressed in their glittering best, the gowns’ colors trying to compete with the vivid murals and mosaics on the walls.
“Evgeny Kucherov. I’m glad you made it tonight. I thought maybe you wouldn’t.”
My gaze drops from the ceiling to the man in a tux weaving toward me through the crowd. He shakes my hand and flashes a broad, too-white smile, and I tense at his words. The man is the L.A. County district attorney.
My poisoning hasn’t been made public. Dmitri guaranteed he’d taken care of both the hospital and the restaurant. Still, I don’t know how much has slipped to the police. I’ve seen districtattorneys come and go, but this one has a slick smile and an even slicker way of learning things he shouldn’t.
I have my suspicions about the man’s connections but have never been able to pin anyone down. Instead, we remain wary of each other, both suspecting, but never able to prove anything.
“Oh?” I go with the simplest reply, one that gives nothing away.
“I heard you fell ill and were out of commission for a while?”
He is suspicious and fishing, so I give him a wolfish smile. “Oh, stories tend to exaggerate, do they not? The truth is, I’ve been far too busy winning the bid for the redevelopment of the Northgate parcel to do much else.”
“Winning, eh?” He flashes an easy smile at a passing woman in a tight, sequined dress. “Last I heard, you were still in the running. Aren’t you counting your chickens before they hatch?”
“It’s only a matter of time.”
That is a fact, and the slight rise of the man’s eyebrows tells me he believes me.
“Holy shit.”
An unusual expression crosses the DA’s face, his eyes fixed on a point across the large room. His mouth lifts, his tongue sweeps his bottom lip, and something almost predatory flashes in his gaze.
Curious about what has caught the man’s attention, I follow his line of sight to a vision in flowing red, drawing the eyes of nearly everyone she passes as she slips through the crowd.
My breath catches, and for a moment I can’t breathe. I’m uncharacteristically caught off guard, frozen, and I can only stare at the woman approaching me.
“Who the hell is that?” I dimly hear the DA’s appreciative question.
My mind takes a moment to realize what my heart already knows. The woman is Eva.
She’s dressed in an incredible red gown that stands out among the darker blues, purples, and blacks the rest of the crowd wears, like a beacon on a foggy night. The color makes her olive skin glow, the deep plunge of the neckline showing just enough to hint at what’s underneath without revealing too much. The full skirt swells and flows as she floats across the floor to me, her dark hair in a long, sleek ponytail cascading over one slim shoulder.
Her dark brown eyes, rimmed in smoky black, meet mine, and I’m suddenly on fire from the inside out.
Dmitri told me Eva would knock my socks off, but I wasn’t prepared for this. From the corner of my eye, I see the DA’s gaze lock on Eva as she comes closer, and possessiveness joins the fire.
The DA thinks Eva is approaching him, so he steps forward, his hand held out in welcome. Yet her dark eyes merely slide his way before finding my gaze again, her full lips curving into the sexiest smile I’ve ever seen.
“There you are,” she says, standing on her toes to press a kiss to my cheek. I move my head at the last moment and kiss her soundly on the lips. Surprise flashes in her eyes, but only for amoment before I slip my arm firmly around her waist and turn to the DA.
Mine.
“Trevor Morris, may I introduce Eva Volkova. Eva, sweetheart, this is Trevor Morris?—”
At my use of the endearment, Eva stiffens against me. Outwardly, she reaches for the DA’s hand, a warm smile on her face.
“The L.A. County DA,” she finishes for me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
