When Vera had told me Ljuba was kidnapped and that Dan and his team were tracking her, that they had a friend in the FBI rushing to help, I never even considered it might be my Nick.
No, not mine.I had left and for a good reason.A man like that could never be mine.
“He wasn’t pointing it at you.He was pointing it at that George asshole,” Dan corrected.
I shuddered at the sound of that name.Out adoptive father with his fake smiles.That fucking....Ugh.
“Let’s not mention that name again,” I said.
“Mention who?”a man’s voice asked from the door.
That voice.The one I heard so often in my dreams.
I turned to face him.Fuuuuck.“No one.We shouldn’t mention anyone at all.And I need to get back to...my aunt.”
We had no aunt.Hopefully, my sisters wouldn’t call me out on it as I hightailed it out of the room.
Him.It was him.What should I do?
“Nadya?”Nick asked.Of course he remembered me.Just my luck.Why couldn’t my one-night stand wake up not remembering my name or my face?
“Nope,” I shouted from down the corridor.“That’s not my name.Definitely not.”
I made it to the elevator and hit the button.Of course, the damn thing was on the first floor where someone was taking their sweet time getting in.There had to be a staircase somewhere around here.
I was about to look for the stairs when Nick’s reflection appeared in the stainless-steel surface of the elevator door.I spun around, ready to deploy some sarcasm as a smoke screen, but the look on his face stopped me.
He approached slowly, hands up like he was approaching a wild animal.“Hey.I’m not here to cause trouble.”
I snorted.Trouble was more my thing.
He leaned against the wall in a way that didn’t block the exit, which was probably a deliberate move.“You okay?”
“Peachy,” I said, instantly regretting the bite in my voice.“Sorry.That wasn’t about you.I just...”
Panicked for no reason?Yeah, that was really mature of me.
What the hell was wrong with me?
I mean, a lot was wrong with me, but why couldn't I face the man?
Nick nodded.“I get it.”He paused, then said, “Dan and I got Ljuba to the hospital together.I just had to get some paperwork so I could start working.”
Together.So, Nick was definitely that FBI friend Dan said helped him get Ljuba back.
“You’re an FBI agent,” I said, trying to sound unimpressed, but emotions and I were not friends.My brain was broken, so it threw whatever emotions it wanted at me.Right now, I felt like a trapped animal, but at least it was slowly fading.Very slowly.
“Yeah.Human trafficking and missing persons,” he confirmed.“I’m going to try to get Ljuba’s case since the perp crossed state borders and entered my neck of the woods.I’m in Philadelphia now, so it would make sense for me to take the case, especially since Ljuba might feel more comfortable dealing with me.”
He was right, much as I hated to admit it.Ljuba was like a feral kitten with men, any man except Dan.Even now, all these years later, she was always suspicious.Nick knew Dan.He helped get Ljuba back.That had to count for something, right?At the very least, Ljuba would trust Dan’s judgement on it.
I imagined Nick and Ljuba in some interrogation room, her fidgeting with the leather bracelet Dan made for her.She would hate every second of it.Closed rooms were not Ljuba’s friends.But Dan would also skin Nick alive if interrogation rooms like that came into play.
No.She was a victim for fuck's sake.There wouldn't be any interrogation.What was I even thinking?Ljuba would be fine.
The elevator pinged.I darted a glance at Nick.“You’d better not drag her into interrogation rooms.”
Was I a little obsessed?Yeah, maybe.But I had woken up to her screaming from yet another nightmare too many times over the years.
