I laughed while squeezing his hand. “If I find out he’s not, I promise I’ll send him your way.”
“You are the best. Now where was he sitting?”
As he held out a seating chart, I closed my eyes briefly, remembering exactly where I’d seen him. “Right there.” I pointed.
“Are you certain? If you are, you need to get your eyes checked. Doesn’t she, little Miss Muffin?” Jules cooed as he did whenever he was in the same room as Golden Angel.
And what did my baby do? She growled in response, which was exactly what she did with every man daring to get into the princess’s space.
Except for one.
“Oh, fluffy butt,” Jules said in response. “If only men would growl at me like that. The old wench who always complains about the noise was sitting there.”
Groaning, I looked again. “How about there?”
“Hmmmm…” Jules basically purred his answer after checking the sheet. “Is he Russian by chance?”
My stomach dropped while the prickling heat spiraling across every inch of naked skin was already itchy.
There’s no way he’s alive. Stop being such a child.
Yet my hopes remained high, my pulse skyrocketing. From excitement? From anger? From disbelief?
“Yes.” The single word was all I could whisper.
Jules was as excited as I was. “Kirill Aristov. Is that it?”
I could feel the excitement fading ever so slowly, another ache in my stomach even worse than before.
Was it possible Kazimir had either lied to me about his identity or had assumed a new one, maybe because he was still on the run? Absolutely. But I wasn’t prone to falling prey to fantasies or high hopes any longer. The girl who’d been lost in rainbows and unicorns had been shoved aside, the woman with ice in her veins taking full control.
Hope wasn’t a word in my vocabulary either.
“No, it’s not.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, sugar plum. The man of your dreams will appear.”
“I’m not holding onto hope. Thank you, luscious boy.”
“Are you coming to the year-end rave tomorrow night?”
I’d forgotten all about that. “Where is it again?”
“A little club called Peste Noire.”
“Black Death? Oh, that sounds like fun.” I was being sarcastic all while thinking about the black death I’d suffered when hearing Kazimir had been killed. Maybe I needed to shake off the ridiculous emotions.
His grin was as infectious as I’d found from day one. “You’ll love it. The place is all dark and gloomy, just like your moods.”
“Ha ha. Very funny. We’ll see.” I managed to laugh as I walked out of the room. “Come on, baby. Let’s go home.”
Home.
How strange that the tiny little apartment had felt so much more like home than the huge house I’d grown up in. I knew all the reasons why, the heartache of the girl hiding in her room when not in school. In going from being smothered to feeling true freedom, I’d realized after three full years, I still felt lost. Admitting it even to myself seemed like failure.
At least I could say I’d become more of a fighter than ever before. I’d taken shooting lessons at the range and advanced self-defense classes. This past semester I’d tried my hand at karate although I sucked at it.
A half laugh formed as I headed toward my apartment. Yes, it was late and yes, the area was prone to criminal activity, but I’d never felt unsafe. Not once.
