“And what is your world exactly?” she asks.
“Nothing that I need to bother you with. I am sending a bodyguard for your safety. They will switch out every twelve hours, so there will be around the clock protection.”
“What? Ivan, I don’t need a bodyguard to protect me. I can take care of myself,” Emma argues.
“You will accept the security, Emma,” I tell her with a firm tone.
“No, I won’t. I don’t need it, and I don’t want it,” she continues to argue.
“Let me ask you this: has there been a time recently where you felt like you were being followed or being watched? Maybe you heard something strange and you weren’t sure what it was?” I ask her.
“How did you know…?” she asks me slowly. Her eyes widen and her voice gets quiet, like she’s been caught with a secret.
“Knowing things is part of what I do. Tell me.”
“Well…every once in a while I hear loud noises coming from Patrick’s apartment. I asked him about it once, and he told me that when he has friends over they sometimes get a little loud. I usually just put my headphones on and listen to music or stream one of my favorite shows.”
“Go on.”
“And then ever since my attack, I’ve had this feeling like someone is watching me. I don’t really know how to explain it, just that something doesn’t feel right. It’s spookier and more unsettling at night than it is during the day. Just today, I felt like someone was watching me, and then Patrick shows up in the hallway. I wouldn’t think much of it…but every time I think I’m being watched or followed, Patrick shows up. I’ve seen him more times in the last week than I have in the six months that I’ve lived in this place.”
“Do you know anything else about Patrick?” I ask her.
“Not really. I know that he’s Irish, but anyone can tell that from just listening to him talk. His accent is distinct,” she tells me.
“I need you to listen,” I say as I take her hand in mine.Damn, her skin is so soft. I wonder if it’s soft in other places.“I need you to trust me on this. I am going to assign you a bodyguard from my own security detail. He will have instructions to stay out of sight unless there is an emergency. You won’t even know he’s there.”
“Ivan, I told you that I don’t need a bodyguard. Patrick is harmless, and I’m sure my feelings of being followed are just some leftover trauma from being attacked. I’ll be fine on my own,” Emma insists.
“Don’t argue with me. I will not let anything else happen to you in this city,” I tell her sternly. She rolls her green eyes at me.
“Ivan, you barely know me. I’m just a waitress at a restaurant. I’m not important,” she replies.
“You are important tome, Emma. And I take care of what is mine,” I tell her. She seems surprised by my admission. I’m a little surprised myself, even after I admitting as much to Dmitri earlier today. Something warm settles in my chest, and I feel lighter for having said it to Emma, even if she doesn’t realize how much I mean it yet.
“Give me your phone,” I say with my hand outstretched.
“Why?”
“So you can have my number in case you need anything.”
She huffs before she reluctantly unlocks it and gives it to me. I type in my contact and send myself a text message so there’s a reasonable explanation as to why I have her phone number—even though I’ve had it since I got her file.
“There. Call me if you need anything,lyubimaya.I’ll see you soon.”
CHAPTER TEN
EMMA
TWO DAYS LATER, I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing on its charger. I usually keep my phone on silent when I’m sleeping, but for the last two weeks since Gran has been in hospice care, the ringer has stayed on. My heart starts racing when I look at the caller ID and see it’s the hospice home calling.
“Hello?” I answer nervously as I sit up and rub the sleep out of my eyes.
“Ms. Murphy? This is Kristin from Brookline Hospice Care.”
“Good morning, Kristin. How’s Gran doing today?” I ask her, shaking off the remainder of my sleepiness.
“Actually, that’s why I’m calling. You asked us to call you when things are close. I know you’ve been coming every day, but you need to come as soon as you are able,” Kristin explained with a gentle tone.
