“I put a tracker in your phone,” Ivan says matter-of-factly.
“You didwhat?What the fuck, Ivan?” I yell, choking and nearly spitting out my coffee.
“Calm down,” he says like it’s no big deal.
“Don’t you tell me to calm down! In what universe does saying that to a woman ever work?”
“I put a tracker in your phone when I was at your apartment. I knew at some point you would try and shake off Yuri, and you proved me right.”
“What gave you the right to put a tracker in my phone? Ivan, that’s an invasion of privacy!” My mouth hangs open at the audacity of this man. He may be hot, but in this moment he’s also infuriating.
“If protecting you means putting a tracker in your phone so I know where you are, then I’ll do it. I won’t apologize for that.” Ivan is eerily calm while also managing to be intimidating at the same time.
“You don’t own me, Ivan!” I scream at him.
“You’re right, I don’t own you. Doesn’t change the fact that you’re mine.” There’s a sinister grin creeping into the corner of Ivan’s mouth.
I get up from the kitchen island and stomp away to the guest room, slamming the door behind me. Ivan is infuriating, and handsome, and just plain sinful, andugh!
Somehow in the time I was downstairs eating breakfast and yelling at Ivan, his housekeeper has washed, dried, and folded my clothes. I quickly get dressed and go downstairs. I need to get out of here.
“Who are you?” I ask the man standing near the front door.
“Ilya,” he responds.
“I need the keys to a car. Any car. I don’t even care which one. I have to go home and then to work,” I explain while I hold out my hand for the car keys.
“No, Ms. Murphy. Boss says you stay here today,” Ilya replies.
“Please? I won’t tell him you gave me the keys.”
“No. Unless the boss says you can go somewhere, you stay here. Even if he says you can go, I take you,” Ilya says.
“What happened to Yuri? Where is he?” I ask impatiently.
“Not my concern, Ms. Murphy.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I ask again.
“Talk to the boss,” was Ilya’s reply.
“Please, Ilya. I need to be in my apartment with my stuff.” I feel like this argument isn’t getting me anywhere.
“No,” he said simply.
Well shit. This is not going the way that I hoped. Time for a new plan. Looking around the foyer, I can’t see any keys hanging from a hook, but I do notice a basket on a hallway table near the front door. There are several key fobs nestled inside. Taking a quick glance out the window, I notice there are a few cars and a motorcycle parked in the circular driveway.
I glance quickly to see that Ilya is on a call with someone, so I grab a random key fob from the basket and head for the front door. Clicking the unlock button on the key fob in my hand, it unlocks Ivan’s Mercedes at the front of the line. There’s some damage to the back end from yesterday’s chase, but I’m not worried about that.
I get into the driver’s seat and start the car. In the rear-view mirror, I can see Ilya rushing out the front door and towards me. I put the car in drive and head down the driveway. I didn’t notice it yesterday when Ivan brought me here, but his house is set back from the road, the driveway long and curved.
I think to myself that it might not be so bad to live in a place like this someday—until I get to the entrance gate and it’s closed.Crap!Where is the button to open it? I look around the dashboard and the sun visors and don’t see one. I start pushing a random buttons on the bottom of the rear view mirror, and finally the gate starts to open. I smile.
The smile doesn’t last long because as soon as the gate is halfway open I notice there’s a man standing in the middle of the driveway. It’s not just any man—it’s Ivan.Where the hell did he come from?
He stands there looking at me, his arms crossed across his chest, and he doesn’t look happy. He drops his arms and slowly walks to the passenger side of the car. The car is locked so he can’t get in—or so I think. Ivan reaches into his pocket, and I hear the click of the door unlocking.
“Going somewhere,lyubimaya?” Ivan asks as he settles into the passenger seat.
