Page 40 of Marrying the Silver Fox

But he was a good person. Despite it all. He might have been lost to his addiction, but he was always there for me, always kept sober enough to give me a lift home in his crappy old car when I was just getting started and needed help running around the city. He always asked me about what I was working on, and how he could help, even if that was just by keeping his ass as far away from my business as possible. We joked about the rich people and everything they had, and I’d share with him the most ridiculous requests from my most demanding brides while we’d laugh on the way to pick up Thai food.

Those memories are the hardest part. The times we were happy together, however brief they were, however distant they seem now. That’s the man I had hoped would one day meet my children.

I had all these ideas about making enough money for him to get sober—one of the reasons I’d thrown myself so hard into my work, because I had these visions of sending him to rehab and him coming out so shiny and fresh and cured.

And when he passed, work was the only thing that kept me sane, as hard to believe as it feels now. I needed something, anything, to keep my head busy in the face of it all. And now that’s been taken from me, the distraction that has kept me from feeling these emotions for the last three years.

Now, they’re all flooding back to me, on top of the shit I have to contend with from Nikolai and his expectations.

I know Chris would never have let me get caught up in this. He would have dug his heels in, done everything in his power to make sure I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to. He would have scouted out everything he knew about Nikolai, made sure I didn’t get involved in anything without fair warning, and I would have had someone—an ally, anything—outside of this place.

But as it is, it’s just me.

Just me and this baby, and the doubt about what the hell I’m going to do next. I don’t know where all of this leaves me, but I know that I’m not going to figure it out sitting around in this house waiting for something to happen.

I sneak along to the door, and peep outside—sure enough, it looks like I’ve managed to time it right, as there’s no guard standing on the door to keep watch over me.

I can’t wait any longer. My heart thumping in my chest, I rush out, hurrying toward the door and down the steps that lead to the street outside.

As soon as I make it past the metal gate that sits between this property and the street beyond, I suck down a great big breath of fresh air. Thank God. It’s the first time I’ve tasted something even close to freedom after everything that has happened.

How long have I been locked up in there? Feels like a lifetime. I tip my head back, looking up to the sky above, which is smeared with the glow of streetlights all around me.

I glance back toward the house. I’ll sneak back in when I’m ready.

It’s not like the guards who let me slip out are going to be in any kind of hurry to tell Nikolai that they took their eyes off the ball long enough for me to get away, and I have to rely on them covering their own butts to cover mine right along with them.

I take a few steps, feeling like a teenager sneaking out in the middle of the night. I wrap my arms around myself, shivering slightly, wishing that I’d brought some kind of coat with me.

Hell, next time, maybe. If there is a next time.

If the security doesn’t tattle on me once they realize that I’ve managed to escape right out from under their noses.

I’m about halfway around the block when I feel something, something nagging at the back of my head. The hairs on my neck are standing up, as though someone is watching me. I frown, and shoot a look back over my shoulder. As far as I can see, the street is empty. I don’t see what anyone else would be doing out and about at this hour, but then…

I hurry up a little, suddenly feeling a grip of discomfort at my chest.

Come on, Andie.

I’m letting Nikolai’s paranoia get to me. There’s nothing to worry about. I am nobody, just some random woman out on a late night walk in the⁠—

And then I hear it.

Footsteps. Behind me.

For a moment, I think it’s the echo of my own steps rising up the alleyway, but they sound heavier than mine do, out of time with the steps I’m taking.

My pulse starts to pick up the pace inside my chest. There’s no way that Nikolai could actually have been right about there being danger out here, could he? I’m still in sight of the house, after all, I doubt someone could catch me this quickly.

I hurry toward the gate once more, deciding that my little jaunt into the outside world is well and truly over. I reach the gate, and look back over my shoulder one last time, scanning the area around me as I try to assure myself that I’m overthinking this⁠—

And then, something slams over my mouth. Cold leather. A gloved hand, pinning me there, cutting off my breath.

I struggle, trying to throw an elbow back toward whoever is attempting to make their move against me. It feels almost as though I’m watching myself from above, staring down at this nightmare as it spins out of my control.

A thick, sweet scent fills my senses. And that’s the last thing I’m aware of before my knees give out from underneath me, and I sink back into the arms of my attacker.

The last thought on my mind is that, whether I want to admit it or not—I should have trusted Nikolai.