Page 55 of Essence of Fear

Konstantin’s voice stopped him as he turned. “What are you doing?”

Pav’s brow dipped. “Going downstairs where I do my job.”

“Your job is upstairs now.”

He glanced between the two men, but they only stared at him, waiting. He wasn’t sure what to say or do but he figured it wasn’t the time or place to argue. Konstantin seemed to understand his inner struggle, though.

“I made it clear to you that your job here for us would be changing, no? Did you think I was speaking just to hear myself talk?”

“No,” Pav replied, positive that was the correct response. “But—”

“The chambers will be handled. Your job is upstairs.”

All right.

Without a word, he spun on his heel, waved a hand for them to continue, and then he followed behind the brothers as they headed down the main hallway of the Compound. Kolya and Konstantin continued their conversation like it hadn’t been interrupted in the first place. All the while, Pav stayed tucked away in his mind, trying to figure out what exactly was happening here, and how he wanted to deal with it.

He’d never really been free before.

Sure, he’d heard Konstantin explain to him that it was going to happen. He would no longer be a Boykov dog on a leash, but he hadn’t actually been listening. That had never been his reality, after all, and it didn’t seem real.

Apparently, it was.

“And will you do that, then?” Konstantin asked.

Pav blinked out of his thoughts. “Do what?”

Konstantin arched a brow, annoyed. “Were you not listening to me?”

“Was I supposed to be?”

Kolya chuckled. “Da, Pav.”

Oh.

Konstantin sighed. “We have a team ready to look for Boris. Viktoria, however, needs to be safe. I figure … sending her away for a time might be better than keeping her here. She’s angry, and she won’t want anyone too close. I suspect she’ll be going through some things, too. Better for her to deal with it all where people aren’t watching.”

“She needs space,” Pav replied. “From everyone.”

He’d heard her shout that at Konstantin as he’d left her house.

“Maybe,” Konstantin agreed, “but I thought she would also need someone to go with her. Someone she likes well enough, and perhaps even trusts.”

Pav blinked, understanding. “You mean me.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. She didn’t want me there this morning, either.”

Konstantin nodded. “Smart, hmm? Except I didn’t ask what you thought—I asked if you would do it.”

“You say that like I get a choice.”

“You do.”

Ah, yeah.

Freedom.