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He was assertive, thorough and she found herself immersed one again in the man’s kisses and his arms, until his cell phone began ringing. He pulled from her lips, stared at them then brushed along her lower lip.
“Come. Now.” He took her hand and answered his cell phone with the other hand, and guided her to the kitchen.
He spoke in Russian and led her to one of the stools by the island. Roman was there, and another man she didn’t know was cooking up food by the stove.
“Codor makes a mean chicken and pasta dish, and does something to vegetables that makes any kind edible.” Roman told her.
“It smells very good.” She said and then heard Ivan raising his voice and walked out of the room entirely. She had turned to look that way and then turned back, and she felt dizzy. She gripped the counter with one hand and her head with the other.
“Whoa. Easy there.” Roman was by her side immediately.
“I’m okay. Maybe something to drink. Water?” She asked.
“Of course. Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked as Ivan re-entered the room. She nodded as he looked at Ivan and then went back around the island.
Ivan slid his hands up her back to her shoulders. “You were hit very hard. You’re small, and things could have gone a lot worse. Let’s get you something to eat.”
“I hope you’re all hungry.” Codor said as he started placing his concoction of chicken and pasta into a large bowl and then added vegetables to another dish. He made enough for an army and she didn’t realize why, until more men began to filter into the room.
“She should be very hungry. She hasn’t eaten anything since yesterday afternoon.” Ivan pointed out and released her shoulders to take the plate of food and place it down in front of her.
“This is too much. I’ll never eat it all. Here take some onto another plate.” She said.
“No, you eat that. You need food, and rest. After this it’s back to laying down.” He ordered, and she knew it was an order. One glance toward the other men and she was smart enough not to make a scene. These were all men who worked for Ivan Sokolov, and she didn’t need to know anything more.
****
“So Ivan Sokolov got your number from her cell phone?”
“Apparently.” Louisa told Allie, Maggie, Eve, Salena and Alexa as they gathered in the kitchen.
Allie whistled.
“Do you think she was hurt or do you think he’s protecting her because she was caught in the middle of something?” Allie asked.
“Obviously something dangerous happened, and I’m thinking she is hurt but not badly or he would have sent for us. I’m leaning toward him being able to take care of her and that’s why she’s at Ivan’s penthouse.” Maggie added.
“I hope she’s okay. More than likely she’s freaking out and is resistant to the attraction she feels for him, and I don’t blame her. Ivan Sokolov is definitely intimidating, and connected. Her life would be different, that’s for sure.” Eve said to them. They all agreed.
“He’s super-hot though.” Salena said.
“I wonder how long we wait before we try calling her. Shouldn’t she be up and about by now even if she got hurt?” Alexa asked.
“We can try texting her and if we don’t get an answer in an hour or so then we can call.” Maggie suggested.
“No. Ivan called and said Annabella was okay and that she was under his care and protection. We do nothing but wait until she sends us a message. She’s safe with him.” Louisa told them.
“Oh boy, well if anyone knows how these things work it would be you Louisa, considering your family connections. Any way to find out what exactly happened from someone you know?” Allie asked her.
“I thought about finding out but it’s probably better to just wait. Annabella will tell us when she gets home. Plus, the last thing I want to do is make it known that I’m back in New York, and that my friends and I are hanging out with men like Ivan Sokolov.”
“Great, now we’ll worry until then.” Salena said and they all agreed.
****
“What do we do now?” Aiden asked Ched.
“Nothing. They won’t figure out we were pulling the strings behind this. I’m more pissed off that Berin didn’t kill all of them but instead got killed. A dead man can’t talk.”
