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I NEVER SAID I HAD FEELINGS FOR YOU
NATHAN
Alright, so I exaggerated a little, but what the hell else was I supposed to do?
Let Mr. Prince know that there was a plan, one I swore I’d keep hidden until necessary. No, there was no reason for me to bring that secret to light. Karina was around and that meant I could at least pretend she would inherit the Vasiliev company.
I peered over at Karina, stuck in her thoughts. I removed my hand from hers and placed it on her shoulder, shaking her. “You ok there, Princess?”
“M-me?” Her eyes were wide, partially—no, definitely terrified.
I shook my head. “We can talk about this when we’re not surrounded by the public eye.”
“N-no, Nathan, I need to know why?” She shook, fear evident in her eyes. I rubbed my hand over her arm.
Leaning over, I whispered in her ear. “I lied.”
As I pulled away, the tension in her shoulders released. She let out a deep and steady breath. With a nod, she looked in my direction. “Your place?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I started preparing the food already.”
“Why?” she asked, as if the answer wasn’t obvious.
“Well, the woman I like was out with the person I despise the most, so I couldn’t just sit around the house and do nothing.”
“I was hoping you’d be too tired.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t work like that.” I rolled my eyes. “You had me worried sick, checking in on his social media every second just to make sure he hadn’t tried anything funny. How would you feel if I were with another girl?”
She shrugged. “I never said I had feelings for you.”
Karina’s words cut right through me. Even though I never heard her express that she liked me, I hoped she did, especially after everything we’d done. “You didn’t have to shoot me down that hard.”
“I never said I didn’t have feelings for you, either.”
So, there was still a chance. I raised an eyebrow at her. “Well?”
“I’m not sure yet. Maybe some home-cooked dinner will help me think straight.” Karina stood from the table with a smile.
“Haha, very funny.”
She started walking away from me, and I followed after her. Matching her pace, she looked over at me. “How are you even going to cook for me without knowing if I’m allergic to certain types of food or what I don’t like?”
My face paled. Fuck. She had a point. I knew nothing about her and that’s what this dinner was supposed to be about: getting to know her. “I cut up some veggies but kept them separate. Are you allergic to anything?”
“Shellfish.”
“It’s a good thing I don’t eat it too often.” Glancing down at her hand, my fingers wiggled, hoping to brush against hers, but she soon held her hands behind her back.
“I only get a bad reaction when I eat them.”
I nodded my head. “Noted. Anything you’re not a fan of?”
She shrugged. “Not necessarily.”
“What’s your favorite dish?” I asked.
“If I tell you, will you make it for me?” She looked over at me with a smile.
“Yes, but not today.” I smirked in her direction.
“What’s yours?”
“What we’re going to have tonight, meatloaf with some mashed red potatoes, sweet corn, and carrots.”
“That sounds really good.” She dropped her hands to her side.
Taking the opportunity, I reached for her hand, linking my fingers with hers. “You’re fine with mushrooms, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
I tugged on her hand, pulling her gently toward my bike. “Nana’s recipe includes mushroom soup. Daniel hates it, so sometimes she’d drain the soup so the mushrooms wouldn’t get on the meatloaf.”
“This Daniel sounds very picky.”
“Trust me, he is,” I chuckled, “With food, girls, and other things.”
We stopped walking, and I glanced over at her. Her clothing was far too fancy for a ride on a motorcycle, but short enough that the dress wouldn’t get caught. She leaned against the bike, her eyes trailing over me.
“When do I get to meet him?”
I moved forward, placing a hand down on the seat. “One day... maybe someday soon.”
“Kind of wish I could have met all your brothers.” She pushed me away playfully. Grabbing the helmet from the handle as if it was her own, she put it on. “Wait, you said your brother was Matthew’s, right?”
I hummed. “I don’t know when you met Cole, or well, Matthews, as he’s going by now.” Moving her from the bike, I climbed on as she did the same.
“Before I left California,” she responded, wrapping her arms around me.
“When you were kidnapped.” I grabbed the keys from my pocket and turned on the ignition. “At least he helped. The people you have to meet is Daniel and Sebastien.”
“You mean the one you like to beat up?” Her hands traveled down over my leg.
I glanced over, noticing her place her phone inside my pocket for safekeeping. “He beats himself up.”
“That sounds terrible.” She laughed.
“Why the interest?” I asked, genuinely curious. She still wanted to know about my family, and it had been a while since anyone had ever really taken an interest in that.
“It helps me know you more.” Karina shrugged with a smile.
“This date is about me getting to know you,” was the last thing I told her before driving off. It took about an hour from where we were to get to my house.
And as soon as we stepped inside, Karina kicked her heels off to the side. A deep sigh of relief escaped her lips as she stretched her arms in the air. “It feels so good to do that.”
I took a chance and scooped her up in my arms. She turned, and I brushed a strand of hair from her face. This seemed right, her wrapped in my embrace. Her emerald eyes twinkled back at me, and a warm comfort swelled in my chest.
Her tongue lapped over her bottom lip, catching my attention. She drew it in, biting down. I glanced back up, noticing her eyes were on my mouth. Kissing would have been a great idea, but I was afraid that if I started, we’d never get to that stage of learning about one another.
I leaned in, pressing my lips to the corner of hers. “You should probably change.”
“Why? It’s not like I’m cooking.” Her hands traveled along my waist and around my back.
“No, but you’re distracting.”
“What do you want me to change into?”
“I don’t know. Nothing that makes me want to rip your clothes off.”
“So, nothing at all.” Karina grinned as she dropped her hands from me. She turned, her hair swaying in the opposite direction of her hips as she walked off. I would have never thought in a million years I’d find someone I wanted to be with. Well, at least one that somehow made me push all the worries aside.
“Meet me in the kitchen,” I called out to Karina as she ran up the stairs, tripping on her feet.
Laughter spilled from my mouth. I tried to cover my mouth, but I could already hear her calling out, “You saw nothing!”
“Yeah, you wish!” I called back, walking over to the kitchen. My eyes drifted over the counter, the vegetables shuffled around, and the knife…
Karina’s scream pierced my ears. I darted out of the kitchen and ran up the stairs. Shoving the door open, Karina’s teary eyes met with mine. Prince stood behind her, pressing a knife pressed to her neck.
“So nice of you to join us, James.” He sneered.
I held my hands out, showing him I meant no harm. “Mr. Prince, let her go.”
“I don’t think I can.” He took a step back. “Not when she’s the only thing standing in the way of me getting Mr. Vasiliev’s fortune.” He tilted his head to the side. “Her brother as well, but I have years until he’s an actual threat to me.”
I glanced between Karina and him, my heart racing. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”
“Oh, but it does. Since Miss Karina here has refused my proposal on countless occasions.” He pressed the knife closer to her skin. “There seems to be no other option.” He glanced down at Karina, pulling her tighter into his arm. “Unless she changes her mind.”
I looked back at Karina. Even though her watering eyes I could see the anger, fear… all the emotions flooding over her at once. “She’s not the one you should be killing.”
Mr. Prince chuckled. “You’re correct… because I still need her.” He pressed his lips to her head. “Seems to be your lucky day, Miss Karina.” Mr. Prince tossed her to the floor, dropping the knife as well.
He reached behind and pulled out a gun, aiming it at me. “Not so much yours.”
They say life flashes before your eyes when you’re about to die, but the moment Mr. Prince pulled the trigger, I only had one thought in mind. Saving Karina.
A loud pop echoed, but it didn’t overpower the sound of Karina calling out my name. My eyes drifted over to her, but the impact of the bullet knocked me off balance. My body collapsed as I cried out.
Pain pierced through my skin. Burning heat spread through my chest like wildfire. And I could have sworn I screamed fuck. The sensation overpowered my other senses.
Take care of my family.
So much for that promise. There was no way I’d be able to look after any of them. Not that it mattered. I could see a hand reaching out for me. Fuck. This was really going to happen. Who would have thought a bullet would hurt this god damn much? When Mr. Vasiliev got shot, he wasn’t crying in agony like I was.
He was fucking lucky.
Although I still felt the heat where Mr. Prince shot me, my body shook.
God, so fucking help me and get me out of this misery. Well, at least Nana Lisa couldn’t kill me if I was already dead. Maybe she’d just kick my rotting corpse. Or when she finally passed away, hopefully, peacefully, unlike my fucking pain, she’d be able to murder me twice.
I coughed up whatever was in my mouth. Probably blood. I was sure it was blood.
Keep the Vasiliev’s safe. That was my duty.
I never thought in a million years the job would cost me my life. I was always attentive and made sure no harm came to me or others in my care. So long as I was around, they’d be safe, and I tried to make sure that never changed.
Yet there I was, lying on the ground, blood dripping from a bullet wound. All because I didn’t keep a clear head. The sweet scent of her perfume and those cheerful green eyes blinded me. She distracted me to the point where I neglected anyone else’s moves. I failed to be on alert and made the stupid mistake of letting her fall into the hands of the enemy.
I was going to die.
All because I took a bullet in the name of a Vasiliev.
I was fading in and out. And I prayed I wouldn’t die so I could fucking get back up to see the look of disappointment on Mr. Prince’s face. More importantly, so I could keep my word to Karina and take her out... or show her just how much she meant to me.
I could hear her call my name. Her sweet, angelic voice cried out for me. “Nathan, stay with me.”
The sounds of my heavy breathing muffled her voice. Death wouldn’t be so bad... If her face got to be the last real thing I saw.
Karina, you’ll be ok without me, right?
