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I wander into the living room and walk up to the windows to stare out. It’s a dreary day, gray overhead with a low cloud bank hiding some of the view beyond the immediate buildings. Maybe I’ll be out there soon. He’ll get tired of playing protector and send me off on my own. That’s what I want anyway, right?
There’s a knock on the door. I spin, my heart and lungs and fucking spleen in my throat. Did he find us already? Is the peace over so soon? I don’t want to run anymore, and I can’t stand to see Ivan get hurt again.
I square my shoulders, readying to throw myself on anyone’s mercy to ensure nothing happens to him. He kept me safe, and I can do the same for him if it comes down to it.
Ivan wanders out, wiping his hands on his cloth. He’s only wearing slacks, and a button-down dress shirt, with the sleeves pushed up. Somehow even with all that oil and grease, his white shirt doesn’t have a spot on it.
He glances at me as I stand tense near the windows. “It’s fine. It’s just Alexei. No one is going to find you here. You trust that, right?”
I swallow and don’t answer. He waits a moment, then crosses to open the door.
A man I saw before slips in and locks it behind him. He’s holding an oversized cream envelope and passes it to Ivan.
Alexei nods to me and heads to the bar without a word.
Ivan rips the top of the envelope and pulls out something. “Fuck. He’s not serious, is he?”
I’m already crossing to his side and immediately spot the names on the invitation. “Is that from Adrian?”
Ivan shoots me a look that says, really? “Adrian wouldn’t send this. If he wanted to throw a party for us, he’d tell me himself. This is from your father.” He passes me the envelope. “Apparently, he wants to celebrate our marriage in front of the entire society.”
Alexei joins us, sipping on something in a low-ball glass. Whiskey by the smell of it. “Adrian got this this morning, sent me to check if it was real, and then delivered it here.”
Ivan studies his friend, and I can’t help but stare between them, trying to see anything either might give away.
“He’s definitely having a party. I’m not sure how many people will attend, but he’s accessed society’s caterers and vendors. The ones everyone usually uses.” His shoulders sag a bit. “I didn’t get much on the guest list, though. There wasn’t one published anywhere that I could bribe or steal.”
Ivan clutches his shoulder while he scans the invitation again. “You did fine. Thank you for bringing this over so quickly. We obviously aren’t going, but I want to make sure we know what he’s planning; if he’s planning something other than simple gloating.”
Alexei sips his drink and throws his tall frame down on a coach. “You sure that’s a good idea? Not attending, I mean. He’ll want to gloat…look here at my new shiny connection to the Doubeck family. He might have important people there, people you’ll want access to.”
Ivan glances at me. “Would he be that stupid?”
I shrug. “He’s vain and loves looking like he’s on top of the world, on top of everything, so yes, but it would be more about vanity and social standing than business for him.”
I keep my eyes on Ivan as he considers. He stares at the invitation in his hands, clutching it so tightly that I think he’s resisting the urge to ball it up and toss it away. If he doesn’t do it soon, I’ll do it for him. This feels like a trap, and having the invitation here, in a place that is supposed to be safe, makes things feel bad…spoiled…and I don’t know how to fix it. This is the first place I’ve felt truly safe. The first time I’ve slept in a real bed for a very long time.
Ivan skips his eyes to my face and then over to Alexei behind me. “We need to shop. She’ll need some clothes.”
It takes me a second to figure out what he’s saying. “Are you talking about me? Why do I need clothes?” I pluck at the soft sweater leggings combo I’m wearing. An outfit given to me by Val. Along with several others. “I have clothes. Val gave me more than I need.”
He draws me in, hands framing my hips, one of them still clutching the invitation. I close my eyes at the intimate touch. “Go get your shoes on.”
I don’t put up a fight, and I do what he asks. Only because he touched me and softened for the first time in days.
Alexei comes with us but trails behind more like a bodyguard than a friend. Inside the shop, Alexei speaks to the shopkeeper, and she rushes off to empty the store. Did people really do that? “This isn’t necessary.”
