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“Hi.” His voice is raw and deep.
“What are you doing here?” I squint a little because of the sun and fold my arms over my chest to keep from grabbing onto him. These past weeks have been hell, made worse because I didn’t have him at my side.
“I was going to ask you the same thing. Did something happen?” He looks past me at the house. “Something else we didn’t know about?”
“Ah. Still gathering information for the Romanovs.” I shrug. “No. Nothing having to do with any of them. I was just visiting Andy.”
He frowns. “The manager didn’t give you any trouble?”
“Not since your friend gave him that black eye, no.” I shake my head. “How did you know I was here?” I look past him at the SUV idling at the curb. “You can’t park there.”
His mouth kicks up in a small grin. “You still don’t understand what I can and can’t do.”
I want to smile, I do, because this feels natural. Normal.
“Thank you, by the way, for helping pay for Gunner’s funeral. You didn’t have to do that, and I’d like to pay you back.”
He’s already shaking his head before I even get to my offer to repay him.
“I don’t want your money, Mandy.” He slides his glasses off and tucks them into the front pocket of his shirt.
“Then what do you want?” My voice cracks, just a little, but his eyes widen a fraction. He heard it.
“You,moy malen’kiy voin. That’s all I want.”
“What does that mean, anyway? That name you call me. I tried looking it up, but I couldn’t figure out how to spell it to get a translation.”
His eyes crinkle slightly at the edges. “Just like you to look it up yourself instead of just asking me.” He pauses. “It means my little warrior.”
I take a shaky breath. How the hell am I supposed to combat that?
“I was a job, Maxim. When you took me home from the club that first night it was because I was a job. When you kept me at your place and helped me find out what happened, it was because your bosses gave you a job. That’s all this was, a job.” Every syllable tastes sour as I say it.
His jaw clenches. “You’re wrong.”
“I’m not.” I lift my chin. “I don’t deny we had some… fun… but it was all meant to be temporary.”
“Stop it.” He’s back to being bossy. “Stop lying to yourself and to me.”
“Why? Will you put me over your knee right here on the street?”
He looks every bit willing to do it, and for a second I’m worried maybe I poked the bear a bit too hard.
“You weren’t a job. Not for one second were you that.” He lowers his voice. “Backing from the Romanovs or no, I would have helped you. Orders or not, you weren’t going to be staying anywhere else but with me.”
“Oh, yeah?” Not much of a comeback, but he’s throwing me here. “Are you still working for the Romanovs?”
His eyes narrow a fraction. “Yes.”
“And you think I want to be associated with that family in any way? Those people sell drugs, Maxim. My brother just overdosed on drugs. Do you see how that could be a problem for me?”
His shoulders drop. “Is that the problem? The only problem? Or are you scared that if you’re with me that you won’t be alone anymore? And being alone is the only thing you’re comfortable with?”
It’s a shot straight to my chest.
“You’re afraid,” he accuses. “But you don’t have to be. I’m not going anywhere,moy malen’kiy voin.”
I stare at him a long moment. Everything inside of me urges me to agree, to tell him that’s exactly the problem. I’m terrified of admitting how much I want him, how much I need him, because in a heartbeat he could be gone. And losing him would hurt too much. It’s better this way. Cut everything off before it’s too serious.
