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He shakes his head. “Your parents are not dead.”
I turn to him, blinking. “What?”
“I had my men travel to Corden Park.Garrett and Jillian Masters are both alive. They’ve been moved temporarily to a safehouse not far from there.”
I stare at him in shock. “You’re serious.”
He nods. “The trailer is a lost cause. There’s nothing there to salvage. But they weren’t home when the fire started. They’re okay, Paige. If you want to speak to them, I can call my guys and patch you through.”
I look up at him. “I’m so sorry, Misha. I was a bitch to you. You didn’t deserve that.”
He kneels down in front of me and palms both of my thighs with his huge hands. “You don’t ever have to apologize about your worst reactions, Paige. The whole point of doing this together is that we can carry each other through the hardest times. Maybe that means that, every once in a while, one of us will be a punching bag for the other. That’s okay.” He strokes my knee and smiles. “I used to think that it was the worst thing in the world, having you really see me. I was convinced you’d hate me the moment you saw who I really was. And somehow, you’re still here.”
“Because I love you.”
“As I love you,” he says simply.
He says it so easily, as if it’s a simple, obvious fact rather than what it really is—a miracle.
Tears stream down my cheeks. I throw myself into his arms and wrap my arms around his neck. He holds me close and kisses my temple again and again.
“So.” He shifts me onto his lap, his fingers stroking my arm. “About your parents… do you want to see or speak to them before I move them?”
“Move them?”
“They’re a target now that Petyr has set his sights on them. The plan is to move them to Australia for the foreseeable future. I’ve already arranged to set them up in a cottage in Dubbo.”
“Is that a real place?”
He chuckles. “It’s about five hours outside of Sydney.”
“And they’ve agreed to this?”
“My men went over the plan with them. They jumped on board pretty quickly when they realized they’d be getting a free two-bedroom house and a monthly stipend.”
I gawk at him in awe. “You don’t have to do all of that for them. Or any of it, really.”
“I know that. But they are your parents. Even if they’re wastes of breath, they’re responsible for your existence. So, for that fact alone, I want them taken care of. That, and the fact thatyouwould want them taken care of.”
I touch his hair, almost just to confirm that he’s real and this isn’t some twisted dream. “You’re amazing, Misha. But… I think it’s enough to know that they’re alive. It’s enough to know they’re taken care of. They don’t want to hear from me, anyway, not really. And I don’t want to shatter my peace of mind for a conversation that will never go the way I want it to.”
He nods and kisses my shoulder as he rises. “They’ll be on a plane this evening. You won’t have to worry about a thing. You’ll never have to worry about a thing, Paige Orlov. I’m here for you.”
68
PAIGE
“Misha, it’s really not a big deal.” He’s snarling so heavily on the phone I’m not even sure if he can hear me. “I can go to the doctor’s appointment on my own.”
“No,” he growls. “I can still make it. We’ll just have to meet at the hospital.”
“It’s just one appointment. I can handle it myself.”
“I don’t want you going alone.”
I roll my eyes. “When am I ever alone? There’s always four burly men shadowing my every step.”
“I’m not talking about protection. I want someone there for emotional support.”
