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“I’m glad at least one of us can sleep,” I say, announcing myself.
Piper stands up and moves closer to my side of the room. She drops down into the deep, L-shaped sofa. “Not me. I think my body is running on pure adrenaline right now. He didn’t even need me to sing to him, but I couldn’t sit still.”
The thought of calling Pavel back and telling him that, actually, I’m going to deliver Arber’s head to his father’s doorstep rises up in me. “I’m right there with you.”
“Who was that on the phone?” As soon as she asks, she shakes her head. “Sorry. That’s your business. I don’t need to know. I just feel like I’m in a bubble, you know? Something crazy happened to me and now, no one is talking about it. I checked the news, and you were right. Not a peep.”
She’s talking faster than I can keep up, but I understand enough.
“The man responsible for what happened tonight is dead,” I tell her.
Her mouth falls open. “You…you killed him?”
“Personally? No. I’ve been with you all night.”
She shakes her head in embarrassment. “Right. Obviously.”
“But I ordered him to be killed,” I continue, answering the question she was really asking. “It had to be done. He was a threat to the Bratva. And to you and Benjamin.”
“Because we’re dating.” It’s a statement, not a question. Though, when she looks up at me, I see a world of questions in her eyes.
“It’s one of the perks of your job. You get to be under lock and key all the time so my enemies can’t get to you. I could have sworn I mentioned that.”
She laughs weakly. “You might have left that bit out of the initial pitch.”
“It’s usually what I lead with. Around-the-clock security, my massive fortune, and my massive—”
“Ew.” She tosses a throw pillow at me, biting back a laugh. “Don’t finish that sentence.”
I slide the pillow behind my head and relax back against the arm of the couch. Piper stretches her legs out close enough to graze me with her toes.
It feels like we’re a normal couple. Just two people relaxing during a night in, cuddled up on the sofa. I never imagined myself as that type, but I’ll take Piper pressed against me in whatever form it comes.
“I was going to say my massive heart,” I joke.
“Sure you were.”
She smiles at me, but as the silence stretches, the moment of good humor passes. I can feel the events of the night gathering over us like a dark cloud. I’m just not sure how to dispel it.
“We’re safest here at the penthouse,” I announce suddenly. “The mansion is being repaired and the security system is being upgraded. But the penthouse has always been my most lowkey home.”
“Only you could say a five thousand square foot luxury penthouse is ‘lowkey.’”
“I’ve only told a handful of people I even own it. Even fewer have been here.”
She arches her brows. “Wow. I guess I should feel flattered.”
“I’d rather you feel safe.”
She runs her green eyes over my face and then looks down at her lap, picking idly at the hem of her oversized sweatshirt with nervous fingers. “I’m starting to wonder whether anyone can be safe in your world. Gunmen showed up at a wedding rehearsal tonight. Rodion tried to kill you last week. Emily was murdered.”
I know the dangers that come with my life. Hearing Piper read the receipts still doesn’t feel great.
“There’s always a risk of violence in life. You were attacked in an alley the night we met.”
“Yeah, but you were there to save me,” she says, nudging my thigh with her foot. “I guess that means I’m safe as long as you’re around.”
“That wasn’t true for Emily,” I mutter.
