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Smiling.
I’ve seen him plenty of times—in the middle of the night, no less—but I’m still floored. I’m half-expecting to see a pig fly past the window any second.
A few changes are all it takes to transform him from surly, intimidating CEO-slash-bonebreaker to a dazzling man of the people. If he was running for office right now, he’d get my vote. Hell, he’d get a lot more than that. I’d start a scandal for this version of him.
Timofey Viktorov ishot. I know for a fact Ashley is taking notice.
“Glad the two of you made it safely,” Timofey rumbles.
Gram moves to stand up, but Timofey hurries over and grabs her hand. Then the manbows,like he is royalty or something. Gram’s cheeks turn pink. She’s charmed, just like that.
“Thanks for having us,” she murmurs in a daze. “Your home is lovely.”
Ashley snorts. “Understatement. It’s fucking incredible.”
I elbow her in the ribs. Timofey and I are far beyond the point of first impressions, but I still want Ashley to be on her best behavior. For all she knows, she is standing in my place of work, talking to my boss. She should know better.
She claps a hand over her mouth. “Sorry. Potty mouth. Good thing I’m not taking care of the baby, right? He’d grow up talking like a sailor.”
“Speaking of, where is the little angel?” Gram snaps her fingers together like a greedy crab. “I need baby snuggles.”
“Sleeping.” There’s a hard edge to Timofey’s voice that wasn’t there a second ago. I think I’m the only one who notices it.
Gram nods in understanding. “And you can’t wake a sleeping baby. Everyone knows that. Really, you should be sleeping, Dad. Those are the rules. You sleep when the baby sleeps.”
“If only that was possible,” Timofey chuckles. “I wouldn’t want to be asleep now, anyway. I’m excited to meet a few of the people closest to Piper. I know how much she loves both of you. I’d hate to miss the opportunity to get to know each other.”
Timofey’s gaze flicks to me for just a second and everything clicks.
Gram isn’t here because Timofey was worried about me.
He didn’t call Ashley to comfort me.
It’s a threat.
I could almost laugh. At myself for being so naive, and at Timofey for being so predictable.
But it’s hard to laugh when two of the people I care about most in the world are in danger—because ofme.
28
PIPER
Anger and panic race through my limbs. I’m fidgety, nervous, crawling out of my skin. I can’t stand here for another second.
“Timofey.” My voice comes out sharper than I mean it to. Gram jumps in surprise. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
He frowns, feigning confusion. “Everyone just got here. We can sit down and chat together. Does anyone want anything to drink?”
Again, Ashley opens her mouth to respond, but I cut her off. “It’ll only take a second. If you don’t mind.”
Timofey gives me a warm smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Those are as cold and distant as ever.
I walk past him into the hallway and keep going until I see an open doorway. I step into what turns out to be a library. I turn to the door just as Timofey pulls it closed behind him.
“It’s rude to leave guests waiting, Piper.”
I snort. “It’s probably worse to threaten them, don’t you think?”
