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“No, I’m just going to bed.”
He’s the family’s computer wunderkind who stays up all night while chain chugging Red Bulls to stay alert. I keep warning him that one of these days, his lifestyle is going to catch up to him, but does he listen? Of course not.
I roll my eyes. “Your sleep schedule is concerning.”
Luka shrugs. “I’m a night owl, so sue me.” He takes a sip of his water and gives me a suspicious glance. “So… are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I grumble as I make my way over to the coffee.
“The newwife,” Luka clarifies. “I heard her shuffling around all night. I still can’t believe Mikhail bullied you into it.”
“What are we, eight? He didn’t bully me. I agreed of my own volition.”
“That’s fucking nuts.”
“Yes, I still remember the whole speech you gave me before I got on the plane.”
Luka snorts. “Whatever. It’s your life to screw up.”
“Love you too, jackass.” As I prepare my morning coffee, I ask, “Did she set off any of the alarms last night trying to get out?”
“Nope,” Luka says easily. “None of the home security cameras in the living room were triggered. I think she stayed in her room the whole night.”
Hm.
I’d take this as a good sign were it not for the fact that I don’t trust Alina one bit. Only a fool mistakes quiet for peace.
“Keep an eye on her while I’m out,” I say.
“What? Why me?”
“Because I have to go to work and deal with Richard.”
“That asshole’s still being a pain in the ass?”
“Always.”
“You don’thaveto go straight back to work, you know,” Luka says, getting up from the kitchen island. “I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure you should use this time to get to know the missus.”
“The day I take relationship advice from you is the day hell freezes over, little brother.”
“Nowyou’rebeing the jackass.”
“It must run in the family.”
With that, I leave Luka to his dinner-breakfast and start toward Alina’s room.
All is calm and still. I normally wouldn’t find this suspicious given the early morning hours, but in the short time I’ve known Alina, I’ve learned it’s better to err on the side of caution. She’s too sharp for her own good, and with those disarming eyes of hers, it’s all too easy to let my guard down.
I knock on her door. Once, twice. No response.
There’s a chance she’s asleep, but that’s exactly what I thought at the hotel in Moscow. The windows in my penthouse don’t open wide enough to allow a person through, and though I know she’s unhappy, I sincerely doubt she’d hurl herself a hundred stories to her death. Regardless, I open her door a crack just to double check—
Alina stands directly in front of me, her hand outstretched as if reaching for the doorknob. She stares up at me, her hair messy from sleep and her eyes puffy from crying.
“Oh,” she breathes, seeming just as surprised as I am. “What do you want?” There’s no heat behind her words, just resigned exhaustion. I don’t know why, but I have to fight the urge to rub my thumb over the crease in her brow.
“I’m going to work,” I tell her. “While I’m gone, I want you to—”
