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“You’ve made it clear that I’m just bait in your little game of shark attack.” I cock my head to the side. “I didn’t realize you gave a damn enough to keep an eye on us.”
“I stayed here for the baby so you could sleep.”
“Oh.” My eyes trace over the ripped abs my daughter has the pleasure to be plastered against. “Well, thanks, I guess. I can’t say you’re a dick for wanting to be around for your daughter. At least she rates. You’re lucky she went right back to sleep.”
His jaw tightens and he nestles Daniela closer to him without touching my snippy comments. “Go to bed. I’ve got this.”
I slowly straighten up, his disdainful expression snuffing out the butterflies flitting in my chest. “Bathroom?”
“Second door on the left.” He shuts off the phone light and drops the device onto his leg before leaning his head back against the wall.
I tiptoe toward the door and slowly pull it open to eliminate any creaking. Once I close it, I walk down the hallway toward the kitchen, stopping in front of a door. My eyes are bleary with sleep. I rub them hard as I twist the handle.
Blinking fast, I start to walk into what I think is the bathroom, but when the sensor light blinks on, I find myself staring at shelves full of stuff — towels, tools, cleaning products, and an assortment of other stuff I don’t have time to catalog. Quickly scanning the contents of each shelf, I notice that the top one is a mess of gold, wood, and plastic.
I back away, staring curiously at the items stuffed into the space. They look like trophies of some kind. Bold-colored jerseys catch my eye as well. I peer around them, reaching up to move them aside when something hard rolls off the shelf and crashes onto my nose.
I swallow a yelp. Tears spring to my eyes, pain from the impact shooting straight up to my brain.
The assailant, a hard plastic helmet, slips from my grip when I clap a hand over my nose. Juggling the helmet along with my balance, I manage to keep it secure in my arms. The last thing I want is for Danil to catch me snooping.
He hates me enough as it is.
I stare at the front of the navy blue helmet. It says “Panthers” across the top in white block letters.
Does the deviant bratva assassin play…hockey?
Interesting since Danil doesn’t strike me as the jock type at all, although his shredded, god-like body and ripped muscles could definitely put professional athletes to shame.
My brow furrows as I slide the helmet onto a shelf I can actually reach since I don’t care to have anything else pummel me from his mess of crap. I close the door as quietly as possible and take a few quick steps toward the door I really hope is the bathroom.
A flick of the wall switch drenches the whole room in bright light. I let out a breath and take care of my business, padding across the gleaming marble tiles to get to the door once I’ve washed my hands. With all the hard stone surfaces and stark white furniture and accents, the amount of babyproofing that would need to be done to make it even remotely safe for Daniela is staggering.
Then again, once he uses me to get what he wants, I don’t think the lack of babyproofing will be my biggest issue. That will be pretty far down the list if it’s me dangling on the end of a fish hook, waiting for the predators to sink their teeth into me.
I creep back to the bedroom, forcing myself to stare straight ahead at the large dark shadow of my bed. Tiny butterflies dance in my belly, the image of Danil snuggling with his baby is more of an aphrodisiac than chocolate or coffee. The urge to stare at him grabs hold, but there’s no way I’d give him the satisfaction. Moving slowly and stealthily, I make it to the mattress and climb on top. An unsteady stream of breath releases from my lungs once I flip onto my back.
The place is quiet and locked down like Fort Knox but still, it’s hard to shake the uneasy feeling that someone is watching me.
I roll onto my side, and despite my better judgment, peek into the corner where Danil is camped out with Daniela. Even squinting hard doesn’t give me a good glimpse at his face, which is probably pinched with anger and disgust. But after the nightmare I just had, I really need to see something familiar at least. He’s not a friendly, but he’s still somewhat comforting in an off-putting kind of way.
A sudden stream of light flashes into my eyes and I fall backward, shielding my face.
“What are you doing?” I try to keep my voice no higher than a whisper so as not to wake up Daniela.
“You were looking this way. Figured I’d help.”
“By blinding me?”
“I thought I made it clear I don’t care about your pain.”
“Thanks. I got your message. No need to send it again.” I fall back against the one throw pillow I was able to salvage for myself after creating a barricade for Daniela. Fuck, my neck is already sore from sleeping on what can only be described as a decorative rock. I’m going to have such a crick tomorrow.
And I have a bad feeling that won’t be the only pain in the neck I encounter.
I stare at the ceiling, tapping my hands on the mattress. My toes wiggle as if they’re choked for air. I hate when my feet are confined by the sheet and blanket. They’re way too claustrophobic. I struggle to kick at the sheet, but it’s tucked too tight into the mattress. I must have really passed out hard before because there’s no way I’d have been able to fall asleep with my feet constricted like this.
“Are you going to go the fuck to sleep or what?”
