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“Paige, I don’t know what you’re doing with this man,” Kenney speaks under his breath, but everyone is listening. “But he is a criminal. A thug.”
“I’m a businessman.” Andrei laughs. “And your cousin-in-law.”
Kenney’s smirk of superiority slips off his mouth. And though I shouldn’t be happy, I’m glad to see someone get the upper hand over him. My head swims, and I lower my forehead to Andrei’s chest.
“My mother is dead,” I mutter. They both know, but I say it anyway. My voice sounds so far away.
Kenney reaches his hand out toward me. “Paige, come with me, and we can figure out the next steps. We need to tell your father.”
I want to lash out at Kenney and remind him that he hates my father. I don’t know why. It wasn’t always that way. As a kid, he looked up to Dad. But once he became a cop, he changed. And the same change took over my dad as well. The two of them haven’t seen each other since.
I place my hand on Andrei’s chest, and my fingers toy with the shirt buttons. “My husband has to come with me.”
“Fine.” Kenney stares at us; his gaze becomes colder as he focuses on me. “Leave with your husband.”
He reaches into his jacket, and the silent room whips into instant action. The guards immediately reach under their jackets. The other cop reaches for his gun. Dmitri steps toward Andrei, and Oleg races to my side.
Smirking, Kenney holds a business card up in the air and presents it to me with a flourish. “Please let me know when the funeral is, Paige.” He gives Andrei a glare, and Andrei returns it in kind.
“I will take it from here.” Andrei snatches the business card from his fingers and reads it aloud. “Officer Kenney Grant.”
I let Andrei guide me toward the door, the bartender giving us a hateful look. The bar empties out except for a few customers seated in the dark corners, waiting to provide commentary on what just happened. Kenney watches us leave as if it’s by his permission.
“I don’t want any of you back here again!” the bartender shouts out behind us. “This used to be a decent neighborhood.”
Maybe it was a decent neighborhood once upon a time, and maybe it still is.
But it’s a world that I’m not a part of anymore.
Chapter 47
Andrei
I keep glancing over at Paige on the ride home. She looks frail from distress, as if one wrong word might break her into pieces. I say nothing as she looks out the window in silence.
Her cousin Kenney knew what I was. He also knew who I was before he asked. He just wanted to see if I had the nerve to tell him.
She sniffs as I pull into the driveway leading to the gate. I wonder if it’s a relief to be back here for her. I glance over again as she stares at the trees rushing past the window. The sunlight is swimming in her eyes, and the crystal blue shimmers like the ocean.
They’re so transparent; she cannot hide what she feels from me. She sighs again, choking back a sob. Her weakness makes me protective. I want to take her into my arms, press my mouth against her skin, and inhale her scent.
Shamefully, I feel something else. A monstrous desire stirs in my chest. I want to feel her tighten around me as I claim her. I want to turn her tears into moans. I want her to look at me helplessly while she begs for harder strokes.
I am a monster.
It’s only then that I notice her bare ears. “Where are your earrings?” I ask.
“I wasn’t going to advertise them in that bar.” She gives me a dirty look for asking, reminding me that she’s not weak—even in sadness. “They’re in my purse.”
“You should wear them,” I say.
Paige stares at me, and I can read her thoughts. Diamond earrings aren’t important now. Not compared to what she has lost.
I know she thinks it’s my fault somehow. But she doesn’t ask the question. Her mind is made up. The Rovers are parked beside us, hemming in the Lamborghini. The men wait to make sure we enter the house unharmed, but who dares to come here? I grip Paige’s arm before she can spring out of the car.
She stares into my eyes until suddenly, a large tear falls down her cheek.
“I’m sorry for what happened to your mother.” The stilted words sound insincere despite how I feel. “We will find the person.”
