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I held the key in the palm of my hand and squeezed it tight. The journal had fallen to the floor, and when I picked it up, it fell open to a page that was ripped in half, the bottom part missing. I could only make out the beginning of the first word.
Kav…
Kaviathin.
My head snapped in the direction of the office door, a dinging sound letting me know that someone had just come up in the elevator. I put the key back in the journal and stuffed it back on the bookshelf. The hair on my arms lifted, and I bit the inside of my cheek.
Fuck, crap, fuck, crap.
Was it Valik? Or, worse, Ryzen? What would he do if he found me snooping in his office? I wiped the sweat from my forehead and pressed my ear to the door, not hearing anything. I counted to three and opened the door just a crack. Still, I didn’t hear anything.
What the hell.
Ryzen’s bedroom was just across from his office, so I held my breath and ran as fast as I could, pushing the door closed softly. My heart slammed against my chest as heavy footsteps came from down the hall, and I made a beeline for the en suite bathroom and shut the door.
“Miss La Roux?” a loud voice bellowed, and I squeezed my eyes shut. “Are you up here?”
It was Valik.
Think, Nova, think.
I ripped my clothes off as the footsteps grew closer, and a moment later, Valik threw the door open and stared at me with his mouth hanging open.
I screamed and reached up, covering my breasts with my arms. “Get out!”
“Oh, fuck, Miss La Roux, I’m sorry.” His face flushed and he had the decency to turn his back right away.
“Get out of here!” My voice was on the verge of sounding hysterical, and that wasn’t even an act. I had been two seconds away from being caught snooping.
“Yes, sorry, fuck.” He shut the door and I leaned against the sink, willing my heart to slow down. That had been close. Too close.
I put my clothes back on and used a damp cloth to cool my face down. There was a cup on the sink and I filled it up with water, pouring it into the standing shower. After a minute, I finally felt composed enough to walk out.
He stood in the living room, his hands stuffed in his pockets. I cleared my throat and he turned, his face still burning red. “Miss La Roux, I apologize. I didn’t realize you would be up here. Why areyouup here, exactly?” He raised his eyebrows at me.
“Shower. Showering. Ryzen has better water pressure. And I wanted to, uh, feel close to him. The shower is a very special place for us.” I was pretty sure my face was as red as a tomato, but he didn’t acknowledge it.
“Your hair is not wet though.” Valik quirked his eyebrow.
“Hm? Oh, you must not have sisters or a wife. Can’t wash it every day. Ruins it.” I chuckled and dug my nails into my palms. “Maybe if you hadn’t washed yours so much, you would still have some.” My eyes darted to his bald head, then back to his eyes.
He laughed and shook his head, and my shoulders sagged slightly. “I shave it, actually. The ladies seem to enjoy it.” He grinned, and I returned his smile. For being a bodyguard—well, Ryzen’s bodyguard—he definitely didn’t give off creepy vibes. Maybe he wasn’t going to be a problem for me after all.
“Can we keep this between us?” I pointed my finger from me to him. “I don’t want Ryzen to freak out about you seeing me naked. He gets territorial.”
Valik’s eyes got big, and he nodded. “Absolutely. Our secret. And I’m sorry again.”
“No, it’s OK. I should have let you know. Anyways, I should take a nap—um, but in my apartment, so you’re free to go do whatever you need to do.” I grabbed my purse from the couch and walked around him.
“I’ll come keep guard.” He followed me to the elevator and pressed the down button. “Mr. Goodacre told me not to let you out of my sight. And he doesn’t like it when people don’t follow orders.”
I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. Was there any point in arguing with him? It wouldn’t get me anywhere to object. Besides, I was a “kidnapping survivor.” Wouldn’t I want someone watching over me? “OK, Mr. Bodyguard. Let’s go then.”
One thing was for sure, Valik took his job very seriously. When we got down to my unit, he opened every door to make sure nobody was hiding ready to snatch me up again. He even checked in the shower and the pantry. After he was convinced I was completely alone in the apartment, I gave him a chair from my dining table set and let him sit outside my front door.
I was going to have to figure out a way to ditch him. Some way, somehow. I couldn’t have him around me twenty-four seven. That could compromise everything, and I wasn’t going to let anyone get in my way of finding out the truth about Ryzen.
No matter what the cost.
