AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Remind me to have you around if I’m ever nabbed by a rival and can’t get to a hospital,” I said, awestruck by her.
She didn’t look up, only laughed again as she eased the needle through his flesh. There was a very real chance that I could love this woman.
Maybe I already did.
I kept cleaning the more superficial wounds and stayed on guard to hold Leo down if he woke up, all the while desperately trying to forget I just thought that. Love Evelina? Of course, I did. I always had. It was because of our history together that I’d always care for her, and yes, even love her like a—
No. It was more than that now, and I didn’t think it was going to change back to the old fatherly affection any time soon. And it had to stop. Loving Evelina in the way I thought I did was more dangerous than any festering gunshot wound. Unequivocally, no matter what she might think about her doting father, I had no doubt that if Oleg ever found out about us, I’d be dodging his fists, at the very least, if not a bullet.
I had to find a way to end things without making her think she’d done anything wrong. Hell, maybe she’d be glad to be done with me since I still wasn’t sure I wasn’t just a fun way to pass the time while she was stuck in my care. I tried to pretend it was sympathy pain I was feeling as I kept watching her fix Leo up, but the pain was my own. I didn’t want to lose her.
Once she’d gone over him from head to toe and deemed him as well as she could make him, she staggered back a few steps and put her face in her blood-covered hands. She wasn’t as cold as ice. She was holding it all in until the job was done.
That impressed me most of all.
I guided her to the bathroom, all tacky pink and turquoise but with everything in working order, and held her hands under the cool water until all the blood had washed down the drain. I stood close enough to feel the deep trembling she was fighting to control. Our eyes met in the mirror, and hers filled with tears, but she fought to hold them back.
Turning off the water, I handed her a towel and gathered her in my arms. “You don’t need to be strong anymore, Evelina,” I said.
She collapsed against my chest, sobbing. I held her close and let my hand glide up and down her back, making small, soothing noises and just letting her ride out the storm. My heart felt full, holding her like that, but it also broke a little bit. I wanted to always be the one to be there for her in times like this, but I just couldn’t.
She needed me right now, and I wouldn’t let her down, but I had to end this soon before either of us got hurt beyond repair.
Chapter 21 - Evelina
I sat on the cushy armchair beside Leo’s bed and watched him sleep. The small room was a far cry from anything at the Everglades compound, with its palm frond wallpaper and thick turquoise wall-to-wall carpet. The old-fashioned pull-down shades were drawn, and the light of a single ceramic lamp on the bedside table lit the space. The multiple window air conditioning units worked overtime to keep the place cool. They created a soothing humming sound in the background.
Leo snored loudly through his broken nose, and I patted the sheet he was covered with just to have something to do. Despite it being an arguably awful day, I felt oddly content. I shouldn’t have. My brother had been brutally beaten and almost fell to his death, Mikhail had been seconds from getting shot, and I had to kill someone. Even when someone deserved it, even when it meant saving my own life, I didn’t like it.
I would have done it all over again, though, just like I knew Mikhail would. It was part of our lives. Over the hum of the air conditioners, I could hear him clattering around in the kitchen just down the hall, trying to fix us a meal. I had a feeling my sense of calm happiness mainly was to do with him.
I was overjoyed that Leo was safe now and going to be okay. Still, Mikhail’s tender care during my breakdown after having to sew my brother back up gave me hope for a real future together. It was one thing when everything was fun and games in the bedroom, but he’d proven he was there for me through the worst of it as well.
What might that be like? A real future with Mikhail? I pushed aside the awkward thoughts that I knew plagued him. This was our life, after all, not Kristina’s or my father’s. Where would we live? As much as I loved the Everglades mansion, living there full-time would be inconvenient. I giggled softly at the thought of going through all those security checks just to run out for snacks.
I’d never seen where he lived full-time here in Miami, but the place he still owned in Moscow was beautiful. And I did have my investigative work there. Maybe we’d split our time between countries, and our children would, of course, be bilingual.
“What the hell are you daydreaming about?” Leo was awake and staring at me with a bemused expression on his busted face. Normally he was quite handsome, but now…
“You look like Frankenstein’s monster,” I said so I didn’t have to admit what he’d caught me thinking about. “But I’m glad you’re okay.”
He was generous not to tell me it was no thanks to me that he was in that condition. “Where has Mikhail been hiding you?” he asked. “Not even Papa knew for sure.”
I grinned, helping him sit up and pouring him a cup of water. “It’s this huge compound out in the Everglades, like a cross between Yuri’s mansion and a medieval castle, all surrounded by water and jungle.” I described the ride on the airboat, the theater-sized TV screen, and the beautiful grotto with the luxurious pool. Instead of seeming excited, he looked suspicious. At least, I thought he did. It was hard to read him with all the swelling and stitches. Whatever he was thinking was making me nervous. “We’re heading back there as soon as you’re a little better. Did you know you got shot?”
He laughed, then held his aching face. “Yes, I know I got shot. Jesus. Do I have to go back to your swamp prison?”
“It’s not a prison. It’s really amazing, Leo. And Mikhail got my equipment back, so now that you’ll be there, I think we can break that final layer of security I can’t quite squeak through, and the three of us can take down the Novikoffs.”
Now I was almost certain he looked suspicious. “Sure, I’m down with that since they tried to kill me and all, but since when has Mikhail been part of our team?”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “He’s been a big help,” I said.
“What’s really going on? Don’t forget I can read you like a book, Ev.”
I feigned ignorance for about ten seconds, then couldn’t hold out any longer. It had always been the hardest keeping my childhood crush a secret from Leo, but I hid it well and was almost certain he never had an inkling. When I spilled the beans, I was sure of it based on his shocked reaction.
“That’s disgusting,” he hissed, glancing at the door. “That son of bitch is lucky half my bones are broken, but he’d be wise not to let me have a gun again when he’s around.”
