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“What if you could stop them, like I said earlier? You have information that could get them arrested. Their lack of respect for your abilities could be their downfall.”
She shifts the cocoa to one hand and braces the other on the armrest. The furrow in her brow and the way her eyes dart from me to the phone to the door give hints that she’s figuring it out. I’m not ready to reveal that I’m undercover just yet.
Then she relaxes and cups the mug with both hands. No doubt she’s testing me as much as I’m testing her.
“How?” She sips the cocoa, and her eyes flutter shut. She’s adorable, and I force myself to look away so I stop falling prey to the errant thoughts. She’s sixteen years younger than me. I’ve got to keep my head on straight.
“I’ve watched the way you let yourself in on conversations that your father won’t let you take part in. You’ve looked like the obedient daughter, sitting in the corner waiting to assist any of the men who might decide they want another shot of vodka, but you listen. You’re learning. You know everything about your family, don’t you?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m someone who’s taking a risk that could get his throat slit.”
Becoming more interested in the conversation than the fascinations of furniture she’s never experienced, she moves to the small kitchen table.
“Who’s helping who here? You’re offering to help me escape my family in exchange for me telling you things about them to get them arrested. Is that how I escape? They’re in jail? Do you have a plan other than that? I do.”
I’d do just about anything to know her plan, but I can’t push. She needs to keep that private for now. She’s guarded, and rightly so, but running away from her family, the way I’m presuming she’s doing it, comes with great risk that they’ll hunt her down. I can’t let that happen.
I sit at the table with her. “I can protect you.”
She throws her hands out and sits back in her chair. “Are you just going to keep me hidden away in the woods?”
I smile. She’s right to think that. I shake my head. “I can keep you safe in the real world. I have a lot of resources.”
“Ah, resources. Right, you probably want me to pay you to use your resources. You wouldn’t be the first person to find creative ways to come for my family’s money. You do realize I’ll be cut off as soon as my father figures out I’m gone on purpose.”
“I’m not after your money.” I take her hands over the top of the table and I lean forward. Her hands feel so delicate, like there should be something more substantial to physically represent the straw that will break the back of this family. And yet, I’ve observed her. She’s the one. Nikolai is right.
I wish I could take her in my arms. My lips part, and I have to pull myself together. I’ve never been so obsessed with a woman.
She turns her head. Is she disgusted by me?
Time to get back on task. “We can take them down. We can halt the criminal activity, but we have to go in hard and fast.”
Her head whips back to face me. “What the hell? What does that mean? Are you just going to shoot up the place?”
Still playing it safe, I say, “I’m sure the government would love help incriminating your father and others. What if you went to the police and told them about laws that have been broken? You hear how they’re always having to catch criminals on tax evasion. You have information that could connect them to other crimes. Detectives could put the pieces together if you just point them in the right direction.”
She pulls her hands away. “Who are you, Erik?” She stands and strides toward the front door. Is she going to leave? She reaches for the handle. When it turns and opens, she spins around with a funny smile on her face. “You didn’t even lock it.”
I shrug. “No.”
“I thought I was locked in.”
“You’re not.”
“I’m free to go?”
“I won’t force you to stay.”
This must be the death blow. My cover isn’t fully blown but I can never be part of the Solonik Bratva again. The risk that she’ll reveal my betrayal is too high. The FBI will give me a new case to study then move me to a different part of the country.
That will be the hardest part—being away from Lilia. She’ll never be safe, no matter how well prepared she was to escape. The cogs in my mind grind to a halt. I can’t leave her unprotected.
Is she going to walk through that door? Where the fuck will she go? We’re miles into the forest.
She steps onto the porch, and I realize I wouldn’t put it past her to keep walking. She’s fully capable of it, whatever she sets her mind to.
