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But Davorin already knew where I lived; how to get in and out undetected. What if all of this was just part of his game?
Not once in a million years would I have thought that anyone could be this obsessed with me, and my contradictions were becoming harder to keep up with. One moment, the attention I was receiving didn’t feel too bad and I wanted his help, and the next, I wanted Davorin out of my life forever, as if he’d never existed.
Aleksei would’ve bent the world backwards to grant me my wish if I ever decided to get rid of Davorin, but it would only prove my father’s point that women were incapable of taking care of themselves, always in need of protection.
It should’ve put me at ease that Aleksei had assigned me new guards. I knew they were around, but I still looked over my shoulder after every corner I turned.
I got home quicker than anticipated, distracted by the irrational thoughts that filled my mind.
“Oh, you’re home.”
I screamed. I’d been too busy thinking of a man whose face I’d yet to see to notice that my door was unlocked. I took a deep breath, attempting to calm myself down, though it took some time for my heart rate to drop.
“What the fuck? How the hell did you get in?”
Xenia was sitting on the floor in my living room, happily sipping a mug of tea with a pair of glasses resting on top of her nose. Once she noticed that I had no intention of harming her, she grinned and rushed towards me, opening her arms for a hug.
I stepped aside. “Never touch me.”
The smile faltered from her lips. “I forgot about your inability to experience happiness through human touch. My bad.”
“I don’t like your tone,” I told her, and she raised her hands in surrender before returning to her previous spot. I followed her like a lost puppy. “Why are you here?”
She sighed. “You might want to get a drink for this one—it’s not a social visit.”
I murmured, “It never is.” Then I went and made myself a shot of espresso. It was broad daylight, and day drinking at home, was a line I didn’t usually cross—until there was an occasion.
“Before you threaten to murder me and send my remains to my family,” she said and then carefully made more distance between us, “I’m telling you this against the boss’s wishes.”
“Out with it, Xenia.” I’d raised my voice slightly, and her lips thinned into a line.
She slid her glasses up onto her head, which pushed her short hair back. Her deep brown eyes stared at me, and I saw a flicker of doubt flash behind them before it vanished.
“When you requested full access to our database, I didn’t grant it. I couldn’t do it without the boss finding out, and if he did, he would ask a lot of questions. So I limited it, but I gave you more than the Pakhan does.”
“Still doesn’t explain why you’re here, Xenia,” I drawled, bored already.
“Well, the method you used to delete your searches wasn’t foolproof, and the boss saw it before I erased it completely. I’m here to warn you: Dominik is coming here within the next three days, and he’s both concerned and pissed. What the hell did you get into with Davorin?”
“Dominik is coming here?” A sense of happiness washed over me, a wide grin on my face.
“I don’t think you understand what I’m saying, Ekaterina. He’s coming here to put a bullet through Davorin’s head and drag you back home because of it.”
The smile fell from my face. “Not happening.”
“It’s happening. And you don’t have much time to actually do anything about it, aside from minimize the contact you have with that guy.”
“How do you know I have any contact with him?”
She snorted. “Please, you’re attracted to danger like moths are to flame. And I know your endgame here—it’s too dangerous.”
I tilted my head to the side, enjoying myself now. This conversation was fun, which was unusual, because Xenia never knew when to shut up. “Oh, what do you think is happening here?”
She flinched and visibly swallowed a lump in her throat. “What your father did to you was… inhumane, and those kinds of wounds never fully heal, but killing him will only create a mess.”
I stood up abruptly. Her comment had angered me. I’d forgotten that Xenia was one of the smartest people I’d ever met. Although she was mostly shy, reserved, and spoke little, she was extremely intelligent and had a knack for reading people.
“I don’t care about the mess,” I stated. “If it means giving up my life to end his, then it’s a price I’m willing to pay. Now, you can either make yourself comfortable in the guest room and avoid bothering me, or you can get the hell out.”
