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But this? He actually sounds halfway compassionate.
“Yeah, but it’smykids he chose to stalk. Like some creepy fucking predator. And he’s scared the living hell out of them. So I’m gonna go down there and—”
“Emma.” His voice may be less harsh than it usually is, but it’s no less commanding. “Those kids are scared. They need you right now more than you need to kill him.”
That gets through to me.
Dammit.He’s right.
Suppressing a frustrated sigh, I gesture for him to go ahead. I wait until he’s disappeared down the stairs before I head back into the apartment.
Josh is waiting for me by the door. I take his hand as we head towards the girls’ bedroom. He gives me a shy glance. “Your boss is cool,” he breathes.
I force a smile. To an eight-year-old boy with no male role model, of course Ruslan is cool. But to a twenty-six-year-old woman with three young dependents, he’s nothing but dangerous.
Not for the first time, I begin to question all the choices I’ve been making recently.
Am I making a mistake?
Am I putting the kids in danger?
Is it too late to go back?
I’m afraid all the answers are “yes.”
26
RUSLAN
The sleazy motherfucker is leaning against his rundown Buick LeSabre when I step out onto the street. He straightens up when he sees me, his eyes sharp, his fingers twitching. “What a pleasure running into—”
“Cut the shit, Remmy.” My voice is low with menace, but that’s only because I don’t want to draw attention to this little exchange. The kids are terrified enough as it is. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
He shrugs nonchalantly, but his fingers keep twitching and he fidgets around a little too much. “Was just in the neighborhood.”
“And you make a habit of prowling around the streets, looking for… what, exactly?”
His crooked smile isn’t the least bit intimidating, no matter how much he might wish otherwise. “A story.”
“You’re not going to find one here.”
“Oh, I beg to differ. That pretty little secretary you have knows more than she’s letting on.”
My hands clench into fists as I take a step closer to him. “My secretary is an employee. She knows only what I tell her. So unless you want to write an exposé on my coffee preferences, get the fuck away from here.”
He turns his sleazy smile onto the windows of Emma’s apartment. I follow his gaze to see four faces at the window. Josh and Emma are at either side of the frame, with two little blonde heads peeking out from the bottom of the lower pane.
“You know, Ruslan, it strikes me as odd that you would be here at all. Considering she’s ‘justan employee.’ Seems rather…protectivefor an infamously hardened employer like you.”
I gnash my teeth. The most efficient way to get my point across would be to beat the living shit out of him. Except there’s no ethical way I can do that with Emma and the kids watching. So instead, I switch to Plan B.
“I take my employees’ safetyveryseriously, Jefferson. It’s the reason you won’t be able to find one person on my payroll who will agree to speak to you.”
His eyes narrow. “All that proves is that you’ve bought their silence. How easy it must be to get what you want when you have cash pouring out of every hole in your body.”
“Careful there. You’re looking a little green with envy.”
He scoffs. “I would be as wealthy as you if I murdered and stole and broke the law as a daily habit.”
