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LENNON
Ishouldn’t be surprised that Dmitri found me so fast. I thought the casino would be a good place to go because my father was still at Morosov’s place. But I had no such luck. He was there and stopped me. I ran out on him too. I told him I needed to shower and then I’d be over. He didn’t expect me to lie to him, but I did.
I glance in the rearview mirror and see no sign of Dmitri. Good. I can’t have him follow me. However, watching him punch the valet not only shocked me but turned me on too. No one knows where I’m headed, but I can’t not go to them now. I need their help.
As I turn down the road to their condo, my cell phone rings. Father had a new phone waiting for me with the same number.
“Where are you?” Ainsley’s voice fills my car.
“Almost to your place.”
“Don’t go there. Ly said it’s not safe now.”
“That’s not exactly what I said.” Lyric’s voice comes across the line.
I turn into a small strip mall down the street from their place.
“Ainsy, what am I supposed to do? Daron had a gun with him and shot one of the guards. Then Brett captured us. Sparrow had to kill him. Then Dmitri claimed me,” I rattle off without taking a breath. I’m scared and know Ainsley will help me. She always tells me what to do. For just a moment I pause and think about what this means. That’s what Dmitri wanted to do for me, and I ran from him. But here I am running to Ainsley for her to do just that.
“Meet us at your place.”
“No. Dmitri will know all about that place. That’s why I’m going to you.”
“Okay, meet us at the Bellagio. We’ll get a suite and hide out there.”
“Turn off your phone as soon as you hang up with us,” Lyric says.
“Okay.” I end the call and turn off my cell before dropping it into my bag.
I don’t have extra clothes with me, so I hope I only have to hide out for a day or two. Dmitri should move on to someone else by then. He’s sexy and capable of having any woman he wants. I’m just the girl he was protecting from Andrei and my father for kidnapping Sparrow.
I turn my car around and head back toward the Strip. As I pass Yelena’s restaurant, I think of Dmitri. It causes a lump to form in my throat and pain in my chest.
I don’t want him to move on to another woman. I like him. I want to explore what we have.
By the time I pull up to the valet station at the Bellagio, I’m almost in tears. I give the valet my keys and head inside. I drop my black Amex card on the counter and ask for a three-bedroom suite. The woman looks at my card and then to me. She recognizes my name, but I ignore her and act like it’s nothing for me to stay here. She gives me three keys, and I move toward the elevators, where Lyric and Ainsley are already waiting. I hand them each a key as we head up to our suite.
“What’s a matter, Len?” Lyric asks as she flings an arm around my shoulders.
“I-I can’t talk it about it.” I feel the sob just before it comes out, and I gulp hard as tears start to run down my face.
We make our way out into the hallway and down to our suite. Ainsley lets us in, and I fall onto the sofa, sprawled out. I bury my head under the pillow and let myself cry. A hand rubs my back, and I know it’s Lyric. She’s trying to soothe me, but all I can think about is how bad I feel about Dmitri. How much I screwed up and almost got Sparrow and myself killed. And finally, how disappointed my father is in me.
I love my father, but I know I’m not his main focus. I’ve known for a long time that he loved two things in this world, and I wasn’t one of them. The Melody is his first love, and Gina, Sparrow’s mom, was his second love. My mother just happened to be a woman he got pregnant. I sit up and pull the pillow against my chest and hold it.
“Hey, it can’t be that bad.” Lyric wraps her arm around my shoulders and pulls me into her body. She’s the emotional one of the two. She and Ainsley are fraternal twins. They both have delicate features with petite, thin noses and full lips. But that’s where the similarities end. Lyric has a narrower face, dark brown hair, and green eyes. Ainsley has a wider, square-shaped face, brown eyes, and red hair. They also have different personalities.
“It is that bad,” I say softly as I lay my head on her shoulder. “I shouldn’t have tried to help Sparrow. She could have been hurt, or killed for that matter.”
“It’s not your fault that she chose to be with a jerk in the Bratva,” Ainsley says as she falls into the chair across from us. She has the room service menu in her hand. “We should have a spa day tomorrow, and let’s order expensive food off the menu tonight.” Her voice is full of excitement, and it makes me cringe. I don’t feel like celebrating. I feel like curling into a ball and crying for longer.
A knock sounds on the door, and both of them look toward it in panic. I get up and move to the door. After looking through the peephole, I hold in the cringe. I should’ve known someone would call him.
“It’s my dad.” I turn back and say, but they are both up and hiding in one of the bedrooms already. No proof of their presence left behind. I open the door.
“Hey, Daddy,” I say softly. He pushes past me and into the suite.
“This needs to end, Lennon. I’m done.” His voice is full of bite, and for a moment I think he’s saying he’s done with me. “You can’t keep living like a spoiled brat. It’s my fault. I should have done more.” He pauses and waits for me to respond.
