AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My eyes sweep the apartment; there’s not a book or a knickknack out of place. It’s spotless. Gianni’s team did an impeccable cleanup job, but I’m sure the memories of what took place here still linger.
"How do you know what happened?" She narrows her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "I didn’t involve the Kozlovs for a reason. I’m not interested in their help, and I'mdefinitelynot interested in yours."
I advance on her, the space between us shrinks until we stand inches apart. Her eyes meet mine, unblinking. I am keenly aware of every detail of her face, every flicker of expression that crosses her features—the delicate arch of her brows, the lush fringe of her lashes, and the gray flecks that dance in her irises.
“It’s too late, I’m involved.” Aly needs to know that I won’t take a chance. Not when it comes to her safety. She has every reason in the world to hate me, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to back off. “Either tell me what happened here tonight, or I’ll find out from someone else. But either way, I’m not letting this go.”
She crosses her arms and scowls at me. “Why do you care? I’m nothing to you. You made that very clear a long time ago.”
The undercurrent of vulnerability in her voice causes my stomach to tighten. She’s not nothing to me, far from it, but how could I tell her the truth? Instead, I offer her a half-truth. “Your brother’s not here to deal with this, so I will. We both know Yulian would gut me like a fish if I don’t protect you with my life. Whether you want my protection or not.”
“Good,” she snaps, “I’d love for him to finish you off.” I nearly smile at that. I bet she would.
“This is not a game.” I level with her, running an aggravated hand through my hair. “I need to know everything that happened tonight.”
She slams back the rest of the wine and sits down on one of the dining room chairs. I sit across from her. “There’s not much to tell. I came home after a sizzling-hot date where he fucked my brains out and I came three times, and there was someone in my flat.” She blinks up at me innocently, but I keep my expression flat. “He was wearing a ski mask. I couldn’t see his face. He wanted me to go somewhere with him, but I wasn’t willing. He had a gun, but I had a knife. And only one of us is standing here alive, so…” She shrugs.
Atta girl. Always knew she had it in her.
My phone buzzes with a text from Matis. Opening up the message, I find pictures of a bloody naked body, his body a patchwork of stars, churches, spiderwebs, and playing cards. All intricate designs that hold symbolic meanings within the Russian criminal underworld. I slip the phone into my back pocket. The pictures aren’t pretty, and she’s been through enough tonight.
“What did this guy say? What did he want from you?”
“Fuck, Leo, how am I supposed to know what he wanted? My killer shoe collection? Who knows? And now this conversation is over. You can leave. I killed one man tonight, I don’t mind raising the body count.” She releases a ragged breath, exhaustion weighing down her features.
My phone pings with another text.
Matis: He had an injectable sedative cocktail and restraints on him. Everything points to abduction. Not a random attack.
My hands white-knuckle the dining room table so hard I’m sure it will splinter. Aly doesn’t live in our world, she escaped it long ago and never looked back. I made sure of it. So why her? Is it about Aly’s connection to our family, or is there another angle at play?
“What’s wrong?” she asks, voice trembling. “Why are you looking at your phone like that?”
“You’re not safe here.” I don’t sugarcoat the truth; it won’t do her any good. “Until we know what’s going on, you can’t stay here.”
“Forget that. I’m not upending my life. Can’t you just assign security to me?”
I shake my head. “That’s not enough. You need to come with me.”
“No way in hell am I going with you anywhere.” She’s up and out of her seat, heading to her bedroom, presumably to lock herself away, but I can’t allow her to do that.
Moving quickly, I gather her in my arms, stopping her from running. This position has the unintended consequence of bringing her body flush against mine, and fuuuck, that feeling is everything. The soft curve of her ass presses into me, and even though she’s glaring daggers at me over her shoulder, I have to will my dick not to get hard.
“Leo,” she chokes out, her pulse throbbing against her delicate neck, “let me go.”
“Not until you agree to go into hiding.”
“I…” She squeezes her eyes closed as if she’s gathering patience. “I can’t do that. I have a life. I have a job. I can’t just walk away from all of this.”
All of what? Fuckboys and vapid fashion parties?
“You can and you will.” Releasing a frustrated snarl, she tries to wrench herself free from my hold, but I only tighten my grip around her waist. “Somebody is after you, and until we know more, you’re not safe. Not even with security, because if it’s the Russians, a guard won’t stop them. These are people that use any method necessary to get their way.”
“I’ll pack up and go to the Alps or something. Lay low at a little villa.” This time, there’s less conviction in her tone. “Just not with you.”
Unfortunately, yes with me.
She flinches when the needle pierces her skin. She wrenches her head back and I see her eyes widen in alarm, then darken with deadly intent. “You’re a fucking dead man, Leonid Kozlov” is the last thing she says before her eyelids flutter shut and she falls limp in my arms.
