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In the afterglow of our night together, I look around in the hotel bedroom we shared, as my ears strain for any sounds that might make sense. The shower running. Coffee brewing or even somebody raiding through the minifridge of the room for something to eat.
But everything is silent.
I can’t believe that she left.
My pulse spikes.
All residues of sleep leave me immediately as I get up. I jolt upright and wander fully naked through the hotel suite searching for any signs of Katya… or a struggle. If she had been seen with me… if somebody saw me bringing her here despite the precautions that I took… Then she could be in trouble. Or dead.
I don’t have her personal number. She doesn’t even know my name. I have no official channels to reach out to her with, and for all I know… somebody might have seen her here and decided to take advantage of it. I can only imagine the joy that my father would feel, the sick and perverse pleasure that he would glean from knowing that Katya was pulled from my very own bed and slaughtered.
Fuck.
How could I let this happen?
I scramble around for my phone, looking for some confirmation that she is still alive. Or even just a text from my father. If she were harmed - he would be the first person to know. He would not be able to resist summoning me to gloat in my face that I failed him yet again.
My brain simply doesn’t allow the possibility that she could be dead. I yank on a pair of black boxer briefs and head into the security room here on the top floor where one of my men is stationed. I shove him out of the command seat and take control of the cameras that are trained to watch every inch of this block and building. I see her crawl out of the room. I see her leaving the parking garage and entering a black SUV with heavily tinted windows and my stomach drops.
That could have been anyone’s car.
Shit. Fuck.
With a barely contained snarl I shove out of the chair and back into my room to get dressed. I have to go and meet with my father right now.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
KATYA
The Next Day
Even after one day, I’m still unbelievably sore. All evidence of my sin has been scrubbed and exfoliated off of my body on my very much deserved spa day yesterday. It might be petty of me to use Alexei’s card to get pampered, but I feel like I deserved a little something for enduring that mind numbing lecture that he had thrown at me forhoursafter I had been delivered to his doorstep.
Hair blown out, foot massages and mani-pedi to start while ending with the most luxurious facial of my life? It’s not a bad way to start my day. I was going to opt for the full body massage but the thought of anybody else touching me right now who isn’t my new favorite stranger… for some reason I just couldn’t do it.
Now, I’m sitting in my little apartment across from Jodie. I haven’t even bothered to change out of the satin tank top and shorts that I slept in last night.
The lavender color of the rich fabric compliments my fair skin perfectly. My hair falls around my face in sleepy waves from the careless way I had had it styled yesterday. Besides, it’s not like Jodie hasn’t seen every single inch of me before anyway. Wearing PJs for our late breakfast meeting is hardly out of the norm for me.
It’s still hard to reconcile that she was part of my little search party last night. I wouldn’t have assumed that she would be the one to lecture and blow my phone up. She knows me better than to think that I would go off and get myself into trouble that I can’t get myself out of.
I can’t deny that I feel a little betrayed that she chose to side with my brother for all of this. I get that his wife is her best friend and all… but I didn’t think that the two years Jodie and I were together was anything to scoff at either. It’s because of that history that I am entertaining her apology at all.
I sit at the table awkwardly, with one leg bent up in front of me, balancing my croissant on the top of my knee like it’s a table as I pick at the pastry in between sips of my coffee. I brought the whole pot to the table.
Jodie has been toying with her tea bag for so long that I can’t imagine her brew is going to taste good much longer. In other circumstances, I would have made it for her… but I’m irritated.
“I’m sorry.” She blurts finally.
Tension melts from my shoulders. It’s not like I wasmadat her. I just… More than anything, she hurt my feelings by siding with my brother. By allowing herself to get swept up in his overprotective bullshit like she doesn’t know that I’m perfectly capable of handling myself.
I don’t say anything. Not at first. I make a show of taking a bite of my pastry and allowing her the space to explain herself further.
“I don’t know what got into me… everybody sounded so upset and I think the adrenaline of it all… it’s been so long since I’ve gotten to see you. It’s not an excuse, I know that. Alexei was just so scared, and I’ve never seen him that worked up before.” Jodie explains.
I sigh, and speak rudely around the food in my mouth. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine at all. Don't… do that. Don’t make this into something less just because you don’t want to talk about it.”
