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I suppress my smile. “Good girl. Now, how about you guys play in the garden while I go upstairs and check on your aunt?”
“We’re gonna have a picnic with Amelia.”
I turn to Caroline. “Amelia?”
“Ahem.” I glance up and see a young woman standing in the threshold of the living room’s open arches dressed in oversize, paint-stained overalls that make her look like a giant toddler. “Hi,” she says awkwardly. “Mr. Kirill hired me to take care of the kids for a few hours every day.”
I put the girls down and walk over. “Kirill hired you?”
She gulps under my gaze. “H-he made me sign an NDA. I believe the words ‘silence on pain of death’ were also used.”
“Good,” I growl. “Then he covered my bases.”
She has the audacity to look insulted, which incidentally makes me respect her more. “You don’t have to worry about me. I can keep a secret. And I love those kids. I love Emma, too. She’s been really good to me over the years.”
I have no trouble believing that. I’m learning that I also don’t mind a little fire in the people taking care of my family, even if it’s not the kind of thing I’d normally tolerate from a subordinate. “Alright then. I won’t keep you from your picnic.”
She looks me in the eyes for a moment longer before nodding, satisfied. Then she takes the girls’ hands and they all step out onto the patio.
I leave them and make my way upstairs. When I try Emma’s door, I find it locked.Breathe, motherfucker,I coach myself.She needs your patience now. As hard-to-find as that may be.I take in a long inhale, release a long exhale, and then I knock.
“Who is it?”
“Ruslan.”
A beat of silence. And then: “No thank you.”
“Emma. I just want to see how you’re doing.”
“Tell Kirill he’s an ass. And we’re not friends anymore.”
It’s good to know that he’s still got my back even in the face of his newfound affection for Emma. I need to tone down my inner asshole around him. The man doesn’t deserve it.
“Open the door.”
“No. I’m fine. Just leave me alone.”
Fuck the expensive Himalayan timber—I could just break this goddamn door down. The only reason I don’t is because I don’t want to add to her already elevated stress levels.
Instead of wasting time trying to reason with her, I head to the electrical power room on the first floor. There’s a small safe in there to which only Kirill and I have the combination. Among other things, it contains a spare key for every room on the property.
Her face drops when I open the door and walk in, but I can tell from the way she falls back onto her pillow that she’s not in a fighting mood today. She looks so small and frail in that big California king bed. Her cheeks are pale, too. I’ve never wanted to protect her more.
I’m just having a hell of a time figuring out how to keep her safe from myself.
“I’m not in the mood to fight, Ruslan,” she mumbles.
“That makes two of us.” I drag a chair over to her bedside and sit down. She flinches away from me as though touching would be dangerous. “How are you feeling?”
She stares at me incredulously. “How do youthinkI’m feeling?”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Her jaw drops. “Withyou?”
I can’t even justify rolling my eyes, as much as I’d like to. Considering the way I’ve treated her lately, it’s a fair question. “Yes, with me.”
“Why would I want to talk about it with you?” she laughs. “Why would I want to talk to you about anything?”
