Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84901 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84901 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Yep. I sat in the Bratva princess’s car. Looked through the glove compartment. Took a small vial of her perfume—a keepsake. Could drink in the scent of her every time she ghosted me. And then I waited.
And waited.
I parked my vehicle closer to the elevators, placing myself in Natasha’s path. Within minutes, a family stepped out—a little girl in a wheelchair, half asleep. She dropped a unicorn, and her parents were too busy to notice. So, I borrowed the thing. Figured I could use it somehow.
An hour dragged by. The elevator dinged, and I rushed to the doors, grasping the sparkly pink unicorn, tag still on its ear. If this were Natasha, Unicorn would make me look more approachable. Softer. Safe.
The doors opened, and I exhaled, glimpsing Natasha. She was unaware, scrolling on her phone. Perfect. I stepped forward. A harmless toy in my grip. A smile trained to pass for warmth.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” I said, bumping into Natasha, pretending to be unable to see past the stuffed animal.
“Enzo?” Soft, succulent.
As I lowered the unicorn, I widened my eyes, and the predator stirred under my skin, though I kept it buried deep.
I forced a slow smile, feigned embarrassment, and tucked the toy behind my back like I was carrying contraband plushies. But nah. The pink furry unicorn I was choking just screamed, Look, this dude has a … softer side.
“Natasha?” I let the Italian accent roll from my tongue—the heritage stolen from me the day Vassili took Papa. And later, Mama.
4
NATASHA
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Trouble on a stick. Tall. Sculpted muscles defined every inch of him. Topped with a face worthy of a magazine cover. I hadn’t seen Lorenzo Ferri in over a year, and there weren’t enough prayers in the world to ease me into another encounter with him.
Oddly, I met him and Lach on the same day. The Marine Raider, a military buddy of Jamie’s, had come to his and Jordyn’s Christmas-themed wedding. When Lachlan and the rest of their brothers had a chat with their father, Enzo introduced himself, and my instincts exploded like a flare gun. Warning!
I’d given him my number because he made me laugh. Then I ghosted him for half a year. Calls. Texts. Crickets. That was all I offered.
All I could offer … Until one evening in July.
Lach and I had been talking on the phone, texting, having great conversations since we met. We’d crossed each other’s paths a handful of times before I scored premiere tickets at the Chinese Theater—a rom-com. Lach’s manager had slammed him with Dodger events, and he’d promised me he’d get away. But he hadn’t. Something came up. A Coca-Cola endorsement commercial, maybe. It was always something, so I went with Plan B. Literally. I hadn’t expected Lorenzo to come with me, much less have this amazing laugh.
“Hey …” Okay, that sounded like a palm-to-forehead moment. “What are you doing here?” Despite his laughter and joy, his dark eyes always revealed hunger.
Ravenous hunger.
And I didn’t want him to gobble me up.
Lorenzo gestured to the unicorn in his hand, and his Italian accent brushed every sensitive spot in me, echoing the effect of his captivating smile. “My cousin. Her foster family and I pray … for remission.”
“Oh?”
The muscle in his jaw clenched. “She’s too young to be a permanent resident of a cancer ward.”
My heart melted for her. Been there. Survived that. “Are you on your way to visit her?”
Exhaustion washed over Enzo’s face. He nodded. “I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“Because you’ve been on tour?” He’d mentioned deploying around September when I had offered excuses because Lachlan had more time. But I had been up-front since that rom-com and kept it strictly simple text chats this entire time.
And, although the love was written on my face, I had told Enzo point-blank that my heart belonged to someone else.
“Yep. Got deployed.” He forced a cough as if our discussion veered toward a top-secret area.
“Do you want comp—” The elevator door swooshed open.
I shook my head, arms folded, staring at my tail. Apparently, my dad had lost his ever-loving mind and thought he was in some old Cold War exercise. I wasn’t the KGB’s most wanted! He’d assigned surveillance instead of simply sticking an Apple AirTag in my purse like any normal paranoid parent.
The white-blond Russian jammed a finger against the button, and the elevator doors closed again with him still inside.
“You know him?” Enzo asked.
“Yes, if giving him a black eye the day after Christmas implies we’re acquaintances.”
He chuckled. “For real?”
“Yessir.” I winked. Ugh. Why did I just wink? Time to move on.
“What did your bodyguard do?”
“Why, you plan on trying me too?” Okay. Where did this girl come from?
Another chuckle slid from his beautiful lips. He shook his head.
“Good.” I gestured to the other elevator. “I’ll walk you to …”