Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
She took a deep breath. “I know it is,” she said, her voice shaky but determined. “That’s why I need your help.”
The anger disappeared, replaced with horror. “What?! I can’t help you! Have you forgotten what I am?” Without thinking, I stalked over to her. That was a mistake because, as soon as I got close, the longing was almost too much to take. I scowled down at her. “If Radimir knew I was even talking to you… Bratva don’t work with cops!”
“One of your rivals already is working with the cops,” she reminded me. “They have someone in the FBI, and they tried to frame you and put you in jail. Are you going to let that lie?”
I glared at her, then looked away. Of course I wasn’t going to let it lie, but I could deal with them when she was safe.
“I’m doing this with or without you,” she said.
I glared at her, furious. She didn’t know the first thing about how things worked on my side of the line. She’d be dead in a day without me. But she just tilted her chin up, determined.
Work with a cop, to bring down other criminals? That went against everything I believed in. Alison was an honest cop, but she was still part of the corrupt system that took everything from me.
But if I didn’t help her, she was dead. And I wasn’t letting that happen.
I sucked in my breath and slowly let it out. “Fine,” I said. “I’ll help you. Just as...”—what did they call it on the cop shows?—“partners. We’ll bring these people down. Clear your name. And then you go back to your side, and I go back to mine.”
At that last part, I saw her swallow and blink, her cheeks reddening again, and I felt that brutal ache in my chest for hurting her. Blyat’! Why did you kiss her, Gennadiy? Why did you have to be so weak?
I sighed and tried to think of practicalities. “You’ll need to stay here until we’re done,” I thought out loud. “It’s the only place that’s safe. Follow me.” As I marched upstairs, it slowly sank in that we were going to be working side by side and living together in this house for however long this took. Being so close to her but having to resist her...this is going to be hell.
We came to a landing, and I waved my hand at four identical doors. “Take any of the guest bedrooms.”
She stared. “You have four guest bedrooms?”
“In this wing. Get some sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll talk to my brothers and make a plan.”
She chose the second room from the left. As she was about to close the door, she turned back to me. “Thank you.”
Despite what I’d just put her through, she meant it. I looked away, not used to gratitude, and gave her a curt little nod. When I heard her door close, I slumped against the wall. What the fuck am I going to do now?
28
ALISON
I woke lost and confused, comically small in the emperor-sized bed. Someone was knocking on the door, too lightly to be Gennadiy. I’d stripped down to my panties to sleep, and I didn’t have anything else to put on, so I scrambled back into my vest top, then cracked the door open, hiding behind it.
She was about twenty-five, blonde and absurdly pretty, in a white blouse and black skirt. “Mr. Aristov thought you might need these,” she told me in a heavy Russian accent, and passed me a dark green leather bag the size of a large purse. “And these.” She passed me a bundle of clothes and then, when I’d put them down, handed me a stack of boxes. “Breakfast will be served downstairs whenever you’re ready.” And then she curtsied, graceful as a swan. I managed to stutter out a thank you, then closed the door and leaned against it, dazed. Servants. He has servants.
I touched my fingers to my lips, remembering the kiss. Why had he suddenly pulled away? It hurt more than it should have, maybe because when I’d melted into the kiss, it had made me acknowledge all the feelings I’d been denying. I’d been craving his touch for three months, and for thirty heart-stopping seconds, it had actually happened...and then he’d ripped it all away again. My chest ached, remembering it. A mistake, he’d said, brutally crushing the excitement that had been rising inside me. Had I been wrong, all the times he’d seemed to want me? Had I just been imagining it? My insecurities about my body woke and uncoiled. Of course he doesn’t want you...
I took a deep breath and rammed the feelings down inside, then looked at the clothes. God, he’d bought me an entire freakin’ wardrobe. There were jeans, vest tops, blouses, sweaters, and underwear, and a cute, bottle-green denim jacket that I fell in love with immediately. It was all high-end designer wear from achingly cool brands, so high quality that my own clothes suddenly felt scratchy and cheap. Everything was fresh from the store...but there were no price tags. Gennadiy’s maid had cut them off just to save me a few seconds, even though that meant they couldn’t be returned. Money really did mean nothing to him.