There was a brief flash of panic until he said my cousins had come to take her out. If she were with them, she’d be covered by their security patrol, and no one would dare to mess with Nat or Mila even without an armed guard nearby.
Knowing how much my cousins loved shopping, fine dining, and gallivanting around art galleries, it was no wonder Clem hadn’t returned yet. I called Lilia and told her to let my wife come home.
“She’s already at home,” Lilia said. A new jolt of panic didn’t let me recognize the mischief in her voice until she told me Clem asked to be dropped off at my house instead of her apartment.
“Brilliant,” I said, the stress of the long week without my wife beginning to melt away. “And thanks. For whatever you did.”
“Maybe now you’ll stop moping,” she said.
Moping? Who? I hung up on her and ran back to my car, breaking a couple of speed limits on the way to get there. No LA traffic was going to keep me from reuniting with my wife. She finally decided to come home, and I couldn’t have been happier as I bounded up the steps and through the front door, calling her name.
Everything was quiet, and I grinned, suspecting a surprise since Lilia had sounded so pleased with herself when she told me Clem was back where she belonged. The first place I went was the library, our sanctuary, opening the door slowly and peeking in.
No warm greeting. Nothing. The place was as empty as the front hall. The kitchen, the pool area, and our bedroom were also deserted. Nobody was home. I called her phone, but there was no answer, and she didn’t immediately call me back, so what did I do?
Panic all over again. This wasn’t fear for her life this time; it was fear for my well-being. It only took a week without her to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I couldn’t live without her. I thought the other night proved she couldn’t live without me.
But maybe those things she said to try to make me angry had actually been true? What if she really did have a lapse injudgment? What if getting dropped off here instead of going home, where her guard would only follow her wherever she went, was a way to break free of me again?
“Damn it,” I hissed, trying her phone again. Same thing, no answer.
There was no doubt I’d go after her again and at least make sure she was safe, with the ultimate goal to bring her home. But I wanted her to know this was where she belonged and chose to be here instead of me constantly dragging her back.
That would only make me exactly who she feared I was. Maybe I had to let her go, like she asked.
Hell no. I had too many enemies who knew she was mine. Her safety had to come first. It was more important than anything, even more than what she wanted. Definitely more than what I wanted. If she didn’t want to be with me, we’d figure that out, but I wasn’t going to let her fall into the wrong hands.
Crushed but determined, I headed to the security office on my estate to find out where she ran to this time.
Chapter 43 - Clem
I made it back home, laden with grocery bags, and nearly bounced off of Rurik’s chest when he came slamming out of the house at the same time I was coming up the stairs. He grabbed my shoulders to keep me from falling backward, a stunned look on his face.
“You didn’t…” he trailed off, not wanting to admit what he had suspected.
No, I didn’t run. A future with a Bratva king was something I never would have dreamed possible. But a future with the man I loved, the man who’d given me so much, was one I was willing to fight for; it didn’t have to be a dream. Maybe there’d be sleepless nights, but at least some of those I’d be awake for all the right reasons.
“Now look who has trust issues,” I said.
He didn’t laugh, only dragged me to his chest in a hug so tight I was gasping for breath when he let me go.
“I only wanted to try and make you a Russian meal,” I said, holding up the bags. I nodded behind me at the car where the ever-present guard still sat in the driver’s seat. “He was with me the whole time, helping me find the ingredients.”
Rurik cleared his throat. “Yes, I probably would have found that out in another two minutes. I was just about to check with security.”
“How did you know I was here?” I asked, then laughed. “Never mind.”
Of course, he figured it out. My sweet stalker would always find me. I rested my face against his chest, listening to his heart thump out a rapid beat. He’d been worried about me,desperate to make sure I was safe. How could I ever walk away from something like that because of how he made his living?
I tipped up my chin, expecting a kiss, yearning for it. He only looked down at me with a searching gaze, his green eyes still cast with a tinge of anxiety.
“Are you really home?” he asked, not just cracking the wall in my heart but tearing it to pieces and whisking them away. “Are you really mine now?”
“I was always yours, wasn’t I?” I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck and rising on my toes. “You made sure of that.”
I feigned a scowl, and he gave me one just as fake right back. “Yes, I did. And I’d do it all over again.”
“Good,” I sighed, melting against him. “I’m glad.”