"I've been watching this cabin." He addresses me directly now, dropping the pretense. "Concerned about Maya's safety with strangers showing up. Especially strangers who look like they're from out of town."
"Your concern is noted." I smile, and I know it doesn't reach my eyes, know it's the smile that makes people remember they're mortal. "But as you can see, Maya is perfectly safe. Aren't you, baby?"
The endearment makes her flinch, but she nods. "Perfectly safe."
"Good." John takes a step back, his body language screaming reluctance. "Well, if you need anything, Maya, you know where to find me."
"She won't need anything." I keep my tone pleasant, but the message is clear. Stay away. "We're actually leaving tomorrow. Family emergency."
It's not really a lie. The Romanovs need their Pakhan. They need me.
Lena's sharp intake of breath is barely audible, but I feel it, feel the way her body goes rigid against my side.
John's eyes narrow. "That so?"
I raise an impatient eyebrow.
"I see." He's smart enough to know when he's outmatched. "Safe travels, then."
He disappears into the darkness, and I wait until I hear his truck engine start before I move. Danil emerges from the shadows, his expression grim.
"He's gone. No backup." He glances at Lena, then back to me. "We need to move fast. If he's a cop or FBI, even retired, he'll make calls."
"I know." I guide Lena toward the cabin door. "Start packing. We leave in two hours."
"Two hours?" Lena finally finds her voice, jerking away from my grip. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Either of you."
I turn to face her fully, and I see the moment she registers the change in me. The way I hold myself now. The cold calculation in my eyes. This isn't Sasha, the lost man she saved. This is Aleksandr Romanov, and I don't ask permission.
"You don't have a choice."
"The hell I don't." She backs toward the door, her hand fumbling for the handle. "You can't just kidnap me."
"Kidnap?" I almost laugh.
"I'm not your baby." The words come out fierce, but her voice shakes. "And I'm not leaving my home. Where I'm safe." She frowns. "Or at least where I used to be safe until you showed up bleeding to death."
"You're not safe anywhere." I close the distance between us, backing her against the door. My hands bracket her head, caging her in, and I see her pulse jump in her throat. "John Davis recognized me. Pavel recognized me. When word gets out—and it will—that Aleksandr Romanov is alive, every enemy I've made will come looking."
"That's your problem, not mine."
"Wrong." I lean closer, close enough to smell the fear on her skin mixed with something else. Something that makes my cock harden despite the situation. "You saved my life. You took me into your home. You fucked me in your bed. That makes you mine, whether you like it or not."
Her breath hitches. "I didn't know who you were."
"Doesn't matter." My thumb traces her jawline, and I feel her shiver. Not from cold this time. "You know what I am now. What I'm capable of. And you're still standing here arguing instead of running. Why is that?"
She doesn't answer, but I see the truth in her eyes. The same truth that's been burning between us since that first night. This thing between us, it's bigger than logic or self-preservation.
"I'll give you two choices." I step back, giving her space to breathe. "You can come with me willingly, or I can carry you to the car. Either way, you're leaving Montana tonight."
"You can't do this." But there's less conviction in her voice now.
"I can do whatever I want." I turn toward the bedroom. "Danil, help her pack. Everything she needs. We're not coming back."
"Wait." Lena's voice stops me. "What about my life here? My cabin? Everything I've built?"
"Gone." I don't soften the blow. "This location is compromised. You can never come back here."