I grinned as I shoved her shoulder. “You’d better stretch too. Remember what happened last time?”
Mira cringed. “How could I forget? That muscle cramp ruined my whole day.”
Ten minutes later, the two of us had stretched out our muscles and straddled our bikes.
“Did you see the guy hanging out by the check-in desk? Tall, dark, and handsome was giving everyone the stink-eye as they walked into the gym. Kinda scary, but also kinda hot.”
“I don’t think your husband would like hearing you say that.”
She shrugged. “Connor isn’t the jealous type. He doesn’t care if I notice good-looking men because he knows I’ll always come home to him.”
I glanced around to make sure that no one was paying attention to us. When I saw that everyone else seemed to be engaged in their own conversations, I leaned closer to spoke to Mira in a low voice.
“He’s actually here for me.”
Her eyes grew huge as she gasped. “No! You’re dating that guy? When did this happen? You didn’t tell me you met anyone.”
“I’m not dating him,buta lot has happened over the past few days that I haven’t told you about.”
I filled her in on everything, from the shock of learning that Alexis’s father was the man on trial for orchestrating the killing of my boss to the confrontation and threats in the grocery store parking lot. Before I could tell her about staying with Dmitri, she interrupted, her eyes flaring with anger and concern.
“What the hell? Theythreatenedyou?”
“And Alexis,” I said, a shiver running down my spine at the memory. “They threatened to take her if I don’t testify the way they want me to.”
“Did you go to the police?”
“No. They told me not to.”
“So what? Surely, the police could handle them.”
She didn’t understand the fear I felt when those men threatened me. I believed they would know if I went to the police, that they would find a way to make me pay for it. There was something about the menacing way they spoke to me, aconfidence that made me sure that going to the police would do more harm than good.
They’d take my little girl as a punishment, and I couldn’t risk that, not for any reason.
“I couldn’t do it. It was too risky.”
“So, you’ve just been living in fear for the past few days?” She shook her head and reached out to grasp my arm. “I can’t believe you didn’t call me. I hate the thought of you dealing with this all alone.”
“I wasn’t alone,” I confessed, still keeping my voice low.
“Dmitri came to my apartment that night. He insisted that I come with him to his home. He says he can protect me.”
“Dmitri?” she practically shouted, making several people look our way curiously. “You mean the man who killed your boss?”
“He didn’t,” I said. “He didn’t kill him. Neither did his men. But heisinvolved in some questionablestuff.”
“Questionable?”
“The man you saw? He works for Dmitri. I get the impression that a lot of men work for him. That’s part of how he can keep us safe.”
Mira looked at me doubtfully. “That sounds shady as hell, Sarah. So, you’re living with this guy now? Does he even know about Alexis?”
“How can I tell him?”
I looked away, feeling guilty for not telling Dmitri that she was his daughter. It was complicated. I was starting to trust him, but I wasn’t sure yet if it was a good idea to tell him that Alexis was his daughter. He seemed fond of her, and my gut told me hewould never mistreat her. But what if he wanted to take her away from me?
I’d seen evidence that he was powerful. Would he wield that power against me in some way if he wanted Alexis to stay with him after the threat against us was gone? He and I had intense chemistry, but there was nothing deeper to suggest he’d be interested in something more with me.