Chapter Twenty-Six
Dmitri
“The bodyguard will be with you at all times,” I said, putting just enough authoritative growl into my voice to let Sarah know how serious I was. “I don’t care what your coworkers or friends will think.”
“What should I tell them?” Sarah asked with a small frown.
We were back at my home. After spending the night together at the safe house, we returned here early this morning, and now she was preparing to return to work.
I didn’t like the idea of it, not one bit. After the attempt on my life yesterday, I didn’t want her to leave the damn house, but she was stubborn and insisted on going into the office.
“I don’t care what you tell them. Say you have a stalker or something. Or even better, don’t go.”
She shook her head with a smile as she slipped on her four-inch heels. “I have to go. I missed two days of work for the trial. Now that my testimony is complete, I need to get back to the office and catch up on work.”
I sighed. “Fine, but I mean it. One of my men will be with you at all times. You follow their orders for your own safety.”
“After what happened to you yesterday, I’m definitely concerned about safety. Not just mine, either.”
“Alexis will be fine. Nikolay has been watching her all night and he’ll make sure that our trusted men are assigned to her today.”
The way the tension bled out of her at that told me she trusted me to keep Alexis safe. It was amazing how something so simple could make me feel about ten feet tall.
Her shoes now on, Sarah walked toward me, and I couldn’t help scanning her from head to toe, appreciating the way she filled out her silk blouse and pencil skirt. I’d never been a big fan of business casual wear on a woman, but something about the way Sarah looked in it, so put together, made me immediately think of messing her up. I wanted to rip those tight clothes off of her and bend her over the couch behind her. It would be so easy…
If only my damn shoulder wasn’t throbbing with pain.
Taking some more pain pills would help, but I wasn’t going to do that. I didn’t want anything to cloud my mind, even if I was going to be sitting in a courtroom today, bored out of my mind.
Sarah stopped directly in front of me, and I lifted her chin. Her lips parted as her eyes grew darker. I kissed her, taking my time to taste her, loving the way she shuddered when my tongue traced her upper lip.
She melted into me for a moment, and I trailed my hands down her sides, reaching for her ass. But the movement pulled at the stitches in my shoulder, and I couldn’t hold in the hiss of pain.
Sarah pulled away from me. “Take it easy today, okay?”
That concern was back in her eyes. Damn, this woman was killing me.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine.”
***
Court was slow today, and I hated that I was stuck in an uncomfortable suit with a tie while I watched the prosecutor cross examine everyone my lawyer called to the stand. However, after Sarah refused to lie, I knew the case against me was tenuous to say the least, so the final days of the hearing were more formality and nothing else.
There was nothing to tie me to the murder of Moss, and nothing to tie my men to it, either.
When court ended for the day, I walked out of the courthouse and spotted Nikolay waiting for me in the parking lot.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” I said as I reached him. He was leaning against my car with his hands in his pockets, seemingly at ease. But I knew better. His sharp eyes were analyzing every person on the busy street as a potential threat. He was on high alert after what happened to me yesterday.
“I’m your ride home,” he said.
I knew he spent the night watching over Alexis, and I doubted he’d gotten much sleep even when he was relieved this morning. He’d probably been busy helping Maxim look for weak spots in Baldoni’s organization, even though I didn’t order him to do that. Nik was the type to carry the weight of the whole world on his shoulders, just like me. I guess that was part of the reason we were such good friends. We were kindred souls in that way.
We got into the car, and I let my body fully relax for the first time since I left the house this morning. I was getting tired of going to court every day, and I just wanted it to be over.
“Tough day?” Nikolay asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“Boringday. And my shoulder is killing me.”