She nods. “In my bags.”
“Get your shoes on.” I start stuffing my clothes into my duffel bag and grab my laptop.
“Why? Where are we going? I thought you said we were safe here.”
“We’ll be safer where I’m taking you.”
“Wait. Just wait.” She puts her hands up in the air as though she can stop time. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes wild, and I realize she’s on the brink of panic. “If they want the bonds, just give it to them. I don’t need the money.”
“You don’t get it. You’re a Volkov. You stole three million dollars and tried to barter a deal with Janis, in Cole O’Brien’s town. Giving the money back isn’t going to solve this. Right now, I’m taking you somewhere no one will find us, and then I’m going to figure out what the fuck to do next.”
“If I give him the money won’t that be good faith gesture, proof that I wasn’t trying to do anything behind his back?”
“Cole has been itching for a reason to go inch his way west, this gives him an opening. He’s not going to give that up for a few million dollars.”
Slinging my duffle over my shoulder, I march through the apartment to my front door.
“Well, hiding isn’t going solve this. Isn’t that what Kaz and everyone else has been telling me over the past few months? Isn’t that why they all want me to go home?”
His eyebrows raise. “If you want to go home, we can get on a plan right now.”
And have to face my brothers with this brand new mess I’ve created? No, thank you.
“No. Not yet. But really, I think if I can just talk to Cole?—”
“We’re leaving. You can sit in the front seat with me, or you can spend the two-hour drive in the trunk. Make a decision.”
The trunk might have been more comfortable.
My head aches, and my muscles scream when I roll to my side. Wait, how am I rolling anywhere?
I come fully awake with a start, bolting up in bed. I’m in a bed. A large bed sitting in the middle of a bedroom of a log cabin. Sunlight pours through the single window of the room, hitting me in the face.
Blinking away the sleep, I push away the thick comforter and jump out of the bed. My bare feet hit the braided rug. My leggings are gone, and I’m just in a shirt. And it’s not mine.
This one comes down to my knees, and the neckline sags to where it nearly exposes my breasts. My bags aren’t in the room, and the closet only has a few items hanging inside. All male.
All Artem.
Black and dark gray sweaters and button-downs hang neatly inside the closet. In the dresser I’m sure I’ll find plenty of dark jeans. He’s never been the suit and tie sort of man, but one hangs in the very back of the closet.
I run my hands through my hair, brushing out the tangles created while I slept, then yank open the door. Half expecting it to be locked, I pull too hard and end up flinging myself backwards.
At first there’s no sound, but then I hear rustling in the front of the cabin. A short hallway with two doors opens into a living area.
“You’re up.” Artem looks up from the stove where he’s mixing something in a pot.
I pull the neckline of the shirt up when cool air hits my chest.
“Where are my clothes?” I ask.
Using the wooden spoon he’s holding, he points behind me. My suitcases sit at the front door.
“You were sound asleep when we got in last night. I didn’t want to wake you.” He goes back to stirring. “Breakfast will be ready in a minute.”
“You changed my clothes without waking me?” The last memory I have of the previous night is thinking the heat was too high in the car. I’d closed my eyes for a second and then woke up here.
“You sleep soundly.” He grins, adjusting the flame of the stovetop. “Just like a baby.”