I was too busy extracting the truth from my husband to realize where the driver was taking us. I step out of the car and into the Morozov mansion and burst out laughing. We have come full circle.
“What’s so funny?” Nikolai’s terrifying oldest brother, Maxim, glares at me. Immediately, my humor dies on my lips. I shake my head, suddenly uncomfortable—until Nik’s arm slides around my waist. With his strength at my back, I find the courage to answer his scary brother.
“This is where Nik kidnapped me two days ago,” I explain. “When you said you had a safe house here in Los Angeles, I didn’t think you meant the house I used to clean for a living.”
Scary Max’s sharp glare slides from me to his brother. “You kidnapped the cleaning lady?”
Nik shrugs. “When you know, you know.” I grin smugly at his scowling brother and loop my arm around my husband’s waist. Side-by-side, he leads meto a guest bedroom where my belongings have already been stowed. My cheap suitcase, purse, and toiletries sit in a neat pile near the door.
“We’ll stay here for the night. Max is having issues with his bride, Alisa. No one is sure what’s going on. You might have noticed his surly attitude.”
“I assumed he’s always like that.”
“You’d be right, but this is worse than usual.” Nik kisses my forehead tenderly. “I’m sorry I thought you were a spy.”
“You saved my life. We’re even.” I sink into his embrace. It’s so nice to be held like this. Comforted. Safe.
“I’m also the one who endangered it in the first place.” He wraps his arms around me, idly running his palm up and down my back. I breathe in the scent of him. The faint hint of laundry detergent and his expensive shaving soap, combined with a masculine undertone that’s all him.
“I need to know how to protect myself,” I say into his shirt, my heart pounding. I never envisioned myself as a crime boss’ wife, yet in a way it feels inevitable. My taste for bad men combined with a strong sense of responsibility and a taste for luxury makes me a surprisingly good fit for this role.
“That’s my role, kitten.” He pets my long hair, pulling me closer. His heartbeat drums within his chest. A little fast. Steady.
“I mean, I need to know the danger so I can act accordingly. If I had known that Alisa Morozova was connected to the Russian mob?—”
“Bratva,” Nik corrects me.
“—to the bratva, then I wouldn’t have dared to dress up in her clothes.” I wince. “I shouldn’t have done that anyway, but had I known this house was connected to crime bosses, I would have come in, done my job, and gotten out like a normal person, instead of fantasizing about living her life.” Clearly, I didn’t know the first thing about Alisa’s reality. Good little Sierra would have been scared off.
“You would have fantasized about living someone else’s life,” he says gently. “Eventually, I bet you would have been caught trying another client’s life on for size, wondering what it would be like to live without worrying about paying your bills.”
I know he’s right. I love that he understands me, despite the fact that we haven’t known one another for three full days. I can’t believe how much my life has changed, for the better, in such a short amount of time.
“True. I just hope I don’t have to spend too much time around your mother.” It is not difficult to see where the Orlov boys get their cold, menacing good looks from. I will never meet their deceased father, but I assume he was responsible for some of their genetics, too. If we’re lucky enough to have children, our babies will be just as blessed.
Nik releases me gently, holding me by the shoulders. The loss of his warmth is a physical ache. “Don’t hate my mother for what she did. She wanted to make sure ours was a real marriage. Be mad at me if you need to. I’m the one who let her suggestion get into my head. I’m the one who acted on it.”
“You, I forgive. Your mother…Irina Orlov may take some time. I haven’t met her yet.” If she was the one pulling the strings, then I’m going to have to know more about her motives before I accept that she’s anything other than a manipulative bitch. That, however, is not a great way to embark upon a relationship with your new mother-in-law, so I’ll try to give Irina the benefit of the doubt.
I glance out the window at that swimming pool I’ve long dreamed about. “Since we’re staying here with the owner’s permission, do you think we could go for a swim?”
Nik chuckles. “Did you buy a bathing suit yesterday during your epic shopping trip?”
“I knew I forgot something,” I pout.
“I’ll tell my brothers to turn off the cameras,” he says conspiratorially. “Let’s go skinny dipping.”
Rion
When my youngestbrother takes his new girlfriend to swim naked in the pool, and Maxim locks himself in Alisa’s room to deal with his reluctant bride, I finally have my chance to check on the woman no one knows I have hidden here in this mansion. Built into the side of the hill, its basement is mostly windowless. Only one small rectangle, perhaps three feet by two feet, allowslight to filter into the space, which is cluttered with storage boxes containing strange props. At the bottom of the stairs, I halt, listening.
Silence. Then a slight scuffle.
“Come out and play with me, little mouse,” I drawl. Relishing her fear and anger. However much Milena Morozov hates me, it isn’t enough.
Panicked breathing, barely audible, from underneath the stairs. A grin curls my lips. If anyone knew what I had done, I’d be dead. My own family would hand me over to the Morozovs to torture to death. But some things are worth possessing no matter the cost.
“I can hear you breathing, Milena.” My footfalls echo in the empty space. In the dim light I can make out the shape of a dining banquette. A glittery fish tail hangs from the wall. Likely a prop left over from Alisa’s mermaid film project. It’s eerie to see half a fish hung on the wall, the front half empty.