Page 7 of Silent Heart

In a flurry of goodbyes and nice-to-meet-yous, we pushed from the dock, and after a graceless attempt to turn, Kayla managed to navigate the pontoon backward from the dock and onto the lake.

The rest of the boat ride was spoiled with the hens pecking at me, cackling about the outrageous tendencies of the wealthy, and cautioning me to be careful alone with a man.

But as I gazed over the water, skin drying in the brilliant sun, I couldn’t help but feel that I would be more than safe with the stony, silent one. It was something in his eyes. Like my grandfather, I had a knack for reading animals. Oddly enough, those principles applied to this man more than to any human I ever met.

Chapter 3 – Kolya

“What the hell was that?” I lashed out at my brother the moment the pontoon was out of earshot. The volatile blast of anger hid something else, something I didn’t want to address.

Luka didn’t even flinch. “You should always keep your skills sharp. She seems to know what she’s doing in the water.”

My brother knew damn well that my former service in the special forces included a robust swimming requirement and rigorous water training. It was his dumbass that couldn’t swim well—something his curly-haired bride teased him mercilessly about every chance she had.

No, this was simply Luka’s way of having a good laugh at my expense. Well, the joke was on him. I would cancel, explaining tomorrow that I knew how to swim and didn’t need lessons. I hadn’t done it just now, something about the dare in her eye as she watched me made me want to play along.

The little water sprite was mesmerizing, standing there damp and fierce.

“Sorry we won’t get any fishing in before I have to drive back to town,” Luka drawled with a slap on the side of the boat. “And you’ve sworn offhunting.”

In a desperate attempt to lay low, I hadn’t even scouted the area for local cases of missing persons. It would be too hard to live here for the foreseeable future and not work, let alone know there were traffickers in the vicinity.

That was the whole point of hiding: I couldn’t afford to draw attention to myself.

“I’m not doing the swimming lessons.”

My baby brother cut me a look. “Really, bro? You’re going to do that to her?”

I clenched my jaw.

“She seemed like she could use the money,” Luka mused. “And you’re going to tell her no?”

Typical Luka, he was trying to provoke a reaction from me. I kept a tight grip on my emotions and remained quiet.

“What I discovered—and only in a single night of snooping, I might add—is that our neighbor, one Miss Hariet Kellnhofer but goes by Harley, is a veterinary technician who is enrolled in the University of Chicago’s Veterinary Program this fall. She has grants and scholarships to cover part of the tuition but has been saving for quite a number of years to pay for the majority of her schooling without needing loans. That’s why she works Monday through Saturday at the vet clinic down the road, waitresses at night, and now, my dear brother—” Luka rounded on me in a dramatic display of indignation “—you would deny this poor girl a measly hundred bucks a lesson to help you keep your swimming skills sharp?”

Sliding a look to the too happy brat, I pondered his game. I hadn’t shown any unusual interest in the woman, other than the brief exchange while he was taking a piss last night. What in the ever-loving hell was Luka’s game?

“The battery was charged last night,” I pointed out. “Kazimir left it ready to go.”

Luka lifted his hands. “My mistake! I must have connected the wrong wires when I put it in this morning. Didn’t know that could drain the whole thing.”

“Hmm,” I murmured. “Is that so?”

“That’s so!” Luka smiled innocently at me.

Three…. Two…. One…. That’s it.I lunged. One good push, and the little imp was launched into the lake.

Scooping up the battery, I strolled back to the house, not bothering to see if Luka sank or managed to climb back onto the dock.

Dappled sunlight fell on the stone path to the lake cabin—not that the rustic word was the proper term for this place. A mansion, glamorous and massive, was more on point. It had been purchased as an investment property with some extra funds from our family’s illegal organization. The pakhan’s business-minded wife wanted non-liquid assets. My stepmom had a small, cozy cabin closer to Lake Milwaukee, but this was one of the many grand properties we would be purchasing across southern Wisconsin to diversify our portfolio.

And I was going to spend the foreseeable future here.

Alone.

It wasn’t exile when I volunteered to hide here, but it didn’t change how the banishment felt.

Turning to look back across the glistening body of water, a strange, wholly new feeling bubbled across my chest. Maybe I wouldn’t be so lonely.

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