Page 121 of Between Us

He'd almost forgotten about it.

“I did.”

“Well, I got the impression she was hoping to run into you, but she was really helpful. Spent about threehours going through catering offers and decoration options with me.”

Roman nodded even as a pang of guilt hit him. He was neglecting her too much. “I appreciate what you're doing. She needs to get out of the house more.”

“Hey, you're the boss. Plus, she's a sweet girl, and I like having another female here instead of the usual grim faces.”

“And here I was, thinking that she liked having us around,” Stepan joked, looking at Roman.

Laney huffed. “Some estrogen in this suffocating sea of testosterone is a nice change.”

Roman’s lips tipped up. “I guess she doesn't like us that much.”

“You guys are assholes.”

As she left, hips swinging in high heels, the men watched her with amusement in their eyes.

Maybe she was right.

What was any place without a woman in it?

And if that particular woman was Roman's wife, he had to make sure that next time she was around, he'd make some time for her.

44

“Go where?”

Alessandra stood with her arms crossed over her chest, watching her husband. They were alone in the living room, though she could hear the other voices coming from the kitchen. For the past hour, at least half a dozen men she'd never seen before had moved in and out of the house, carrying black duffle bags and what looked like bulletproof vests.

Roman stepped closer to grab her arms and rub his thumbs over her skin. “Somewhere safe. We have places designed for this.”

Although he hadn't given her too much of an explanation about why she had to go, she knew it had everything to do with the payback for Vitaly's attack. The raw energy coming off of her husband was almost palpable.He wanted this. Whatever he had planned, he would enjoy going through with it.

Alessandra didn't know whether to feel disturbed by that realization or accept it for what it was—herreality. She wasn’t under any false illusions about who her husband was. She'd seen him use the same hands caressing her chilled skin to end lives. But that didn’t make it any easier to accept his eagerness to put himself in harm’s way.

“Why can't I stay here?”

“I'd rather you didn't. People might know this location, and I want you out of sight for the night.”

“What about you? What are you going to do?”

“What I must.”

She frowned at hearing the icy determination coloring that statement. “Roman—”

“Pack a few things for one or two days,” he cut her off, dropping his hands when Vladik crossed the foyer on his way out. “Tatyana should be here any minute.”

“She's coming with me?”

“Yes.” His phone rang, and he reached for it, his attention deterred. “Go.”

Half-heartedly, Alessandra started to walk away, though she paused in the doorway to throw one last look at him. Roman already had his back to her, his phone to his ear as he spoke in Russian, his words clipped and his posture tense.

She hated when he became this version of himself. Cold and unapproachable, no emotion slipping past that façade he put up whenever he had to be the boss instead of her husband.

Upstairs, she grabbed one of Roman's old gym bags and walked into the closet, quickly starting to pull items off the shelves. Not knowing what to expect, she packed jeans, socks, a sweater and some underwear, as well as a pair of comfortable pajamas.

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