Page 126 of Between Us

“What are you doing here?”

“Don't even ask.”

Her fingers wrapped around Roman's, her head tipped up. “What happened?”

“We'll talk later. First, we need to get you and Tatyana out of here.”

Quietly, they all went back the way they came. Matteo jumped over the fence first, and Roman stayed behind with Alek to help the girls. When they were into their backyard again, Roman stopped to assess Alessandra, his eyes taking in every inch of her. Except for a little hole in her jeans, just above the knee, she looked fine.

“They can stay with my parents,” Matteo said, sounding calmer now that he could see his sister was unharmed. “We don't know who the rat is. It could be someone close to you who knows the location of the safe house.”

“Rat?” Alek asked, looking between them with a frown.

Roman shook his head because he wasn’t going to go there with the girls around. It was the last thing he wanted to do—having to resort to Nero’s help and give him the satisfaction of being proved right. But he was also out of options.

“You okay with that?” he asked Alessandra. As much as he hated the idea of her going back to her parents, her safety came before his pride.

She hesitated. “Do I have to?”

“It’s just for a few days.”

“But, Roman...”

“I don't know who to trust right now,” he admitted,the words feeling like sandpaper on his tongue. He’d promised her she would be safe with him. He had failed her once and he wasn't going to let it happen again.

“Family meeting aside, we need to move,” Matteo urged. “We're sitting targets here.”

Roman knew he was right. He gave a terse nod. “Call your father.”

As they walked into the house, Roman turned to Alessandra and his sister. “Grab your bags and be ready to leave.”

Alessandra followed him into the living room as he looked around for his phone. “What will you do?”

“Don't worry about me.”

“You keep saying that, but I do. I worry, Roman. How can I not?”

He paused at the anguish in her voice. “I’ll be as careful as I can, but I have to do this. There’s no way out of it.”

Alessandra nodded, even as the downward curve of her mouth said that she didn’t really understand. Roman spotted the phone on the couch, pocketed it and walked over to his wife. Wordlessly, he cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead then the tip of her nose. She let out a quiet sniffle.

“Roman.”

He looked up to see Stepan standing in the doorway, looking livid, undoubtedly as a result of the bloody scene outside.

“Not now,” Roman said. He was going to discuss the details with him later. “Give me a minute, will you?”

Stepan gave a curt nod and walked away.

Roman looked down at Alessandra, but before he could say anything else, Matteo walked in his line ofvision.

“Ronnie should be here in about fifteen minutes.”

Alessandra bent her head, discreetly wiping off a few tears.

“Thanks,” Roman said, pushing a hand into the hair at her nape. He brought her face up so he could look at her. “Don’t cry.”

She sighed as if she was getting a little annoyed. “Yeah, okay.”

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