Page 76 of Deadly Knight
Zeno smirks, snagging his cup before Vanessa manages a sip. “He’s keeping her safe. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Ivan,” Vanessa replies quietly, providing the answer caught up in my throat. “He targeted her, knowing it’d bring Dimitri out. Lev finally got a hit on his cell when he switched it on, leaving it at an abandoned house to draw Dimitri away while Ivan went after her. Dimitri saved her and brought her here so Ivan can’t get her again. That’s what Lev’s doing downstairs—again—still. Ivan disappeared again, only now there’s no cell to track, so he’s hacking city cameras, scouring footage outside the laundromat Dimitri found him in.”
While it doesn’t answer everything that happened, I feel my heart physically falter. Ivan seteverythingup, from Caleb to getting Dimitri away from me. Which means Dimitri would have seen me on my date—a disturbing fact shoved aside until another time when I can better process.
No wonder he’s hiding me here. But…there was nowhere else? Or better yet, if he was going to end up in my life one way or the other, I’d have preferred he meet me in Toronto, explain what’s going on, and allow me to choose how to handle it.
Anastasia stops mixing the eggs and stares for a few seconds. “Damn. Couldn’t have guessed any of that.” She eyes me, regarding my neck, the marks unhidden. “You okay?”
“I’m alive.”
“That’s not what I mean. You okay with being here, all things considered? Doesn’t seem like he gave you much of a choice.”
Ah, someone understands!
“Dimitri’s scared, Ana,” Vanessa murmurs, almost like I’m not supposed to overhear. “Never seen him like this.”
“Still,” I start, fully ready to answer the one question I definitely have an answer to, “no, not really. I worked really hard to get to where I am now—mentally, emotionally, and physically. I appreciate what Dimitri’s doing, but there must have been another way. At the very least, he could have told me and let me choose. Have control. He has no idea how much he’s set meback…and that’s why I want out of here, if someone will help me.”
Zeno holds up his hands. “I’m not in this. Sorry,signora.”
Anastasia shakes her head, frowning. “There’s nothing you’ll be able to give me that’s better than my life, which is precisely what Dimitri will take if I help you. Sorry.”
Vanessa claims the stool beside me, dipping her head closer. “No matter whom you bribe, none of us will do what you’re asking, so give up before you grow more disappointed. I appreciate your need for control, considering the past, and how you feel Dimitri took that from you. I agree maybe informing you of what was going on could have been better than kidnapping you. But he’s terrified, Katya, so he’s rationalized this as being the only way to ensure your safety. Hate to say, but I agree with him too. If Ivan’s using you, he knows what you mean to Dimitri. Also understanding you might be angry to learn he never left you alone, but it’s a fact none of us, yourself included, can change. At this point, we have to live with that decision. Dimitri won’t be able to focus while worrying about you if you were back in Toronto. Once the threat is gone, you can fight with him to your heart’s content about going home.”
I frown, staring at the marble island instead of her. After everything, I definitely wouldn’t want Dimitri to get hurt. No matter the confusing feelings I have, his death isn’t the answer.
“Are you trying to guilt me?”
“Is it working?”
“A bit.”
She winks. “Then I’ve succeeded.”
The room breaks into separate conversations after that. Zeno and Vanessa leave to see Lev, who I learn is Anastasia’s twin. Anastasia is silent while she finishes cooking for me, leaving me to study the kitchen, recalling the first time Dimitri brought me here.
“This house is huge!”
“That’s the definition of a mansion, isn’t it?” He swings me to a stop, backing me into the edge of the marble island. My house isn’t small by any means, but this place certainly makes it seem so.
“You’re not funny.’”
“I’m hilarious.” He positions an arm on either side of me, caging me against the counter before stealing my mouth in a deep kiss, the low moan in the back of his throat reminding me of the room he hasn’t shown me yet.
“Where’s your bedroom?”
He smiles before tugging me out of the kitchen.
A glass plate thudding to the counter snaps my attention away from the far end of the island, where the ghost memory of us remains.
“You okay?” Anastasia slides the plate in front of me, along with a fork and knife.
“Y-yeah.” I blink, twisting away from where my head decided to go. The longer I remain, the more the memories will wash in, especially now that the wall is gone. All my protections crumbled, leaving me to navigate all this alone.
I dig into the omelette. “Thank you.”
She glances up from the sink in the other counter. “It’s the least I can do. Sorry I can’t help in the way you want.”
