Page 15 of In Her Blood
She tightened her grip of her purse straps as she stepped into the massive attached garage.
“Miss Nikolaev?”
Evelina nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice just beyond her shoulder, a small shriek escaping her.
The man, in his late fifties, raised both hands and took a step backward. “Apologies, ma’am, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She exhaled harshly, cut a glance around, and refrained from glaring at the other nearest individual who had the grace to quickly avert his eyes. Then she adjusted to better face Pavel, one of the men who’d previously served as her father’s securitydetail. “Thank you for jarring me out of my head, Pavel. What did you need?”
He lowered his arms, a flash of amusement crossing his face before his expression fell to neutral. “You shouldn’t head out alone, Miss Nikolaev. It’s not safe.”
She smiled, though it felt a bit strained. “I’m aware. But time is of the essence and Otto had an unavoidable commitment.” And her father had never seen fit to replace her secondary guard after the previous guy had died doing his job, but that was a train of thought guaranteed to derail her.
Pavel’s weather- and fist-beaten face bent in something like concern, or disapproval. “I’m sure we could find another man to send—”
“Not necessary,” Evelina replied, sharpening her tone. While she’d trusted Kirill enough to place him on guard duty, the same courtesy did not extend to Pavel. She couldn’t bring herself to shake a solid layer of distrust where it concerned any of her father’s former personal security. Not a one of them had been in the room with him when he’d died. The way she’d heard it, no less than twenty minutes had passed since any of them had had eyes on him. She couldn’t ignore the possibility that they were to blame, and not her sniveling cousin, for her father’s death. So, she squared her shoulders and pretended a power stance was all she needed. “I know how to drive. Everything’s under control. Just mind your duties, Pavel.”
His jaw flexed with strain for a singular beat. “Of course, ma’am.” He inclined his head and twisted in place, putting his back to her.
Evelina did the same, wasting no time striding for her favorite car. She hadn’t been lying. She did know how to drive, and she even sometimes insisted on it, just to keep herself from forgetting. But even then, it wasn’t something she did often. And she didn’t think she’d ever once driven without Otto in the passenger seat.
Her fingers tightened over the wheel as she rolled down the subtly sloped drive.He’s fine. And this is all gonna work out.Her lips twitched.He’s gonna be so pissed, though.But she didn’t have time to wait for him.
She drove herself all the way to a public park before pulling over and putting in the address she needed. And while she was stopped, she also typed out a text to her absentee bodyguard. It wouldn’t fully appease him, but at least he couldn’t accuse her of not telling him where she’d “run off to” again.
Evelina exhaled one more time, set the phone down, flexed her fingers over the wheel, and put the car back in motion. It was time she had a chat with her father’s estate lawyer.
Chapter five
Dante
Dante rolled his neckas he stepped into the house and reached up to tug the necktie away from his collar. It was an odd time of day to be coming home, so he didn’t begrudge his men the flashes of surprise in their eyes. In truth, even he wasn’t sure why he was there. He only knew that his baby brother had insisted on meeting somewhere theycould speak in private, safely, and there was always a degree of risk having that kind of conversation at the work site.
He found Iris curled up on the sofa, a book in her hand and the baby monitor practically at her shoulder on the side table. Her fiery hair was still piled atop her head as it had been when he’d left that morning, but a bit messier, more of it having fallen free to frame her perfect face. A portion of the tension in his chest eased as he watched her, just for a second, before striding around the back of the sofa and bending forward until he was leaning over her.
A grin tipped his lips. “Good book?”
Iris startled, her head snapping up and an adorable squeak escaping her. Her face flushed pink and she narrowed her eyes at him in attempt at a glare. “You startled me!” She swatted at his arm before sitting upright and setting the book face down on the arm of the couch.
Dante chuckled, moved a hand to cup her cheek, and pressed an upside-down kiss to her temple. “I enjoy seeing you so relaxed,” he murmured into her hair.
She blew out a breath, watching as he straightened. “To what do I owe the gift of your company this afternoon?”
“Mikey,” he replied. “Something’s come up we apparently can’t discuss in the office.”
The amusement drained from her face.
Dante reached over the sofa again and laid a hand on her shoulder. “This is just a discussion, Snapdragon. Nothing to worry over.” He gave a squeeze and flicked his gaze to the monitor for just a beat. “How’s Vitto today?”
Iris’s smile returned. “Sleeping off his lunch like a champ. He’ll probably be out for another half an hour, at least as long as no one starts yelling or shooting.”
Then probably Dante should leave him be. Getting that baby on a sleep schedule had taken so much effort, effort that still seemed so easily unraveled. And as much as he loved his son, he also hated seeing how tired his wife had been—and sometimes still was. It was why he pushed her to take so much time away from her own business.
He walked around the couch and pulled Iris to her feet, trailing his hands up her sides until he had her face between his palms. “You’re doing a fantastic job, honey. If anyone around here starts making it too difficult, I’ll silence them myself.” He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips and softened his tone. “I’m so proud of you.”
She beamed, her eyes damn near sparkling, and her hands came to rest on his chest. “It’s not like you’re not doing what you can.”
Dante grunted. “I don’t have another human literally feeding off of my body. Helping with diapers and baths when I’m home is nothing.”
