Page 19 of The Russian's Kidnapped Bride
His eyes narrow slightly. “Yes, you are. I don’t say shit for the sake of it.”
He can say it all he wants, but I still don’t believe him.
“You sound far too confident,” I mutter, finding it hard to make eye contact with him despite how gorgeous he is.
“I do,” Mikhail says firmly, leaning a touch closer, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Because with me is the safest you can be.”
I hate how much faith he has in himself.
And I hate how something in me wants to believe him.
Chapter 6 - Mikhail
It’s easy to find yourself anticipating when the other shoe will drop when things are going suspiciously well, especially on the first try.
I keep waiting for something else to fall out of line, but it hasn’t yet. I should be grateful and basking in that victory, but usually, triumph comes with a consequence. Nothing comes for free, and I know that well enough.
Nursing a black coffee while sitting behind my desk, phone pressed against my ear, I try to get rid of that feeling.
Given who I am and the family I belong to, I shouldn’t need to be tense about much. We have a tight grip on most things going on, but that nagging thought in the back of my mind keeps reminding me Lily has been an anomaly from the jump.
She’s the wild card I wasn’t anticipating, and the risk surrounding her has me more on edge than I’d like to be.
With papers spread out in front of me waiting to be handled, I ignore them for the time being and focus on Nikolai’s voice instead.
“All nearby security footage has been completely scrubbed from last night. Nobody will know we were even there.”
“And what about the guy’s associates?” I ask, absently fiddling with a pen on my desk.
“We found out who he was working with—one of Maxim’s old goons,” he says, tone level. “We traced his location before sunrise and took care of it. He was dumped at the docks, and if anyone finds the body, they’ll assume it was another overdose.”
“Good. The rat and his handler are both gone, but that leaves us with the main orchestrator.”
Leaning back, I watch the skyline through the wall of windows. While everything turns out there, that means everything is in motion internally, too. It’s efficient, precise, and exactly as it should be.
Nikolai hums, then murmurs, “Has your captive tried anything yet?”
I let go of a discreet breath while my mind immediately goes to Lily. “No, not yet. She’s in the spare bedroom still. I don’t think she’s awake yet.”
“That’s a good sign, at least. It could be worse.”
That was true…or it could be a very bad sign. Silence isn’t always as beneficial as it might seem, especially with a captive. But I keep that to myself and try to push down the urge to double-check.
“The sooner she gets comfortable, the better it will be for her,” I say simply, well aware that she could do the exact opposite. She could spiral and be nothing but a pain in the ass if she feels like it.
“So, this is a long-term thing?” Nikolai asks, not hiding the slight amusement in his tone.
“For the foreseeable future.”
He chuckles. “I didn’t realize you were the sentimental one.”
I huff out a breath and set my mug down. “It has nothing to do with being sentimental. It’s called being opportunistic and keeping the family safe.”
“Sure, that’s another way to put it.”
Rolling my eyes at his words, I ignore his teasing. “Enough about me. Keep your eyes peeled for anyone else who might be connected to our dead men.”
“You got it.”
