Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“I’ll be there.”
I hang up with a goal in mind. It helps divert me away from the pain. I’ll pack a small bag and then I’m getting the hell out of here. If Niko thinks I’m going to wait around for him, he can think again. I’m done believing in him.
I’m done loving him…
CHAPTER 27
Niko
I take the quickest shower I’ve ever taken in my life. The entire time I’m calling myself a fool a million times over. I should have just gotten dressed and made sure Katherine was nowhere near this hotel—let alone my room. There’s something going on with her. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like the feeling she’s giving me. I have made it to where I am by listening to my gut and right now, I truly don’t like what it’s saying. I need to get her out of here and wipe my hands—just like I intended when I gave her the check and said goodbye.
I’ve never known complete panic before but when I hear my cell ring, I certainly do. I’m toweling dry, but I drop it immediately and grab my slacks. My body is still wet but fuck it. I hobble, one-legged to the door and yell outside. “Let it ring, Katherine! I’m almost dressed.”
I slam the door and grab a pullover shirt. I run my fingers through my hair. It’s not like I’m concerned. I just need to get control of this situation and call Emilia. Once that’s done this bitterness in my gut will feel better.
When I walk into the main room, Katherine is standing there nursing her drink. My gaze moves to where I left my phone earlier and it doesn’t look like it has been moved. Until that moment, I didn’t realize that I was barely breathing. Christ. Having Emilia in my life is twisting me up in knots.
“That was a quick shower. That’s not like you, Niko. You used to spend an hour in the shower. Of course, most of the time we were in there together. That always took much longer than an hour, didn’t it, sweetheart?” she purrs.
“Those days are over, but you know that. What is going on here, Katherine?”
“Nothing, I promise. It’s just fate that has brought us back together. That’s it.”
I watch her closely. I should believe her. She looks calm but the longer I stare, the more I notice she’s avoiding my eyes. That feeling in my gut that keeps telling me something is off, hits me again.
“How did you know what hotel I was in? Or what room for that matter? I didn’t give you that information.
“Am I being interrogated?”
“Should you be?” I return.
“I never knew you were so distrusting of me before, Niko. Perhaps it’s a good thing that we ended everything.”
“You’ve never given me a reason to doubt you before.”
“Now I am?”
“We both know you are. How about we drop the act, and you just tell me how you found out where I was and why you are really here.”
“I don’t think anything I could say would satisfy you. It’s clear you’re going to doubt everything I tell you.”
“It’s a simple question,” I point out.
“Fine. If you want to know the truth, I followed you.”
“You what?” Of all the things she could have said, I wasn’t expecting that.
“Followed you. Don’t look so shocked. You of all people know I can be resourceful. I waited around after we talked and followed your limo. From there, it wasn’t hard to find out what room Niko Petrova was in. You only book the best suites, lover. We both know that. I will admit the new security guards caught me off guard. Did you fire your old crew?”
“First, drop the nickname. We’re not lovers. You cashed the check to prove that.”
“It’s not like you left me much choice, Niko. You kicked me out without warning and for a kid, no less.”
She puts her drink down and walks closer to me and I let out an annoyed breath. “I’m not discussing Emilia with you. Whatever you have planned, you might as well forget. Now, I’m going to ask you an important question and you need to answer truthfully because if you lie to me, you will find out why they call me the devil.”
“You assume I don’t already know,” she laughs. “We were together for a while, Niko. You don’t have many secrets from me.”
Her answer annoys the hell out of me. Katherine and I didn’t have that type of relationship. There was no pillow talk. She knows nothing of my business life. She knows some of my private life—like where I grew up. Yet, only because she heard Callan and I talk. That’s it. She’s overstepping her value and that’s not like her at all.
“I want to know what this is about, and I want to know now.”