Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Taylor:
Men. Ugh.
Me:
Enough said. I’m home. I’ll grab tequila, then be right up.
I slip my phone into my purse before exiting through the door closest to the corner store. “Thanks, Haynes. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“It was my pleasure, Natalya.”
With everyone on the more affluent side of Kronstadt for the night, I cross the street without incident, only stumbling into someone when I take the corner too quickly.
“Sorry…” My apology gets trapped in my throat when I recognize who I bumped into. It is the customer from earlier today. The one with the crush. “Are you here for supplies?” I waggle my brows, hopeful Polina and I aren’t the only one tiptoeing on a wire tonight. “The flowers here aren’t the best, but you can never go wrong with chocolates.”
“Chocolates,” he murmurs like he never considered them before now. “Good idea.” His smile is wonky. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
I gesture for him to enter the store before me and follow him inside. He veers for the candy aisle while I move straight for the liquor section.
“Big night?” the cashier asks while ringing up my order.
“Not exactly.” I usually pay in cash, but I went a little overboard with supplies, so I hunt for the credit card Polina lets me use as long as I repay it in full at the end of each month.
My rummage slows when I notice the boutique’s business credit card has been replaced with a shiny new one.
The cashier whistles. “Haven’t seen one of them around here for a while.” As he bags my purchases, confident I can pay, he announces, “That’s a limitless card. You can spend two million dollars, and your purchase will be approved.” He accepts the cash I hand him, then charges the rest onto the card without my permission before pushing the brown paper bag full of bottles to my side of the counter. “Enjoy your night.”
I’m tempted to ask him to reverse the charge until I spot Taylor in the window of our apartment. She looks miserable.
“You too.” I snatch up the bag so fast it rips, before hightailing it outside. My brutal speed slows when I spot Haynes still parked where I left him.
I tap on his window the best I can while juggling a bag of alcohol. When he winds it down, I ask, “Dead battery?”
His laugh is dainty and ancient. His age is one of the reasons Matvei put him on my watch. He didn’t care about experience. He wanted someone over three times my age. “No, Ms.… Natalya.” His recovery is quicker each time. “I’m on the night shift. Daniels will relieve me in the a.m.”
“You stay here until the morning?”
“Yes,” he answers without pause for thought.
“How often?”
Now he has to think. “Anytime Matvei knows he won’t be with you.”
That stings to hear, but I play it cool. “So Matvei isn’t coming tonight?” Okay, not so cool, but cut me some slack. My emotions don’t know which way to swing, and I feel somewhat hormonal.
“No.” His kind eyes show he hates being the bearer of bad news. “But from what I’m hearing, he’s working on something big.”
“I’m sure he is.” Realizing he doesn’t deserve my frustration, I farewell him for the second time tonight. “Have a good night, Haynes.”
His reply is still ringing in my ears when I climb the stairs of my apartment building and burst through the living room like the tequila is burning my backside more than it will my throat.
“Maybe he really did have a family emergency,” Maria suggests, saying anything to lessen Taylor’s fret.
Taylor strays her still-wet-but-now-glassy eyes to me. She knows as well as I do that Saka wouldn’t just up and leave town for no good reason, and not only did his message seem off, but he was only a mile from our apartment when he texted her to say he had to go out of town.
I could admit that he disappeared not long after I disclosed the names of the men hunting me to a man who won’t stop until he finds them, and minutes after asking him to snoop on an extremely powerful man, but since that will give Taylor more reasons to loathe me, I keep my mouth shut.
I wouldn’t hesitate to say something if I truly believed he was in danger. Saka respects Matvei because Matvei respects him. Furthermore, hurting Saka would hurt me, so I truly don’t believe Matvei would ever place him in any situation that could be dangerous.
When Taylor gets nothing from me, she shifts her focus back to Millie and Maria. “But a text? Why couldn’t he call?”
“Maybe he’s untrusting of electronics,” Millie pops up. “Some weird stuff has been happening lately.” She looks at Maria. “Did you tell them about that incident today?”
Feeling the heat of three worried stares, Maria brushes off her worry by waving her hand through the air. “It was nothing. She’s exaggerating.”