Chapter 46 – Harley
A fter a frantic Kazimir picked us up with a handful of armed guards, Daniella and her husband rapidly communicated in fiery back and forth. They thought it had to do with whatever hornet nest the guys raided the other night. I kept quiet, avoiding looking at them or Cami.
Instead of going to the fortress, we headed into the sea of skyscrapers. As we reached the top floor of a parking ramp, one that was nearly empty, Kazimir’s phone rang.
Daniella turned in her seat to look back at us. “This is one of our businesses, Harley. I need to run scans on the visual files I snatched. You can wait with the girls in the executive lounge,” she offered kindly as her husband exited the vehicle, barking gruffly in Russian into his cell.
“Thanks,” I breathed.
“For you.” Kazimir stuck the phone in my hand, turned abruptly, and caught his wife along the side of the vehicle. Daniella let out a little squeak of surprise as she was crushed to her gigantic husband.
“Get a room,” Brittany muttered, to which her sister chuckled.
Shaking myself, I cleared my throat and put the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Harley.” My name was a breath of relief.
“I’m okay,” I promised, to which Kolya let out a rough barking laugh.
“I’ll be there soon.”
“Good.” We need to talk .
The line disconnected. The walk to the executive’s lounge took less than ten minutes, but the journey from the parking ramp through skyways and rides on elevators lost all meaning. Kazimir kept his arm wrapped tightly around his wife. I tried not to stare, but I couldn’t help seeing it every time they moved.
Lost in a box of pastries and quality espresso, Cami and I strategized about our upcoming final projects. The semester exams would be the second week of December, and the sooner we finished projects, the sooner we could study and prep for those.
The door banged open. The thunderous sound sent my heart shooting against my ribs.
A creature made of living stone stalked into the room.
Relief mixed with something else rang through me.
Kolya didn’t stop, advancing with rapid steps until he was on me. His rough hands snaked around my waist, splaying over my back. That mouth was all hunger and heat. He kissed me hard.
Somewhere in the distance, I heard the high schooler complain, but her sister shushed her with a “See? He likes her a lot.”
It was true, and I liked Kolya back.
“I need to tell you something,” I murmured against his lips.
“No.” He continued to kiss me, deepening it as his tongue slid into my mouth.
Footsteps receded. A door clicked closed. And then the only sound of breathing came from us, rough and harsh.
Holy cow, he’s going to take me against the conference table!
Crazy me, I would let him.
But I needed to say something.
“Kolya!” I beat against his chest with my palm. “Please, let me go! I need to talk to you.”
“No,” he growled, tugging me close.
“Please,” I breathed with a small laugh.
He captured my face between his big hands. “I don’t want to hear it, Harley. I can’t hear it!”
Something in his wild gaze made me still instantly. That look was fear. Ripe and consuming, it chilled the heat that should have been blazing in his eyes.
“I can’t lose you,” he said, voice gruff.
Oh, sweet man. My heart ached for him. That wasn’t at all what I was going to say, but I could see now how he might think that.
“Kolya, someone is coming for you. I’m not sure what you guys did the other night, and I was mad you didn’t tell me about it. But that makes me a hypocrite, because I didn’t tell you when I got cornered after class this week,” I said in a rush.
Kolya’s eyes darkened with something terrible.
I reached up to cup his cheek. “I’m not scared of your world. But if I’m going to survive it, we need to be able to talk, to tell each other what is going on.”
A violent curse rasped from his lips. The man who was normally so well contained was losing control. Instead of giving him space to storm away, I tightened my grip.
“Tell me everything,” he said through clenched teeth.
I did.
Kolya made me describe the Mr. Smith in detail.
“I don’t think that’s his real name,” I concluded.
“It’s not. It’s Adler. He runs the entire Southwest region of trafficking,” Kolya growled.
“What’s he doing up here?” I breathed, trying to radiate calm when my insides screamed at me.
Kolya worked his jaw back and forth. He pulled back. I could see the animalistic terror in his eyes. He wanted to run. I held him tightly, wrapped my legs around his middle and damn near choked him with how tightly I held his neck.
“Tell me,” I insisted.
“You’ll think badly of me,” he pleaded in a hoarse whisper.
“Never.” My lips found his. I poured the promise into that kiss.
I felt the moment Kolya surrendered. We continued to kiss for a few more moments, letting our bodies say what words couldn’t.
When I finally pulled back, I gave him a tight nod.
“I had an episode in Arizona last spring.” Each word came out broken, defeat pushing them past his lips.
My heart ached for this man. For my man.
But he didn’t back down from the fight. “They discovered me, learned enough to follow me north. It’s why I came to the lake house. I was hiding until they backed off. I couldn’t lead them to my family. I only went back to fight because his operation has been in chaos. I had to choose between continuing the fight and you. It wasn’t possible before to do both.”
I heard what he said, my brain processed it, and then…I began to smile.
“Harley!” Kolya choked, eyes wide with panic.
“This broken road led you to me.” I hugged him tight. “And what do you mean, it wasn’t possible before?”
“I think I’ve found a way to take a more administrative roll in fighting the enemy. It’s a trial run, but this might be the beginning of a vigilante program that would have a more powerful reach. Later, when I can think straight, I want to tell you all about it.” His body shuddered against mine. “It would mean not leaving you. If you’ll have me.”
My heart beat fast enough I feared an explosion. “Whether the partnership works out or not, I promise, I’m never leaving you.”
His breath was hot as it rasped against my throat. “That’s too good to believe.”
“Well, you’d better believe it, mister.” I pressed my lips against his hair. “I’m not going to stop telling you—every single day—until you do.”
There was a pause, and then he said, “Maybe I never will. You’d better not stop.”
“I’ll never stop.” Because there was no stopping the way I felt. I would wait however long, be impossibly patient, until this wild, untamed creature of the dark believed me.