Chapter 26
Aurora
I’m practically bouncing on my toes as we stroll into the coffee shop, the heavy door swinging shut behind us with a jingle of bells. The staff at the counter doesn’t glance up from behind the display shelves of pastries and sweets.
They’re too busy handling the stream of college students. The hum of conversation competes with the hiss and spit of espresso machines and steam wands frothing milk.
Once again, Alexei’s clothes hang loose on my frame. I rolled the gray sweats at the ankles, and knotted the black t-shirt at my hip to keep the material from swallowing me whole. I tell myself it’s sensible to dress this way. At a college hangout, no one will notice or care about my casual attire.
Shelves with enormous jars of roasted coffee beans divide the space, and random numbers of chairs surround tables of all shapes, colors, and sizes.
“Aurora!” My sister’s voice carries over the din of grinding beans and chatting customers. She waves from an orange table in the corner, her auburn hair caught in a messy bun. The spread of her textbooks across the surface suggests she’s been here a while.
Her well-groomed eyebrows shoot up when she notes my odd outfit of baggy sweatpants and monochrome colors.
My heart squeezes. Sam is safe and blissfully unaware that a Russian mobster has paid her tuition for the next two years, with enough extra to finance med school.
Alexei’s hand brushes my lower back and nudges me forward.
He heads for a table in the opposite corner with a clear line of sight to both us and the door.
With his back to the wall, he scans every single person in the room.
I wonder if anyone else can tell he’s a predator in a crowd full of prey, or if my senses have just attuned to the danger he radiates.
Samantha rises from her seat and yanks me into a hug, dwarfing me with her five-six height. “Who’s the hottie?” She peers past my shoulder to where Alexei scrolls on his phone.
“Nobody important.” I slide into the seat across from her. “Just a…work thing. What’s new with you? Are you done with summer classes?”
She shoots me a disbelieving glance but allows the subject change. “Organic chem kicked my ass, but I think I’ll at least pull a solid B. Professor Chen is a tough one. I have a math exam in a couple days.” She gestures to the books. “Then I can take a breather until the fall semester starts.”
I grin at Sam’s dedication just as the waitress, a harried girl with purple hair and dark circles under her eyes, appears.
After I order a latte, Sam launches into a detailed account of her upcoming classes.
Her animation, energy, and complete immersion in the normal stresses of college life cause my chest to ache with a strange mix of envy and relief.
“What happened to you?” Sam interrupts herself mid-sentence, chewing her lip as she scrutinizes my attire. “How’d you get that cut on your cheek, and why are you wearing that?”
Self-consciousness flits through me as I scramble to come up with a lie. “Pixie got a little over-excited while we were playing. Don’t worry. It’s nothing serious.” I tug at the black t-shirt. “And this…laundry mishap.”
“Whose clothes are those? No offense, but you look kinda homeless.”
If she only knew.
I force a laugh. “Very funny. My washing machine flooded. It’s temporary.”
“Uh-huh.” Her gaze drifts past me again, lingering on Alexei. “And I’m guessing temporary also has something to do with tall, dark, and terrifying over there?”
Heat creeps up my neck. “He’s just a client. For my art.”
She wiggles her eyebrows. “A client?”
I reach across the table and bat her shoulder. “Not that kind of client. An art patron.” The lie tastes sour, but what else am I supposed to say? “He’s…commissioning some work.”
Sam’s mouth forms a perfect O. “How much is he paying you?”
Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, along with my continued existence. “Enough.”
She regards me for a few more seconds before a slow grin lights up her face. “Oh. Em. Gee! You have a boyfriend. Those are his clothes. You spent the night with him.” With each accusation, her volume rises.
“Shh!” My heart skips three beats as I chance a peek at Alexei, who remains absorbed in his phone. Thankfully. “No. Absolutely not. He’s not my boyfriend. That’s…ludicrous.”
My fiancée, sure. But not my boyfriend. Totally different thing.
Sam beams like she’s solved a particularly tricky equation. “Friend with benefits, then.”
The waitress saves me by appearing with my latte. I grab the specialty coffee drink and immediately scald my tongue by ingesting a too-large gulp. The pain provides something to focus on besides the absurdity of this conversation.
“Well, all I can say is, it’s about time.” Sam hunches forward, planting her elbows on the table. “You need some fun in your life. Some excitement.”
I sputter, spraying my coffee everywhere. “Excitement. Yes.” I grab a handful of napkins and mop up the mess. “It’s been very…exciting.”
Gunshots. Blood. Abduction. Death threats. Forced engagement. Sex that isn’t technically sex on a dining room table. Exciting doesn’t even begin to cover my life over the past couple of days.
Samantha clasps her hands together, oblivious to my internal monologue. “Can I meet him? Let me meet him. I want to meet—”
“No!” I bark the refusal louder than intended. When Sam’s brow creases, I attempt to soften the rejection with a nervous laugh. “I mean, he has a…meeting. He’s in a meeting. Right now. Over there…meeting.” I gesture to where Alexei still sits, his phone now pressed to his ear.
Sam chuckles. “Okay, fine. Keep your secrets. At least he looks like he can take care of you.” Genuine concern laces her voice. “I don’t like you toiling away at Red Bird’s and living in that crappy studio apartment.”
“Oh, yes, well…I might be changing jobs.” Because I was fired. For being kidnapped. “And it sounds like the apartment building’s getting a new owner.” Because my kidnapper threatened my landlord and decided to buy the entire property just to protect me.
“That’s great!” Sam’s enthusiasm infuses me with both love and guilt. “Maybe things are finally turning around for you. You deserve it.”
I reach across the table and grab her hand, desperate to grasp onto this moment of normalcy. “Tell me about you. Any hot guys in that chemistry class?”
Her face brightens as she launches into a story about a classmate. I absorb her happiness, storing it away like a squirrel gathers nuts for winter.
All too soon, she checks her watch and grimaces. “I’ve got to run. Study group in twenty.” She gathers her books, shoving them haphazardly into her backpack. “Same time next week?”
If I’m still alive and not locked in Alexei’s loft forever.
If Gio hasn’t found and killed me by then. “Absolutely. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
After I walk her to the door, she sweeps me into another hug, sends a cheeky wave to Alexei, and bounces out the door to meet a waiting friend.
They saunter off together, laughing and chatting, their bodies gliding with the effortless confidence of youth.
My heart overflows at the sight of my sister so bright and carefree. Knowing her tuition is taken care of.
Because of Alexei.
Funny how he’s both the destroyer and creator of my happiness. The man who ripped my life apart while simultaneously securing my sister’s future.
I shift in his direction, uncertain of what comes next in my strange new reality.
He tosses money onto his table and prowls to mine before shelling out enough cash to cover my latte with a generous tip.
A weird little pinch grips my heart.
Gratitude?
Affection?
Ridiculous.
As we exit the coffee shop, I shy away from my muddled emotions and troubling thoughts and redirect my focus to Sam. I’m smiling again when my muscles freeze.
Across the street, a man in a ball cap leans against the brick wall of a bookstore. Amid the flow of students and commuters, his stillness seems wrong. He isn’t looking at his phone or watching traffic. He’s staring straight at me.
The coldness in his gaze ices my blood.
I’ve seen that glare before. In Alexei’s eyes when he executed Benny. The stranger’s giving the flat, empty stare of someone who sees a target, not a person.
His hand moves in a deliberate motion toward the inside of his jacket.
I forget how to breathe.
My heart stops, then lurches into a frantic rhythm.
Gun.
He has a gun. He’s planning to kill me, right here in broad daylight, with Sam just down the block.
I should run. Scream. Hit the ground.
Instead, I’m rooted to the sidewalk, like a rabbit caught in headlights, watching death approach in the unhurried movement of a stranger’s hand.
The man’s eyes focus on a point over my shoulder before he shoves off the wall and slips away.
My knees wobble, and I save myself from falling by slapping my palm onto the coffee shop window. I swallow down the metallic aftertaste of adrenaline.
Was I wrong about the man? Am I just on edge? Maybe he was reaching for his phone. Not every stranger on the street who expresses curiosity in me is a cold-blooded killer.
Still, I track the direction of his gaze before he disappeared and spot a familiar face.
Alexei. He’s skirting a rowdy group of students playing cards at an overflowing table.
The stranger saw Alexei and fled. I’m sure of it.
Which means the threat was almost certainly real.
My monster saved me from harm by the strength of his presence alone. He kept the other monster away.
Alexei’s hand curves around the small of my back. “Ready?”
To anyone nearby, we could pass for a regular old couple out on a normal coffee date. I guess that proves just how deceiving appearances can be.
For half a second, I consider spilling everything. About Gio. About overhearing Gio’s conversation with Benny that night at the mansion. About them mentioning MJ.
But what happens if I do?
Alexei keeps me alive for one reason. Information. The second I give that up, I lose my value and become a liability. A witness who knows far too much. Once I share what I know with him, he no longer needs me.
Worse, he’ll lose his incentive to protect Sam.
He might hunt down Gio, but what if Gio gets to Sam before Alexei gets to him? What if Alexei decides I’m too much trouble and risk? I’ve seen how easily he kills. How little a human life weighs in his calculations.
Bile burns my throat.
Smart girls keep their mouths shut. Especially to the monsters who imprison them.
Information is my only power.
I’m not ready to surrender it…not even to the monster who’s currently protecting me from the other beasts lurking nearby.