Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
SLOANE
Over breakfast the next day, I try to act like I’m fine, even though my nerves are shot. Eli is probably going to text me at some point to ask what happened at the auction. I keep wondering why he didn’t message yesterday.
Then a sudden thought hits: what if he’s dead? That would definitely solve most of my problems.
Ignoring my dark thoughts, I force myself to smile at Lev, who’s sitting beside me finishing his food with his small hand wrapped around mine like he needs to make sure I don’t disappear. I don’t know why that breaks my heart a little, but it does.
Kirill watches us over the rim of his coffee mug, the corner of his mouth lifting as he lowers the cup.
“Before I forget…” He reaches into his pocket, sets a black card on the counter, and slides it toward me. “This is for you.”
My body goes still.
“It’s connected to my account, so it doesn’t have a limit. Use it for whatever you’d like.”
I just stare at it, not sure what to do.
“Kirill, please. This is too much. Between the car, clothes, the salary…I can’t take this. It makes me feel like I’m using you.”
“Malyshka…” He laughs deep in his chest. “You’re not using me. I promise. It makes me happy to see you happy. So please take it.” He nudges the card closer.
“Is this how you treat all your friends?” A nervous laugh bubbles out.
Something tightens in his face, a muscle in his jaw ticcing once. He doesn’t answer, simply goes back to eating like he didn’t hear me at all, and suddenly I can’t swallow another bite.
Because I don’t want to be his friend. Somewhere along the way, he became more than that, and no matter how many reasons I stack up for why he isn’t right for me, I keep falling anyway, deeper with every passing day.
Kirill’s gaze flicks up again, holding mine like he knows exactly where my mind just went, then he shifts his attention to Lev.
“Sloane will drop you off at school today, Lev.” His voice is gentler now.
Lev looks up, and when his gaze lands on me, something bright sparks in him.
It sparks in me too.
My mind goes straight to Milo. To the first time the boys meet. Will they get along? Will Lev trust him the way he trusts me? Will they grow into the kind of brothers who always have each other’s backs, the way siblings are supposed to?
God, what am I doing?
My life is a wreck, and I keep building a make-believe future. I need to stop. My focus needs to be on getting Milo out of my sister’s grasp, and out from under Eli too.
“Papa has to go to work now.” Kirill rises and kisses the top of Lev’s head. “I will see you after school.”
Lev stays intent on his plate, carefully cutting his pancake into neat triangles while Kirill straightens and reaches for his keys.
He hesitates as he looks at me, like he’s on the verge of doing something he wants more than he should.
Instead, he only stands there towering over me, his cologne curling around me in a slow wave that warms my skin.
My fingers tighten in my lap, a low ache throbbing through my body as his gaze drops and settles on my mouth, heat spreading through me under the weight of it.
Then, almost like he catches himself, he leans in and presses a kiss to the top of my head. “I will see you later, solnishko.”
Emotion burns behind my eyes. I don’t understand how a man who’s supposed to be dangerous can make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
After breakfast, I get Lev buckled into the back of my new SUV and drive him to school. Half an hour later, we pull into the lot, and I park wherever I can find a spot. I help him out, then take his hand in mine as we walk toward the entrance.
Kids and parents move around us in little clusters while teachers stand near the doors, greeting students as they come in.
When we reach the front steps, I squeeze his hand and bend to his level. “Have a good day, okay? I’ll see you after school.”
He gives me a hug, and my arms go around him, holding on for a few more seconds.
“Come on, Lev,” the teacher says as he pulls away, glancing back over his shoulder.
Giving him one more wave, I watch him go inside before I return to my car just as a text comes in, and my heart instantly sinks.
Eli
Are you in?
I want to lie. Tell him his plan failed. But that won’t help. Eli won’t let this go, and he’ll find out if I lie. And if he thinks I’m playing him, he’ll get angrier.
Sloane
Yes.
Eli
Did he ask you to move in?
My fingers hover, wishing he was truly dead. Maybe that makes me evil, but I don’t care.
Sloane
Yes.
Eli
I told you this would work. I want this done quickly. Three days. Get what I need.
Is he out of his mind?
Sloane
Three days is impossible. There are guards and cameras everywhere. The house is huge. I would need three days just to look through the whole place. That is, assuming he doesn’t catch me and kill me. I guess you forgot to mention he’s Russian Mob.
Eli
Whoops. Must’ve slipped my mind. Fine. Seven days. That’s it.
His words don’t offer any relief. Seven days is just a longer walk to the same cliff.
Eli
I swear, if you play me, I’ll kill you and that kid—and believe me, your new boyfriend will never find your body, no matter how good he may be.
My hands go numb around the phone. I want to throw up. To scream. I want to rip Milo out of school and run until my lungs bleed.
But I can’t. I won’t be safe, no matter where I go.
Sloane
Okay. I’ll do it. Just stay away from my son.
Eli
Glad you smartened up. Get it done, Ghosthands.
I nearly smash my phone into the windshield, rage buzzing under my skin.
In a perfect world, I’d tell Kirill everything and let him handle it. But I can’t. I can’t let him find out who I am. And I’m not about to drag him into this either, not when he’s all Lev has.
I sit there with both hands locked on the steering wheel, forcing myself to think.
Seven days. I can do this. I can steal from the one man I’m falling for.
Easy-peasy…
A bitter laugh scratches at my throat, but I fight it. Instead, I start the car and pull out of the lot, trying to figure out how I’m going to start looking through the property. It has to seem casual so none of the guards catch on.
By the time I reach the house, I fix my face into something neutral before I step out. The guards nod as I enter, and once I’m settled, I move through the rooms as though I’m getting acquainted with my new surroundings.
My eyes flick to corners, to ceiling lines, to the places cameras would hide.
But I’m sure there are places he doesn’t have cameras just to avoid being caught saying or doing something illegal.
I notice the guards everywhere, posted at the main areas and doors where they can see me.
Getting around them will be the hardest part.
I trail my fingers along the back of a chair like I’m admiring it, but my brain is already noting which halls and rooms are really guarded and which ones aren’t.
If I had to guess, he either keeps the ledger in the safe, or maybe the basement. That’s where most of the rich people we hit used to hide theirs: behind expensive paintings, tucked into custom walls, sometimes even a vault under a carpet or in a wine cellar.
Kirill could be smarter than all of them. Or maybe he’s like most who think they’re untouchable.
But wherever it is, I have to give Eli something, or my son dies. And I’m not losing him. Not for anything.
Even if it costs me my life.