Chapter 31
ROMAN
“I’m taking her with me.”
Amalie appears to be on the verge of falling apart. She’s seated in a chair with her hands wrapped around a paper cup of water. She looks tired, out of her element. This setting won’t do at all. I want her home, where I can look after her.
I take a step toward her. As soon as I do, the entire room shifts. The cops around us stiffen, and her brother moves just a bit more between his sister and me.
“Just stay where you are, Barinov.”
The family resemblance between Kyle and Amalie is even more striking up close. He’s tall and athletic, with the exact same gray-blue eyes as Amalie. His are a bit harder; surely he’s seen things she hasn’t, things he wants to protect her from.
“I’m leaving. And she’s coming with me.”
“The hell she is,” Kyle replies.
The female officer at Amalie’s side speaks up. “And why would we allow that?” Her tone is careful, probing.
I glance over my shoulder at my small entourage. Among the guards is a slender, middle-aged man in a sharp suit. A member of my legal counsel. I nod toward him and he steps forward at once.
“My name is Daniel Hargrove,” he says. “I’m one of the lawyers who represents Mr. Barinov. Ms. Denning is an adult. She’s not under arrest and not a minor. She’s free to leave whenever she chooses and with whomever she chooses.”
Kyle’s jaw works. He knows Hargrove is right. “She’s shaken. She was attacked. She needs—”
“Safety,” I say. “And I can provide it.”
Kyle laughs once, sharp and mocking. “Safety? From you? Listen, Barinov, I don’t know what the hell happened to my sister just now, but it’s a pretty goddamn safe bet you’ve got something to do with it.”
Amalie flinches. I don’t know precisely what happened either, but Kyle could very well be right. Either way, I need to keep her safe. And that means getting her out of here.
I hold out my hand. “Amalie,” I say, my tone softer. “Come with me.”
Kyle looks at her, and I can see the instant his mind finishes assembling the picture. His gaze moves from her eyes to my hand. It’s not just that she works for me, he’s realizing. It’s not just that she’s staying in my house.
It’s the way my eyes stay on her, the way I’m reaching out to her. The way she’s reacting to my orders like I’m more than her boss.
Because I am.
Her expression changes as she makes the same realization I do—Kyle now knows.
“No,” Kyle says, shaking his head. “No. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me this isn’t what I think it is.”
Amalie says nothing. She swallows hard. I see in her eyes the war inside her.
Part of her wants to take my hand and step into my arms because she knows I’d wrap her up, pull her close, make her safe.
The other part of her knows her brother is a cop, and she’s involved with a man as far on the other side of the thin blue line as one can be.
Kyle turns to the other officers and nods. They depart, leaving him alone with Amalie, me, and my lawyer.
“It’s okay,” she says to her brother, though there’s not a chance in hell Kyle would consider this madness okay. “I’m here. I’m safe.”
Kyle’s eyes flick to me again. “You’re with him. That’s not okay and it sure as fuck isn’t safe.”
She doesn’t deny it. An intolerable silence falls.
I want to reach for her, to just take her. But I don’t. The officers have left us alone, but they’re watching out of the corner of their eyes, waiting for me to make a move they can throw cuffs on me for. I’m not going to give them the satisfaction.
Hargrove steps forward. “Ms. Denning, do you wish to leave with Mr. Barinov?”
She hesitates just a beat too long. My stomach clenches, because as much as I want to simply take her, I can’t. I have no control over what she says or does. And it kills me.
Conflict returns to her eyes. Part of her wants to leave, I can tell, but another part doesn’t. Her gaze meets mine, and I see an apology blended with frustration.
“I need to stay with my brother,” she says softly.
The words hit hard.
Kyle exhales with relief.
“And tomorrow?” I ask. I’m pushing it, but I don’t care.
Her brows knit. “Roman—”
“Tomorrow,” I say again, not asking this time. “Tomorrow you come back.”
Kyle whips his head toward me. “She’s not your property.”
I ignore him, my attention staying on Amalie because she’s the only thing grounding me right now. “Someone put their hands on you,” I say. “Tried to hurt you. Everything has changed, whether you want to believe it or not.”
Her lips part like she wants to argue. But she’s too smart to not realize the truth in my words. She knows she’s now in real, tangible danger.
I step closer.
“If someone’s targeting me,” she says quietly, “it’s likely they’d target Sasha, too.”
Kyle narrows his eyes. He recognizes Sasha’s name, which means he knows more about me than he’s letting on. “Amalie,” Kyle says, gentler this time. “Please, don’t go back there.”
Andrei appears at my shoulder, finally having arrived. He doesn’t speak. He just looks at me, reminding me without words that I’m not on my turf. Whether I like it or not, Kyle is her blood and that tie is stronger than what we have.
“Fine,” I say. “Stay with him tonight.”
Her eyes soften with relief as she realizes I’m not going to push the issue; at least not here, not now.
“But tomorrow,” I add. “You come home.”
Kyle bristles. “Home?”
Amalie closes her eyes.
“You come home tomorrow and resume your teachings with Sasha.” I want to press more, to tell her that Sasha misses her dearly and doesn’t quite understand that not only is she gone, but she’s not planning on coming back.
But I don’t want to speak my son’s name again in this place, nor will I use him as a tool.
I turn and leave. As I make my way out, I feel Amalie’s gaze on my back but I don’t turn. I know that if I do, it’ll be even harder to leave without her.
Outside, the cold air bites at my skin. I pull my coat tighter. Andrei falls in step behind me. A bruise mars his cheek, but otherwise it’s hard to tell he’d just been in a fight.
“You did well,” he said.
I laugh humorlessly. “Did I?
“You let her choose.”
Bring her back. Now. Don’t let her slip away. She’s yours. Multiple thoughts flood my brain.
As if reading my mind, Andrei speaks again. “Women like her don’t take well to having their choices stripped from them. You will lose her for good if you don’t allow her to choose for herself. Sasha will lose her.”
I clench my jaw until it aches. He’s right. I hate that he’s right.
But my hunger for her doesn’t disappear.
It only waits.
Tomorrow, she comes back. No matter what.