Chapter Twenty-Three
MILA
The next morning, I woke up in Axel’s bed. Bandit slept beside me, his back pressed against mine. I lifted my head.
Across the room, facing the door, Axel was sitting in one of the overstuffed satin chairs that no one actually sat in.
He was asleep.
Facing the door.
With a large, intimidating gun in his lap.
In the pale dawn light I studied my exhausted husband, who still worked, still protected me, in his sleep.
With his expression relaxed, he looked so much younger and lighter than he did when he was awake.
I admired his messy hair, the angle of his jawline, the straightness of his nose.
I wasn’t sure I had ever seen a man with more beautiful features, and I took that space to stare at him, to try to memorize his face.
I gave it my best effort, but I knew my memory wasn’t up to the task. I found myself shocked at how truly handsome this man was in real life. Especially at his most vulnerable moments.
Sleep tugged at me while I fought to keep my gaze on him.
The next time I awoke, light was streaming into the room. Axel was gone, and so was Bandit. I pulled on some clothes and found both of them sitting on the couch downstairs. Rain streaked down the windows, a softer version of the storm from the night before.
Axel was showered, wearing a suit and drinking coffee while talking into his phone. Bandit was lying beside him, but his tail thumped when he saw me.
I knelt down beside the couch so I could bury my face into Bandit’s fluffy neck.
I peered up at Axel. “How did you sleep?”
“Fine.” He shrugged, looking me over. “You okay?”
I wasn’t sure that I would ever be okay after last night, but I lied and nodded, shifting my focus to Bandit. “I’m fine. Have you heard anything about the guard?”
“Mild concussion. He’s taking time off work, but he’ll make a full recovery.”
“And the dogs?”
“Both have seen the vet, and both are fine.”
My gaze swung back to him, but neither of us spoke.
I broke the silence between us. “Do you know who that was last night?”
“Maksim and I have been working on it, but we don’t have a confirmation about who it was.” I could sense he wasn’t telling me the whole truth.
Even though we had only consummated our marriage two nights before, it felt like another lifetime. I was dealing with the other Axel, the one who held himself back from me.
I wanted the Axel who kissed me deeply while we slowly made love.
I cleared my throat. “Why was he in my bedroom? Was he looking for me?”
Axel put down his coffee so he could lean forward and focus entirely on me. “We’re not sure. I’ve made some changes to security that might seem intrusive at first, but I need your compliance.”
I would never admit it, but I was spooked. Up until last night, part of me had thought Axel’s security concerns were more about control over my life than any real threat, but now I saw things a lot differently. This man worked overtime to keep me safe. “Okay,” I said solemnly.
“We’re going to have two guards and three dogs on watch at night. And I’ve gotten permission from the school administration to have Oleg and Anton sit at the back of your classrooms. I don’t want you to fight me on this.”
I shook my head. “I won’t.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t home for dinner last night.” He held my gaze. “A lot of things were going on.”
Axel looked exhausted. The kind of bone-deep fatigue I had endured after my parents died.
On impulse, I reached out and grabbed his fingers, reassured when they instantly tightened around my own. “Are you okay?”
He gave me a tired smile. “I think last night took a few years off my life.”
My eyes widened at his admission. Only men who cared said stuff like that. “When I called you?”
He chose his words carefully. “I need you to be safe.”
I squeezed his fingers. “I’m safe.”
The moment was interrupted by the sound of keys jangling in the front door. Bandit gave a sharp bark as he jumped off the couch and trotted over.
“What are you doing up?” I heard Jordan say to Bandit. Usually Bandit was asleep in my bedroom when Jordan arrived for the day.
“I’m in the living room,” I called out.
Axel gave my hand another quick squeeze before he stood up. “I have to leave for work.”
I watched him walk out as Jordan bustled into the kitchen with his shopping bags. “What is happening on the front lawn? The grass is all torn up, and there are guys putting up cameras on the side gate.” He froze when he saw the table still set for dinner.
“Do you want a coffee first?” I walked toward him. “Because I have a big story to tell you.”
Life became complicated over the next week. I didn’t see much of Axel, and when I did, he was holed up in his office, distracted by work. He never came to bed at the same time as me, and he was usually gone when I woke up.
I hated how uneasy I felt, even with Oleg and Anton working overtime to protect me. I tried to act normal, and my friends did their best to act like things were fine, but I think we all sensed that things were different.
One morning, on a standard break between classes, Oleg walked me to the public bathroom and stopped me before I tried to enter.
“Let me check it out.”
“You can’t just stroll into a woman’s bathroom.”
He looked frustrated. “Watch me.”
I just needed a moment to breathe. “There’s a line of girls waiting to use the toilets and a fight over the sinks and mirror space. Trust me, there are no men in there. And there’s only one entrance.”
He didn’t look happy, but he agreed. “I’ll be right here.”
I stood in line behind the rest of the students on break, and by the time I got to use the toilet, most of the bathroom was clearing out.
I shared a smile with a girl in the reflection of the mirror as I washed up. Then I got distracted by my group chat with Selena and Tanya, and by the time I started to put on my lipstick, the place had completely emptied. Honestly, I kind of welcomed the quiet. Especially after the past week.
I studied my appearance as I lined my lips.
Was this how the rest of my marriage would be with Axel?
Would we get into progressively less safe situations until my entire life was ruled by security decisions?
I filled in my lips with gloss. Or was this just some blip in an otherwise ordinary life?
I stood back and studied my work, admiring the rich color of my new lip shade.
Bang!
It was the familiar sound of a toilet stall door slamming shut.
I thought I was alone.
I put my lipstick down and backed up so I could look down the long row of toilets. Nine of the stall doors were ajar to some degree, but the tenth door, the one at the very end, was completely shut.
Was someone in there? I had been convinced that I was the only one in the bathroom, but maybe someone had walked past me when I was on the phone.
I looked down the long row, wondering why my heart was racing.
This is stupid.
I crept along past the empty stalls until I was able to peer low and catch sight of the owner’s shoes. Except the stall at the end was empty. There were no feet.
I shook my head, annoyed at my paranoia. Had I really heard anything? I turned and walked back to pick up my bag. The stall was probably locked or shut from the inside for maintenance. With my bag over my shoulder, I headed for the door.
I stopped walking.
I had used the stall at the very end, and the latch on the door was missing, so when I sat on the toilet, I had been compelled to hold the door shut with one hand.
So why was the door suddenly staying shut?
I didn’t want to look, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself from quietly walking again down the long row. I peered underneath.
Again, there were no feet visible in the last stall, but the door remained firmly closed.
No one is in there, Mila.
My heart hammered in my chest.
I would just swing open the door so I could prove that to myself that I was just being paranoid.
Your mind is making this stuff up.
But my breathing was shallow and uneven as I silently crept toward the last stall. I paused, listening for something, anything, to indicate that I wasn’t alone.
I stepped forward, but my hand hovered in midair as if unwilling to push it open.
I need to prove this is all in my head.
“Mila, what are you doing?” Oleg stood at the far door, staring at me with bewilderment. “Are you okay?”
My entire body sagged in relief. Without touching the door in question, I walked back toward him rapidly. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
He looked around the room. “You alone?”
“Yep,” I sounded breathless. “It’s just me in here.”
But when I looked back at the empty room, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was there.
When we stepped outside the bathroom, I grabbed his arm. “Can you go check the last stall for me?”
He didn’t ask any questions, just turned and disappeared back into the bathroom in record speed. I followed him and watched him push open the door with his weapon drawn.
He holstered it and looked at me. “There’s no one here.”
I felt my entire body relax. “Sorry, I’m feeling so paranoid lately.”
He gave me a hard look. “Next time, I’m coming in here with you. No exceptions.”
Three days later, I stood in the living room, remote in hand, while my dinner heated up in the microwave behind me.
“What’s going on with the TV?” I asked Bandit, but he was staring past me at the front door.
“Stop being spooked,” I told him, as every single channel indicated that I had a networking error. I looked outside. It was twilight. There was no rain yet, but the wind was whipping the trees into a frenzied dance against the darkening sky.
I turned off the TV and threw the remote on the couch. “Guess we’ll catch up with our show later,” I told Bandit as I bent over him.
He ignored my snuggles and peered around me, listening in an active way.
“What is it, boy?” I asked him, feeling a bit unnerved.