Chapter Twenty-Three #2
He took off in a careful trot toward the foyer and then sat in front of the stairs and emitted a low growl. Then, as abruptly as he’d started, he stopped, lifted his head and stared up at the dark landing on the second floor.
“It’s fine,” I told him, not feeling fine at all. I caught sight of a figure standing at the top of the steps.
Sergei.
A sharp scared scream escaped my throat at the same time Bandit lost his mind.
Bandit moved halfway up the stairs, barking with a feral ferocity that scared even me.
When I scanned the top of the landing again, he was gone.
Bandit continued his deafening bark, holding his position halfway up the stairs, but his tail was tucked firmly between his legs in fear.
The front door burst open, and Anton looked between me and Bandit. He swung the door shut.
I pointed. “Sergei. He’s upstairs.”
Anton drew his weapon and flew up the stairs two at a time.
“Bandit,” I called, my voice trembling. To my shock, he stopped barking and came down the stairs to stand in front of me. He trembled with fear and adrenaline, but he was still on guard, and his focus never wavered from the top of the stairs.
After a lifetime of waiting, Anton appeared at the top of the stairs. “There’s no one up here.”
I blinked in confusion. “I just saw him. He was standing at the top of the steps. He was looking down at me.”
Anton was already on the phone as he came down the stairs.
Fifteen minutes later, the guard, Anton and I were crowded around a laptop in the kitchen as we played back all the security tapes. So far, despite watching all nine of the camera views, we had yet to see footage of anyone on camera.
“Maybe there’s a blind spot?” I asked, feeling stupid.
“Where are we at?” Axel walked into the house, while the three men who followed him split up and started to search the house.
I gave him a guilty look. “I think it was a false alarm.”
He looked between the three of us. “What happened?”
Neither the guard nor Anton spoke.
I delicately cleared my throat. “Bandit lost it. He was barking up the stairs, and I saw Sergei standing at the top. But we can’t find him on any of the cameras, so now I’m not sure what I saw.”
Axel and Anton exchanged looks. “Roll back the tapes,” Axel instructed the guard. “I want to see.”
“There’s nothing there,” I said mournfully, thinking of my paranoia in the bathroom at school. “I’m obviously seeing ghosts and stressing everyone out.”
“I heard Bandit barking,” Anton replied as consolation. “That’s not nothing.”
“There,” Axel said. He pointed to the feed from the camera that monitored my bedroom door. “Roll that back by about ten seconds, and can you slow it down?”
He did, and we all watched.
The door moved slightly, and then in the background the faintest of shadows was reflected in the hallway mirror. We’d all missed it, but Axel had noticed. There wasn’t enough of an image to prove that it was Sergei, but someone had definitely been upstairs.
“How’d he get in?” Anton asked, confused.
Axel rubbed the back of his neck. “Ask the men to search every inch of this place. I want them on the roof, in the basement, in the garage. I need to know how he got past you and the two guards.”
“I’m on it.” Anton and the guard exited the kitchen, leaving Axel and I alone.
“Was that really Sergei? Is he in Canada?”
He looked concerned. “Your uncle sent him. I didn’t want you to worry about him, and I never thought he’d come near you. He’s been so busy causing shit at work, I didn’t imagine he’d have time to try something with you.”
Which explained why my workaholic husband seemed never to take a break. I should have been shaking in fear over my encounter with Sergei, but standing and talking with Axel, I felt nothing but a sense of security and calm. That was the effect my husband had on me. He made me feel safe.
“Thank you.” I reached for his hand. He willingly grabbed it back and pulled me toward him. He didn’t stop until I was snug against his chest, looking up at him, and his arms were wrapped around my waist.
I studied his face while he studied me back. His expression was a mixture of curiosity, wariness and intense heat.
I loved seeing any kind of emotion on his face. I loved it when he showed me, however small the glimpses, how he felt. It made me smile.
“What?” His tone was slightly impatient but his expression was mild, like he was content simply holding me.
“I just feel better when you’re around. Especially when you’re snuggly.”
That made him smile. “Snuggling? Is that what we’re doing?”
It was, and he did it well. I smiled harder, working to contain all the joy that wanted to bubble out of me.
Anton appeared at the doorway to the kitchen.
“Boss, we discovered how Sergei got in. He removed one of the loose gable vents and came in through the attic and down the ceiling hatch. We have a plan to prevent this, but we need your approval.”
I could feel Axel’s entire body stiffen. “I’ll be there in a moment.”
Anton disappeared again.
“Do you have to go back to work?” I tried to keep the hopeful and slightly desperate tone out of my voice, but I really wanted to spend some time with Axel. “I could heat up some dinner for us.”
I felt some of the tension ease out of his body. “I have some work left, but I can do it from home tonight. Let me get these guys out of here.”
I fairly danced around the kitchen while I heated up the meal that Jordan had cooked. For good measure, I threw together a salad and put two of Jordan’s samosas into the toaster oven.
Bandit watched me from the edge of the couch, but he kept a close eye on the hallway and the sound of men talking upstairs.
I set two place settings at the island, poured us both glasses of sparkling water, and then set out the steaming food.
Axel appeared in the doorway, his cell phone in his hand. “It smells good.”
I recognized the combination of regret and distraction on his face. “You have to go back to work, don’t you?”
He winced. “This is an emergency, I promise. Something I have to deal with personally, but I’ll be home as soon as I’m done.”
I could sense that he was trying his best, and I was willing to wait for whatever crumbs he could offer. He didn’t have a lot left over at the end of the day, but they were the best crumbs I had ever dined on.
“Just be safe.”
He crossed the room and dropped a lingering kiss on my lips. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Anton is going to stay here until I get back.”
“You know he’s getting your dinner the second you walk out that door.”
“I deserve that.” He gave me a slightly longer kiss. “Hold that thought.”
“I go to bed at eleven.”
“I’ll be home way before that.”
The doorbell chimed, prompting one sharp bark from Bandit, who sat beside me on the couch. I remained seated as Anton got up from the island, one hand on his radio and the other on his gun.
“Stay there,” he warned me with a sideways glance.
A few moments later, I could hear Giselle’s sweet accent from the front door. “I was told to meet Axel here. He just texted me.”
Without thought, I flew off the couch and walked barefoot down the hallway.
“Let her in,” I told Anton.
He looked at me, his eyes wide with concern. “Mila.”
“It’s fine,” I told him.
Then I spoke to her. “When did my husband talk to you?”
Giselle wore a killer dress that showed off her fabulous body. Matching stiletto heels, big hair and most of her cleavage completed the outfit.
She looked alarmed. “Am I in the wrong spot?”
I felt underdressed in my soft pants, bare feet and oversized knit sweater. “I don’t know. Where are you supposed to be?”
But I already knew. Giselle was looking for my husband, and she wasn’t even being subtle about it anymore.
She scrolled through her phone and her eyes widened. “I apologize. I thought Axel told me to meet him here.”
I crossed my arms. “He’s dealing with a work emergency.”
Her eyes widened. “Yes. Exactly. That’s why he called me.”
I swear something cracked in my chest. Only an hour ago, Axel had pretended that he wanted to hang out with me, but had been called to a work emergency. She was clearly dressed for a date, not a work emergency.
The truth was staring me in the face, even if I wasn’t ready to face it.
Something washed over me, that reminded me of that moment when I had found out that my parents had died. The idea that Axel was cheating on me, felt like cold, disbelieving shock.
Which was immediately followed by white hot rage. I couldn’t keep the emotion out of my voice. “I don’t believe you.”
Her eyes widened at my expression. “I think you’ve misunderstood something.”
The anger inside me was an awful mix of jealousy and pain. “Don’t tell me how to think!”