His phone goes off, and he looks at it. “Your man’s here.”
Alexei’s brother leaves, and a few minutes later Alexei comes in alone. There is not a single new mark on him. He looks perfectly fine as he closes the bedroom door.
“I’m kidnapped,” I say. “By your brother.”
“Don’t blame him,” he says, coming over to me and giving me a kiss. “I asked him to bring you back. You promised you wouldn’t leave the hotel, let alone the city.”
“I leave to save you from Egorov. His men follow you in New York, ready to strike. I can show you this picture he sends me. For my saving you, you arenotwelcome. Your brother’s men tell a lie to me that makes me believe you are badly hurt, and I have to endure horrible worry.”
“I’m sorry,kiska.” He strokes my hair, like he’s petting me, then he sits in the chair and pulls it closer. “But you shouldn’t have left.”
“I was—”
“Trying to protect me, I know, but I don’t want your protection. And I don’t want you taking off on your own. Your job is to stay where I can find you.”
“How can Egorov know you are in New York? Who did you tell you would come?”
“No one. He must have a way of tracking me. Something on my car or my phone.”
My God. It’s like a spy movie. How can we ever get away from Egorov if he has the means to track us wherever we go, I wonder wildly.
“I’ll deal with Egorov soon enough. I had a plan, but I didn’t get to execute it because someone decided to leave town with no protection, and I had to come back here.”
I blow a strand of hair away from my face. “Come. Get key and unlock me.”
“In a minute,” he says, stroking my bound leg with his thumb.
“Alexei!”
“Settle down, kitten,” he says in a firm voice, sounding very much like his kidnapper brother.
I frown at him.
“There’s something important we need to talk about. We belong together, and there are reasons we should make that legal.”
My brows rise. “What do you mean?”
“You’re going to marry me.”
CHAPTER20
Natalia
The private jet is luxurious with its tan leather seats and glossy consoles. Alexei’s brother and another man sit at the back. Alexei and I sit across from each other at the other end of the cabin. The flight attendant has brought us snacks and glasses of champagne.
“I do not say yes yet,” I whisper under my breath as she places a plate of strawberries before me.
Alexei says nothing. He’s made his arguments, and they make sense. If I marry him I will automatically become an American citizen and then I can live, work, and go to school in the country easily, with no fear of ever being deported. I’ll have rights like all Americans, too. Also, if I’m married to him, Egorov will stop trying to reclaim me for himself.
“You say that Egorov will have to stop pursuing me, but you forget something. He could kill you and then kidnap me. Or he could just let me go. He may be done trying to get me. He told me to stay away from New York.” I eat a strawberry and look down the aisle at his brother who is reading an old leather-bound book.
“After we’re married, it won’t help him to kill me.”
“Because your brother and his people will avenge you?” I say suspiciously.
After Alexei announced we should get married, he went out to talk with his brother for a long time. I want to know what Alexei promised to do for the C Crue, because I know Sasha Stroviak didn’t retrieve me for Alexei because he is kind and romantic.
“No, but that might happen too.” He licks his lips and glances out the window.
