“When I started dating Elena. She doesn’t put up with my bullshit, and it’s made me a better person.” He stands. “Just think about it, okay? Don’t be so much like you that you lose her before you even get her back.”
After he leaves, I sit with his words.
He’s right. I’m treating this like a problem to solve.
Find wife.
Make wife remember.
Keep wife.
Maybe I need a different approach.
My jet is ready at 6:00 AM on Monday morning. Savannah arrives exactly on time, professional in a two-piece suit that does nothing to hide how beautiful she is.
“Mr. Volkov,” she says.
“Ledger,” I correct. “We’re married. You can use my first name.”
She doesn’t respond to that. She just climbs the stairs into the jet and takes a seat as far from me as possible.
My head of security, Pedro, does a final check before we take off. Two other guards are on the plane with us. I don’t go anywhere without security anymore, not since Viktor Kozlov.
Savannah watches them with wary eyes. “Is all this really necessary?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I have enemies. And now that you’re my wife, you’re a target.”
Her face goes pale. “I didn’t ask to be a target.”
“No. But you are.” I lean back in my seat.
She looks like she wants to argue, but instead pulls out her laptop and starts working.
The flight to Chicago takes about two hours. For the first hour, she ignores me completely. Types away on her laptop and drinks the coffee the flight attendant brings.
I watch her. Study the way she bites her lip when she’s concentrating. The way she tucks her hair behind her ear. The way she shifts in her seat, like she can feel me looking.
“You’re staring,” she says without looking up.
“I’m admiring.”
“It’s rude.”
“So is ignoring your husband for an entire flight.”
She finally looks at me. “What do you want me to say? This whole thing is insane.”
“I know.”
“Then why are we doing this?”
“Because you’re my wife. And I’m not letting you go.”
She shakes her head and goes back to her laptop. But I see the way her hands tremble slightly. The way her breathing has changed. She’s not as unaffected as she pretends.
