Maybe I should have let her walk away unscathed, sadder but wiser about trusting what men say during wedding ceremonies.
No, Lexi could become wiser all she wanted by whatever means she desired, but I didn’t want her to be sadder.
After Lexi dressed and finished eating, getting to the security caravan was quick. We moved in formation a few flights down the stairwells and then out a staff door to a back alley where the black SUVs were waiting half a block away.
The white-hot desert sun nearing its apex cooked the air between the building walls like a brick oven.
When Lexi faltered, looking around and starting to dodge the wrong way because she was missing movement cues, I settled my hand on the small of her back so she didn’t get separated from the rest of us. She trotted mincing steps in her trainers over the pebbles rolling in the pale dirt, reaching with her toes, bobbling her pretty body.
I did not look.
But I was aware, so agonizingly aware, like my skin had eyes.
My head was up, and I scanned the flat rooflines broiling under the desert sun for anything the security guys may have overlooked, a lens flare or people in places they shouldn’t have been, but saw nothing.
Even with six security personnel per shift, one couldn’t be too careful.
We approached the middle SUV, striding with purpose but not running, which might draw attention. Ueli, always at my left hand, opened the rear door. I wheeled Lexi in front of me, handing her into the back seat. Her grip on my hand firmed as she scrambled inside, scooting over the leather seat, and I stepped in after her.
Ueli slammed the door and slapped the metal, stepping back as our SUV took off.
I leaned toward the window to watch him in the driver’s side mirror. As always, the chase vehicle slowed, and Ueli climbed in before it followed us toward the street.
Lexi had curled into the opposite corner of the back seat and was staring at everything through peeled-back eyelids.
Her dark eyes were sweet, sometimes sleepy, sometimes sparkling, but I did not like this frightened iteration where her gaze shifted from side to side as if expecting an attack.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. We have security. They protect us. They’re here so we can think about other things.”
She twisted to look behind us. “Everyone was on high alert. The whole time since we left the hotel room to the SUV, it looked like you were expecting an attack. I’ve never been around something like that in my life.”
I nodded. “It’ll probably take some getting used to. They do their job so we don’t have to worry.”
“If that’s how they have to do their job, then there obviouslyarereasons to worry.”
“Do you trust me?” I asked her.
She blinked the darkness of her eyes three times. “Maybe.”
“Let me rephrase that.” I tilted my head with a smile, trying to be at least a little charming because I was still mortified about my drunkenness the night we’d met. “After I sobered up, I have been forthcoming with all pertinent information that you need to know. I told you about my predicament with Volkov and my ancestral relationship with the House of Romanov because that information might have influenced your decision. Right?”
She blinked again, processing. “I guess.”
“You needed to know that information before you entered any sort of formal relationship with me. Withholding it would’ve been unfair.”
Lexi nodded, her dark eyes still locked on mine as her sharp chin bobbed.
I had to be careful of how I phrased what I wanted to say. The vehicle’s driver and lookout had also been selected by my uncle, and I wasn’t sure about their loyalties, either. “I understand that marrying me is an imposition. The type of lifestyle I lead, the mannerisms you’ll have to learn, even putting up with a grumpy fool such as myself?—”
The tiniest smile turned her lip.
“—I’m not dismissing the magnitude of the favor. Other women wouldn’t have put up with a quickie wedding in Las Vegas and demanded a spectacle.”
Her eyes finally left mine, flicking to glance at the two security men in the front seat.
Good. She understood why I’d reframed our courtship, such as it was, so it aligned with the lies I’d told Ueli earlier.
I tried to put all that I couldn’t say into my voice. “I’m in your debt. No matter what, I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
