“Nothing specific.” She toys with the hem of her borrowed t-shirt. Her stiff shoulders and the way she averts her eyes reveal her transparent lie. “But pretty soon, people will find out that I’m marrying a Kozlov. People might see Sam as…I don’t know, a potential target.”
I let the silence stretch between us. This woman who’s managed to upend my carefully controlled life in a matter of days is a terrible liar. Whatever threat hangs over her and her sister, she perceives the danger as real enough to trade freedom for protection.
Enough even to persuade her to marry me.
A beat passes.
“I’ll handle it.” I don’t push for the truth. Not yet. “Do you want to see her?”
Her response is electric. The wariness vanishes as her face lights up. She practically levitates off the chair.
“Really? I can see her?” Excitement raises her volume. “Sometimes, on Wednesdays, we have coffee at eleven. But I didn’t think…”
Though she trails off, I can fill in the blank. She doesn’t believe I’ll allow her to leave or maintain contact with the outside world. And witnessing her so happy over the mere idea of leaving rankles me.
Then again, if she misses the date with her sister, Samantha will realize something’s off.
I check my calendar while Aurora regards me with hope. “Yes. But today, we’re going out. I’m sure you need toiletries and such.”
She jumps up from the couch and squeals before racing toward the guest room. “I’ll let her know I’ll be there. Thank you!”
Now she’ll behave all day, if only to prevent me from canceling tomorrow’s plans.
This is how I show her who’s truly in control.
Chapter 26
Aurora
I’m practically bouncing on my toes as we stroll into the coffee shop, the heavy door swinging shut behind us with a jingle of bells. The staff at the counter doesn’t glance up from behind the display shelves of pastries and sweets.
They’re too busy handling the stream of college students. The hum of conversation competes with the hiss and spit of espresso machines and steam wands frothing milk.
Once again, Alexei’s clothes hang loose on my frame. I rolled the gray sweats at the ankles, and knotted the black t-shirt at my hip to keep the material from swallowing me whole. I tell myself it’s sensible to dress this way. At a college hangout, no one will notice or care about my casual attire.
Shelves with enormous jars of roasted coffee beans divide the space, and random numbers of chairs surround tables of all shapes, colors, and sizes.
“Aurora!” My sister’s voice carries over the din of grinding beans and chatting customers. She waves from an orange table in the corner, her auburn hair caught in a messy bun. The spread of her textbooks across the surface suggests she’s been here a while.
Her well-groomed eyebrows shoot up when she notes my odd outfit of baggy sweatpants and monochrome colors.
My heart squeezes. Sam is safe and blissfully unaware that a Russian mobster has paid her tuition for the next two years, with enough extra to finance med school.
Alexei’s hand brushes my lower back and nudges me forward. He heads for a table in the opposite corner with a clear line of sight to both us and the door. With his back to the wall, he scans every single person in the room. I wonder if anyone else can tell he’s a predator in a crowd full of prey, or if my senses have just attuned to the danger he radiates.
Samantha rises from her seat and yanks me into a hug, dwarfing me with her five-six height. “Who’s the hottie?” She peers past my shoulder to where Alexei scrolls on his phone.
“Nobody important.” I slide into the seat across from her. “Just a…work thing. What’s new with you? Are you done with summer classes?”
She shoots me a disbelieving glance but allows the subject change. “Organic chem kicked my ass, but I think I’ll at least pull a solid B. Professor Chen is a tough one. I have a math exam in a couple days.” She gestures to the books. “Then I can take a breather until the fall semester starts.”
I grin at Sam’s dedication just as the waitress, a harried girl with purple hair and dark circles under her eyes, appears. After I order a latte, Sam launches into a detailed account of her upcoming classes. Her animation, energy, and complete immersion in the normal stresses of college life cause my chest to ache with a strange mix of envy and relief.
“What happened to you?” Sam interrupts herself mid-sentence, chewing her lip as she scrutinizes my attire. “How’d you get that cut on your cheek, and why are you wearing that?”
Self-consciousness flits through me as I scramble to come up with a lie. “Pixie got a little over-excited while we were playing.Don’t worry. It’s nothing serious.” I tug at the black t-shirt. “And this…laundry mishap.”
“Whose clothes are those? No offense, but you look kinda homeless.”
