“Thank you, Don,” I’d barely heard it, but I raced across the plush carpet and pressed my ear against the door anyway. “I appreciate you looking out for me while I figure things out.”
“You aren’t going to be done with this then?” Don’s voice was muffled through the door, and I strained to try to hear Ivan’s reply.
“She canfireme all she wants to, but that doesn’t mean I’ll go anywhere. Her brothers haven’t fired me, and my grandmothers haven’t either, so as far as I care… I’m still employed.”
Even though I missed him, red-hot rage boiled through me. How dare he! Like I had no say in this! Iwouldhave a say in this!
With enough force to put the door through the wall, I ripped it open and stormed down the hall. “Get out!”
Ivan leaned in the entryway and raised a brow at me. “At last, the princess has emerged from her temper tantrum, just to throw another one.”
I was seeing red, I swore. I could have breathed fire. It wouldn’t have taken much at this point. Don be damned. Jane be damned. The whole world be damned. I marched across the space separating us and shoved my finger into his verymusclychest.
“Just who do you think you are?!”
He pressed his lips together, and I swore I saw the amusement dancing in his eyes. “Ivan Cristof is what it says on my birth certificate, I mean, last I checked.”
I sputtered. “You werefired.”
He spread his hands wide, and my treacherous eyes tracked them in all their rough, large glory. “And yet, I’m still here.”
He didn’t move, except to cross his arms over his chest. It only made me angrier. My chest heaved with each breath as I tried to think of something—anything—to say to this infuriatingly hot man.
“Are you done yelling?” His lips twitched up in the corners. “Or should I sit down for the encore?”
My hand curled into a fist at my side. “Ivan Cristof, I told you to leave.”
“Poppy Fairchild, I do not work for you. You do not sign off on my checks, and until you do… here I will stay.”
“Yourchecks,” I repeated, the words bitter on my tongue. “Right. Because that’s all this is to you—clocking hours and getting paid to babysit the woman too stupid to know what’s good for her.”
His jaw clenched tight, and his eyes went hard. “Don’t twist my words. You aren’t my boss, so you will not tell me when to leave.”
“Anyone else would have,” I snarled. “They would have listened and left.”
“Well, I’m not anyone else, Poppy! I actually care about you. Now, is that so bad? Yes, your brothers sign my checks,but I would do this for free any day of the week just to know you and your sister are safe. You don’t know what’s going on out there, and I will not let you ruin yourself finding out.”
Don must have snuck away when I first started yelling. I didn’t blame him. I was surprised Jane hadn’t come out of her room to see what was going on… Though I guess all she needed to do was press her ear against her door, like I’d done. My eyes bounced between his. “Who are you?”
His jaw worked. “I told you.”
“I don’t think you did.”
He rolled his shoulders. “I’m dangerous, but I care about you. Okay? That’s all that matters.”
“Do you kill people?” I knew he did. I wasn’t stupid. He told me he did special jobs. I’d seen all of his guns.
Shit… I’d seen him kill someone right in front of my eyes. That should have told me, but I needed to hear it.
He lifted his chin. “Yes.”
My stomach swooped. “Do you know who killed my father?”
He rolled his lips as he looked away from me.
“Why won’t you tell me?”
“Because it won’t do anything.”
