Keira managed to nod, and then Pavel was there, shifting her away from Dmitri and walking her to the side door and out of the ballroom.She paused in the hallway, but her chest only tightened.“I need—”
“Outside.”
She started to say that wasn’t what she meant, but the thought of fresh air on her face had her hurrying to keep up with Pavel’s long strides.If she could justbreathe, then she could think straight.They walked around the long way and out through the front door.Keira let go of Pavel the second her heels hit the sidewalk.Yes, this is what I need.She moved a few feet away from the door and leaned against the brick building.The cold snap of the air against her face helped clear her thoughts.
It would be too much to ask that I’d be able to spend time with my family without wanting to dive into a bottle.
It would get better.She refused to allow this goddamn addiction to get the best of her.It would become easier to see her family without the glaringly obvious missing part.Eventually, time would dull the pain of losing Devlin.
But that day wasn’t today.
Keira closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing slowly.She could hear Pavel shifting from foot to foot a short distance away, but she ignored him.It was cold—especially without a jacket—but she didn’t mind.She spoke without opening her eyes.“Just give me a few minutes and we’ll go back in.”Dmitri could hold Aiden off indefinitely, but he shouldn’t have to.She’d just take the time to get her barriers back in place, and then she’d walk back into that room and soldier through the rest of the night.
“Don’t hurry on my account.”
Keira barely had time to process the unfamiliar female voice when the icy barrel of a gun pressed against her stomach.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Dmitri kept his gaze on the door Keira had disappeared through, half listening to whatever the hell Aiden said.He finally shook his head.“Excuse me.”
Aiden opened his mouth, seemed to reconsider, and nodded.“Go to her.”
He didn’t need the man’s permission, but he recognized it for the olive branch it was.He and Aiden had managed to get through an entire conversation without threatening each other, even if Dmitri had been distracted through the entire thing.He nodded.“I’ll be back shortly.”
He didn’t like Keira being out of his sight.The night had been going too well, and he didn’t trust that.The other shoe was about to drop, and Dmitri couldn’t stand the thought of Keira being caught in the crossfire.
The hallway outside the ballroom was empty.
He stopped short.It didn’t mean anything.Keira would have wanted more space to get her head on straight, andthe hallway was hardly offering in space.He doubted she’d go upstairs, so he turned toward the front of the house and strode in that direction.As he turned the corner, he half expected to find her in the foyer.
The foyer was empty as well.
Dmitri pulled his phone out of his pocket.He’d wanted to clear the house completely of his men, but it wasn’t an option.He didn’t have enough people he trusted beyond a shadow of a doubt, but he called Alexei all the same.
“Da?”
“You’re manning the cameras.”He didn’t wait for confirmation.“Where is Keira?”
A pause, a few clicks in the background.“She and Pavel walked out the front door five minutes ago.”
The front door?Why the fuck had she gone outside?If she needed air, there was the rooftop patio… Dmitri cursed.He’d never even told her about it.It was October—too cold to utilize the space—and it had slipped his mind.But Pavel knew about it.He should have known that was a safer option than standing on the street.
Alarm bells pealed through Dmitri’s head.Something was wrong.Very wrong.
He raced to the front door, not caring if any of the guests saw, and wrenched it open.Pedestrians gave him a wide berth without breaking stride, but he couldn’t care less about them.He looked right and then left, and Dmitri’s heart stopped cold in his chest at the sight of Keira pressed against the wall, Mae Eldridge standing too close in front of her.
To the outside viewer, they might have been lovers having an intimate conversation.Mae had her strong arm braced on the brick wall over Keira’s shoulder, and theirfaces were kissably close.It was only from his angle that he was able to see the gun in Mae’s hand.
He took a step forward, but stopped short as a hand closed over his shoulder.He looked at Pavel, one of the few men he’d trusted, and he might as well have been staring into the face of a stranger.The blond’s blue eyes were cold and distant.“That’s close enough,” Pavel ground out.
Fuck.He’d found his traitor, and far too late for the knowledge to help.One of the few men he’d considered to be trustworthy.Not trustworthy enough.
“Dmitri, go back inside.”Keira sounded calm and reasonable, as if asking him to run down to the corner store to grab some milk.
Mae shook her head.“I don’t think so.You’ve got a pretty mouth, but you’re ultimately replaceable.Heisn’t.”She gave him a snake’s smile, all cold eyes and tight lips.“Isn’t that right, Romanov?”
“Let her go.”Despite Pavel’s grip on him, Dmitri took a step closer.“Mae, point that fucking gun in a different direction.”
