Maya picked up her backpack and slung it on so Gorya wouldn’t be tempted to touch her as they walked out of the room. He hadn’t searched her for weapons. Neither had Gedeon. That surprised her. Gorya might be arrogant enough to think he could stop her from getting to him, but Gedeon was his bodyguard and he seemed deadly. Extremely competent. It was a little shocking that he didn’t at least ask her if she was armed. She would have widened her eyes in innocent shock and given a little nonverbal shake of her head.
Gedeon stepped back to allow Gorya and Maya to go through the heavy door first. Matvei and Kyanite waited just outside, and both looked her over as she stepped into the hallway.
“Maya, this is Kyanite Boston and Matvei Jarvis. I’ve known them most of my life,” Gorya said. “We’re new to this lair. For now, we’re careful who we trust. Kyanite, Matvei, Rodion, Gedeon and his wife, Meiling, are the only ones I want you to rely on. Stick with one of them if you leave the residence. Don’t go anywhere alone. It isn’t safe yet.”
Maya flashed them a small smile designed to make her appear fragile, sweet and demure. “Nice to know. Thank you.” She looked out the window toward the swamp, and a visible shudder went through her body.
Both bodyguards crowded closer protectively. Gorya glided between them easily. “I think she’s safe enough when she’s with me.” There was an edge to his low tone, as if his famous control might be slipping.
Maya risked a quick look up at his face from under her lashes. He wore that same charming, easygoing, deceptive mask, but his eyes were pure silvery frost, edged now with slate blue. She saw the killer in him quite plainly. His fingers settled around her upper arm like a shackle, and he anchored her to his side.
“They can’t see you for what you are, Maya, but I do. Whatever you’re thinking of doing, stop. We’ll sort things out between us when we get home.” There was no inflection in his voice, but she knew it was a command.
She tilted her head back to look more fully at him. He saw her, did he? Well, she saw him too. He might deceive everyone else around him, but not her. He might pretend he had a nice side to him, a sweet, charming side, but she knew better. She saw right into him. He could go right ahead and look at what his family had made of her. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
On the outside, Maya looked like the girl next door. When she was around others, she often dressed in feminine clothing that made her appear younger and delicate. She smiled readily and agreed with everyone. Most of the time, she simply avoided being around anyone. She was nothing at all like she appeared. If anyone took her at face value, they did so at their own peril.
She stayed very quiet and remained as far from Gorya as possible in the close confines of the car on the ride back to his estate. Twice Wraith reached out to her, but Maya didn’t respond. Both times, Gorya turned that frosty bluish gaze on her as if his leopard was aware she was at odds with her female.
Maya curled her fingers into a fist and pressed it tightly against the knot developing in her stomach. Wraith had completely abandoned her. That had never been a remote possibility. Something heavy settled in her chest, crushing her heart. A vise gripped her lungs and squeezed until every last bit of air was gone and she couldn’t breathe.
For one terrible moment the door creaked open, and the feeling of brutal hands tearing at her body, hurting her, excruciating pain ripping her open, and the sound of male laughter filled her mind as a thin wire tore into her back. She fought back the need to vomit. Fortunately, the car stopped moving and the door beside her opened, spilling air into the interior where there had been only Amurov to breathe in.
Maya stumbled out, nearly going to her knees. It was Gedeon who caught her before she went down. She didn’t look at him as she managed to get her legs to work. She hadn’t allowed those memories to surface in years. She’d built herself into a strong, confident woman, capable of hunting the men who had beaten, raped and trafficked a child.
She did have times when she could barely get out of bed. She knew she was incapable of relationships. For the most part, she was a puddle of issues. Bad ones. There was nothing left of a human being other than what she’d developed herself into: A deceiver. A liar. A killing machine. She could track anyone. She doubted anyone could hide from her once she set out to find them. She was determined to find every single man who had raped her. Who had killed her family and friends. Not one would escape her. Only then could she rest.
“He’s a good man,” Gedeon said softly. “Give him a chance. He needs saving the way his leopard does. The way I did. Meiling was my miracle.”
Everything in her froze. Saving? Gorya Amurov needed saving? Gorya came up on the other side of her as she contemplated the absolute irony of Gedeon’s statement. She wanted to burst into hysterical laughter. At least she wasn’t going to vomit all over Gorya’s immaculate shoes as he came up beside her. She was no one’s miracle. If that was what he expected, he was in for a very sad letdown. She couldn’t save herself, let alone Gorya.
The one thing Gedeon had done for her was allow her to pull her fragmented mind back together. She flashed him her first half-real smile. “You aren’t very good at telling lies, Gedeon. Gorya is about as good a man as I am a good woman.”
Gorya slid his hand down her arm and took firm possession of her hand. “I don’t think we need to consider each other in terms of bad or good, do you?”
The moment his large hand surrounded hers, tiny embers flickered and smoldered through her veins. There was no way to stop it, so she didn’t try. She had to accept the fact that physically, because of Wraith’s heat, she was very susceptible to Gorya.
“I suppose that would be for the best,” she agreed as they went up the walkway toward the front of the sprawling house.
“How many weapons do you have on you?” Gedeon asked.
She glanced up at Gedeon. It was far easier to look at him than Gorya. “I wondered if you or the others were ever going to do your job. If you’re supposed to be keeping Amurov alive, I’m not certain you’re up to the task.”
Matvei and Kyanite gave an affronted huff. Kyanite answered the accusation. “Had we searched you, Gorya would have cut off our heads. Did you notice he got a little protective when we got too close?”
“Is that what you call it? Nevertheless, as his security, whether he likes it or not, your job is to keep him alive. That means you search everyone he encounters who might be a potential threat to him.”
“You’re his mate,” Matvei pointed out.
“Wraith is Rogue’s mate,” Gorya corrected, unexpectedly backing her up. “I haven’t convinced Maya yet that she’s mine. Right now, she’s thinking about slitting my throat.”
She gave her laugh, the one she’d perfected over timeand everyone believed—everyone, it seemed, but Gorya. He tightened his hold on her and brought her hand to his chest. Her heart clenched. She forced herself to look at the house, not at him. She couldn’t think too much, just go along with everything until she had time to herself to figure things out logically.
“You didn’t answer me about the weapons, Maya,” Gedeon said.
“Do you believe I’d tell you the truth?”
She stared up at the two-story house, which was surrounded by an abundance of trees with curved branches, each reaching to the next, and taller trees that held climbing vines weeping gorgeous flowers. The landscaping was wild, but with native plants clearly maintained and encouraged to grow. If the road hadn’t led to the house, it would have been impossible to spot with the wealth of trees and plants around it. She found the place breathtaking, a leopard’s paradise.
