“You’re always observing people, aren’t you?” I ask in an attempt to lighten the mood, pleased when I see twin spots of color on her cheeks as she flushes.
“Yeah, I’ve been people-watching since I was a little girl,” she says, walking back to the couch. She turns to glance at the window and with the sun now setting, the room is bathed in the soft yellow hue. “My sisters don’t know that my father has several illegal businesses, but I do. It’s like you said—I’m good at observing people. Always have been.”
“And how did you learn about your father’s businesses?”
“I heard him discussing a drug shipment that was coming to the city and how he was going to bribe city officials,” she says, eyes still locked on the windows. “No one really pays much attention to a child, and I could make out most of his discussion and piece together what he was saying.” This time, she turns to look at me. “Have you ever met Yuri?”
I lean against the wall to watch her. “No. He and my father have crossed paths. I’ve met his sons. They’re very private people, and from what I can tell, they’re nothing like their father.”
“I hope that’s true,” she says, brushing a hand through her mussed-up chocolate brown hair. “Maybe they take after their mother.”
“People say she was a kind and generous woman.”
“Yeah, that’s what I heard too,” she muses. “I’ve also heard rumors that Yuri was a nice man before he lost his first wife. Hard to imagine the man being anything but cruel, but some people say he was different before their oldest son died, and then later his wife. People say she died from grief over losing her son, and watching his wife slowly fade away turned him into a cruel, unfeeling man.”
That’s the story that has been circulated, mostly by the Balshovs themselves. The rumors I’ve heard, however, suggest a much darker history. “You don’t have to think about this now, Elena.”
She turns those beautiful eyes on me and my cock hardens in seconds. “Then marry me, Roarke,” she whispers desperately, and I can’t tell if it’s on purpose or not.
Whatever the case, it does the job and takes everything in me not to walk to her and kiss her. Fuck, I still remember the taste of her lips and how she felt pressed against me last night.
“Please.”
“Elena—”
“That’s the only way my parents will back down,” she says, running a hand through her hair, disturbing it. “I know it’s too much to ask of you, but my father would never mess with you, and Yuri will walk away. I’ve heard that he never goes after women that belong to other men—calls them spoiled goods. I only appeal to him because I am young and unclaimed.”
Unclaimed.
Fuck!
I should tell her no and turn down her ridiculous request. Surely, there has to be another option, but something tells me pointing this out to her will not put her mind at rest. Until I can figure something out, the best I can do is put her at ease.
“Alright then,” I tell her, surprised by the flash of pleasure that crosses her face. “We’ll go to the courthouse tomorrow. It’s too late now to do anything today.”
Her face falls at my words, but one look at the windows forces her to realize that I’m right. “Tomorrow then?”
I’ll have a solution by then, I assure myself. “Tomorrow.”
Her mood seems to lift, and the tension in her eyes is gone when we share dinner. Yuri’s name barely comes up again, and after sharing a comfortable meal, I lend her one of my T-shirts and show her to the guest room. After the day she’s had, I imagine she’ll be asleep before the sun has fully set.
With Elena in her room, I take some time to work in the office, making sure to call all the men protecting the girls to confirm that none of them have met with Giovanni Marino before instructing them to keep it that way until Matteo Rossi returns. I wouldn’t put it past Giovanni to try using his nieces if he can’t get to his daughters.
I work until my eyes burn, and it’s the threat of a headache that has me finally pushing from my desk and heading to my bedroom. I know I’m not going to get any sleep tonight—I rarely can without my sleeping pills, but those leave me groggy and tired. With Elena in my care, I need to be alert. So no pills tonight.
Still, I try to sleep, but the nightmares are always an eye shut away, brutal with their attack. As the world fades to black, I hope the horrors of my past don’t haunt me.
Even if it’s just for one night.
Chapter Five
Elena
I can’t sleep.
The room is cloaked in darkness, the only light filtering in is from the silver moon peeking through the blinds. The sheets feel cool against my skin, and everything is set just right to ensure my comfort, but…
I still can’t sleep!
