Reluctantly, I turned, and my mouth fell open.
From my place on the floor, he looked impossibly tall. A giant of a man with wide shoulders and sweeping dark hair.
Slowly, my eyes climbed until they clashed with the most devastatingly handsome man I had ever seen.
Chapter Two
Alexei
The moment I heard the commotion, I knew what I was going to be walking into. Years of living this life had given a sixth sense for that type of thing.
That meant my weapon was in my hand before my brain even registered what was happening. Crashing into the foyer, the first thing I noticed was the smashed glass, and the second was the woman huddling behind the desk, crying loudly. There was blood on her arm, but not enough to be concerning.
Even if there was, I wouldn’t have paused. There was only one person in this place that I cared about—my grandfather.
I walked through, fast. Looking left and right as I headed towards my grandfather’s floor.
It was at the top of the stairs that I came across the first assailant. I knew it was him because of the gun in his hands. He turned at the last minute, his hand smashing my gun hand down before I could take a shot. But that was fine. I punched him with the other hand, and he fell to the bottom of the stairs and didn’t move again.
Again, I moved quickly. Sliding his weapon into the back of my pants, before heading back up the stairs. His partner was waiting forme, but not to attack me. Instead, he rushed me, and we both almost tumbled down the stairs. I caught myself at the last minute. Turning, I watched as he heaved his partner up and dragged him away.
They were running like the cowards they were.
Keeping my back to the wall, I raced along the corridor to my grandfather’s room. The door, like every other, was closed but not locked. Slowly, because I didn’t know what was going to be waiting for me, I opened it a crack, and my eyes fell on the rumpled, empty blankets on the bed.
My heart lurched into my throat.
He wasn’t here. Did that mean? I scanned the room quickly, looking for any sign of blood, and tucked behind the bed, I heard the smallest of sounds. Circling the hospital-like bed, I levelled the gun at the thin back of the woman huddled there.
“It’s just, Alexei.” My grandfather’s voice whispered to the woman who was crouched over him. My eyes swept over her again. She wasn’t thin, just petite, I realized with a start. A tiny thing with a shock of dark curls up in a messy bun and a pert, round ass like she did a lot of walking.
“It’s all over. You can get up now,” My grandfather said, and she moved. Falling back onto that round ass, she lifted her face to stare up at me. I’d never seen anyone look so scared and so fierce all at the same time.
“Are you hurt?”
Mutely, she shook her head, and I ignored her. I wasn’t talking to her.
“I’m fine,” The old man said with a smile on his face that I didn’t understand. “Amy looked after me.”
I glanced in her direction. She looked like she was going into shock.
“You’re not Nadia.”
She ignored me.
Heaving my grandfather up, it was only when he groaned that she seemed to shake herself. Jumping to her feet, she helped me get him back into bed. Tutting at me like I was doing something wrong.
“You’re not Nadia,” I said again, more gruffly.
Tucking the sheets around my grandfather’s legs, she flicked her eyes in my direction. “No, I’m not Nadia. My name is Amy.”
“Where is Nadia?”
“I have no idea. I just—”
I took a threatening step toward her. I’d employed a woman called Nadia to watch over him because I’d suspected something like this might happen. Taking out our patriarch would weaken my family, and Nadia was both a trained nurse and an amazing marksman.
“She’s meant to be here. This wouldn’t have happened if—”
