My throat closed up. Shaking my head, I patted his arm. “I really do have to go, but—”
“She was brave, wasn’t she?” He caught me off guard, and I frowned. “Yes, I guess she was. But I guess it’s her job.”
“She came back, Alexei.” He stated in a matter-of-fact voice, and I did a double-take.
“She went to see what the commotion was, and when she realized there were gunmen in here, she didn’t run. She came back.” His eyes met mine. “She could have run to safety, but instead she used her body to shield me. That’s not part of her job. That’s part of her spirit. She’s a good girl. And beautiful, yes?”
I didn’t like where this was going at all. “Yes, she was brave,” I answered his first question and ignored the beautiful one.
Truth was, she was beautiful. There was no denying that—in a kind of homely, girl-next-door way. Which wasn’t my type at all, but I could admit she was beautiful.
“Yes,” the man nodded. “Yes, I think she has a good soul.” He kept nodding, and it was like he was having some internal monologue with himself. Whatever his thoughts were saying, he clearly agreed with them.
“I think people need that in their lives.” Nikolai shook himself. “You should go, Alexei. I’ll be fine, but I’m tired now.”
Standing, I pressed my lips to his cheeks. “I’ll be back tomorrow to visit with you, and I’ll place men outside. We will find the people who did this, and they will face justice.”
Or my type of justice anyway. The police would not get to them first. I doubted they would even really look.
“I know, and I have Amy here, so everything will be fine. You should find her before you leave and say goodbye.”
“I will.” I lied. I had no plans to do any such thing. Yes, she had shielded him and risked her life for his, but that didn’t mean I owed her anything. Well, maybe a thank you, but that could be done with flowers.
Unless—an uneasy feeling swept down my neck, and I reached for it instinctively, rubbing the skin hard. What if this was all a trap? Amy could be some kind of spy who worked for our enemies and was planted here to get close to my grandfather so she could assassinate him. It made sense, but not really.
Walking away, I caught sight of her briefly as she spoke to an officer. I could tell it was her because of the wild curly hair and the perfection of her ass.
Almost like she could feel me watching her, she glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes widened, and a small, uncertain smile tilted up her lips. Grandfather was right. She was beautiful, just not my type.
Sighing, I left without a word. I didn’t even nod my head in her direction, but her face seemed to swim before my eyes. What was it about her? It was pretty clear my grandfather was enamoured with her, but I just didn’t see it.
The moment I was in my car, I was on my cell phone.
“Boss?” A man’s voice answered on the second ring. “We just heard. I already have men in it. Is he?”
“Nikolai is alive and well. You know nothing shakes the old man. But I need you to run a name for me.”
“OK?”
“Amy.”
There was a pause. “OK. Anything else? That’s a pretty common name.”
I cursed myself. Dammit. I hadn’t thought to get her second name.
“She’s a nurse here.” My eyes glanced towards the building with its usual bright and cheery exterior, crisscrossed with crime scene tape and the constant in and out of law enforcement. There was more than one car in the parking lot with people inside nervouslychewing their nails. The residents’ families hadn’t been allowed in yet.
And here I was leaving.
“About twenty-three to twenty-five, small, dark brown hair.” Ass to die for, I added silently.
“No problem. I’ll check the employment records.”
“Thanks. I want to know everything there is to know about her.”
“Do you think she was involved?” He asked in a low, menacing hiss.
“I don’t know yet. Maybe. She was there and—” I started the engine. “I just want to know everything there is to know about her.”
