Millie stopped walking, grabbing Ida Jane’s arm, and turning her so the women faced each other.
“What?” Millie asked, her voice vibrating with concern and a deep, vicious anger. I knew that wavelength. It was one I lived on.
Ida Jane handed Millie her phone with a long sigh.
“Oh no, he didn’t,” Millie whispered. She raised her gaze not toward Ida Jane, but toward me where I read mutual understanding.
Millie wrapped her arm around Ida Jane and hugged her, leading her toward where I pointed. Once we got to the car, Millie stepped back.
“You’re going to help her, Maxim?” Millie asked.
“I intend to, yes. We’ll go to the police department now.”
“My flight’s in about five hours, and Luka said he’d take me.”
“Who?” Ida Jane asked.
“Stol,” I said. “You sure?”
Millie nodded, a sly smile breaking out on her face. “Yes, I’d like the time with him. But you have to promise to keep my girl safe.”
“I will.”
Millie hugged Ida Jane and whispered something in her ear before she hurried back into the house, leaving Ida Jane and me alone.
* * *
Ida Jane
I wasn’tone for coddling—that’s what I would tell anyone on a normal day. But I had to admit, I enjoyed Maxim’s attention. I didn’t have to stay strong with him. Some of the tension that had built in my muscles, leaving me achy and quivering, eased.
Maxim’s car was expensive—different from the ranch trucks I’d rattled around in most of my life. Once he started the car, he turned down the volume to the sports station he’d been listening to, and we drove the short distance to a local police station. “I’ve never needed their services before,” Maxim said with a shrug. He seemed nervous to go inside, but he kept a firm hand on my elbow.
The process was like what I’d expected; the officer told me I’d probably have to talk to a judge in court to get an actual restraining order, but that he’d follow up with me when the courts were open. As soon as he said that the officer was much more interested in Maxim than in me. He kept trying to engage Maxim about their upcoming game, and I watched Maxim’s scowl deepen.
Just when I was about to intervene, Maxim leaned forward and snapped, “I’ll be happy to squirt the shit regarding hockey once my woman’s been taken care of.”
I bit my lip to keep from grinning at his malapropism. He almost had the idiom right, but like the sleep-with-him thing, Maxim’s grasp of American slang wasn’tquitethere, and I found that adorable.
“Y-your woman?” The officer’s eyes widened as he seemed to realize he’d been neglecting Maxim Dolov’s girlfriend. Maxim placed his arm around my shoulders, and I looked over at him, trying not to smirk.
“Yes.” He looked back at the officer with that ferocious scowl back in place. “And she deserves your best capabilities.”
* * *
Exitingthe precinct half an hour later, Maxim was still glowering, but I couldn’t help my giggles. “I can’t believe you took that many pictures with the staff.”
Maxim shrugged. “I would have made those balloon figures if that’s what it took to get them to take your security seriously.”
“Do you know how?” I asked.
“No.”
I laughed harder, but I also stopped on the bottom step. It took a second for him to realize I wasn’t beside him anymore. He strolled back toward me, concern in his light blue eyes.
“Thank you,” I said. I leaned in and wrapped my arms around him, settling my head against his chest. He held me close, his cheek against my hair.
“You matter to me, Fists,” he said, his voice a little garbled.
