“Did you stay indoors like we talked about?” I asked. The elevator doors opened, and we stepped inside.
“Yes, and that means I didn’t get my walk at lunch.”
Her pout was adorable and caused my mood to lift. “I have a home gym. You can use any of the equipment in there.”
“I don’t like being followed all the time, and I like to walk in the sunshine. I don’t need fancy machines, and I can’t handle the constant hovering.”
Ida Jane felt her prison as much as Nadia had. In fact, Nadia had said something similar the last time I saw her, when I begged her to leave that man. She’d wanted to. With Ida Jane, I was using her dislike of the box Dillon wrapped around her to nudge her toward my plan.
I shifted as a frisson of remorse slithered through me. Perhaps I should simply tell Ida Jane the truth—all of it—and let her decide based on the facts. I might lose her—I shot her a side-glance—but I might not. She cared about me already, just as I cared for her.
That was more than enough for a foundation for a marriage.
I nodded, considering. “We compromised on the security already—it’ll just be at work. We can walk my property. Maybe the neighborhood.” I’d get her a Taser. And a dog. A big one. Yes, that would be smart, but not enough. Still, I had to respect Ida Jane’s limits, and a full-time bodyguard had pushed those too far.
“But—”
“Do you like yoga?”
She snapped her mouth shut and nodded, red creeping up her neck. “Sure. It’s good for staying limber.”
I wanted to watch her shove that sweet ass up in the air. In fact, I’d pay good money for that delectable show. I cleared my throat, trying to think of something other than grasping her shapely hips and pulling her tight against my front. Because,fuck, if that wasn’t my new favorite fantasy.
I’d had a phone meeting with my lawyer on the way over to pick up Ida Jane. The most pertinent piece of information: I needed this marriage. Soon. As in,now. I wanted that, and not just because I worried if Iweresent back to Russia, that I’d never leave that country again.
“You’re coming home with me,” I snapped. “I’m worried that slime is skulking.”
Ida Jane pursed her lips but grimaced again. “My head hurts too much to argue right now.”
Ida Jane’s good eye opened wider as she scurried around me toward my car in the delivery lane. She slid into the supple seat while I took her bag and shut her door with a careful click. After stowing her belongings in the trunk, I rounded the car and observed the area. A shadow slid further back into the building’s recessed exterior.Bingo.
I’d been sure the little shit wouldn’t be able to keep from checking up on her. From what Ida Jane had told me, he considered Ida Jane his—much like my sister’s boyfriend had deemed Nadia his. Men like that liked to know where the women they’d fixated on were.
And I was the X-factor for both Nadia and Ida Jane. My presence posed a threat to their total control of their victims. That led to Nadia’s death—it wouldn’t lead to Ida Jane’s. I wouldn’t let it.
I entered my car and dialed the detective who was working on Ida Jane’s case. Yes, I knew who that was. No, I wasn’t the least bit ashamed that I’d bribed and bullied my way into the information.
“Dillon Wallenbach is at Ida Jane’s workplace,” I stated to his voicemail. She gasped, her fingers to her lips as she peered through the window, searching for him. “You need to tail her if you want to find him.”
I hung up and pulled away from the curb.
“Are you sure, Maxim? I mean,really?”
“I’m sure,” I growled.
“But…”
I pointed to the spot and waited. Ida Jane caught her breath and cringed, sinking back into the seat as she found his body tucked back amongst the shadows of the building.
“He’s dangerous, and he’s fixated on you. I’m not willing to take chances with your safety. I know just how vicious such men can be.”
The unbruised side of her face tugging into a frown. “And how’s that?”
I took a deep breath as I slid to a stop at a light. “Because my sister dated a man like Dillon. A man who killed her.”
Chapter10
Ida Jane
