Instead of following me, he stayed glued to my side as I made my way to the front door. I typed my code, and then we stepped practically side by side into the lobby. “Is this necessary?” I huffed.
“Just not taking any chances.”
With a sigh, I stepped onto the elevator. After riding up to my floor, Lev actually followed behind me down the carpeted hallway to my door. Once again, I used the code and unlocked my front door.
Stepping in front of me, Lev pushed open the door. His gaze bounced around the foyer like he expected to be met with an armed intruder. “The security in this building is very good,” I remarked.
“You can never be too careful.”
After dropping my phone on the entrance table, I walked down the hall into the living room. With his hands jammed into his black jeans, Lev did a slow turn around. “Nice place.”
“Thanks. I’ve been here for about two years.”
“Good neighbors?”
“Pretty good.”
He paused in turning and cocked his brows at me. “The kind that’ll notice you’re gone and get worried.”
“Oh,” I murmured when I got his meaning.
“Maybe you could let them know you’re on a work trip or something,” he suggested.
“Sure.”
At the sound of a high-pitched chirp, Lev whirled around. My calico cat, Voxie, came strolling in. Since she never met a stranger, she made a beeline for Lev.
“So that’s the cat we gotta take,” he remarked with disgust.
“Not a fan of cats, huh?”
With a shrug, he replied, “I could give a shit less. It’s Maksim rearranging his life for it.”
Frowning, I asked, “Does he not like them?”
“He’s allergic.”
I gasped. “He is?”
He grimaced. “Fuck. I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”
“If he’s allergic, why would he agree to let me bring Voxie?”
Lev crossed his tattooed arms over his chest. “Come on, Doc. You’re way too smart for that question.”
“Because he’s desperate for me to treat him.”
A smirk curved on his lips. “He’s desperate all right, but more for you not to hate him.”
“And he thinks I’ll change my mind about that just because he let me have my cat?”
“Yep. And which is why thepodonokis taking allergy shots, so he doesn’t end up croaking.”
“Wait, what’s a…” With a shake of my head, I replied, “That word you called him.”
“Apodonok?”
“Yeah, that one.”
