My shoulders slumped as I leaned back, trying to get my racing heart under control. If Avit had gone to that location tonight and something happened to him, his entire family would blame me for giving him the information, especially Pyotr. Something told me that under all that charm, he really didn’t likeme. They’d pull Avit’s call records, see my number, and assume I lured him there. And then they’d find out who my father was…and dig even deeper….
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to stop the room from tilting. And if he did go, if something did happen and I never saw him again…
God! I knew I’d never get over it.
But the bigger question, the one that made my stomach twist, was why I was this terrified of him getting hurt. This was the world he grew up in. Danger was practically part of his DNA.
But this was also the world that would take him out.
I forced the thoughts away and refocused on my screen. I started digging deeper into the location and whoever owned it. Because if Avit was hell-bent on going eventually, then I needed to make damn sure he’d be safe when he did.
Chapter 15 - Avit
Last night, after hanging up with Sienna, I was heading home when I got a call. A fight had broken out in the club, and a few patrons were injured. After personally dealing with the culprits—who will never walk the earth again, because coming into our turf and causing us to lose money and damage our reputation isn’t something we tolerate—and after putting new security measures in place, I finally made my way home.
I walked through the door around three in the morning. I was about to head to Sienna’s room to check on her, something I found myself doing every night, when I noticed Wexler standing by the office door.
I walked over. When I reached the office, I stopped in the doorway and looked inside. Sienna was tapping away at her laptop.
“How long has she been here?” I asked Wexler.
“Six hours, sir.”
“You know what she’s up to?”
“She’s looking into the owner of the location, sir.”
“Thanks, Wexler. I’ll take it from here.”
Wexler nodded and walked off as I leaned against the doorframe, watching Sienna. The second she found the location last night, every instinct had screamed at me to drive out there. But she’d talked me down, smartly. Rushing in blind could’ve gotten me killed, and I wasn’t ready to die. Not when this incredible woman was sitting here for hours, digging for answers just to keep me safe.
Was she doing it because she couldn’t get away from me fast enough?
Or because she cared?
I hoped—God, I hoped—it was the latter, even though I knew I’d have to let her go eventually.
I stepped into the room, and she still didn’t notice me. I came up behind her, caging her in with my arms, and whispered against her ear, “Angel, shouldn’t you be in bed?”
She whipped around so fast I barely dodged her head, but her elbow still caught my stomach. I stepped back as she jumped out of the chair.
“Avit, I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to…”
I cupped her face gently. “I know. It’s fine. But why are you up? Don’t you have class at nine?”
God, I wanted to kiss her so badly.
She nodded. “But I wanted to make sure you got the information on who the owner is, or at least what kind of property it is.”
“Did you find anything?”
Her face fell in defeat. She sighed. “What I did find out was of no use.”
“All information is of use,” I said, caressing her cheek.
She closed her eyes and leaned into my touch.
“What did you find?” I asked, letting my other hand trail down her side. My hand slipped under her pajama shirt, settling on her waist. “Tell me, angel.”
