Natalie held the child close as we caught each other’s gazes once more. This was no farce. She wasn’t making it up that this girl was her daughter like the time she’d blurted out that I was her fake boyfriend. The determination to protect and comfort her daughter burned in her eyes, blazing with the swirl of terror that remained in the green depths.
“We’ll be safe here,” she murmured to the girl who trembled.
Safe?
I didn’t question that she was the only one to keep this child safe. No man was in her life. They couldn’t be if she kissed me back like she was yearning for affection.
No one else was here to protect them.
Only me.
If I hadn’t shown up, they would’ve been taken. Dead.
Anger filled me again at the idea of anyone harming this sweet woman.
Those Popov fuckers on the street weren’t wrong. Natalie wasn’t mine.Yet.I’d been warring with how to fit her into my life, bringing her out of society to belong in my world with me. Taking my time and letting her acclimate to me seemed smart. Now, there was no chance of letting her go. No chance of backing up and letting her live her life as if we’d never met on that random night at the Diamond Mirage.
The danger outside the lobby mandated it. She could call me a good guy for getting them inside and off the sidewalk. But I wasn’t leaving her here where she could be in danger again, where that flimsy door could easily be broken in. I had a hunch that she’d simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time with those Popovs seeing her out and about. It didn’t matter.
I wasn’t walking away.
One press of my button on my phone was all it had taken to alert George and the new recruit to come back me up. He was always on call, under my lead. I’d sent the auto text to him before I stepped out to protect Natalie, just in case I needed more gunpower to get those Popovs away.
Outside, the sounds of fading gunfire and shouting reached us in this barren and dim lobby. One lightbulb flickered overhead, casting muted and shifting shadows on Natalie’s face. It was enough for her to see me as I informed her of a change in plans.
“Go get some things,” I told her, tipping my chin up to indicate she needed to go up the stairs. “Grab whatever you need for the night.”
Her brow lined immediately. Confusion took over the shock. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“I’m… what?” She had yet to move.
“Get some things for tonight.” I closed the distance between us, making the decision on the spot. She was coming with me. They’d be safer with me, under the protection of the Orlov forces.
So much for taking my time and giving her space to get used to being with me.
The danger in this area had forced my hand.
“What?” Indignation cut into her expression, hardening in with a flare of sassiness that I wished I could admire. I wanted her to be strong. I enjoyed this lick of a fight in her. But not against me, not now when I was taking control for the sake of her protection. “Sergei, I live here.”
“I know,” I replied, prodding her to go up the stairs.
“You—” She stopped short, glowering at me. “You knew? How? I didn’t let you walk me home. I—” Her eyes opened wide. “You stalked me? You followed me home?”
“You’re welcome,” I replied. I’d caught my breath from the rush of the fight, but I was getting tense and agitated with her protests as she stalled going up the steps.
“I’m not going to thank you for being some stalker!”
I grunted. “But you’ll thank me for handling that situation outside?” I challenged, arching one brow.
“I…” She clamped her lips shut again. Under my gesture to move it, she resumed walking up the stairs. “Sergei, I appreciate your help. I… I don’t even understand why that happened. Or how. Or who those men were. I can’t tell if I even know who you are.”
I didn’t miss her worried glance at the gun in my hand that I kept out just in case there were any more surprises to handle.
“But you can’t just take charge and tell me what to do.”
“I am,” I replied after she unlocked and opened a door to an apartment.
