Claire picked up on my hesitation to accept all the gifts. “Would you like to talk?” she asked me over coffee in the kitchen.
“Am I allowed to speak to you without Sergei around?” I quipped wryly. He saw himself as the boss of me and I wasn’t sure what was “allowed” in his home.
She smiled. “This is just us talking. He can go do his business and I can see how you’re doing. Are you okay? Last night had to have been very traumatic.”
I sighed.Not as traumatic as the night I was told that Fitz was shot and killed.I nodded. Then shrugged. “I’m confused. I don’t understand why Sergei brought us here. I appreciate his saving us, but he claims we’re just friends. I can’t accept all this from a friend.”
“It’s okay to accept help. It’s okay to acknowledge that you need help, too.”
I hated how right she was. I had been struggling for too long in this dangerous city as a single mother. Until Sergei walked into the Diamond Mirage that night, I hadn’t even thought that anyone would want to help me. Or realize how badly I was drowning under my responsibilities.
“I was in your shoes before,” Clarie said. As we enjoyed our coffees, with Anya and Maisie coloring in the living room with a Disney movie on in the background, Claire explained how she’d met Mikhail, Sergei’s uncle. She had been facing danger then, and Mikhail was her hero. Even though she didn’t give many details, she painted a picture of how she found safety in this family. It reassured me, but I still wanted more details.
That night, though, I slept soundly.
The next day, I found a note from Sergei, saying that he was gone for work and that if I needed anything, to contact Claire, Anya, the head maid, or a butler for the buildings.
“Butler?” I whispered to myself with a scoff. I would never get used to how the other side of humanity lived.
Maisie and I had a relaxing day of lounging and hanging out in the apartment. We made food together. We colored. I read to her and she watched a movie. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a chance to justbewith her, and I would treasure it forever.But the closer the time came to when I’d need to get ready for work, I became more and more stressed.
Daria would need to come here to watch Maisie, and I didn’t have an address to give her. She’d need time to get across town, too.
I didn’t have long to worry about it because Sergei came home with bags of delicious-smelling takeout.
“Did you have a good day?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes, but I need to give my sitter instructions on how to get here.”
He raised his brows as he set the bags on the counter. “For what?”
“To watch Maisie so I can go to work. I’ll pay you back for all these things, Sergei. But I really need to hurry to work.” I bit my lip, worried he’d be insulted that I implied he couldn’t watch her. “I realize you prioritize her safety.” He clearly did. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dived to potentially take a bullet for her. “But she’s more used to Daria and familiar with her. I can’t burden you with watching her while I’m at work.”
He shook his head. “You’re not going to work.”
That sounded like a miracle. I hated working at that bar, but I had to. The way he declared it like that had my hackles raising. Heat coursed through me with the impending need to fight back. “Excuse me?”
“You’re not going back to that bar.”
I crossed my arms. “And who are you to decide that?”
He stared me down as he continued to remove containers from the bags. A flicker of excitement danced in his gaze, like he was thrilled to fight with me. “Your friend.”
I ground my teeth. “No. No man is going to tell me what to do.”
“I’ve seen how people treat you there. The owner doesn’t care who harasses you. It’s risky. It’s not safe. And if it means you’re always walking home late at night when others could jump you on the street, it’s not wise to take that chance.”
He wasn’t lying. I struggled with all that he’d said.
“Since those men know where you live now, the ones who are alive, they could come back to follow you there,” he added calmly.
“Then what are my options? Depend on you when I have no clue who you are? Stay here forever as a guest? That’s ludicrous.”
He gave me a slow once-over, like he was consideringhisoptions about me. It gave me the same sense of butterflies in my stomach that I felt when he kissed me.
“I have a life. A daughter to provide for. Worries of my own. You can’t commandeer my life as you see fit.”
He shook his head. “I will step in as I see fit,” he argued. “Your best option is to relax here for a while until things settle down. I have men looking into those thugs who followed you that night. I will make sure that your home can be safe again, but these things take time.”
