“Love you, too.”
Handing the phone back to Liev, I keep my expression deliberately composed. He takes it without comment, his eyes searching my face.
I hold his gaze and say nothing, knowing that if I speak, something important might slip out.
My childhood. My father. Aaron. Sergei.
My entire life has been about keeping secrets,
I can feel them piling up in my throat, waiting for the moment I finally break.
18
LIEV
Clenching my fists, I do my best to control my rising temper. Whatever Brady said to Sera clearly upset her, though she is doing her best to hide it.
“What’s happening?”
“Nothing.”
My nostrils flare as frustration claws through me. She’s throwing her walls up again, and if I’m not careful, she’ll have the gates locked against me before I can get my foot in. “If you’re going to lie to me, you are going to have to work on your tells.”
“I’m not lying.” She pauses. “What tells?”
I drop my gaze pointedly to where she’s picking at her thumbnail. She quickly folds the thumb into her hand. “It’s not a big deal. Really. Brady wanted to give me a heads up about something, but it’s not important.”
She turns her face away, raking her hands through her hair, pulling it forward to shield her face.
Fuck that.We aren’t going backwards.
I push down my mounting temper. I’ve never been a patient man, but I have to be with her. No matter how difficult it is.
“After the secret we share,malyshka, do you think there’s anything you could say to me…” I let my words trail off because I’m not exactly sure why she’s shutting me out.
“What does that mean?” Her words catch me off guard. “Malyshka? You’ve called me it before.”
“It’s an endearment.” I watch her closely, realizing how I answer could change things. “It’s like the English ‘baby’ but… more.”
A short puff of air escapes her lips. “More?”
“It means you’re mine.”
I watch as her whole body shivers, and then just as the last tether on my patience slips, she heaves a sigh, her whole-body sagging. “My ex-boyfriend Aaron—his family—is suing me and Brady for wrongful death.”
Sera sits abruptly on the bed. Not wanting to loom over her, I take the seat opposite on the side of my bed.
“He’s dead?”
That’s new.
I mentally sift through all the information I’d found about her. I knew her ex-boyfriend was Aaron Taggert from the news articles I found covering her attack. I recognized the name. Taggert Construction is one of the largest commercial builders in the southeast. The family is known for its philanthropy and political power in Georgia.
What is less known is their willingness to reach out to criminal organizations when they have financing or labor problems. I’ve only met Aaron’s father Arthur Taggert once. Though met isn’t the right word. I knew who the man meeting with Mikhail was, but they didn’t include me in the meeting.
Sera’s lips part but then snap shut, her expression torn.
“You know you can trust me. What happened?”
