The room is small enough that I can cross it in six steps, wall to wall. This safehouse is little better than a shoebox, not even giving me the privacy of a second room to express my frustration. Alina sleeps only a few feet away from me, too sick and tired to be bothered with consciousness.
She’s in danger now too. That’s unacceptable. I want to rip my attacker to shreds for involving her in this. I want to burn his world down to the ground for ever putting her in danger.
Alina’s breathing is soft and even now, the shallow hitch that betrayed her fear earlier finally evened out to something deeper and steadier. She curls slightly toward the center of the mattress,one arm tucked beneath the pillow, her face relaxed finally. After the last two nights, I’m sure the only thing allowing her such rest is the adrenaline crash.
She shouldn’t be here. She shouldn’t be involved in any of this.
That thought circles endlessly, snapping at my heels no matter how many times I try to shove it away. Whoever is after me must surely realize she’s with me now. They’re threatening her life just as much as they’re threatening mine.
I drag a hand through my hair and turn sharply, stopping just short of the wall. I growl at it, wishing this room weren’t so goddamn small. Wishing I could be back in my penthouse, where I have more space than I could possibly need.
They’re getting too close. That’s the biggest problem I’m having. Whoever is trying to get to me is always a step ahead. They are studying my movements and finding patterns. First at the hotel, then in the first safehouse. They already killed my driver, and poor Richie might have been next if his partner hadn’t immediately acted.
Whoever is after me is paying a lot of attention. Or, as Nikolai stated before, they are getting information from an inside man. I wonder how much time I have here until I’m forced to run again, like a dog. I’ve never run from an enemy in my life, but I can’t stop who I can’t see.
I have spent years building systems designed to prevent exactly this kind of exposure. I’ve purposely avoided any attachments so that no one else could be hurt because of me, and now I’m somehow running for my life while trying to save someone else’s.
I turn back toward the bed, watching her for a long moment. The dim light catches in her hair, softening her features. She looks soinnocent lying there, so far removed from any of the bullshit that I have to deal with on a regular basis. It’s a stark reminder that she isn’t supposed to be here. She should be back in her own bed, sleeping soundly and nursing a breakup.
Instead, her life is in danger. Because of me.
I resume pacing, my steps faster now, the energy in my body demanding movement. The room feels too tight, the walls too close. I roll my shoulders once, and then again, like I’m preparing for a fight, but there’s no one to hit.
I want details. I need to know exactly how we’re facing our third security breach in just over twenty-four hours. I finally force myself to sit on the small loveseat and pull out my computer. There’s no way I can take a quiet phone call, so instead open a secure messaging app on my laptop and shoot off a message to Anderson.
Are we sure this location is secure?
He pings me back immediately.
You’re so far out of town, anyone who approaches will immediately be suspicious. You’ve got six guys there already, and I’m sending another dozen within the half hour. No one is getting to you without going through us.
We can’t stay here forever.
This is just for tonight.We had to get you out of town. I’ve got my men setting up a few more dummy locations. You may have to move again a few more times.
I groan quietly, looking up to make sure the noise doesn’t wake Alina up. She doesn’t move, thankfully. I envy her sleeping sopeacefully. There will be no real rest until I figure out who the hell is trying to sabotage me. I turn back to the screen.
Get me a list of everyone who knew about the first safehouse. We can start there, at least.
You’ve got it.Just sit tight, we’ll get you to a nicer situation in the morning.
I sigh and close the laptop, trying to find a comfortable way to lie on the loveseat. Finding none, I decide to just sit up and try to sleep that way. Of course, sleep won’t come. How can it? I trust Anderson’s competence, but I’m not feeling so confident in his ability to catch whoever wants me dead. He should have figured it out already. What the hell am I paying him so much money for?
Tonight was too close of a call, and Alina was terrified. She didn’t deserve that after all the stress she went through last night. The last thing I need her to think is that I’m not able to keep her safe in every situation.
I will protect her. Ihave toprotect her. The idea of her being in danger makes me feel as sick as she was. As vulnerable and weak. I don’t do weakness.
I get up and start pacing again, careful to be quiet. The floorboards creak faintly beneath my weight, and I shift automatically to avoid the louder spots. This has to be the most suffocating room on the face of the planet. The new safehouses better be much nicer than this or someone is getting fired.
We shouldn’t have needed to resort to this in the first place, and that’s what’s getting to me. Someone was obviously watching the safehouse in Queens, and that’s just unacceptable. Where else are they watching? How many resources does this threat actuallyhave? Their movements are far too coordinated and advanced not to have a whole team of people working to find me.
I glance toward the bed without meaning to, and catch sight of Alina’s sleeping form. She’s shifted in her sleep and her sweatshirt is riding up, exposing her stomach. Fuck. Now it’s all I’m going to be thinking about for the rest of the night.
It takes most of my willpower not to climb into bed with her and wake her up with kisses. I want to possess her, to mark her as mine so everyone knows that she’s protected. No, that’s not true and this is no time to lie to myself. My wanting her has nothing to do with the situation we’re in. I’ve wanted her since the moment she stumbled onto that elevator. She’s a danger to me simply because she exists.
I force my gaze away from her and return to pacing, jaw locked tight as I try to burn the image out of my head. Wanting her right now is a liability. Sleeping with her in the first place was a terrible idea. She isn’t just a weakness for me, she’s a distraction. Being with her could make me miss something important. The idea of her hurt can already bring me to my knees. That’s unacceptable. It’s a mistake.
I can’t have any distractions right now. All I have the mental energy for is finding out who’s trying to kill me. Once I find them, I will punish them. Not just for what they did to me, but what they’ve done to her.
