There's no point in sitting around discussing this more. Nothing I say will change his mind. He's right that I'm obsessed with Tatiana, and he's right that sleeping with her only made it worse. But he's wrong about my judgment being clouded.
I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm keeping her close where the Kozlovs can't reach her. I'll make sure she stays alive long enough for us to eliminate the threat against her. And I'll have her in my bed every night and slowly break down the walls she's built between us.
Yuri doesn't understand because he's never felt this way about anyone except his wife, which was more of an arrangement of necessity. He doesn't know what it's like to want someone so badly that the thought of them being hurt makes you willing to start a war. He doesn't know what it's like to finally have what you've been craving, only to realize it's not enough and you need more.
But I do. And I'm not letting Tatiana go for any reason.
Not for safety. Not for strategy. Not for anything.
She's mine, and she's staying exactly where I want her.
16
TATIANA
Iwake up to the feeling of someone moving through the room and my eyes snap open. Dimitri stands near the dresser pulling off his shirt, and I sit up in bed still disoriented from sleep. My head pounds from all the vodka I drank before passing out and my mouth tastes like I've been licking ashtrays.
"What time is it?" I croak, then immediately cough a few times. My mouth is so dry.
"Almost two in the morning." He tosses his shirt onto a chair and starts unbuckling his belt. "You missed your shift."
"My shift?" I rub my eyes trying to remember what day it even is. "I was supposed to work?"
"You're my private waitress, remember?" I hear him chuckle but ignore it. I'm in no mood for laughing right now.
When he left, I was getting wasted, and it only took a few more shots before I passed out. I just can't believe I slept so long. It was only nine a.m. when he left me.
"I didn't mean to drink so much." I pull the sheet up higher over my bare body and yawn again. "I just needed to calm down."
"Well, you certainly accomplished that." He walks over to the bed and sits down on the edge as he kicks off his shoes, then punches his pillow before turning to me. "We need to talk about something."
"What?" I sit up straighter, scooting back against the headboard so I can see him better. If these are the hours he keeps, we're gonna have to have a long talk about sleeping arrangements. Today is an exception because of what happened. If he wants me to stay here, I can't be in his bed and he can't be straggling in all hours of the night keeping me awake.
"It's about what happened." He runs his hand through his hair and I can see the exhaustion on his face. "Whoever put that photo into your locker is working for my enemies, and that means I have a mole who knows things about my organization."
My stomach twists uncomfortably. "Like which locker is mine."
"Exactly like that." He turns to face me fully. "Which means you can't leave this penthouse—at all—until we figure out who it is."
"What?" I throw the sheet off and swing my legs over the side of the bed. "You can't be serious."
"I'm completely serious," he says callously. "If someone on my staff is feeding information to the Kozlovs, they could come after you the moment you step off that elevator."
"So what, I'm just supposed to stay locked in here forever?" I stand up and immediately regret it when my head spins. "I have a life, Dimitri. I can't just disappear into your penthouse and never leave."
"You can and you will." He stands too and crosses his arms. "At least until we eliminate the threat."
"How long is that gonna take?" I can't believe this. "Days? Weeks? Months?" He thinks I'm just going to hide in his apartment and wait for death to come? I still have to deal with my landlord and the things in my apartment, and what about work? What will Linda think when I never clock in or out?
"As long as it takes to keep you safe." The asshole Dimitri is back and the sweetheart who was here earlier to comfort me has vanished. "I'm not negotiating on this."
"You can't just decide for me." I back away from him. "I'm not your property no matter what you keep saying."
"No, you're the witness to a murder who's being actively hunted by the people who committed it." His jaw tightens. "And I'm the person trying to keep you alive despite your best efforts to get yourself killed."
"I want to go home," I blurt without thinking. "To Ukraine where my mother is. Where I'll be safe."
"You won't make it to the train station." He takes a step toward me. "The Kozlovs are watching for you. You are the only person who can identify them. If you leave this building, you're dead."
