“I have to go.” He smiles briefly, a tight curl of the lips that doesn't meet his eyes, and then he leaves the gym.
My pulse quickens. “Is he mad at me?”
“You?” Ruslan gasps as he pulls his head back from his water bottle. “Not at all.”
“He sounded mad.” My hands come together at my abdomen and twist. “Like I did something wrong.”
“It’s not you.” Ruslan lazily walks toward me. “Cassian’s a soft guy. He feels guilty you got hurt.”
“But hesavedme.”
“I know.”
“I would have died in that house if he hadn’t pushed me.”
“I know. We all know that. He just needs a little more time. Raven says he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve. Think of him like a big teddy bear.”
My mind turns back to when he brought me tea and I nod. “Is there anything I can do to make it easier for him?”
Ruslan finally stops in front of me and despite trying to meet his eyes, I quickly get distracted by a droplet of sweat that rolls slowly down his collarbone and runs slower down between his swollen pecs.
“It’s a guy thing,” Ruslan replies, dragging my eyes back up. “Plus… we’ve spent the past month trying to get answers out of the Russians and the Italians and no one is talking. We’ve hit a wall and it’s time we broke it down.”
I nod slowly, trying to understand Cassian’s view. I’m alive and I’m eternally grateful to all who have kept me so, but why is he beating himself up so much when I’m right here? Before I dwell too deeply on it, the other reason I came here buzzes frantically in my pocket and I sigh, gazing up at Ruslan.
“What?” he asks, tilting his head. “You want something.”
“I do.”
“What is it?”
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I flash him the screen to show a dozen missed calls from Moira. “She’s threatening to go to the police if I don’t meet her in person. Her man is a conspiracy nut and they’re convinced that I’m either not real or I’m being held against my will. I keep assuring her that I’m fine, but…”
“But you don’t want her to call attention to you by going to the cops,” Ruslan finishes for me.
I nod. “So I’m going to go and see her.”
His brows lift with a smirk. “You’retellingme?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Not asking?”
“Nope.” I fight my own urge to smile. “Do you have an issue with that?”
Ruslan slowly shakes his head. “No. But I’m coming with you. After last time, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
An excited thrill shoots through my gut and it’s impossible for me to hide my smile while Ruslan turns away and walks toward the shower. “Give me ten!” he calls back.
I don’t reply. I’m far too distracted by the curves of muscle that work back and forth while he strides away. I have zero issue with his going with me. It’s rather exciting to have someone so intent on being by my side.
An hour later, after calling Moira to make sure she’s really home, Ruslan and I turn up on her doorstep with a full security team in tow. They hang back, melting into the street and her front garden while I knock on her door, but they’re not inconspicuousenough because as soon as she rips open her door with a clatter of chains, she spots them immediately.
“Why… why is there a guy walking through my marigolds—hey!” She surges past both me and Ruslan. “Watch where you’re walking! Do you know how long it took me to get them to grow there?”
The guard in question flinches in fright and immediately vacates his attempts to appear nonchalant near the flowers.
Moira turns to me, her black curls flying, and she clutches at my shoulders. “You’re here! Oh, my God!” She immediately draws me into a tight hug, then glares back at the guard. “Seriously. The previous owners used some disgusting mushroom fertilizer that killed all my growth attempts formonths. Stay out my garden. Better yet…” She turns back to me. “Who are they?”
