Page 56 of Ace of Shadows
Before I can answer, she glimpses Ruslan and her eyes widen. “And who are you?”
“I’m Ruslan.” He holds out a polite hand. “I’m Ivy’s case worker.”
“Case worker?” Moira all but purrs the words as she slowly takes Ruslan’s hand in both of hers. “Surely not. You’refartoo handsome to be a cop.”
“Moira!” I grasp her elbow, my cheeks flaring with shame, but she brushes me off, laser-focused on Ruslan.
“Maybe I should get myself into a crazy accident.” She grins, lifting one hand to adjust the bottom of her curls. “If men like you are there to rescue me, what are a few bumps and bruises?”
To my surprise, the warm Ruslan that I know who smiles and jokes doesn’t appear to exist. He regards Moira with a cold lookand quickly retracts his hand. “A desire to injure oneself for attention is usually a sign of an unstable mental capacity.”
“Oh, is it?” she smirks. “Are you a doctor as well under all that… muscle?”
“Moira!” Using my hold on her elbow, I drag her into her house with an apologetic look at Ruslan who looks utterly unamused. That in itself is a little thrilling because he’s never looked at me that coldly, not even back when we first met.
“For goodness’ sake, Ivy, I was just having a little fun!” Moira gasps, struggling against me until we reach her quaint kitchen, where I release her.
“You’reengaged,” I hiss, then I pause. “You are still engaged, right?”
“Yes,” Moira sighs sadly. “But saying yes to Callum wasn’t me signing up to be boring.”
“No, just loyal,” I remind her. “It’s like I never left.”
Something quickly changes in Moira and she’s immediately in my face, cupping my shoulders with her thin hands. “Oh, Ivy, it’s been so long!” Finally, a real hug comes and I sink into her hold, closing my eyes as clouds of her minty perfume wash over me.
“It really has.” I clutch at her, and warmth stings behind my eyes. Everything’s been such a whirlwind that I almost forgot what it was like to be back in my normal life, talking to my best friend. “I missed you, Moira.”
“I missed you! I was so worried something serious had happened to you.” She leans back and studies me with a frown. “You look thin. Tired.” She touches my chin. “Ivy, what happened to you?”
After Ruslan joins us in the kitchen, satisfied that this place is secure, Moira and I take to her enclosed back garden where we slowly walk arm in arm.
“It was horrible,” I say softly. “One minute, we were in the air and the next, it was like I weighed nothing and we were falling. I don’t remember anything else about the crash, just waking up in the hospital a few days later.”
It pours out of me. Now that I’ve started, I can’t stop and every detail floods out of me to the music of Moira’s understanding hums and alarmed gasps. I tell her about waking up in the hospital and receiving the news about my parents, about the cops being harsh with me and fudging the details slightly to make Ruslan my savior, then visiting my mom and seeing her in a coma.
Moira’s grip tightens on me. “I left flowers for your mom,” she says softly. “There have been so many attacks on people, even around here. This isn’t the safe neighborhood it was when I moved here with Callum, that’s for sure.” She wrinkles her nose slightly, casting her gaze out at her garden as we walk. “I’m amazed you’re even on your feet. If I were in your shoes, I think I would be nothing more than a shell.”
My chest tightens faintly and I glance back at the house. Ruslan stands in the frame of the backdoor, arms crossed and watching me. Even from here I can see the glint in his eye and the tension in his jaw. I have no doubt that he’d be by my side in half a second at the first sign of danger.
“Although,” Moira says, and her tone softens as she catches on to where I’m looking. “I suppose you havesomethingto lift your spirits.”
My cheeks warm and I tear my gaze away from Ruslan. “Moira. It’s not like that.”
“Isn’t it? Moira chuckles. “He watches you like someone’s about to open a hole in the floor and steal you away. We’ve looped half this garden and he hasn’t lost you once among the trees and shrubs. Dude’sobsessed.” She giggles to herself, hugging my arm.
I want to correct her but I can’t, not without telling her the whole truth. It’s easier to let her believe that Ruslan’s obsessed with me because deep down, part of me enjoys that too. My pulse races slightly knowing his eyes are on me, just as it did when he was gazing down at me while giving me a sponge bath.
“It’s his job,” I remind her.
“Sure, because you’resointegral to finding out what happened with that plane.”
“Everyone else is dead, Moira. I’m the only one left.”
“So he’s on survivor suicide watch? Is that why he’s watching you like a hawk?”
“Exactly!”
“Then why does he keep staring at your ass?”
