Page 67 of The Enemy Protector
He nods and stands. “For what it’s worth? I think you’re doing the right thing.”
“Keeping her alive?”
“All of it.” He pauses at the door. “She’s lucky to have you.”
That almost makes me laugh.
After he leaves, I go upstairs to the guest room. It’s got fresh linens. Flowers. Things I think a woman might like. I don’t know if she’ll sleep in here or my bed. I haven’t decided yet.
The rest of the house has been cleaned. Not that it needed to be done, but once again, I want there to be a fresh start.
I make my way back downstairs and try to see it like she’ll see it for the first time. I wind back to my office and stand in the dark.
The brownstone is quiet.
I've stood in this office a thousand times and never noticed how loud silence is. I watch one of my neighbors walk his dog in front of my house. He glances toward my place like a person might look at a spooky house.
He picks up the pace and walks a little faster.
The street is well-lit. Expensive SUVs and luxury sedans line both sides of the street. It’s all so—suburban. Nothing like the homes of my competitors. My fellow underworld bosses.
This is the kind of neighborhood families live in. I’ve always felt like an outsider being here. No one has ever mentioned my single status, but I’ve felt the looks. The side eyes.
Tomorrow, I take a wife.
I will be a family.
Not the traditional family, but husband plus wife equals family.
A violent shudder vibrates my whole body.
I walk to the liquor cart and reach for the Macallan. Only the best for tonight. I pour two fingers of scotch, swirling the liquid in the glass.
Kirill handled the last of the paperwork this afternoon. The security arrangements are set. The wedding is being kept secret. I know the target on her couldn’t get any bigger, but if Yuri finds out, he’ll work harder to kill her.
She hasn't complained about being locked in the penthouse, which either means she's practical or she's exhausted. Probably both. I haven’t seen her since I left after signing the contract. Nelson has kept me updated with her every move which usually includes the two of them spending time together. The guy has pushed his luck the last few days. Details of their days together are pissing me off. I think he knows it. He thinks I’ll spare him if he befriends my wife.
He’s wrong.
I don't let myself think about her too long. The scotch goes down smooth. I immediately pour another.
I feel like a man standing at the edge of something he can't come back from.
Every night since I signed that damn contract, I’ve thought about how I got here to this moment. To the eve of my own wedding.
Elena.
My father's summons had been brief. That wasn’t anything new. He told me to meet him at the warehouse. I went because he wasmy father and I was still, at thirty-three, the kind of man who came when his father called.
To this day, I don’t know why he wanted me there. It was a power play. A message.
The woman on the floor had dark hair and blue eyes and a mouth that was moving, trying to form words. She'd been beaten.
My father had been there watching her die.
He stayed for less than a minute after I arrived.
“Handle it.”
