Page 57 of Triplets for the Russian Boss

Bonnie

Icome around the corner, hair still wrapped in a towel and my bikini sopping wet from the pool when I find Kostin at the front door, panting hard and a serious frown tainting his handsome face. He looks just about pissed enough to rip someone’s head from their shoulders.

“Where are you going?” I ask, surprised to have encountered him in such a state. He’s usually so calm and collected, even when he’s angry. Something must be really dreadful to put him in a state like this.

Kostin’s back straightens so fast that one would think he was the victim of an electric shock. His eyes go wide, and the fury painted on his face melts away into a blank expression. “I need to check the mail,” he blurts.

I raise an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”

There’s no way he’s just going out to check the mail. Stepping closer, I can see thick beads of sweat on his forehead, and he’s a lot redder in the face than usual. Normally it’s me who looks like a lobster, from all my time in the sauna.

“I’m fine,” he says briskly, pressing his lips together. “Where you swimming… or something?”

“I’m more concerned about what you’ve been doing,” I reply, looking him up and down suspiciously.

“It’s been a long day,” he says, glancing down toward his watch and immediately realizing how ridiculous that sounds. It’s only eleven in the morning.

“I’m going to be away for the day. You know, Mafia stuff,” he says with a forced smile. “Not everything runs smoothly all the time. Sometimes you have to get out there and kick someone’s ass.” He slaps his fist into the palm of his hand and chuckles nervously.

“You’re leaving me alone?” I ask.

“Just for the day, darling. You’ll be safe,” he replies, grabbing the door again. He’s eager to get out, but I really don’t understand why.

“So, you’re just going to leave me?” I ask, recoiling as he yanks the door open.

“I said I’d be back tomorrow,” he replies. “Fuck, maybe even tonight if this gets over with quickly.”

“But I don’t understand.”

“Mafia business, babe. You don’t have to,” he says, and then he steps out of the door.

In the blink of an eye he’s gone, and I’m left standing like an idiot, still dripping wet on the marble floor, trying to figure out what the hell has gotten into him.

He’s been less of a jackass recently, but this is like his old self again. Maybe it was wrong of me to start getting involved. Perhaps sleeping with the man who twisted my world into a nightmare was a step too far in the wrong direction.

I turn away from the door as I hear his yellow mustang screech out onto the road. He’s in a hurry, and I doubt he’s going to be willing to explain things to me when he gets back. The only thing I can do is pretend I’m okay with being left in the dark.

Again.

And if that’s the case, then maybe he should know that I’m nothing more than an employee of his, paid to stay silent and barely work because I witnessed him kill a man. At this point, the evidence is long gone, and it would be his word against mine. Hell, I’d probably be dead if I ever even thought about opening my mouth to a cop about what he did.

I sigh, walking back toward my room without going outside like I had originally intended. I wanted to get some fresh air, but with Kostin in a sweaty mess again, I’m suspicious that something else might be going on.

Considering what we’ve done together, I can’t say that I like him getting into so much trouble. I know that he’s not going to ever be the father that my babies need, but I’d like him to at least stay alive. It would break my heart if something were to happen to him, and I know he likes to play it risky.

I drag my feet down the hallway, wondering how I got to the point where I was actually worried about a man who has given me nothing but hell.

Okay, I can’t say it’s only been hell, since he’s done some unspeakably amazing things to my body over the past couple of days, sending me on a trip I never thought possible, but he’s still a bad guy. I don’t see how anything can change that.

However, I still feel bad when he’s not here, and I still worry about him when he acts strangely. I want everything to be alright, but I need to drop the wild expectations. Kostin is a dangerous Mafia boss, and it’s better for me to enjoy what we have, as it is, than throwing a wrench in it and ruining the whole deal.

That’s easier said than done, but as I slowly make my way back to my room, I remind myself over and over again that this is all temporary. That’s the mantra – our relationship, or whatever it is, wasn’t made to last.

---