Page 11 of Marko

CHAPTER 7

MELISSA

FRIDAY AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING – MARKO, THE SILVER LINING

As I swung open the heavy door to my building, I turned and waved enthusiastically to Marko, a broad grin lighting up my face. That he wanted to see me again filled me with a thrilling mix of anticipation and nerves. Sure, I knew I should steer clear of romantic entanglements until the mess my biological father had dragged me into was sorted. But come on—Marko was undeniably handsome, with a charm that could disarm anyone. And his kindness and quick thinking during the robbery? That sealed the deal. Passing up his offer would have been foolish.

Despite the unsettling events of the day, I ascended the stairs to my apartment with a buoyant step. Once inside, I meticulously checked and secured every lock, my state-of-the-art security system offering some peace of mind. Yet, as my dad and I were all too aware, if someone wanted to get in, they would.

While changing into more comfy clothes, I replayed the harrowing events of the afternoon in my mind. Lost in my thoughts, I had nearly reached home before noticing my surroundings. A sudden, chilling sense of being watched preceded the sharp yank on my bag from behind. I fought to keep my grip, but the thief’s forceful shove sent me sprawling, the impact jarring my elbow as I hit the ground. That’s when Marko rushed to my rescue.

“Marko Rominov,” I whispered to myself, testing the sound of his name on my lips. I liked it. I was sure Rominov was Russian, and I had detected the tiniest trace of a Russian accent when Marko talked. The memory of his voice sent a warm flush to my cheeks, and I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of my sexy saviour.

The street hadn’t been busy when the robbery happened, but I was glad at least someone had been there when it occurred and I hadn’t had to endure the aftermath alone. The entire ordeal had unfolded in mere seconds, leaving me physically unscathed but emotionally rattled.

Unfortunately, there was no way for either of us to chase the thief as he climbed onto the back of a motorbike and sped off. Watching the bastard get away, I felt glad that I had taken photographs of everything and also separated things between my bag and pockets.

The timing of the robbery, just moments after leaving the bank, seemed too perfectly timed to be mere coincidence.

But was it just a random, opportunistic attack by thieves hoping to find some cash from a customer? Or was I the target because of the information in the safety deposit box? Somehow, I thought the latter was the most likely explanation. Which meant it was the MP.

The MP, that was how I planned on thinking of him, because I never wanted to think of him as my uncle. I refused to claim him as a blood relation, so I would not call him my uncle, and Timothy Evans-Hughes was just too long-winded to keep thinking of him by name, so the MP it was.

A shiver ran down my spine as I realised that meant the MP knew of my existence and suspected my biological father of spilling all of his dirty little secrets to me. And somehow he knew about the box and wanted the contents.

Aw, shit! What the hell was I going to do?

Suddenly, my legs turned to jelly, and a dryness spread through my mouth. Sitting on my bed, I focused on drawing in slow, deep breaths.

With my head in my hands, I mulled over my options. There really wasn’t any choice. The MP needed to be stopped and my plan to simply pass the information I had to the authorities would not work.

Even if I sent the stuff to Interpol anonymously, there was just not enough evidence. A man in the MP’s position could easily make a few incriminating photographs and a voice recording disappear. In fact, that was obviously what he tried to do by having my bag snatched, which was why I had mentioned nothing to the police who took my statement, as I knew it was likely pointless.

My stomach twisted into a tight knot of nerves.

The robber had only taken my bag this time, but I wondered what he would do next because I was sure this wouldn’t be the end of things. I was in big trouble.

As much as I hated to admit it, I would need to fulfil my biological father’s last wish. I was going to have to obtain that additional evidence to guarantee that the MP was sent to prison for a very long time and ensure my safety.

Damn it! Of all the legacies to leave me, why had Mathieson left me with this?

Thank god that he had at least provided me with so much money. To pull off what I would need to do, I was going to need money. And if I couldn’t pull it off, well, I just might end up needing to go into hiding. Not something I wanted to do, but at least something my dad had prepared me for.

“Aargh!” I screamed, pissed off that the new life I was creating could be ended so soon.

Just when I met Marko, too. Sadness swept over me at the thought of never seeing him again. We’d only just met, but I knew already that he was special and someone I wanted to get to know better.

The very thought of the man had me smiling again. I was so glad that he had walked me home. I really hadn’t relished the idea of walking back alone and I’d thoroughly enjoyed spending the extra time with him, which led to him asking to see me again. Hopefully, we would spend more time in each other’s company soon. I couldn’t wait. Another of Dad’s sayings was ‘every cloud has a silver lining’.

“Yep, Dad, you were right, every cloud and all that,” I said out loud, chuckling to myself and hoping that wherever he was, he could somehow hear me.

And what a silver lining Marko was. Phew! I mean the guy was hot with a capital H. Around six-foot-three inches of muscled perfection with the most beautiful grey eyes I had ever seen. Very sexy. And smart. I smiled, thinking about how easy he had been to talk to. And his voice gave me goosebumps, especially when that sexy Russian accent peeked through.

Sighing heavily, I bit my lip as a wicked grin spread over my face. Was there anything not sexy about the man?

I had been amused when he told me he worked in IT for his family business. He talked about it with such enthusiasm, his entire face lighting up. He was a geek, a total nerd by the sounds of things, but one who looked like a God.

Wow, a sexy nerd. Brawn and brains. Definitely my type. Yep, I was into him. I doubted many women could resist such a sexy specimen. A sudden rush of heat headed south, making me squirm. All this thinking of him was making me really horny, but now wasn’t the time for that. I had serious business to take care of.

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