Page 124 of Jump on Three

Drew cleared his throat. “Uh…thanks. See you later, Evie.”

My brother was peering at the girl who’d waltzed right into Marco’s office while I attempted to maintain no expression, hoping like hell Marco would get her out of here.

“Hey, sweetness,” he murmured. “There’s something I want to show you downstairs.”

“All right. I’m going to eat my fries first.” She sauntered right up to me, giving my arm a squeeze. “Sorry to interrupt. I’ll be quiet as a mouse.”

I’d always loved the way she was, often slipping into her own world, unaware of subtle shifts in emotion. This was the first time I wished she could have read the room better. If she were almost anyone else, she would have felt the tension as soon as she’d entered and made a swift exit.

Not my girl, though. She sat down on the couch, a brown paper bag filled with french fries on her lap, and put on her headphones to happily tune us out.

Then again, this was my fault. How could she have read my emotions when I’d locked them down tight? She wouldn’t have seen how displeased I was at Vóva being here or felt the panic thrumming through my blood when she’d arrived.

My brother had keenly observed all this. He turned back to me, a smirk contorting his normally easygoing countenance.

“I heard there was a girl who had made herself at home in our club.” His brow winged as if he expected me to fill in missing information.

All I was thinking of was the asshole who’d been tattling on me to my father. When I found him—and I would—he would feel every ounce of my displeasure before I fired him and had him blackballed from every club in the city. If I didn’t have the power yet, I would keep at it for however many years it took until I did.

“Are you asking a question?” I intoned.

He smacked my cheek lightly. “Is this your girlfriend, Vanya?”

“Am I not allowed to have any kind of private life?”

“Of course you are. Can’t your big brother want to meet the girl who’s been taking all your attention? Introduce me to her.”

My jaw worked as I considered how to get out of this, but I saw no way. “She is shy.”

He pressed a hand to his chest. “What do you think of me? I’ll be nice.”

Before I could decide how to handle this, Evelyn hopped to her feet, her headphones around her neck, her bag of fries untouched on the couch.

She stuck her hand out to Vóva. “Hello. I’m Evelyn Kastanos. You must be one of Ivan’s brothers. It’s nice to meet you.”

He almost fell down when she spoke to him in Russian, and as fucked up as the situation was, I couldn’t stop my mouth from twitching with pride.

That’s my girl.

Vóva engulfed her hand with his, and my protective instincts ramped up. My brother wasn’t a bad guy, and he did not hurt women, but his touching Evelyn made my skin crawl.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Evelyn. I’m Vladimir, but you can call me Vóva.” He clapped his other hand over hers, trapping it between. “Your Russian is so good, but your last name sounds Greek. Is your mother Russian?”

“No, she’s Greek as well.” Her eyes shifted to the side—her only tell she was uncomfortable.

“Ah. Well, you must tell me where you learned Russian,” Vóva prodded.

“I take lessons through an online course. My knowledge is pretty rudimentary, but it’s growing.”

She was underselling herself, and probably with purpose. It was better for Vóva to think she only knew the basics so he might think he was still free to talk in front of her.

“It’s very impressive, nonetheless. Now, tell me, Evelyn, how do you know Ivan?”

He still had her hand. On the opposite side, her free arm was straight at her side, and her fingers were pressing into her thigh. This was not good.

Laughing, I elbowed my brother’s arm. “Why don’t you give the girl her hand back before she submits to your inquisition?”

Let us keep this lighthearted. No need to draw any more attention. My father did not have to hear about Evelyn at all.

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