Page 33 of Guarded Rebellion

“I’m glad I called in for more backup,” I muttered. If something fishy was going on, where a dead man who’d guarded an Ilyin boss was lurking with Petrovs, I’d need more resources to solve this one. Both the Ilyins and Petrovs were enemies of the Baranov Family. At times, peace could be hinted at, but we would never be considered allies or friends in any way.Competitorswas likely the nicest description we could use for one another.

“Marcus is watching her again?” Rurik asked.

I nodded.

“Then maybe we can do a few more laps. Check the perimeter and see if that mystery guard will resurface again.”

He’s dead.I killed him. I knew I had. Men didn’t just pop back from the afterlife.

“Yeah, I’m not in a rush to get back to Eva.” Not when I was struck with this conviction that something big could be brewing here. Following or spying on the Petrov men on campus seemed like the best use of my time and attention right now.

Because the alternative—going back to the apartment and keeping Eva locked in as punishment for acting out and kissing that punk—didn’t appeal.

It felt too damn good to boss her around. It was too dangerous to command her to be obedient and listen to my orders when she would glare at me right back. Taunting me. Testing me.

Her submission wouldn’t be mine to claim and treasure.

But I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t want it. Eva was caught and stuck in her life. I acknowledged that, but with that realization, I understood just how badly she was craving and seeking direction, too. Sheneededguidance, and I wished I could be the one to really give it to her. To support her and give her the strength to be the bold and vivacious woman she was at heart.

But she can’t be yours.

It’s not going to happen.

“Let’s see what we can find,” I told Rurik, hating how smart it was to insist on this buffer, on this distance from the woman I desired but remained out of my reach.

14

EVA

Three hours after we spoke on the phone, I held my breath as I waited for Kelly to jog back to the bus stop. Tucking under the shelter of the small lean-to structure that was designed for shielding riders from waiting in the rain, I shivered and wrapped my coat tighter around my body.

I’d never done this before.

I was a rules follower.

It had been ingrained in my mind that I should always be a good girl.

Obedient. Mild-mannered. Quiet and not causing any problems.

Sneaking out of the apartment would be a huge problem once my absence was noticed. And it would be.

I’d exited my room, racking my mind for ideas of how to get to campus for that frat party, and it was much to my surprise that Marcus, not Lev, waited outside my bedroom. I didn’t ask where Lev was. I didn’t have to.

“He’ll be back later tonight,” Marcus offered freely when I acknowledged him on the way to the kitchen.

“Oh.” That was all I said to him, plugging this information into a better scheme and plan. Having Lev out of the waysimplified manners. It would’ve been far more difficult to try to sneak past the overlord asshole.

And it hadn’t been all that hard at all.

Kelly took a bus to get here and played a part in pretending to be a DoorDash deliverer gone wrong. And while Marcus had to deal with the snafu of her thinking she was supposed to bring takeout to the apartment, going down to the lobby to address the matter with the doorman, I slipped away.

“Come on. Come on,” I whispered, my breath fogging before my face. “Hurry…” The bus would be coming any minute, and I didn’t want to wait any longer in the cold. Besides, if Kelly couldn’t talk her way out of the lobby and trick the doorman into believing she’d made a mistake, I’d need to go back there to the building and help her. Going back would threaten my goal of sneaking out, though, and I really didn’t want to give up yet.

This little act of being out in the world sans guards was freeing. I felt liberated. Untethered. Every breath I took was fuel to do whatever I wanted. Each step I took was another mark of progress toward the unknown.

It was heady, dizzying me. Exhilarated to stand at a bus stop on a cold January night, I bit my lip and tried not to let my teeth chatter. I’d dressed to party—within reason—but even if I’d layered up three times over, I’d still be chilled with these temperatures.

It was just me out here. The big, blank navy sky felt wider and darker, welcoming me to embrace this new and foreign sensation of being alone. Of being unattached. Just one woman, one soul in the grand and vast expanse of the universe.

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