Page 90 of Sinner's Secret

“Okay.” She didn’t move. “Is it alright if I keep you on the phone while I get in?”

“Yeah, sure.”

She trotted up to the first cab and got in the back.

The driver didn’t even look at her, but he did start the meter. He pulled away from the curb, turned the corner, and stopped long enough for Baz to hop into the back with her.

“Where are we going?” he asked her.

“I want to stay at a hotel. Smith suggested something with good security in Manhattan.”

“Ralph, take us to the Baccarat.”

The driver lifted a hand and they were off.

“The Baccarat?” she hissed at him. “That’s one of the most expensive hotels in the city.”

Baz leaned close and whispered, “Yvgeny owns it.”

She sat back. “Will he let you stay there for free?”

Baz nodded. “You too.”

“No, the room is going to be in your name, not mine.”

Baz grinned. “Staying there together, are we?”

Heat flowed up her face. “I’m sorry, I just...I shouldn’t have assu—”

He kissed her. It was slow, soft, and when he finally lifted his head, she’d forgotten what they were talking about.

“Keep assuming,” he told her. “If it involves the two of us together, assume all you want.”

“Oh,” she said, dazed. She blinked at him. “I’m really tired and my leg hurts.”

Baz pulled out a cell phone and punched in a number. “I’m going to warn Yvgeny and have him get some things ready for us.”

While he waited for his cousin to answer he put his arm around her and encouraged her to lean against his side.

She closed her eyes and stopped paying attention to the words Baz actually said. The sound of his deep voice rumbling through his chest was as calming as listening to the rippling water of a creek.

She’d been under stress for so long, letting go of it, because she was safe with him, felt like she could finally breathe for the first time in days.

She let his voice lull her into sleep.

***

Baz felt the moment Nika gave in to exhaustion. She slumped against him, her muscles completely relaxed.

The trust it would take for her to do that was...huge.

It was the nicest compliment anyone had given him in nearly his entire existence.

He finished his call with Yvgeny, requesting not only a room, but some clothes, toiletries, and food to be waiting for them in the room when he and Nika got there.

Yvgeny was practically chortling over the opportunity to give Nika stuff. She’d turned down his offer of free cab rides because of some rule the police had. His cousin loved nothing more than finding a way past ethical rules of conduct.

Ralph pulled up in front of the hotel and Baz contemplated carrying her up to their room. But something told him she wouldn’t want to call attention to herself in anyway, so he woke her up.

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