Page 60 of Claimed By Desire

Ileap out of the car, my skin slick with sweat and fear, and grab Natalya by the wrist. “Where thefuckhave you been?”

She looks terrified. “I was just out for a walk,” she says.

“Do you have any idea how worried I was? Do you have no fucking clue what’s happening?”

Twenty minutes ago, I realized she was gone. I’d been so absorbed in my task that I hadn’t noticed she’d disappeared, but I lost my mind when I finally did a sweep of the apartment only to discover it was empty.

A thousand terrible thoughts ran through my head. I saw her dead in a dozen different ways, each worse than the last. And I heard the sound of the Italians laughing in my head.

Rico’s last words haunt me:They’re going for the girl too. You think she’s fucking safe? That Russian bitch left Adriano at the altar, and there’s no way we can let her keep breathing.

“Alex, your hand,” she says, sounding strangled. “You’re hurting me.”

I let her go and step back like her wrist is on fire. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean?—“

She looks around and I realize we’re in the middle of an intersection. Nobody’s nearby, but that doesn’t guarantee nobody’s watching.

“Tell me what’s going on?”

“Get in the car and I’ll explain everything.”

She hesitates. I can tell she’s not sure. Maybe she doesn’t trust me, and I wouldn’t blame her. But then she moves around and gets in the passenger’s seat, and I climb behind the wheel feeling more relieved than I have in a long time.

I thought I’d lost her.

I steady my hands on the wheel as I drive us the short distance back to the building. Once we’re inside, I tell her about my night with Lev and about my conversation with the Italian. I don’t give her the details, but I make it clear that he threatened her life, and he really meant it.

She’s quiet once I’m done. I can tell she’s taking in what I said. Around us, my half-finished security project is scattered all over the apartment. Wires stick out from the walls. It all seems comical for some reason.

“That’s why you acme home like something bad happened last night,” she says at last.

“I didn’t want to scare you.”

“Peeling out in front of me and assaulting me in the street probably wasn’t the most calming way to handle things, if I’m honest.”

I grimace slightly and put one fist in my other palm. “You’re right. I saw you missing, and I just thought the worst had happened. I was so angry and relieved when I spotted you on the sidewalk that I just?—“

“Freaked out? Acted like an asshole?”

“Expressed myself in an aggressive manner.”

She snorts and smiles slightly. “Yeah, that’s a good way of saying it.” She gestures at the boxes and sensors waiting to be installed. “I guess now I know why you’re doing all this.”

“It’s for your safety.”

“I’m not exactly sure howsafeI’m feeling right now, but—“ She blows out a breath. “Thanks. I guess. Just maybe start doing construction jobs at a more reasonable hour.”

“Sevenisreasonable. I’ve been up since four-thirty.”

“How do you function like that?”

“Willpower.”

She rolls her eyes. “Amazing. You’re like superman, but een more annoying somehow.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It’s not meant as one.” She gets up and paces away. I watch as she turns back to loo kat me. “I made a friend today. She’s this old woman named Pattie who owns a music shop near here.”

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