Page 43 of Shielded Secrets

“Hmm. And now you’re wondering if he already knows what happened to Amelia Baranov and therefore isn’t viewing her as an unsolved mystery?”

I smiled. “You’re really good at reading my mind.”

“I am not.”

I kissed the back of her soft hand. “Fine. You’re not. But you’re very observant and perceptive like that. We’re always on the same page.”

She mimicked me, bringing my hand to her lips and kissing it.

“Before we get to the house, though,” I told her, “try to keep this visit short. I want to make dinner for you tonight.”

“Ooh. I can’t wait.”

Neither could I.

“And also before we get to the house,” I said. “Do you want to talk to me some more about Jerome?”

She stiffened. If I hadn’t been holding her hand, I wouldn’t have noticed it.

“What do you mean?”

“Vik brought up a good point, that we should eliminate him before you go back to school. If he’d continue to cause trouble for you. And it’s been on my mind. Namely, I’ve been wondering why he’s focused on you, specifically.”

“Because he knew me from before. We lived in the same foster house for a while.”

“Does he have anything against you—or does he have anything that he might think he can hold over you?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never done anything to him. Nothing that would make him target me.”

I narrowed my eyes, picking at her answer.That’s not a direct yes or no, though.I wished I didn’t feel like she was hiding something from me.

“He’s just a mean person. Always had been. When we were younger, he was an asshole to all of us foster kids, the foster parents. He was a liar, a thief. He’d bully us all, try to fight us, blame things on us.”

“Did he target you specifically then?”

“No. He hated us all and treated everyone like crap. It’s just the lousy kind of person he is, and it’s why I wanted nothing to do with him when I saw him on campus. I was shocked, first of all, because I figured I’d never see him again. He’s one of those losers that you meet in life and think to yourself, yeah, he’ll be rotting away in jail soon.”

I was getting the picture, but it still seemed like there had to be a direct connection to why he’d follow her instead of any other woman on campus. Perhaps it was nothing more than the phenomenon of his seeing someone familiar from long ago and wanting to repeat history, but that didn’t seem like enough of a motivation.

“Based on what we’ve gathered, though, about your attack?—”

“Wait. I didn’t know that Oleg was asking all his men and soldiers to investigate what happened tome.” She pointed at herself, eyes open wide.

“Kel? When I said that I’d protect you and take care of you, that meant completely.”

“But I never wanted anyone to be investigating anything about me and my life. I happen to value my privacy.”

“And I valueyou. And I plan to keep you alive. And safe. Of course, we were going to look into why you were attacked. In doing so, we realized that Jerome gets around. Once we got a picture of him, Irina and Vik confirmed that they saw him talking with Jessica Nolan, someone in the dean’s office. And looking further into him, we realized he’s got a lot of acquaintances on the drug scene. He deals and sells on and off for both the Petrovs and Ilyins, and also some gangs. He’s not exclusive?—”

“I don’t… I don’t want to know this, Rurik. I want nothing to do with Jerome Parson ever again. He’s part of my past, and I’m leaving that behind me, for good.”

“Okay.” I didn’t blame her for not wanting anything to do with him. “But he knew that Petrov man who attacked you that night.And Jerome was at that meeting. The one I was supposed to watch and record the night I hurried back to check on you.”

“What does this mean?” she asked quietly.

“That if you are still considering what Oleg asked of you, you should know this. You should be aware of the chance that Jerome might be involved with this meeting and all the people involved in the drug distribution that Oleg is trying to keep an eye on. It would be a factor to think about.” I kissed her hand again, glad that I was upfront about this connection and development. She deserved to know and be informed. As I parked at the mansion, I wished that she would feel the same about me, that she would want me to be informed of all that she knew about these people and what was going on.

After we arrived at the house, Kelly went off to talk with Eva even though Irina wasn’t there.

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