Page 20 of Ten

“Maybe I want to be squashed by you.” He dropped down onto the couch and dragged her with him. She sat stiffly at first, trying to keep as much of her weight off of him as possible. He gripped her hips and pulled her down firmly against him. It wasn’t meant to be sexual, but there was no mistaking the flash in her watery eyes as their bodies connected. “I like you just the way you are, Nisha. All of you.”

She studied his face, and she must have seen something that convinced her of his genuineness. She relaxed and shifted a little more, straddling him with her knees on either side of his thighs. She rested her face in the crook of his neck, and he embraced her, holding her close and rocking gently. She sniffled a bit, her breaths coming in shuddery waves as she cried softly. Eventually, she stopped, and he thought she must have fallen asleep until he barely heard her whisper, “Thank you, Anton.”

His heart skipped a beat. It has been a long time since anyone had called him by his real name. Not since his father had died. Hearing Nisha say his name felt intensely intimate, and he liked it. He wanted to hear her say it again.

“You used my name.”

She leaned back until their gazes met. Her brow furrowed, and she asked, “Is that okay?”

“It’s more than okay.” He wiped the slick of tears from her face with his thumbs. “I didn’t know you knew it.”

She lowered her gaze as if suddenly shy. “I asked Bianca about it the last time she was in my chair.”

“Sneaky,” he teased and wiped the last bit of wetness from her skin. “You could have asked me.”

“I could have,” she agreed, “but I like to gossip with my clients.”

He laughed. “Yes, I’m quite aware of all the whispering and gossip that goes on in that place. Kostya teases Holly that he should have it bugged so he can keep abreast of the latest news in town.”

“What’s his deal?” Nisha ran her finger over the neckline of his T-shirt. “Like what does he do exactly?”

“He works in private security.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure he does.”

“I can’t tell you what you want to know.” Ten didn’t want to have secrets between them, but Kostya’s secrets weren’t his to share. “Whatever you’re imagining is probably correct.”

Ten eyed the hastily discarded phone on the floor. Carefully, he shifted Nisha off his lap and retrieved her phone. The screen had locked so he handed it back to her. “Can you let me see the number he used?”

“Yes.” She used her face to unlock the phone and gave it back to him. “I don’t even know how he found my number.”

“You’d be surprised how easy it is to find information like that.” He studied the phone number. It was a local area code. Probably a burner given to him by the person helping him with his escape. “We need Kostya.”

“Will he want to get involved?”

“He already is.” Ten fished his phone from his pocket and called Kostya on his private line. The cleaner answered on the second ring. “Where are you?”

“My place,” he answered in Russian and glanced at Nisha. “With her.”

“Her house is all over the fucking news. I do not want to see your face online or on television.”

“Neither do I. Listen, he called her.”

“He? Kiki? When?”

“A few minutes ago. I have the number.”

“I’m coming over.” Kostya abruptly ended the call.

Ten pocketed his phone and turned back to Nisha who stared intently. “Kostya is coming over to look at your phone. I’m going to have him sit with you while I run to your place and pick up the things you need. Give me a list that has enough clothing and other things for a few days.” He hesitated before adding, “We might need to leave Houston for a bit.”

“Can you leave? Just like that?” She bit her lower lip with concern. “I don’t want you to get in trouble with your parole officer.”

“We won’t go that far.” He also had some concerns about his PO being a hard ass. He had worked his program exactly as it had been outlined.

Six years in prison plus the 197 days of time served in the county jail while awaiting trial and twenty out of twenty-four months of supervised release completed.

Time in the halfway house.

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