Page 48 of Ten

“Okay. Good. That's...good.”

“Yes, it is.”

They settled into a comfortable silence. She shifted his hand between both of hers and stroked his tattooed, scarred knuckles. He felt impossibly young and carefree after that confession.She loves me.

He wasn’t stupid or naïve. He knew that it wouldn’t be that simple. Even if they got through this nightmare with Kiki and the lunatic who had taken shots at Nisha earlier that day, their relationship would not be a cakewalk. He was a felon, and that stain would follow him everywhere. She was the niece of a Houston underworld boss. He worked for a rival boss. He was part of the Russian mafia, and even if Nikolai offered to set him free, it was hard to ever really break free.

Sergei, Ivan, and Alexei were proof enough of that. All three men had fought their way out of the life, but circumstances had dragged them right back into it. Once the underworld imprinted on you, there was no way to wash that mark clean. It lingered.

“Is that it?” Nisha asked as they approached a gate on a secluded FM road in Brazos County.

“I think so.” He glanced at his iPhone mounted on the dash. The directions Kostya had given to one of his nearby hideouts were very thorough, and they had managed the drive without any wrong turns.

“It’s not what I expected,” she remarked. “When he said cabin, I was picturing something rustic. More off-grid.”

“So was I,” Ten admitted. He had been expecting to pull up to a hut with an outhouse and no running water.

The limestone and wood cabin sat back from the main road, giving a good view of any cars coming and going. There were plenty of trees for privacy, but there were a number of strategically placed lights around the perimeter of the house to make it difficult for someone to sneak up unnoticed. There was an ultra-high-tech security system waiting for them, and knowing Kostya, the whole house was probably rigged with defensive explosives.

He drew to a stop at the gate keypad and punched in the code Kostya had given him before they left Houston in one of the Suburbans stored as part of Nikolai’s backup fleet. Kostya had also exchanged their phones and other devices for clean ones, just in case. There were envelopes of cash, emergency escape routes, and numbers to call and text if they ran into trouble. As usual, Kostya had shit covered.

Ten pulled around to the back of the cabin to park, making sure his vehicle was hidden from view. He asked Nisha to stay in the SUV while he checked the cabin, and she waited impatiently for him to return. When he did, he grabbed Wilford’s carrier and then helped Nisha out of the Suburban. She used her crutches to move down the sidewalk to the back door of the cabin. Wilford meowed and whined the whole time, clearly desperate to get out of his travel crate.

“Let me get our bags.” Ten couldn’t shake the feeling that he needed to stay right next to Nisha. She didn’t seem like she wanted to try to run and hide to save him anymore, but he worried that he might have missed a tail. What if someone was lurking out there? Waiting for him to be out of the picture just long enough to snatch her?

“I’ll be fine, Ten.” It was as if she could read his mind. “I’ll wait right here.”

“Okay.” He hurried to gather their suitcases and lock up the Suburban. When he entered the cabin, he locked the door behind him and armed the security system.

“Did he tell you that he had the fridge stocked for us?” Nisha called out from the refrigerator. The main floor of the cabin was open space, and he was glad that he could keep an eye on her. “I mean, it’s completely jam-packed with fresh food!”

“He said he had it prepared so I’m not surprised. He’s very thorough in everything he does.”

“That explains the smile on Holly’s face and the pep in her step when he’s in town.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Ten didn’t particularly want to think about Holly or Kostya in that way. “There’s a main bedroom on the first floor, but we can take one of the two upstairs if you’d rather.”

“No, my leg is actually starting to hurt,” she admitted. “I think I’d rather stay down here.”

He set up their suitcases and checked the bedroom closet and the bathroom for any hint of an intruder. There wasn’t.

Back out in the living area, he found Nisha coaxing Wilford out of his carrier. When the bushy beast finally emerged, he hissed and swatted at her before racing off to hide somewhere.

“Are you okay?” Ten rushed to her side. “Did he get you?”

“No. He just batted at me with his paw.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s such a drama queen.”

“He must get it from his mother,” Ten teased.

“Hey!” She playfully swatted his chest.

“See?” Ten gestured to her hand. “He learned that from you.”

“You’re impossible.”

“Impossibly in love with you? Yes.” Ten slipped his arm around her waist and hauled her close. He swept the bouncy curls from her eyes and leaned down to capture her lips in a sensual kiss. He was dog-ass tired, and he was certain she was, too. He didn’t expect the kiss to lead anywhere. He simply wanted to taste her mouth, to remind himself of how good it felt to claim his woman.

She smiled up at him, her eyes glimmering with emotion. He could read all the words she wanted to say in her dreamy expression. Happy enough with that, he kissed her again. “Bed?”

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