Page 13 of Doubts & Fears

“Well, I need you to think hard. Who would send you something like that? Brian, your coworker, is he—”

I burst out laughing.

“You find that question funny? Care to elaborate?”

I got my laughter under control. “If Brian had the slightest clue about the lifestyle, Nik, I’d say I could make him my bitch. Oops. Language, right? I could make him my Alisha.” I smirked at Alek.

“So you are familiar with the lifestyle. Malyshka, you keep getting more and more intriguing. We were pretty sure given your game night performances, but now we know. So if not Brian, then who?”

“That’s the million-dollar question, now, isn’t it? It’s a good thing you’re a private detective. Start investigating. Make it hard and fast, please, so I can leave.”

“I intend to do just that, but remember, you asked.” Nik’s voice lowered, and the warning was clear. “Been to any munches lately? Clubs, online sites?”

Heat stole through my cheeks like a raging fire at his question, and I wanted to kick myself. “I changed my mind, decided it’s not really my scene.” I tried to sound bored. After several long minutes, I spoke again. “Look, I have absolutely no idea who sent that package,” I lied, confident that, despite how good of a detective he might be, he’d never be able to figure out my secret.

“Okay, Alek told us you had plans to meet with someone to, ahem, do what he failed to do on game night,” Nik continued.

I narrowed my gaze. “What part of ‘changed my mind’ did you not understand?”

Nik leaned back and casually ran his fingers through his hair. “Baby girl, what are you hiding?”

“You’re so exhausting. I’m not hiding anything. But you don’t believe me. Since you’re so smart, why don’t you tell me what you think I’m hiding?”

“I don’t know. Mr. Lenkov thinks you’re Mischa Natalya Romanova. Maybe you’re her, maybe you’re not.”

He said that name, and I covered my surprise well, though I wanted to be sick. It was the hardest lesson I learned. Mischa Natalya wasdead.

“Maybe I’m an international super spy, and you’re dangerously close to blowing my cover.”

Alek chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

“Very well, I’ll play along. If you’re an international super spy, where were you really born?” Nik asked.

“Florida. Haven’t you seen my birth certificate? Speaking of that, I’ll need to get a new one, seeing as my ID was in my purse.”

I sighed; my head hurt. I was trying to tread water without going completely under. What my new name would be? It’d be in one of the documents in the container. That much, I was sure of.

“Florida?” Nik pressed.

“Yes, Florida, the Sunshine State. They have these things called hospitals.”

“Sticking to the storyline, huh? At least you’re committed.”

So far, so good. He had no idea how committed I was. And how come he was so sure he knew the truth? It didn’t matter. The alternative would be to admit to being Mischa Natalya, which I couldn’t do.

“Let me warn you, I don’t like being lied to. Why are you making this so hard, Mischa?” Nik switched to Russian, and the air left my lungs.

Something about hearing that name within the context of his question made sweat bead on my brow. I looked away.

“We’re going to pretend your birth certificate is false. That you’re Mischa Natalya and you’re going to come clean. Contrary to what you may have heard about us, we don’t torture women.” Nik grinned.

“Is that a nod to your game night comment about being creative in getting me to answer questions? So, if not torture, what?”

“Don’t test me. I could very easily kiss the answers I want from you.”

“Torture of the sensual type, wonderful. I guess I can look forward to your tongue being forced down my throat.” My eyes flashed to his full lips, and I was reminded of how he kissed me before. I’d be gone if he did that, singing like a dirty bird.

Nik moved his hand casually up his leg, resting it on his inner thigh. “It’s not my tongue you’d need to be worried about. Now, I’ll ask again, where were you born, Mischa?” His green eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief.

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