Page 50 of His to Keep
As Rosalia hurries from the room, Adan leans back in his seat and crosses one leg over the other. He looks entirely at ease. Perhaps he’s trying to lull us into a false sense of security, butI don’t think that’s it. He’s simply confident that no harm will come to him. He hasn’t come looking for trouble and he doesn’t expect to find it.
“You’re the Cameron girl?” he asks. “Eilidh?”
I nod. “I am.”
His lip curls in distaste. “You’re just a child.”
“I’m nineteen.” Although he’s clearly older than me, I’d be surprised if he was more than twenty-five. There’s not a big enough age difference between us for him to consider me a child.
“I mean no offense.” He picks a loose thread off his jacket sleeve. “It is just that you appear younger than I imagined.”
“Why are you here, Barevsky?” Gio asks, his tone hostile.
The Russian’s jaw clenches. He doesn’t like his surname. I can’t say I blame him.
“Why are you here, Adan?” I ask pleasantly, trying to keep things calm.
“To assure you my father will be dealt with. I always knew he was a piece of shit, but I didn’t realize how depraved he was until I found out his plans for you.”
Next to me, Gio bristles. “You’re not here to try to take Eilidh?”
“Fuck, no!” Adan sounds horrified by the thought. He smiles at me. “Excuse my language, Miss Cameron.”
“That’s alright,” I say primly, which is rich considering I like to throw out the occasional f-bomb.
“Those were your men outside the boutique?” Lorenzo asks. I glance over my shoulder and see that he’s tapping out a message on his cellphone.
“Yes.”
“How did you know where to find us?”
“You were seen shopping in another boutique. When we got there, you were gone so we looked around and got lucky.”
Lorenzo nods. “And this apartment? What made you come here?”
“It’s no secret that you andSignorinaLazzaro are…” Adan considers his words carefully and I wonder if he’s trying to find a polite way to say fuck buddies. “Friends. When you evaded us at the boutique, it made sense you’d come here considering its proximity to the apartment.”
Considering we got here within a few minutes of leaving the clothes store, Adan must have moved quickly.
“She’s not a part of our world,” Lorenzo snarls.
“And I apologize for bringing her into it. I did assure her I meant no harm.”
“You had your gun out.” Lorenzo sounds as if he’s itching for a fight.
“Can we return to the purpose of your visit?” I need to defuse the situation. “You’re really not here to try to grab me?”
Adan shakes his head. “As I said, my father is a piece of shit. It’s time for change in our organization.”
“You intend to kill him?” Gio asks.
“I wish I could.” Adan’s tone is genuinely regretful. “But alas, my mother adores him. She would be heartbroken if he died, especially at my hand.”
“He’s married?” The thought of that horrible old man having a wife who loves him makes me sick.
Adan nods.
“I assume she’s not a bottle blonde with massive tits.” I think of the woman Semion Barevsky had with him the night Jason dragged me to dinner with him.
