Page 62 of Royally Romanov
“Come on in. Everything’s fine.” He held the door open wide for Finley and Gerard.
Finley exhaled a tense breath. She stepped inside and her mouth dropped open in a perfectO. “Oh my God, Maxim. Everything isnotfine.”
“You have a point. I may have exaggerated slightly.” He raked a hand through his hair. “But no one’s here.”
“Good.” She nodded and bit her lip as she looked around in a daze. Gerard let out a little yip and snapped his jaws at a feather floating past his comical little face.
If Maxim hadn’t been so utterly furious with himself, he would’ve laughed. “Finley, you need to go. You can’t be here.”
She stared at him. “Seriously? Neither can you. This is bad, Maxim. Really bad.”
He crossed is arms. “I’m aware.”
Where was he supposed to go? A hotel? Not likely. He’d probably have to call and cancel all his credit cards. His laptop was missing and with it, all of his personal financial information.
One thing was certain. If he stayed, he would do so alone. He’d had no business dragging Finley into this disaster, and he wasn’t about to let her stay. There would be no changing his mind this time.
“Finley, I’m serious. You need to leave. It’s not safe here.”
She patently ignored him and began tiptoeing through the wreckage. “Is anything missing, or did they just trash the place?”
Maxim sighed. Was he going to have to pick her up and carry her out? “My computer is gone, but nothing else as far as I can tell.”
“Your laptop is usually sitting out in the open though, isn’t it?” Her gaze drifted toward the kitchen. “I noticed it sitting on the kitchen counter last night.”
“It was still sitting there when I left this morning.” He bit back a smile. “Shortly after you turned up and announced you weren’t here to sleep with me.”
“Right.” She cleared her throat.
He righted one of the dining room chairs, lowered himself into it, and dropped his head in his hands. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn’t quite bring himself to tell Finley to go again, but he knew damn well he shouldn’t let her stay.
“Maxim.”
He looked up. “Yes?”
“Someone knows who you are.”
“That makes one of us, then.” He shrugged.
She unclipped Gerard’s leash. The little dog pounced on the closest pile of feathers while Finley came and knelt in front of him.
He looked up and met her gaze. God, she was beautiful. And smart. Too smart to throw away her career for the likes of him.
“I’m not talking about who you were before. I mean who youare... who you’ve been since you were born.” She looked at him with an intensity he felt deep in his chest. Her eyes were unfathomably green. Bewitching. More exquisite than any of the paintings that hung in the museum she loved so much. “Someone knows you’re a Romanov.”
“We don’t know if that’s true.”
“We do.” Her hand fluttered to her heart. “Ido.”
Maxim fought the urge to drop to his knees, bury his hands in her hair, and kiss her until they both forgot they’d ever heard of the Romanov dynasty. He fought it hard.
“Someone else knows, too. That’s why they came here. That’s why you were attacked. Don’t you think? It can’t all be a coincidence.”
He would have laughed if it hadn’t felt so utterly hopeless at the moment. Even if the DNA test proved who he was and solved the mystery of the bizarre notebook, he still wouldn’t have any idea how he’d become a target. Somehow confirming he was royal didn’t seem like it would improve the situation. Actual royals couldn’t even walk down the street without bodyguards. What if the press somehow found out who he was?
His jaw clenched. “Definitely not a coincidence. But what were they looking for? The notebook?”
“No. They were looking for this.” Finley held up her hand. His grandmother’s bracelet sparkled against her porcelain skin.
Maxim took her hand in his, ran his thumb over her palm, and somehow resisted the urge to kiss the inside of her delicate wrist. “I always thought this thing was costume jewelry. My grandmother always told me it was an old sentimental favorite. She called it fool’s gold.”
Who was the fool now?
He leveled his gaze at her. “It’s not safe here, Finley. We need to leave. Now.”
