Page 54 of Immaculate Deception (Romanoff Bratva)

The blond bitch is standing on Arya’s side of the car.

“Bridge!” Arya exclaims in delight.

I don’t know what it is about this woman, but I can’t stand her. Actually, I do know what it is—she tried to fucking take my family away from me. Or, Lukas, anyway. Arya isn’t my family.

But for as long as we’re stuck together, they both belong to me. They both need my protection.

Brigitte and Arya have no idea what they are getting into. They think they can hunker down in Brigitte’s apartment with a pink Taser nearby and be safe.

But it’s trained killers who are coming after us.

So far, Zotov and the Albanians have sent the runts of the litter. One look at all those dead bodies we left behind in the diner, though, and they’ll realize they underestimated me. They won’t make that mistake a second time. They’ll send the big guns.

Arya clambers out of the car and the two women start talking. I pick up bits and pieces of their conversation. “…Are you okay? … No, no, that was craziness, I’m just glad you’re… ”

“Tell her to go home,” I rumble. “No one’s chasing her.”

Arya glares at me and then turns her attention back to her friend, nodding more as she listens to whatever shit Brigitte is spewing now. I grit my teeth and drum my fingers on the steering wheel, eager to go.

After a few more minutes, Arya sinks back into the passenger seat. When I look over at her, her lips are pursed.

“What?” I demand.

Arya worries at her lower lip, still not saying anything.

I spin around in my seat. “Well?”

“You said yourself no one is chasing Brigitte, right?”

I don’t like having my own words used against me, but I have no choice but to nod.

Arya takes a deep breath and launches into what has her so twisted up. “Brigitte’s brother lives in Chicago. That’s where she’s going right now. She just talked to her brother, and he would be willing to take me and Lukas in for a while. Until things die down. No one would suspect I’d be there, and even if they did, they’d never suspectyouwould be there. And you’re the one these guys are after, right?”

“Technically speaking, yes.”

“If you drop me off and disappear, I won’t have a clue where you’re going,” she continues. “I know you were afraid I’d tell the men chasing you where you were, but I hope I’ve proven myself trustworthy by now.”

“You’re a couple hours fresh off an escape attempt, in case you think I forgot. Is that what you’d call ‘proving yourself trustworthy’?”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t going to tell anyone where you were!”

There’s a strange, crackling energy flying around the car. I don’t know what to call it or what to make of it. All I know is that it’s pissing me off that she’s trying to shed me like a bad date.

Which begs the question:Who the fuck does she think I am?

I’m not the kind of man someone just leaves in the dust. Not by a long shot.

She’s still talking while I simmer. “…And I wasn’t leaving because of—well, I only wanted to leave to keep Lukas safe. He has now been in two shootouts since he was born, and I don’t want to go for lucky number three. Do you?”

It’s a loaded question, of course. She’s playing mind games. Trying to get inside my head.

I glance down. Lukas is sleeping against her chest now, his lips parted in full-bellied contentment.

Of course I want what’s best for him.

Of course I want him to be safe.

And he’ll be safest with me.

---