Page 13 of Brutal Loyalty

After a few rounds of strolling the house, however, she’d seen no sign of Viktor. She did pass multiple guards, cameras all over the place, alarms on the windows and doors, and keypads at all the major entrances. From the looks of it, a lot of it was new, which meant Viktor was taking no chances with the safety of both himself and Alexandra. Under different circumstances, Elena would have been pleased that Viktor cared so much for her BFF’s safety, but right now, it had her grinding her teeth in frustration.

She’d been in town for two days now. Her father would be expecting a report.

Elena found Alexandra swimming laps in an enormous private pool. When she noticed Elena approaching, she swam to the edge of the pool and smiled up at her.

“Hey, Elena! What are you up to? Would you like a swim?”

“Not now,” Elena laughed, holding up her second mocha of the morning. “I’m perfectly happy drinking this soy mocha—I can’t believe your kitchen staff has a full coffee bar. Why would you ever want to meet me in that café when this stuff is sooooo good?” Elena ended the question with a grin and a sip of her almost-gone drink.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it—Viktor drinks plain black coffee, and it’s nice to have someone else to appreciate a good mocha.” Alexandra pulled herself out of the pool and approached a rack of warming towels near several lounge chairs. She wrapped herself in white fluffy cotton and sighed contentedly as she turned back to her friend.

Elena took a seat nearby and sat back with a sigh. She could fall asleep on this cushion, it was so squishy. She took another long sip before speaking.

“WhereisViktor, anyway?” she asked lightly.

“I don’t really know, to be honest. He’s an incredibly busy man. There’s still so much to sort out since he took over for his father.” Alexandra froze and gave her a side look that Elena pretended not to see. They both knew that her father was the reason why he was in power now—and just from the little that Elena had seen, she sort of thought that was a good thing.

“So, um, how does he like being the pakhan?” She concentrated on the mocha in her cup and refused to make eye contact.

Alexandra tightened the towel around her shoulders and shrugged. “He’s tired. He’s been having to clean house in a lot of the businesses. Re-establish loyalties. Unless we schedule a day together, I usually only get to see him right before bed. Why? Did you need something?”

“Oh, no, I was just wondering.” Elena didn’t miss the loyalty comment, and she bit her bottom lip. If he’s spending so much time outside the mansion, he probably had his guards with him, which would make him harder to reach. “So, is Roman usually with him when he’s out?” She winced after she asked, realizing what that sounded like. Of course, Alexandra picked up on it immediately.

“Not always. Sometimes he works here. He also has his own suite here. You know, in case you were wondering.”

Elena’s head snapped up, and she saw her friend’s smirk. Instead of glaring back, she shook her head. “No. I wasn’t wondering that.” She needed to change the subject and not think about Roman in one of the suites, warm and barely dressed in bed.

“I wish you would have told me about the pool, though—I have this totally adorable gold bikini, and I didn’t even think to bring it!”

“That’s okay, Lena, you can always borrow one of mine. Why don’t I finish toweling off and we can go through my closet together to see if there’s anything you’d like to wear? It didn’t look like you brought much with you.”

Alexandra was the biggest sweetheart, Elena thought. Her eyes wandered around the pool room as she considered what she would do next. When she saw the large clock on the far wall, she almost choked on her coffee.

“Hot. Still hot,” Elena explained, trying to downplay her reaction. Had she really gotten up so late and spent that much time walking around the mansion? She had a meeting with her father’s contact in less than half an hour.

“I, uh…I’m kind of bummed out today, gold bikini aside,” she commented. “All the stress of my trip out here and the airplane almost crashing, you know? I just wanted to say hello, but I’ll take a rain check on the pool. I think I’m going to go for a walk. Get the blood pumping, sort out some thoughts.” Elena rose and stretched, still doing her best to remain casual.

“Do you need to talk, Lena? I’m here for you if you need anything,” Alexandra offered with a soft, sweet smile. It almost broke Elena’s heart how considerate her friend was.

The friend she was going to betray.

“Nah, that’s okay,” she said quietly. “I just read some pretty deep stuff from Nietzsche and need to think it over. He gets kind of depressing sometimes with the nihilism, and I just have to walk it off.” Elena cocked her head at Alexandra. “That’s sweet, though, really.You’resweet. If I need anything, I’ll let you know.”

“Okay. If you’re sure, I’m just going to keep swimming then.” Alexandra flashed her a smile.

“I’m sure. Thank you, though, Alexa, you’re too sweet, really.” Ugh! She sounded like she was nervous with all the repetition.

Leaving her friend behind, Elena rushed off down the hall. One of her father’s enforcers would be waiting down the street, away from the prying eyes of Sokolov security cameras. He was supposed to pick her up for briefing and debriefing—a way for her father to keep tabs on her and also be informed about what was going on, Elena assumed.

She ducked by the kitchen to return her coffee cup. When she turned to make her way to the front door, however, she ran directly into Roman. They collided, and Elena was grateful she no longer held a drink or else it would have been decorating the front of Roman’s immaculate suit.

His hands wrapped around her upper arms to steady her, and she suddenly realized that it seemed he was having to do that a lot. Funny, she was usually sturdier on her feet than that, even in heels. She looked up at him then, and it took her a second to register what had just happened, she was so quickly sucked into his eyes all over again.

“You surprised me, chaufferone,” Elena muttered. Roman gave her a slight smirk, but said nothing. His hands lingered on her arms, his touch gentle but firm.

Their eyes met again. Elena was breathless when she gazed at him and he gazed back. Rather than his typical steadfast expression, she saw today that there was something akin to longing behind his gorgeous gray eyes.

Roman leaned down as Elena leaned up. Both had the same intention, it seemed; their mouths met for a kiss. Elena’s eyes fluttered shut and she relished the sensation of his lips. Just as before, it was over quickly, though this time heat rose to her skin.

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