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She swallowed heavily. “I suppose, but in retrospect, I probably wouldn’t have chosen a crowded auditorium lobby.”
I landed a hard kiss on her mouth. “What’s done is done. You talk to Hannah and sort yourself out while I’m dealing with Mikhail.”
Her dark brows pinched, stress now taking the place of guilt. “Is everything going to be okay? Would he do anything to you?”
I opened my mouth to refute her concerns, but I honestly didn’t know the answer to her question. I was almost certain Mikhail wouldn’t try and kill me over something as petty as not going to Moscow, but who the fuck knew? He’d trusted Yuri at one point, so anything was possible.
Seeing her worry mounting, I told her what she wanted to hear. “Everything is going to be fine. He’s probably just here to oversee the operation against Armstrong. He’s a big player, and even though most of the world would like nothing better than to see Armstrong gutted with his head on a spike, you still have to do a move like that with some finesse, otherwise people start to get nervous. And nervous people are highly unpredictable, and therefore highly dangerous.”
Her brow relaxed at my reassuring words. I mostly believed what I’d said.
“Let’s go up to our place. Text Hannah and find out where she and Nikolai are.”
“Okay,” she said, reaching for her phone. I scoped out the area to make sure no one seemed suspicious. With Armstrong confronting Emmy and now Mikhail in town, all my senses were on high alert. I grabbed Emmy’s arm and pulled her toward the door of the building.
I pulled out the card for the elevator. Nobody could get to our apartment without a card. This place cost me a arm and a leg, but it was worth it for the peace of mind.
Hannah glanced at the card and smirked. “It’s so hilarious that I have to come all the way down here to get to Hannah’s place because I can’t get on her floor.”
“Not hilarious. Secure.” I swiped the card on the keypad and the elevator whisked us to the apartment, opening up directly into the living room.
I had to admit, it was a gorgeous place. I felt unexpected satisfaction providing Emmy with such beautiful to live. I wished I’d taken a picture of her face when she first saw it. Watching her expression shift from shock to uncertainty to joyful enthusiasm had warmth filling the empty places in my chest.
“I still can’t believe how fast you got moved in here,” Emmy said as she flopped tiredly on the comfortable L-shaped couch.
“You’ve been saying that every day since we moved.”
“When all this madness is over, I have a lot of ideas for how I want to decorate this place,” she murmured, casting her eyes around the furnished but spartan room. After her comment, she shot me a quick, wary look.
I sat next to her and pulled her into my lap, gripping her chin. “I’ve already asked you to stay here with me. No, actually, I demanded you stay here, so what was that look for?”
She covered her face. “I know, but sometimes I still can’t believe it.”
I pulled her hands down and landed a hard kiss on her mouth. “Well, you better start believing it because I’m going to be very unhappy if I find you sleeping anywhere else.”
She gave an adorable half smile, but her phone chimed an incoming text before she could reply.
“That Hannah?” I asked after watching her read it.
She nodded. “She said she dropped Mom off at her house and that she’d fill me in when I come by.”
“Good. Go change and get what you need, and I’ll drop you off.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re dropping me off at another apartment in the building? You can’t possibly think something would happen between here and the lobby and Hannah’s?”
“I’m not taking any chances.”
Chapter 50
Emmy
True to his word, Ivan escorted me to the lobby, then came with me to Hannah’s apartment to make sure I got there safely. A part of me wanted to roll my eyes at his over-protectiveness, but with the fleet of enemies we’d accrued, I appreciated it.
Ivan pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. “Be good. I don’t know how long I’ll be, so you might have to stay here tonight.”
Alarm shot through me. Mikhail showing up was another curve ball in a series of many curve balls and I wasn’t sure if my nerves were ever going to recover.
Easily reading my worry, Ivan kissed my forehead. “I’ll be fine. I’ll text you later when I know more.”