Page 71 of Alexei

Alexei squeezed my hand and my eyes shot down. I had been clutching his hand so hard, my nails dug into his skin. I forced myself to loosen my grip, but left my hand in his. I didn’t trust myself not to start fidgeting.

Apparently, Alexei was better at the undercover shit than I was.

Another squeeze of his hand and a silent sigh slipped through my lips.

“I have a bag in my car,” Alexei told Igor.

Igor nodded as if he expected that. “I’ll have my man retrieve it.”

Alexei didn’t miss a beat. “Nyet. Nobody touches my car.”

I cocked my eyebrow. It would seem Alexei wasn’t the sharing type. Unless he had something in the car he didn’t want Igor to see. Preferably a weapon. When we left my place, we got into the Aston Martin and came straight here.

“Go get your bag, Alexei,” Igor drawled, his gaze stripping me naked. “I’ll keep your lady safe.”

My spine went rigid, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want to ruin our chances at getting Ivan.

“She’ll come with me,” Alexei said icily. His voice was nonnegotiable. I knew it well by now.

I swallowed hard, my eyes fleeting to Alexei.

“My two guys will escort you to your car and ensure you don’t bring unwanted things,” Igor told him.

A jerky nod, no words. While I was certain I looked like a deer in headlights, Alexei’s pulse didn’t even skip a beat.

Igor chuckled like he won, then turned around, nodding at someone. My eyes shifted to the dark corner, and I realized he had reinforcements standing there. Jerk!

Two men went into motion and without any words, we strode to Alexei’s sleek Aston Martin with Igor’s bodyguards right behind us.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

My ankle almost gave out but Alexei’s hand wrapped around me for support and remained around my waist as we continued our journey down the dark alley. So appropriate our evening would end the way it started. With me wobbly on my feet.

I kept sneaking glances at Alexei. I wished the bodyguards would have driven with Igor, so it’d give us a few minutes to discuss this strategy and the next steps. But beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.

We went straight to the trunk, where once popped open, Alexei grabbed a large duffle bag and shut the trunk.

“Wait.”

An order came from behind us and I froze, my eyes snapping to the bodyguard. Alexei must have anticipated it because he handed him the bag without prompting. The bodyguard grabbed the bag and slammed it against the hood of Alexei’s trunk.

“Hey, watch it!” I reprimanded him. The bodyguard cocked his eyebrow, like he didn’t understand what he did wrong. “That car is Alexei’s second favorite thing,” I clarified, rolling my eyes. I had to play my part, right?

“What’s his first?” the bodyguard asked me intrigued.

“Me, duh,” I retorted dryly.

Amusement flashed in the bodyguard’s eyes, but he didn’t say anything. He unzipped the duffle bag, dug through it, then zipped it back up and returned it to Alexei. Throwing it over his shoulder, Alexei nudged me back to the car and to my surprise, he took my hand.

“No weapons,” he retorted to his boss over his earpiece. “Just clothes and a first aid kit.”

Interesting.So they expected Alexei to bring along weapons.

As if on cue, a black limo drove up to us and came to a stop. The second bodyguard rushed to the car to open the door. The other remained behind us, like a dark cloud warning he’d kill us in a heartbeat. Though I was inclined to think he’d have a hard time beating Alexei.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Am I boasting?I pondered.

“Let’s go,” the bodyguard grumbled.