Page 24 of Forbidden Boss

Yuri’s eyebrows lift a millimeter.

“The human body is a practical machine. Cacio e pepe?”

“And caprese,” I mutter. “And all the bread.”

He types into his phone, but looks up every few seconds just to make sure I haven’t moved an inch. It’s unsettling how calm and calculating he is.

I decide to pick a new fight.

“Why are you even nice to me? Isn’t this easier if I hate you?”

“You can hate me if you like,” he says. “But hating me isn’t going to change your situation. So, I’d say it would be a lot easier if you think of me as an ally.”

Just then, Lev returns from wherever he disappeared to. He and Yuri exchange a quick look that’s impossibly loaded. Whatever they communicate silently forces Yuri to nod once and leave. Now that he’s gone, there’s no reason for me to hide my anger.

“I want to go home,” I demand for what feels like the hundredth time.

Lev ignores the bite in my tone and sits on the opposite end of the couch from me. “I’ve arranged to move your roommate.”

My spine snaps straight.

“You didwhat?” I demand, my head spinning.

“Temporarily,” he says. “It’s for her safety.”

“She has a name,” I fire back. “Susie. And she has autonomy. But that’s clearly a concept no one has ever taught you.”

He smiles wryly, but doesn’t respond to the dig.

“You should probably call her and let her know that one of my guards will be showing up at the hospital to escort her until this business is all settled.”

“You can’t do this,” I say quietly, emotion clouding my voice. “We are people. You can’t just control our lives and expect us to thank you for it.”

“Every day you wake up alive and unharmed, you can thank me for it,” he shoots back, a hint of irritation in his voice. “You don’t understand this right now, but everything I’m doing is for your well-being. Someone is after you, Mari, and the sooner you understand that, the better.”

“Someone is after me because ofyou!” I spit back. “You are the common denominator here. It seems to me like getting away from you would solve this whole problem.”

“It wouldn’t,” he says, almost sadly. “You don’t have to trust me right now, but trust that.”

“So what happens now?” I ask petulantly. “Yuri ordered me lunch. Am I even allowed to open the door when it comes?”

He gives me another sardonic grin.

“One of the guards will bring it in for you,” he answers, turning to face me.

I can’t take it anymore. I get up and start pacing again, sure I’m going to fall apart any second. Every word out of his mouth feels insane. It was one thing to know he was thepakhanof a Bratva, but now that I’m seeing the reality of it, I’m floored. He has to be a sociopath to deal with this on a regular basis. What the hell have I gotten myself tangled up in?

“Why can’t you bring Susie here?” I ask suddenly, grasping for anything that can make sense out of this new reality. “It would be less work to move all of our stuff to one location, and you’d only have to guard one place. Right?”

“There’s only one spare room,” he points out, and I finally take a moment to look around the massive penthouse.

In all the rush and panic, I barely took in my surroundings. Now I’m looking at a huge space that clearly houses more than two bedrooms. The living area is an open, two-story plan. Half of the second floor is taken up by a hallway that looks like it leads to several rooms, not to mention the two rooms on this floor that he’s indicated are offices.

“Fine,” he says, catching that I’m mentally cataloging his entire apartment. “I do have more than one spare room, but it’s actually less secure if you’re in the same space.”

“Explain,” I say, sitting back down and finally looking at him.

He looks more tired than I’ve ever seen him, and I at least get some satisfaction from that. Ruining my life should at least weigh on him a little.