Page 18

Arielle

“Why is there a human hulk standing in front of my car?” I stormed into the house, charging at Mikhail, who insisted on taking a long sip from his coffee mug.

“Mikhail?” I called, impatiently glancing at my watch. It was my first time stepping out since we returned from Russia two days ago, and I was already running late for my meeting with Father.

“That’s Angelo. He’ll be your bodyguard starting today,” he replied in the same tone you would use to inform someone you just did grocery shopping.

“I don’t need a bodyguard, Mikhail. I can take care of myself. This is overkill.”

His eyes softened, and he got off his chair, making his way towards me. “I’m sure you can, princess, but it doesn’t hurt to employ extra measures.”

“You don’t even move with bodyguards. Why do I need one?”

“I have Peter and sometimes Canaan,” he replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

“And you don’t think my walking about with security would bring extra attention to me?” I queried, wishing I could smack the calm look off his face.

My head was practically splitting with a migraine as I struggled to figure out how I would be able to report to Father and Vivian with security, who reported directly to Mikhail, following me.

“You can just think of him as your driver. It’ll help you relax into it.”

“I understand you’re worried, Mikhail, but I can’t live like this. A bodyguard feels like a decorated cage,” I argued, trying to make him see my point.

“It’s not a cage, baby. It’s protection. I promise things will return to normal as soon as I sort this out. And if you don’t want him driving you, I can have him discreetly follow you around. You won’t even notice his presence.”

My shoulders slumped in defeat, there was no reasonable explanation I could come up with to refuse his offer. The man had an answer for everything, and it infuriated me.

“Please. It’s just for a little while. I need to know you’re okay,” he added softly, and I couldn’t bring myself to argue.

“Till all of this is over?”

“Till all of this is over,” he agreed, pulling me into a warm hug. “Just let me take care of you.”

Being enclosed in his arms felt like I was being suffocated, and I had to force down the panic rising in me. Everything had taken a new direction, and I needed to find a way to adjust to the changes.

“I’ve got to go now. I promised Viv we’d have lunch at hers,” I said, pulling out of the hug. If I was going to be monitored, I might as well start giving him bits and parts of information.

“Alright, send her my greetings.”

By the time I got downstairs, Angelo was nowhere to be seen, but I could feel the skin on the nape of my neck prickling with awareness. He was close, and he was watching. I just couldn’t see him. Finally, inside my car, I let out a frustrated groan, sending a quick text to Father to update him on the latest developments.

His reply came in almost instantaneously, stating that he’d been expecting Mikhail to do that and would be waiting at Vivian’s house. I decided to grab some food before heading to Vivian’s, buying him enough time to arrive there so there was no chance of him being seen by Angelo.

******

“I told you moving into his house was a terrible idea.” I exploded the moment I walked through Vivian’s door. “Just in the space of two months, I have self-defense classes scheduled three times a week, and now, I have a fucking bodyguard watching me from the shadows.”

I slumped onto the sofa, burying my face in my palms and letting the frustration rippling through my body subside. I felt like I was being pulled from a lot of angles, and I had no idea what direction to go. With the rate at which Mikhail was rearranging my life, it was only a matter of time before he closed in on me. He was like a bloodhound who just got a whiff and was determined to hunt it down. Nothing was going to sway or change his mind about any decision he made at this point until he was sure the threat had been taken care of.

He might be currently distracted by the recent happenings in his business, but once that was sorted out, it wouldn’t be long before he sniffs me out.

“If you hadn’t moved in with him yet, he would’ve demanded for you to do so following the threats, so you relax and sit through it,” Father said, a faraway thought looming behind his eyes.

“So, what is the next line of action?” Vivian butt in, dissipating the growing tension between Father and I.

“You said the shipments were here in New York?”

“Yes, but I have no idea where they’re being kept or what he intends to do with them,” I replied in a flat tone.

“Don’t worry about that. For now, you focus on keeping your head low and your ears on the ground. You can pass information to me through Vivian. Only text me if it’s absolutely necessary,” Father said, and I almost snapped my neck turning to look at him.

This had to be the most compliant he had been since I started working on Mikhail, and I couldn’t help the deep sigh of relief that left me. I halfway expected him to dismiss the situation as not threatening enough and give me a lecture on how I could evade all of Mikhail’s antics while remaining focused on the task at hand.

“That will be all girls. And Cara, don’t let down your guard,” he said, getting to his feet and leaving the house through the back exit.

“Now tell me everything about Russia,” Vivian jumped into the same sofa with me, staring at me with wide eyes.

“There’s really not much to tell Viv. I spent the whole time attending family dinners and mafia-related stuff. Turns out Mikhail’s family is the longest-standing Russian mafia.”

“Woah. His power and influence suddenly makes sense.”

“Yes. He also threw a knife at his cousin for touching my hair,” I added, watching as her face morphed into a look of horror.

That’s exactly what I thought. There was no way a reasonable human being would hear or see something like that and not be scared out of their senses.

“He did what?” She gaped.

“Apparently, it’s a way of marking your territory in the mafia, and if Mikhail had done nothing about it, the men would think I’m fair game for all.”

“Woah. That’s crazy.”

“Yup,” I agreed. “What’s even crazier is the way women are treated. They get sent out when there’s a topic to be discussed. They cannot question their husband’s infidelity, and they have no say in the lives of their sons.”

“But they get to raise their daughters themselves?” Vivian asked.

“The girls are raised to make the perfect wives for their men. Maya once told me to tone down on my independence and openness and that mafia women are meant to be seen and not heard.”

“I wish I could run a study on them. I’m sure I would discover a new side to socio-cultural relationships,” Vivian mused, and I shook my head at the direction of her thoughts. Always the psychologist.

Against my better judgment, I somehow found myself wondering what a future with Mikhail would look like under different circumstances. He was more forward than his brothers and didn’t seem like the type to cheat and cage a woman. Either that, or he is a very good manipulator and waited till you were completely at his mercy before showing his true colors. I blinked the thoughts away. It was no use troubling myself with scenarios that would never become reality.

“And the bodyguard? How do you plan on dealing with him?” Vivian’s questions dissipated the thoughts forming in my head.

“I have no plans for him. He’ll probably get bored when he figures out I only go to work, visit you, and sometimes grab occasional lunch with Julia.”

“You still work for Vanderbilt?”

“More like I go there and sit behind a desk watching YouTube videos all day, but yeah. It’ll be suspicious if I suddenly stopped going to work,” I replied, and she nodded in agreement.

“I can’t wait to be done with this Viv. It has taken so much from me,” I sighed, and she pulled me into a hug.

“It’ll be over before you know it,” she assured, and I hoped with everything in me that she was right. I’ve been noticing some of my lines blurring for Mikhail, and I didn’t like what that would mean for me.