Page 11

In the car, I’m still fuming over Miron’s audacity.

Every fucking time I see that little shithead, he causes trouble for me.

He can’t even find it in himself to not make pathetic, childish comments or be rude to someone he’s just met.

He had no right to make those comments about Lara. He knows nothing about her.

I want to rip his tongue out of his mouth and teach him some basic manners. I don’t know why my mother can’t see that he’s twisted and manipulative. That he and his father are up to no good.

She believes Sergei loves her, and for some unknown reason, she loves him. I can’t stand it. I want to shake her and scream at her to wake the hell up and see the truth.

She constantly defends Sergei, and Sergei constantly defends Miron.

My mother always lands up in the middle of our arguments; no matter how many times I’ve tried to warn her about those two and what they really want from our family, she insists on playing the mediator.

I huff loudly, my fingers tight around the steering wheel as we sit in the car, parked outside my mother’s home.

“Are you alright?” Lara asks, her voice quiet, almost careful.

She reaches out and very cautiously touches my leg.

Her fingers brush over my thigh, and a trail of electricity travels through my body, emanating from her touch.

It’s soothing and distracts me from the wild torrent of anger flooding my thoughts.

I reach out and place my hand over hers, and for a moment, I don’t say anything, just savor her gentleness, her softness.

When I glance across the car at her, her bright blue eyes are locked onto me.

She looks worried about me as though she cares that I’m okay.

My heart stutters.

I’m so grateful that she saw what was going on and got me out of there.

“Thank you,” I sigh, starting the car engine with the push of a button on a hidden panel.

“What for?” she knits her brows together.

“For getting me out of there. It could have gotten ugly.” I turn to look behind us as I reverse.

She bites her lip and nods. “I could see that it wasn’t headed anywhere good. Why did it get so tense? Is it always like that?”

A bitter smile touches my lips and I shake my head. “That asshole has had it out for me since the moment my mother married his father.”

The car pulls out into the road, and I press my foot against the gas to build up some speed, heading in the direction of home, more relieved than Lara might understand that she gave me a good reason to leave with my poor mother stuck in the middle of it all but refusing to see the truth.

“Why, though?” she asks, encouraging me to carry on speaking.

I shrug and grip the steering wheel with one hand, watching my knuckles turn white.

“He’s trying to take over. My—uh, my businesses.

He didn’t build them up; he hasn’t offered any value to anything, but in his mind, he just deserves it.

He’s been trying to push me out of power for a long time.

He and his father work together, and I suspect that it was their plan from the moment Sergei met my mother. ”

“That’s terrible. But your poor mother, surely she should just kick them out?”

“She doesn’t see it as clearly as I do. She thinks Sergei loves her.”

“Oh,” Lara says, her brow furrowed, her heart clearly full of pain for my mother. “That’s horrible.”

“I need to stay in control of these businesses because it’s how I take care of and protect my family. My mother and my sister. They mean the world to me.” I sigh loudly, pushing air out of my lungs in a huff.

She gently squeezes my leg. “I can see that—how much they mean to you. And they’re both wonderful.” Her smile is warm when I glance at her.

A grin steals its way onto my lips as my eyes take in her beauty.

She’s special.

In a flash, I realize just how much I’m opening up to her, and it catches me by surprise.

I don’t talk to anyone about what’s on my mind.

Roan knows me the best, but that’s only from one business-related perspective.

He works with me on a daily basis, but I don’t exactly share my fears and dreams with him.

A sense of vulnerability washes over me, and I clench my jaw, feeling the muscles feather over my face. Focus on the road, not on her.

“What does Ulyana think about all of it?” Lara asks.

“She hates Miron as much as I do. We both tried to give them a chance, for our mother’s sake, but we’re both over it now.”

“Your mom is lucky she has you guys—and you’re really lucky you have her,” Lara says, and I feel her emotions shifting. She lifts her hand to softly touch the small pendant on her necklace.

“I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose my mother,” I tell her, knowing that’s what she’s thinking about.

“I’m glad she’s not in pain anymore, especially after last year.

It was horrible to watch. But I miss her terribly.

Every single day. Spending time with your family this evening reminded me just how much I miss her.

I really like your mom and your sister. They’re both so sweet. And they made me feel really welcome.”

“I knew you’d like them.” I smile, full of pride. “And I knew they’d like you, too.”

I reach my arm across the car and wrap my hand over her leg. Her skin is warm, soaking heat into my fingers. Her body feels incredible beneath my touch.

A bright, piercing light draws my attention to the right as tires scream against the tarred road, the loud, high-pitched sound aching in my ears.

Immediately, I lift my arm, pressing it over Lara’s chest to hold her in place as a car smashes into us, jolting us, spinning my car off the road.

Lara screams and lifts her hands to cover her face as the window crunches, and she expects it to rain glass over her—but it’s protected by a shatterproof, bulletproof coating.

The car skids to a halt, balancing awkwardly with one tire stuck on the edge of a pole.

“Are you okay?” I ask when the car comes to a stop.

Lara turns to answer me, her eyes wide with fear, and I see another set of headlights racing towards us.

I reach out and throw my body over hers.

The second car slams into us and our car flips.

Lara screams again and her voice breaks in the panic.

The car is still rocking as I unclip her from the seat. She slumps, upside down, onto the roof of the car, trying to maneuver herself around. I kick my door open, expecting gunshots to smack against it any second.

“Come on, we need to move,” I shout, dragging her from the wreckage.

She’s clearly in shock, but she nods, her face expressionless.

“Lara, can you hear me?” I ask.

She nods again, but her eyes are blank.

Not willing to take any risks, I lift her into my arms and start running.

We have to get out of here. This is a planned attack, very purposeful, and I don’t know how far they are willing to go. It could be a warning, it could be a full-on assassination attempt.

It’s obvious someone just targeted me, and in the process, he put Lara’s life at risk, too.

I run until I’m sure we aren’t being followed, then I duck into an alleyway and set Lara down on the road, pulling her face towards mine.

“Little one, look at me, are you hurt?” I ask, holding her face. My heart is racing, my breathing heavy and fast.

She blinks once, twice, then takes a gasping breath, filling her lungs as she snaps back into herself.

“The car rolled,” she stammers. I touch her cheek gently. She looks lost and vulnerable. I want to hold her and tell her it’s all going to be alright, but I need to get us out of here before anything else happens.

“I know, Lara. Are you okay? Are you hurt?” I demand.

She brushes her hands over her sides. “No. I don’t think so,” she says, barely a whisper. With my hand wrapped around her waist, holding her steady against me, I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Roan.

“Track my location, send a car. We’ve just been run off the road,” I growl into the phone.

“Are you somewhere safe for the moment? Who was it?” Roan asks.

“We both know who it was. Yes, we’re hidden, but I want to get out of here. Lara is with me.”

“A car is on the way, stay out of sight. Five minutes tops.”

I tuck my phone back into my pocket. Then reach out and pull Lara against my chest. I wrap both arms around her and hold her, resting my chin on the top of her head. She hides her face against my shirt. Her body is shaking.

Neither of us speaks. We stand together quietly, with her letting me comfort her, and me finding comfort in the act for myself.

I can smell her beautiful scent as my hand brushes up and down her back, tracing the contours of her spine.

It takes the car less than two minutes to get to us.

We climb into the back seat, and he takes off quickly, fearing that someone might be watching.

“Are you both okay?” the driver asks. He is one of Roan’s team members. He’s very thorough about who he hires for our security. “I was working nearby, scouting, when Roan called and told me to come get you guys.”

“Thanks for getting here so fast. I appreciate it,” I say.

Lara shifts closer to me on the back seat, and I slip my arm around her. She nuzzles her cheek against my chest, and warmth washes over me, filling my heart.

I close my eyes and lean my head against the back of the seat, taking a few deep, slow breaths.

I can’t believe Miron was so bold, especially so soon after a family dinner. It makes it obvious that it was he and his father. It’s not like anyone else knew where I was this evening.

He’s getting too bold. Too arrogant.

I have to find proof against him sooner rather than later. I’ll need to have a meeting with Roan tomorrow to discuss this. We can increase the number of men tailing him, and put an extra private investigator on him as well. I need to know everything. I’m running out of time.

What if Miron starts getting bolder and goes after my mother, or my sister, or Lara?

There’s no telling what he’s capable of.

I’m powerful enough to take him down with the flick of my wrist, but I have to have proof to present to my mother before I do a fucking thing. It will tear my family apart if my mother doubts my actions.

I let out a heavy sigh of frustration, and Lara wraps her arm around the front of my chest. She holds me, comforting me as much as I am comforting her.

Again, I think about how she has the ability to make me vulnerable.

I don’t even realize that I’m letting my walls down around her—they’re just suddenly down.

And I’m sharing things about myself I wouldn’t usually share.

Or letting her hold me, and allowing myself to feel comfort in that small, sweet gesture.

With her arm wrapped around me now, my problems seem fewer.

My eyes are still closed, but I slowly start to trace my hand up and down her back again, over her body. It’s soothing.

I only open my eyes again when I hear the familiar sound of the gravel of my driveway.

“Roan asked if you would like us to increase home security for the evening, sir.”

“No, that won’t be necessary. Did you send someone to clear away the wreckage?”

“Yes, sir. The team is there now with a truck.”

Satisfied, I nod. “Thank you again for fetching us so quickly. Have a good evening,” I say, pushing the door open as he comes to a stop.

I lean in and offer my hand to Lara, who takes it and lets me help her out of the car.

“Let’s get you inside, we can run a hot bath, it’ll help with the soreness and muscle tension,” I say, sliding my arm around her waist as we walk towards the front door.

“What just happened, Nestor?” she asks, stepping into the house ahead of me.

“We were in a car accident,” I say, sensing her tension. I push the front door closed behind us. It clicks quietly, and my shoulders stiffen as she huffs.

“No, that wasn’t just a car accident. Tell me what happened, please.” She pulls away from me, turning to face me with her hands folded over her chest. She’s still badly shaken. It’s written all over her body. Her eyes are flaring, and her jaw is set tightly, her lips pressed together.

Shit .

The look on her face tells me she is not letting this go until I tell her everything.

And I’m not ready to tell her everything.

But what choice do you have? She should know what ’ s going on.

My jaw clenches tightly, aching the muscles over my face and down the back of my neck. I reach my hand up and rub the back of my neck, tilting my head first to the left, then to the right.

Everything hurts.

I guess that’s to be expected when you’re inside a car that gets smashed into twice and rolls.

“Nestor, I need to know. I can’t handle this anymore. I feel like I’m in a sinking ship, and I don’t even understand why.” Her eyes are beautiful, rich with emotion, swirling blue like ocean waters and shining as she glares at me, waiting for an explanation.