Consumed by Deception (Deception Trilogy #3) by Rina Kent

“M-me?”

“He went out of his way to do things for you. Before you came along, he never even had meals at regular times, no matter how much Kolya and I nagged about it. Then he asked me to prepare lunch boxes so he could take them to you. After that, he at least started eating dinner. And ever since he married you, he makes the time to eat breakfast and lunch with you, too.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“There are a lot of things that you’ve changed about him.”

I inch closer, hungry for more. “Such as?”

“Feelings. He used to make it his mission to smother them, but you bring them out. At one point, most of them were anger, though.”

“Well, he made me mad, too.”

Her lips move in what resembles a smile, but it doesn’t quite go there. “I’m sure he did.”

“Thank you, Ogla.”

“Whatever for?”

“Being there for this family. For him.”

“I’m the one who’s supposed to thank you for saving his life, even if there will be a price to pay.”

“A price to pay?”

“Sergei and Lazlo won’t let this slide. Surely you know this.”

I do. That’s why I have to do something about it before they do.

Offense is the best defense.

Getting Adrian on board is going to be the hardest thing about this plan, though.

But then again, I have my wifely charms to use. Adrian’s guard is down slightly when he’s inside me or after he’s fucked me, and I’m not above using that to my advantage.





29





Lia





A few days later, I insist on taking Winter to see Dr. Taylor.

Of course, the tyrant, Adrian, doesn’t like it and even says that my safety is in jeopardy, especially if anyone who’s watching figures out that I have a look-alike.

So I made sure Winter and I dressed differently and I even helped her bleach her hair to a shiny blonde. It’s strange how a mere factor such as hair color can change so much about a person. When I stand beside her and we look in the mirror, there’s much less of a resemblance between us.

In fact, I’m a bit shorter than Winter and my dark hair softly frames my face. The blue of my eyes stands out in a sparkling, almost demure kind of way. I’ve never had a piercing stare or even a convincing glare. Winter, on the other hand, has her hair in a ponytail, which brings out her cheekbones that I spent some time highlighting with makeup. Her eyes are also a raging blue, but until now, that all seemed to be hidden under the surface.

I’m almost sure she’s bottling something inside. I can tell by her distant glances and how she escapes into her mind sometimes. If there’s anyone who understands what it means to be lost, it’s me.

And I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she doesn’t come close to having a meltdown like I did at the top of that cliff.

I link my arm with hers and smile at her in the mirror. “Ready?”

“To go outside, yes. To see the shrink? I don’t know.”

“I won’t coerce you if you’re not ready. Unless you take that step yourself, no one can help you. But I do want to be there for you if you’ll let me.”

She fingers the collar of her coat—my coat. I make a mental note to take her shopping for her own clothes so that she won’t be forced to wear mine. “You don’t have to do this, Lia. I’m thankful for just…being treated as if I’m normal.”

“You are normal. If anyone tells you otherwise, I won’t let them get away with it.”

She smiles a little, then nods. “Okay. I’m ready.”

We step out of Winter’s room in the safe house. Once we’re downstairs, she physically jerks further into my side, her body stiffening.

The reason behind her reaction stands by the exit.

Yan is oblivious to his surroundings as he takes a drag of his cigarette with one hand and checks the magazine of his gun with the other. Daylight slips through the ajar door and casts a harsh shadow across his face. Yan might be beautiful, but he can actually look scary when he’s being serious. Especially to those who don’t know him.

I pat Winter’s hand to placate her. She’s usually afraid of Adrian and all of his men, but she only ever gets this urge to hide whenever Yan is in sight. Wait…did something happen between them behind my back? He couldn’t have hurt her, right?

No. My friend wouldn’t do that.

I clear my throat and Yan raises his head, but instead of hiding his gun, he makes a show out of clicking the magazine into place, his attention fixed on Winter. She visibly shivers, her lips parting.

Once we’re near the front door, I point at the car, where Boris is behind the wheel. “Go on out ahead of me.”

She basically trips over her own feet, still staring at Yan and his gun as she hurries outside. When she passes him, he blows a cloud of smoke in her face that instantly turns red. She doesn’t stop, though, until she’s next to the car.

The moment she’s out of earshot, I grab Yan by the sleeve of his jacket. “What the hell are you doing?”

He grins. “Putting the fear of God in her so she doesn’t try anything funny.”

“She wouldn’t.”

“You don’t know that.”