Ruthless Stranger by Maggie Cole

34

Aspen

I wakeup Sunday morning and read Maksim's note. It leaves me unsettled, but I try to trust in his words. I get changed, put on a brave face, and go out to the kitchen.

Anna and Nora are making breakfast. They both stop and assess me, as if waiting to see if I'm going to lose it.

"Coffee?" Anna asks.

"Sure."

Nora takes a waffle off the iron. "Are you a picky eater?"

"No."

She smiles. "Great. Have a seat. Everything is ready, and your medication says you should take it with food."

I grab a platter with eggs, bacon, and potatoes on it and set it on the table.

"I feel like I'm at a restaurant right now."

Nora laughs and hands me my pills. "Boris burns so many calories a day from his workouts and boxing regimen, he's pretty much always hungry. My brothers, but especially Killian, are the same way, so I'm used to it. I'm the only girl so..." She holds her hands in the air and shrugs.

"Well, thanks for cooking." I load up my plate and take a sip of coffee.

Anna and Nora continue to stare at me.

"I'm trying not to ask you anything right now since you're both waiting for me to freak out."

Anna shakes her head. "No. I'm glad you're not. But are you okay? The first time Dmitri...well, the first time he was gone..." She glances at Nora.

"It was a different situation. They are at the garage and in full control of this one. We have nothing to worry about," Nora states.

My insides flip. I take another sip of coffee. "Both of you know when things happen then? The details and such?"

"Yes and no. I trust Dmitri to tell me what I need to know. Some things aren't important for him to disclose, or it could hurt me," Anna says.

"Same," Nora follows.

"And neither of you are freaking out right now because?"

"They're at the garage. No one gets in or out unless they want them to," Nora states.

"Do you know where it's at?"

"No," Anna says at the same time Nora says, "Yes."

Anna and I gape at her.

She looks away.

"How do you know where it's at?" Anna asks.

Nora blows out a breath of air and closes her eyes.

"Nora?"

"I've been there."

"When?"

She stays quiet.

Something about it makes me shudder.

Anna's voice grows firmer. "Nora, why would Boris take you there?"

She shuts her eyes again. "Please drop it. I shouldn't have said anything. I... I assumed you knew where it was."

"No. Dmitri said it's in my best interest I don't know the location."

"Maksim told me that, too."

A tear falls down Nora's cheek, and she quickly wipes it away. "Please. Don't tell Dmitri or Maksim I know where it is, then."

Would Boris keep something from his brothers?

Why was she there?

Anna hugs her. "Okay. Don't worry. We won't say anything, will we, Aspen?"

"No."

Nora sniffles and wipes her eye. "Thanks."

Uncomfortable silence fills the room. I drink my coffee, staring out the window. "I'm sorry. I have to ask. So why aren't we worried?"

Nora sits up straighter. "Oh. Sorry. The garage is the best place for them in this situation. It's when they aren't there, and they don't control the environment, that we worry."

"Do they go often?" I ask.

"No," Anna says.

"Not to the garage," Nora adds.

"Or to other places," Anna assures me.

Nora looks the other way.

What is she hiding?

I don't ask her. "Okay. Thank you for talking to me about this."

"Anytime you want to talk about this, call me. It's hard. You can't talk to your other friends about it, can you?" Anna says.

"No. What do you tell your friends when they ask questions?"

Nora grunts. "My friends all know I'm an O'Malley. There are no questions. It's just assumed I'm involved with dangerous things."

"But you aren't?" I blurt out, and my face reddens. "Sorry... I didn't—"

"It's okay. Part of my family is into...well, let's say some nasty things. My brothers are supposed to stay out of it."

"Supposed to?"

Nora drinks her water. "That's all I want to say about it."

"Okay."

Anna clears her throat. "My brother has his assumptions. Dmitri had it out with him and set him straight. And I made it clear to Chase if he made me choose, I wouldn't pick him, I would choose Dmitri. So he doesn't talk to me about it anymore. He and Dmitri have become close. I skirt around things with my friends."

"I did that with mine," I admit.

"They aren't dumb. But they don't know the facts, either," Anna says.

"You mean, what Zamir did to them as children?"

Disgust fills Anna's face. She nods.

Nora's eyes glisten, and she blinks and stares out the window. Her voice wavers. "I knew all of them before Zamir ever dug his claws into them."

Anna puts her hand on Nora's back.

Nora turns back to us and bravely smiles. "Anna said you want to redecorate the penthouse?"

"I wouldn't say that exactly."

She furrows her brows. "No?"

I point at the black couch. "Maksim asked me to move in. I told Maksim I wanted the couch that his ex was lying half-naked on"—I nod to Anna—"the night of your wedding, by the way..."

She gapes.

"And the bed she's been in replaced. That's it. He's the one who thought we should change everything up so it's fresh and only us."

"I think that's sweet," Anna says.

I can't help but smile. "It is. I already love his house though. So I'm not sure what to do. I told him we could buy the exact same pieces, I just wanted to know she hadn't touched them."

"I don't blame you. I never understood what Maksim saw in her," Nora says.

"Me, either, but I only met her a few times. She didn't talk much," Anna says.

"At least she didn't act annoyed with him every time he talked or moved an inch the way the French Prima Donna does." Nora angrily shakes her head.

I groan. "You're not an Eloise fan, either?"

"I told Boris the next time she acts like she's better than Sergey, I'm going to tell her where to go."

"Why is he with her?" I ask.

"I don't know. But he needs to dump her ass and find someone else."

He kissed Kora.

"Wait, I do have a question."

Nora raises her eyebrows.

"Maksim made it sound like they aren't exclusive?"

"They aren't," Anna says.

"He still needs to throw her ass to the curb," Nora says.

"Agreed. So, do you want to talk about some design ideas?" Anna asks.

"Sure. What else are we going to do?"

"Nothing. We're on lockdown whenever the Ivanov wrath is being dished out," Nora says.

"What?" I ask.

Anna's eyes widen. "They want to make sure we're safe. We stay put."

"Oh. Okay." I take another deep breath.

"But everything is fine. Should we look at some things? I can pull some websites up?"

"Sure," I tell her.

The day goes slow. I try not to think about Maksim, but I can't stop worrying. When nighttime comes, and he still isn't home, I cave. "Where is he?"

"She did so well," Nora says to Anna, her lips twitching.

Anna puts her arm around me. "They are okay. It's the garage. We need to be patient. It's likely they won't be home tonight."

"Really?"

"Yes."

I stay calm, and when it turns dark, I take my medicine and fall asleep. Monday morning arrives, and the bed next to me is still empty and perfectly made. Tears form in my eyes, but I push my face into my pillow.

I need to be strong. Maksim is doing this, and it's my fault.

Since I'm still in pain and on lots of medication, I call in to work sick. Plus, Anna and Nora said we're on lockdown.

The more time that passes, the more I start to freak out. I pace the penthouse with my insides churning. "Where are they?"

I pick up my phone, but Anna takes it. "You can't call him."

"Why? If they're in control of the environment, why can't I?"

"You just can't."

I go to bed when it's after midnight. I haven't taken a pain pill all day, so I pop one in my mouth and fall asleep.

The comforting scent of bergamot and cardamom flares in my nostrils. Maksim's strong arms slide under me.

"Mmm." I snuggle into his warm flesh, sliding my hand into his chest hair. "I love you," I whisper.

"I love you, too, krasotka. So much," his deep voice murmurs in my ear.

"You feel so real."

He chuckles. "I am real."

I freeze and open my eyes. I slowly look up and hold his face in my hands. "Are you really here? You're done?"

He kisses me. "Yes."

Tears fall. "I'm sorry. I was so worried. It's been so long."

He pulls me on top of him. "Shh. Everything is going to be okay now."

"Did...did you..."

"He's gone. We will never speak his name again."

I nod and cry some more. "Okay."

He wraps his arms around me and strokes my hair.

I inhale deeply. "You smell so good."

"You were asleep. I showered."

I hold his cheek again. "And you...you're okay?"

"As long as I have you, my krasotka."

"You do. As long as you want me, you have me."

He kisses me. Every ounce of need and desire he has for me is in it.

In return, I give him all of me. Every piece that desperately craves him. Every morsel of my soul that only feels alive with him. I give him any and every part I can.

He's the only man who has ever truly loved me. He'll fight, and kill, and even die for me. I would never have thought those three things would be the definition of true love, but how can it not be?

I slide upon him and stare into his icy-blue eyes. "I'm glad what happened in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas."

His lips twitch. "I made a mistake."

My chest tightens. "What do you mean?"

"I shouldn't have asked you to move in."

"Wh..." I slide off him and lay on my back. A lump forms in my throat. "Oh. Um..."

He rolls on top of me and strokes my hair. "I want you to marry me."

"What?"

"I don't want you to only move in. I want to marry you. Everything that's mine, I want to be yours. I don't want to see Albright after your name. I want to see Ivanov. Mrs. Maksim Ivanov. I want everyone to know you belong to me, and I belong to you." He slides a ring on my finger.

I can barely see it, but he could give me a gummy ring and I'd be happy.

I blink, but the tears escape anyway. "Are you really asking me?"

His finger traces my lips. "Yes. There's nothing I want more."

I nod and whisper, "Me, too."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

He smiles, and his eyes twinkle. In his deep, Russian accent, he says, "Good. Now use your sexy little body and show me how much you love me."