“Sure,” I said nonchalantly. I turned around and looked directly at the pathetic bastard. He had a sick smile on his face.
He raised his tumbler to me in salutation. “See you around, Princess!”
Everyone around me seemed to for some reason call me Princess, and the title was seriously beginning to piss me off.
I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of looking hurt. “Be careful in the alleyways,” I called.
His face changed.
I winked at him then. Turning around I marched into the staff room and grabbed my belongings. Fuck him. Fuck this bar, Fuck Ryan. I didn’t need any of them.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Maxim
I saw her the moment she came out of the bar.
Which was a bit surprising as there was twenty minutes left on the clock before her shift was over, so it made me wonder what was wrong. Was she ill, hurt? Had something happened. I hated knowing there was very little I could do about anything that affected her. So I just watched her. I expected her to go down towards the subway, or hail a taxi home, but she just kept walking away from the subway, her head bowed.
I felt anger stir inside me. Did she not know how dangerous that kind of behavior was, especially now, to be so damn inattentive? Hell, for a smart girl she was acting like a kid. Look at her. She was not alert at all. Not an ounce of caution toward her surroundings. To the point where she could be shot dead at any moment and not even see it coming.
And this after she had been stabbed. Un-fucking-believable!
I was so furious I wanted to get out of the car, and grab her by the shoulders and shake her. But that was not an option. Gripping the steering wheel, I watched her for a few minutes more. When I could bear it no more I drove away. I pressed down on the gas pedal. Thank God I had put Roman on her. He was my best man. What Roman didn’t know about surveillance and protection could be written on a stamp.
I got to the next traffic lights. I glanced up into the rear mirror. There was only one car behind me. When the lights changed I made a screeching U-turn. The driver blared his horn angrily, but minutes later I pulled up next to Freya. She was so deep in thought I actually startled her. At first she just looked at my car blankly, then bent down to look at me through the window.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied frostily. “I’m starving.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Freya
He took me to a place called Sylvia’s on Malcolm X Boulevard. It had just what I needed. I ordered chicken and waffles and threw in some shrimp salad and buttered corn. I didn’t bother explaining myself to Maxim. A man like him wouldn’t have a clue about the concept of comfort eating. As I suspected, he ordered a salmon sandwich and we sat down by the window to wait.
Today, he was dressed as though he had been on his way from work in an impeccable charcoal striped waist coat, the white dress shirt folded up the sleeves, and a dark intricately patterned tie in place.
His hair was low, as usual, skin supple and golden from the reflection of the light in the room, but his eyes were brimming with annoyance. As if he didn’t want me to see his true state of his mind, he turned towards the view of the vibrant street, but his fist clenched and unclenched on the table. That was the most restless I’d ever seen him.
“Is everything okay?”
He turned his head toward me and stared into my eyes. I felt my belly start to quake. God, how could this man have such an effect on me? Just one look and I felt like jelly. I swear, I just couldn’t move, and certainly couldn’t look away. Thank God, our food arrived. I tore my gaze away from him and immediately dove right in, but my appetite was gone.
He spoke then. “I don’t want you to work at that bar anymore.”
I stopped. If he had worded that in any other way I would have responded politely and told him I had been fired but something in his authoritative tone provoked me.
“Um... okay,” I said, the same way an irritating teenager would say to its parent.
“I’m serious,” he said, through gritted teeth. “You cannot remain there. There is absolutely no way to guarantee your security. You are way too exposed when you’re in the bar, you come out at ungodly hours, and then you proceed to roam the streets aimlessly.”
I knew he was right, but I couldn’t stop myself from acting like a brat. “I said okay.”
He frowned. “I hope we won’t have to have this conversation again.”
“I hope so too,” I snapped. “I, decide where I work, but thank you for your concern.”
“I’ll give you a job,” he said. “You studied fashion merchandising did you not? I’ll refer you to a design firm in my building. They should be able to find you a position there that you-“
“I don’t need your help, Maxim,” I cut him off, and rose from my seat. Then, I felt bad. He had just fed me and was just looking out for my safety. I begrudgingly corrected myself. “Look, I don’t need your help in figuring out my livelihood, but thanks for dinner and thanks for… caring.”
Something flashed in his eyes. I wanted to bend down and kiss his mouth then. The urge was so strong it shocked me. He watched me from his window seat as I ran out to the street and grabbed a taxi.
Chapter Thirty
Maxim
I watched her leave, then got into my car and headed home.
As I parked my car in the underground car park, my phone began to ring. It was Levan.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Where are you?”
“At your place.”
I disembarked and slammed the door shut. “I’ll be right in.”
I headed towards the private lift that carried me all the way up to my penthouse. The doors swished open. “What are you doing here?” I asked throwing my car key on the side table.
“I heard from Mikhail,” he began.
I stopped, mildly annoyed. This thing with Freya had me on edge and I was finding it more and more difficult to keep my temper. “Why are my movements being fucking reported to you?”
He frowned. “Will you relax? Nobody is keeping tabs on you, but this is a difficult time and while I’m leaving, you’re still my brother, and I need to be sure that you’re safe.”
“Then don’t leave,” I said, unbuttoning my shirt, and heading towards the curving marble stairs.
We took the stairs two at a time. I turned around to catch the smile on his face. “You’re full of bullshit, you know, Maxim. The truth is you’re completely fine with me leaving. You’re even relieved, I’m sure.”
I walked into my massive bedroom. All the curtains were open and the light from the stars shone in through the doomed glass ceiling. Behind me Levan hit the light switch making yellow light flood into the room. He was not wrong. I was going to keep an eye on him in the new life he was embarking with Bianca, and I had absolutely no complaints. He would no longer be in the direct line of fire of our world.
I sat on my bed and Levan came to sit next to me. “I’m really worried about Freya.