He nodded. “On it.”
I clapped him on the shoulder before glancing back at Mary. Her silence both worried and terrified me. I hadn’t known her for long, but I knew that this was not natural for my little spitfire. She was a fighter. Now she looked beaten and scared. I clenched my fists. I had never wanted to kill someone with my bare hands as badly as I did now. My only regret was I would not be the one to do it.
For the rest of the night, we monitored the situation from afar, getting constant updates from Mikhail and the other men on the ground there. Dimitri was too focused on finding Emma and getting her to safety. I couldn’t blame him.
I looked over at Mary, who had finally fallen into an exhausted sleep. She was wrapped in the blanket and curled up in a ball at one end of the sofa. She looked so small and vulnerable it made my chest ache, but at least she was here safe with me under my protection. I couldn’t even imagine what my friend was feeling right now, knowing his woman was in the hands of his enemy. I wouldn’t blame him if he burned the entire city to the ground trying to find her.
Finally, in the early morning hours, we learned Emma was safe. The three of them—Dimitri, Mikhail, and Emma—were all on a plane on their way back to Chicago.
I knelt before Mary and stroked her soft black hair. In the early morning sunlight, it looked sleek and smooth, like a raven’s wing. “Baby, wake up.” Her eyes fluttered open.
I rubbed her cheek with the back of my knuckles. “It’s over. She’s safe.”
She blinked a few times. I wasn’t sure if she understood, so I nuzzled her hair away from her face and cupped her cheek. “She’s safe,” I repeated.
Mary burst into tears.
I grabbed her and held her close, hoping to absorb all her pain and fear. Rising, I sat on the sofa and pulled her onto my lap. I rocked her in my arms and whispered calming nothings against her forehead in Russian. I have no idea how long we stayed like that, but finally she stirred.
She pushed against my chest and sat up straighter.
I could feel the growing distance between us. An icy chill swept over my body.
She refused to meet my gaze. As she stared down at her twisting fingers, she said softly, “I want to go home.”
I wanted to rage that she was home.
That her home was here, with me. I kept silent with a nod, though, transferring her to the sofa and rising to make the arrangements. I called for the car to be brought around and went into the bedroom to change. I emerged with the hockey jersey she had worn the last time she was here.
I held it out before her. “Here, put this on.”
I knew she would probably be uncomfortable in the morning chill wearing her halter top dress that exposed her shoulders. Without an argument, she took the jersey from my hand and pulled it over her head.
I wish she’d argue with me.
We drove back to her apartment in silence.
I escorted her to the door and punched in the security code when we entered. Mary dropped her purse on the counter and turned to me. Her face looked drawn and tired.
“Vaska…”
“Don’t.”
She sighed. She took off the jersey and tried to hand it back to me. I refused to take it. With another sigh she draped it over the back of the sofa. She then reached for the brooch I had pinned to her dress.
My eyes narrowed. “Don’t even think about it,” I ground out through tight lips as my hand fisted at my side.
“But…”
“I mean it, Mary. Don’t.”
I was holding on to my rage by a thin thread as it was. If she tried to return the jewelry I had so carefully chosen for her, I would howl.
She lowered her head. “I’m sorry.”
My control snapped. I closed the distance between us and pulled her into my arms. My mouth crashed down on hers, my tongue sweeping in to take possession. As I cupped her jaw, I angled her head back and claimed her for my own. I needed her to know, to understand, that it was not over between us. Her lips molded to mine as I swallowed her moan. I growled deep in my throat as her hands reached up to cling to my shoulders. I deepened the kiss, knowing I was bruising her lips, but I didn’t care. I poured my dark, imperfect soul into the kiss.
After we broke apart, I held her close, pressing my forehead to hers.
Mary started to speak.
“Don’t say it,” I pleaded.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated.
I closed my eyes as the pain made it hard to breathe. I stepped back.
Her face was pale as tears flowed over her cheeks. “Goodbye, Vaska.”
I clenched my jaw. No, I would not let this happen. I understood her emotions were raw in this moment. Her friend had been put in mortal danger because of her association with Dimitri and our business. I had barreled into her life and turned everything upside down with my demands and my rules. I had never given her the chance to acclimate to her new reality. I had essentially thrown her into the deep end and commanded her to swim. It was no wonder she was now closing in on herself and rejecting me and us. I understood, but understanding did not mean acceptance.
I didn’t know the how’s or why’s of it but I knew that Mary and I belonged together. I had never been so sure of anything in my life. I knew it with a deep-seated, unshakeable confidence. She was the woman I had been searching for my whole life without even realizing it. She filled the void. I had meant every word of what I’d said earlier; I would never let her go.
But I could give her time.
Time I hadn’t allowed her earlier.
That had been my mistake, and I would own it now.
I pulled off my family’s signet ring. Reaching for her hand, I raised it and laid the ring in the center, then closed her fingers around it. Hoping she would feel the warmth of the metal from my skin as it pressed into her palm. “This is not goodbye.”
Her face crumpled. “Vaska…”
“No, Mary. I mean it. This isn’t goodbye.”
I knew from conversations with Dimitri that both Emma and Mary graduated in two months. Two months. It would feel like a lifetime, but I could give her that if it would secure a lifetime with her.
I continued, “You have two months.”
Her brow furrowed. “What?”
“Two months, that’s all I can give you. Then I’m coming back for that ring… and you.”
She sighed as she swiped at a tear. “That’s not how this works.”
I gave her a sad smile before leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. “Haven’t you learned by now, krasotka, we are playing by my rules, not anyone else’s. Two months. Then I’m coming for you.”
I turned and left the apartment. As I closed the door, I could hear her burst into tears. I reached for the doorknob and stopped. I was nothing if not a man of my word. I’d told her I would never lie to her, and I would not start now. I had said I would give her two months to grow accustomed to the idea that she was now mine and I would stand by it.
Forcing myself to step away from the door, I took out my cellphone. I had countless arrangements to oversee. For starters, I would place her under twenty-four-hour surveillance. I would need to bribe someone at her college registrar’s office to get her complete schedule and the names and addresses of all her professors. I would also need to pay a visit to the bar she used to work at to make sure the owner understood that under no circumstances was she to be allowed to return to work or it would mean his very painful death. Which reminded me, I would have to see about getting her tuition paid off and gain access to her bank accounts so I could place a generous allowance in them.