“Then I’ll give them my respect.” But his tone says nobody will be earning that. Ever. “And do what I can, but I might make my escape.”
“How? Is there a secret exit?”
He shrugs. “Not so secret. You exit from the balcony.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, your home is on the top floor of a very, very tall building.” I point at the huge skyscraper.
“Yes. One must jump.”
“Jump! What did you do, put huge inflatable cushions under your part of the building?”
He laughs softly, then pauses for a second like the act of laughing has surprised him. It’s surprised me, too. I don’t think I’ve heard him laugh with genuine amusement before.
“You have an overactive imagination,” he says. “Obviously, I don’t believe I can defy physics and common sense. That’s why I have a parachute.”
“A parachute?” I repeat stupidly.
“Yes. Perfectly safe. I already ran simulations.”
“On a computer?”
He frowns. “On people. Nobody does theoretical simulations for something like this.” He pauses, then shakes his head. “Actually, I know some who do, but they’re lazy. So they’ll probably die in some botched attempt.”
I’m speechless. He’s kidding… He has to be.
He puts a finger under my chin and gently pushes it up. “No need to have your mouth hang open. The plan is solid. It worked fine.”
“What if the parachute was defective? You could’ve died during the test run!”
“It was not, and I wouldn’t have died because I threw somebody else out with the parachute.”
Somebody else…?
He adds, “But if it doesn’t work, then you say, ‘It is a good day to die.’”
“And you said a parachute. Don’t I get one?” I ask, half serious and half wishing he’d say, “I’m just messing with you!” He has to be joking. The secret exit has to be something else. Really.
But no such luck. “The parachute is for you,” he says.
“What?” He wants me to jump off the balcony with nothing but a parachute, that he says is going to work, but if not, oh well…?
“Obviously, I’m not going to be hiding in the penthouse. I said I’d take care of your slimeball stepbrother, and I will. But that means I need to be out and about.”
“What about me?” I put a hand over my chest, where my heart is beating unsteadily.
“You should be up there when you aren’t working”—he points at the penthouse—“because you’re supposed to stay safe. Nobody can reach you there except me. You’ll also have Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Stravinsky. They’ll attack anybody who doesn’t belong.” He lifts a hand, hesitates for a second, then pats my shoulder awkwardly. “You’re going to be fine. I promise. I’ll stop Roy.”
His gray-blue eyes hold mine; his voice is steady, calm and utterly confident. Electric shivers shoot through me, sending chills along my arms and back.
The erratic beat of my heart isn’t just from nerves, I realize. My lungs are struggling to drag in air, and my insides feel hot.
All this… Over his vow to stop Roy and keep me safe.
A sudden urge to grab him by the shirt front and drag his mouth down for a kiss overwhelms me, but I manage to control myself. That would be a huge mistake.
Instead, I go up on my toes and place a quick kiss on his cheek. “Thank you,” I whisper through the thick lump in my throat, my voice raw and low.
He gives me a long, level stare, then finally nods. “My pleasure.”
Chapter Fourteen
Angelika
Once we’re done with the walk, Tolyan leaves the dogs at his place and gestures at me to come with him.
“Where are we going?” I ask, seated in a huge SUV. Not the car I saw him take to that “suicided” man’s house.
“Shopping.” The word is clipped.
Bet it isn’t his favorite activity. “You sure you want to come with me? If you’ll bring me to the café, I can take my car. That way if you need to leave early or something…” I’m used to shopping alone, and I know what to do to stay safe. Normally, Roy doesn’t come after me in crowded areas like malls. Too many security cameras and witnesses. And it isn’t like his goons can make a quick escape, like they can with a hit-and-run.
“Your car is in guest parking here in the building,” he says.
“How…?” I swallow the rest of the question. The man works in mysterious ways. He thinks it’s perfectly normal to skydive out of a balcony, so… “Never mind. I just—”
“We’re going to Lizochka’s home. She’ll take you shopping.”
I can barely remember a time when I went shopping with somebody. Ever since my parents died and Roy started coming after me, shopping became one of those activities I did cheaply and alone. If Tolyan likes Lizochka enough to ask her to go with me, I’m sure I’ll like her too. Sudden nostalgia stings my nose. I’m going to shop with a friend. It’s almost like…I’m a normal person, not somebody on the run from her evil stepbrother.
My insides jitter with nerves and anticipation. I miss being able to do ordinary social activities…maybe more than I realize. Gratitude flows through me. Tolyan’s helping me re-experience one of the many joys of life.
“Make sure you get everything a woman needs,” Tolyan says.
“Just some clothes and shoes,” I say, my voice slightly hoarse. I clear my throat with embarrassment. I don’t want to get weirdly sentimental. He doesn’t seem like the type to appreciate it. He’s civilized and smooth, but there’s a hint of gruffness to him that says he always does what he has to, and what pleases him, not because he wants credit or acknowledgment.
“Shoes. Yes. For every occasion. I’m expecting enough fashion brands to open a warehouse of shoes.”
I choke on a laugh. “It isn’t that bad.”
“It usually is.” He keeps his eyes on the road and takes us to a gigantic mansion. It’s surrounded by animal topiary, a pond that’s been carefully fenced off and water fountains that shoot into the air at random intervals, plumes of the falling water carried by the breeze onto the lawn.
“Wow.” I’ve never seen anything this grand in my life. “It’s amazing.” But as awesome as the mansion is, what about Elizabeth? Am I really going to get along with her well enough to shop together? She and I are from two very different worlds. Even if my parents hadn’t died and Roy hadn’t been born, my family would be upper middle class at best.
“Dominic is made of money. It’s the least he can do,” Tolyan says cynically.
“Who’s Dominic?”
“Lizochka’s husband.”
“You don’t approve of him?”
“Not particularly. She could have easily done better.”
“So how did he end up with her?”
“By taking a bullet for her.”
Oh my God. That’s…intense. “Taking a bullet for somebody does kind of prove that you’re serious.”