“Well, I hope my presence here helps make your life a little easier.”
“It already has.” She reached out and took my arm in a somewhat old-fashioned but endearing move.
When was the last time a woman had taken my arm like this? I had no idea, but I liked it. Hell, I liked her. She was more than a decade younger than me and probably a lot more sheltered, but she was hard-working and sexy and made me smile. Not to mention gorgeous. I had the strangest urge to hold her hand, but this was okay too, so I bent my elbow and enjoyed the moment. It had been a long time since I’d been out with a woman.
Technically, this wasn’t a date, but it was close. As close as I’d get these days. It wasn’t like I had the time or opportunity with my job. I worked seven days a week, and after my screwup with Elen, I’d been taking all the shitty busywork none of the other guys wanted. And even if that hadn’t been the case, where would I find a beautiful woman I was attracted to? There were a few cute ladies that worked at the palace, but most of them were too young. Natalia was in training to be a Royal-Protector and while I thought she was attractive enough, there was no chemistry.
It was a whole different thing with Solange. I couldn’t quite figure it out but something about her had hit me right between the eyes. Now the question was what to do about it. Solange wasn’t the one-night-stand type, not after what she’d been through, which meant I had to be cautious. I probably wouldn’t be here in Vinake more than a week or so, because I’d be needed at the wedding. And according to Solange, she wasn’t going anywhere. Which meant this was dead before it even started.
“This is where teenagers come to hang out,” she said, pointing across the street. “That building used to be some sort of community center and the city stopped keeping it up years ago. But the inside is pretty and you can sneak in through a broken door around back. It’s nearly empty so they bring blankets, alcohol, whatever. If the adults know what’s going on, they don’t care because they’ve never actively tried to catch anyone.”
“Did you used to go too?”
“Used to?” Her eyes widened playfully. “I was just there last night. This morning as well.”
I chuckled and she did too.
“Do you hear that?” I asked suddenly, looking around.
“Trucks,” she said softly. “We never have trucks in town this late at night.”
“They’ve sent reinforcements,” I said abruptly, yanking my phone out of my pocket. I hit speed dial for Sandor, speaking the moment he answered. “We have trouble. How quick can you get back to the café?”
“If I leave, Kostya is vulnerable.”
I was already jogging back towards the café. I stayed on the line with Sandor but turned to Solange. “Is there a back way? It’s better if they don’t see me coming.”
“Follow me.” She ducked down a side street and we went down several alleys before coming out alongside the café.
“What do you see?” Sandor was asking me.
“Two big black SUVs. Turkish plates. They’ve already gone inside. Sounds like they’re busting up the place again. I don’t know how many there are, and now that they know my skill set, they probably sent guys better equipped to handle me.”
“Looks like trouble on this end, too. Call Xander.” He disconnected and I let out a curse of frustration. I had to make sure Solange was safe before I did anything else.
“Is there somewhere you can hide?” I asked. “I can’t help your parents if I’m worried about you.”
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “Go help them. I have many places to hide.”
“Be careful, Solange. These men are dangerous.”
“You be careful too.” She leaned up and softly pressed her lips to mine.
7
Solange
I’d cowered in a closet just last night, terrified enough to call a man I’d only met once, for a few hours. It had turned out to be a good thing, but there had been an element of despair before, as if I hadn’t truly had anything to lose beyond my family. For some reason, that wasn’t the case anymore. Meeting Axel, Prince Sandor, and King Erik had shown me that there was actually hope. Maybe not for me, the way there was for others in our country, but they’d shown me that there might be better days ahead.
I didn’t want to be afraid anymore, but this time it wasn’t just my family I was afraid for. If something happened to Axel, after all he’d done for us, I didn’t know what I’d do. Running and hiding in another metaphorical closet didn’t feel right, but I wasn’t a hero either.
Instead, I ran down the street to a place I knew well. I had friends in town and two of Kostya’s buddies lived in an apartment above Mrs. Freela’s bakery. They helped out at the bakery in exchange for a place to live, and they’d help me now because I asked them to. At least I hoped so.
I went up the back stairs and knocked on the door. I knew they were up because I heard music playing, but when they didn’t answer right away, I banged again, this time with my fist.
“What’s wrong with you?” Felix demanded, opening the door in nothing but his boxers.
“Put on your pants,” I told him. “I need your help at the café. There’s trouble.”
“Those thugs from the Brat are back?” He made a face. “No, thanks. I’m going back to bed.” He started to close the door but I put my foot in the way to stop it from closing.
“Don’t piss me off. Kostya’s in the hospital and Axel can’t handle it alone.”
“Axel? The American?” He smirked. “You’re helping the foreigner?”
I scowled at him. “No, asshole, I’m helping my family. Now get dressed before I tell Mrs. Freela what you do in her bakery when she’s sleeping.”
He scowled at me and I folded my arms across my chest. “Or I can tell Roselie’s father.” Roselie was his girlfriend.
He grunted and turned, grabbing a pair of pants and pulling them on as he called to his roommate. “Yuri, wake up!”
The explosion was strong enough to shake the stairs and I grabbed onto the railing as I looked in the direction of the sound. Flames billowed up into the sky and my heart started to pound double time. I ran down the steps and down the alley.
“Solange, wait!” I heard Felix calling to me, but all I could think about was my parents and Axel. I had no doubt the flames were coming from the café and I picked up speed as I got onto the main street. The black SUVs were just speeding off in the other direction and the main floor of the building was on fire.
“Mama. Papa.” My voice caught in my throat as I tried to run through the front doors, but Felix grabbed me from behind, pulling me back.
“No.” His voice was loud against the roaring of the blaze, but his touch was gentle. “You can’t get to them. The stairs are collapsing.”
“I have to try!” I cried, twisting to get away.
“Solange, no.” He held me tighter.
“It’ll be at least twenty minutes for the fire trucks to come,” Yuri said. “There’s nothing we can do.”