“She is so young,” I repeated, and Yegor closed his eyes.
“Konstantin—” he hissed, but I shook my head. “Look, I don’t know the story. Nobody does. One day Valentin was single with a limp dick, and the next day they were married.”
My eyes met his with a fierce glare. “She doesn’t belong here.”
“You are right. She doesn’t. But that’s not our problem,” he practically bellowed the last word.
“What the fuck! She can hear you,” I said. My fists raised to punch his ugly face, but he quickly ducked away.
“Even if she does, she can’t speak,” he muttered. His eyes went to the door, and I almost saw a hint of emotion there before he quickly went back to being a cold bastard.
That stopped me. “She can’t speak or won’t speak?”
“Can’t speak. She is mute.”
A mute nun who married Solonik. Well, shit just got more interesting.
Yegor pushed my shoulders in frustration. “Konstantin, listen to me. You need to listen or you will be fucked. Valentin is crazy about his wife. If he finds you anywhere near her, your dead body will be found the next morning. Trust me, you won’t be the first.”
I was half listening to him and half thinking how the fuck did Solonik get a wife like her. She was probably younger than me, and Valentin was old enough to be my father.
She was too young to be here. To be in this life.
“This is my warning. More like my helpful warning. Stay away from her and focus on why you are here. We have come this far, and we can’t lose now,” he continued in panic.
That captured my attention. Fuck, I couldn’t lose focus now. He was right.
Who cared about Valentin’s wife? She wasn’t part of the plan. And I had to stay far, far away from her.
Taking a deep breath, I released it slowly. “You are right.”
I couldn’t fuck this up. Now was not the time to get distracted by a woman with pretty blonde hair and dressed like a fucking nun in a convent or something.
“Punch me,” I whispered.
“What?”
“Just do it.”
He punched him. Right in the face. Fuck, I didn’t think he would actually do it. So I kicked him in his knee instead. “I didn’t fucking mean it.”
Although the punch did bring me back to my senses.
No blondes for you, Konstantin. Keep your dick in your pants. For tonight, at least.
“I’m going to bed,” I called out, walking away from Yegor. Away from her.
After a few minutes of getting lost, I finally found a bedroom that suited me. Without wasting any time, I got into bed and closed my eyes.
Another game to be played tomorrow.
Unfortunately, sleep didn’t come to me. It stayed away like a fucking stubborn child. I rolled around in bed the whole night, actually begging to the moon for sleep.
But nope. Nada. Zilch.
When the sun started to make its appearance, I was pissed as fuck.
Pissed to the point that I wanted to yell, Off with their heads, to everyone I saw. Just great. A perfect morning to see.
I avoided everyone, even my pilot and hostess. The plane ride was enough for me to gather all my information. Everything was locked and ready to fire.
When the plane touched ground, I was fucking ready to start the day.
All thoughts about a pretty blonde girl were gone from my head. Only my destination mattered.
With the help from Valentin, he had a car waiting for me. Giving the address to the driver, he drove me to where I wanted…needed to be.
I closed my eyes when the car made its final stop.
One year.
One fucking year.
I was back, motherfucker.
Are you ready for me? I didn’t think so. Nobody was ready.
I inhaled and then exhaled. On my next breath, I opened my eyes and stepped out of the car. My legs didn’t stop until I was standing in front of the door that I walked out of one year ago.
A year ago, she hugged me goodbye. Right there. In front of that door.
Little did she know, I wouldn’t be back. Not until now.
The door opened. I heard gasps. I saw shocked faces. Familiar faces.
And then I saw her.
Standing on the top of the stairs, her hand covering her mouth in shock.
One second. Two. Three.
Her next step was slow and then she was running down the stairs at full force. Pregnant belly and all, almost giving me a heart attack.
I stepped forward, trying to stop her from her thoughtless action. Protectiveness made its way into my heart at the sight of her running toward me.
My arms opened wide, and she jumped into my embrace, holding me close. Her tears soaked my shirt as she sobbed brokenly.
I held her tighter, as close as I could with her rounded stomach. Burying my face into her neck, I breathed in her sweet smell.