Karolena shuddered. She hadn’t been a willing participant in the crimes that had funded her crystalline prison, but she had seen plenty and been helpless to stop it for long enough that it would haunt her for the rest of her life. Especially if she managed to break free when so many others hadn’t been so lucky.
“Hey, don’t freak out.” Tavish must have misunderstood the cause of her deep introspection. “This is no problem. Let me help you—”
“No, thank you. I’ve got it under control.” Karolena didn’t even believe her own lie. Frantically, she resumed trying to snuff out the ever-expanding white blob now engulfing half the kitchen. “Or I will. Just give me a minute. Please.”
She took a deep breath through chattering teeth, memories still assaulting her.
“Cold?” Legend asked, proving he hadn’t wandered far from his partner or the intruder in their private space. He obviously hadn’t missed her visceral reaction to her memories either. She was going to have to rely more heavily on the masking skills she’d developed during her time with Vladimir. “I can set the AC to something more reasonable. I turned it down earlier so you wouldn’t get sweaty while working. I hate when that happens to me.”
“You’re hot even when you’re doing nothing.” Tavish’s breath hitched, causing Karolena’s stare to wing between the two men now bookending her. Was there something between the partners beyond their professional bond?
And why did being in such close proximity to them, alone, do anything but freak her out like it should? Especially since Tavish had been less than subtle with his come-ons from the moment he’d held the front door open for her before her interview and then been assigned to show her around once she’d accepted the position and moved in right next door the night before.
When Tavish swallowed hard and flicked an imaginary piece of lint from the hem of his kilt, she shook her head and returned to dispersing as many of the suds as she could.
“The temperature’s fine. I mean, good. It’s great. That was thoughtful. Thank you.” Why the hell was everyone being so nice to her? Vladimir wouldn’t so much as notice the help, never mind change the thermostat to make them more comfortable.
Karolena’s gaze wandered one last time to the photograph on the refrigerator as she shoveled some foam onto the mop and attempted to drown it in the bucket. Tavish obviously had a family and friends he loved and who loved him too. What was he doing here, on the other side of the world from them? If she’d had a choice, she never would have left hers.
Her father, circumstances, and Vladimir had stolen that option from her years ago.
Any warm feelings she’d been harboring evaporated in an instant. Anyone who could abandon their loved ones didn’t deserve her lusting for them. And certainly didn’t warrant a chink in her armor for their basic decent gestures.
She would never allow herself to be blinded to someone’s true nature so easily again.
Lucky for Karolena, she wasn’t a naïve sixteen-year-old girl anymore. She’d seen enough shit in her decade of…imprisonment? Display? Whatever she’d call her time with Vladimir. Which was certainly nota marriagedespite their very public and elaborate ceremony.
“How much of this did you use?” Legend wondered, reading the back of the bottle she’d set on the counter.
“The whole thing, obviously,” she muttered as she glared at the empty vessel. She wasn’t about to skimp. If they wanted her to clean, she was going to make the place gleam.
Tavish cracked up, clutching his lean abdomen. All she could think of for a moment were the ripped abs he’d flashed when changing his shirt while she was dusting earlier. She blinked at him.
“It’s concentrate, Karolena.” Legend drew her attention back to his frowning face. “The instructions say you only need a capful for every three gallons of water.”
Hadn’t the sticker on the side of the bucket said it only held two? Damn it.
“Sorry. I’m used to liters, not gallons.” How pissed would he be if she’d ruined their kitchen? Vladimir wouldn’t have hesitated to fire her. Or worse. “I’ll fix this. I promise.”
Legend only smiled kindly. “James bought us each a set of extra-absorbent microfiber towels we use to cover the gym equipment. I’ll go grab ours and we can sop this up.”
Karolena shook her head. “Just tell me where they are and I’ll do it. It’s my mistake.”
“We’ll feel less weird about having you clean our mess in the first place if you let us pitch in,” Tavish argued. Legend nodded.
The fizzle of the rising bubbles cut through the silence that stretched between them. But before she could agree, a knock at the door startled her. She spun around so fast she knocked over the mop, the handle falling through the cloud of bubbles and bouncing noisily on the tiles of the submerged flooring, lost.
“It’s okay.” Tavish put his hand on her shoulder even as Legend stepped so that he stood between her and the entrance. No one was getting to her without going through him first.
Something uncurled inside Karolena that had been tightly wound since she darted into the night—alone and bleeding, on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg, as Levin watched her flee.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of here,” Tavish cooed to her, his brogue thicker as he did.
Not unless it was them. And the kindness so many strangers had already shown her.
“What are you three doing in there?” a woman singsonged from the other side of the entry. “You know I can hack the pinpads on all these doors, right?”
“Ruby.” Legend growled. It was odd to see a man as big and…solid…as him roll his eyes. And yet his exasperation, reserved for their newcomer’s little-sister energy, somehow put Karolena at ease.