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“I don’t know.”
Anger flares inside my chest, and I push him away, missing his strong arms and his warmth the instant he releases me. “The truth, Nikolai!” A sob lodges inside my chest and the ache is real.
“He wants me.”
My head shakes of its own accord. “So, why is he watching the bakery…?” Realization hits me like a fist in my stomach, and I wrap my arms around my waist to hold it in.
“I promise I will never let anyone hurt you, Vera.” His eyes lock onto mine, and I see how desperately he needs me to believe him. “If I’d known…”
“What?” My chin quivers. “You would never have come back?”
He closes the distance between us again and holds my elbows, dipping his head so that we’re at eye level. “I would always have come back. I’m yours, Vera. I’ve been yours since you opened the back door and found me on the step. And I will destroy anyone who dares to come near you.”
Maybe it should scare me, but his words send the blood pumping around my veins and I reach up and touch the scar on the side of his face.
“What happens now?” I whisper.
“You could stay with me for a while.”
“This is my home.” My voice trembles. This will be my bakery soon too.
He nods once. “I’ll stay here.” He pauses, his eyes searching mine. “If you still want me.”
I give a small smile. “This doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
His shoulders drop a little with relief. “My man will drive by every night.”
“Your man?” My eyes narrow at him. “Who?”
“His name is Grisha. I trust him.”
“I want his number,” I say. “Can I call him if…”
I can’t find the words to finish the question, but Nikolai takes out his phone and reads me the number to add to my contacts.
“Nothing changes,” I say. “I bake at four like always. You don’t get to make me late.”
Something almost like a smile. “I wouldn’t dare.”
“And I want you to tell me.” Stronger now, because I’m not letting some asshole with a knife dictate how I live my life. “Whatever happens, you tell me. I’m not made of glass, Nikolai. I held you together on my floor.”
He’s quiet for a beat, and in that beat something moves behind his face that I can’t read. “I’ll tell you,” he says.
“Hey,” Tessa says when I call her at six. “You never call. Who died?”
“Nobody. I need to tell you something.”
A beat, then, “Okay. Go.”
I tell her what I can. That Nikolai’s work isn’t the kind you put on a business card even if I don’t know exactly what he does. That someone connected to him has been watching the shop. That there’s going to be a man on the street at night, and Nikolai is staying with me.
She doesn’t interrupt. When I’m done, she releases a long breath. “Are you safe?” she asks.
“I think so.” Part of me aches to tell her that I trust Nikolai with my life, but Tessa works in the ER, and she’s seen too much to gloss over a statement like that.
“Do you want me to come over?”
“I want you to sleep. You’ve been working all night.”
