“Got it. But all’s good. Tell King to stop feeling guilty about sending me in. I’m rather enjoying myself.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that. Now get the fuck out of there—I’ve got something to pick up.”
“Au revoir,”I told him before ending the call and slipping my compact back into place, then I headed back up to the suite and, quiet as a church mouse, slipped into bed, undetected.
A HAND WHIPPING back the bedcovers later that night had my eyes popping open and searching for my intruder. I scrambled up the bed, rubbing at my eyes, remembering Dimitri had said he wouldn’t be back until late. So when strong fingers grabbed at my wrist and pulled me upright, my heart thundered.
The dark room made it difficult to immediately place my late-night visitor, but with all the concern and threats Dimitri had talked of, I wondered if someone had come for him.
It wasn’t until I heard, “Get up,” in his familiar deep voice, that I realized Dimitri must’ve gotten his business over and done with early.
“Mon Dieu,” I said with a small laugh, my heart starting to finally calm. “Is that any way to wake a man from his slumber?”
A firm hand at my chin had me looking up into Dimitri’s face, and now that my eyes had adjusted I could see his stern expression.
“It is when I want you up and ready in the next two minutes. Get moving.”
Wait.Had something happened? Dimitri was acting much more brusque than when he’d left. Was there some kind of threat going on that had him on edge?
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
But Dimitri didn’t respond, merely shifted off the bed and tugged me to my feet.
Putain.What was going on right now? He never acted this way. Or, at least, he hadn’t with me since we first met.
“Dimitri?” I tried again. “Is everything okay?”
He ran his eyes down over me, then looked to our bags. “Get dressed. You’ve got two minutes. Don’t make me wait longer or I’m coming in to get you.”
Fair enough. I knew when and when not to push this man, but as I pulled an outfit from my bag and hurried into the en suite, I couldn’t help the knot forming in the pit of my stomach.
Had I messed up tonight? Had one of his men seen me?
I didn’t think so. I’d been careful on my way out, careful when I called Alessio, but I couldn’t stop the paranoia from creeping in. Because what would a man like Dimitri do to someone who betrayed him?
Well, the scar on his face was a stark reminder that he wasn’t exactly into “talking things through.” So the sudden shiver of fear now racing down my spine felt appropriate.
A knock on the bathroom door had me jumping.
“You ready?”
Ready for what?But, not about to keep him waiting, I pulled open the door, draped myself against it, and played the part I was there to play.
“Don’t you know you can’t hurry perfection,mon monstre?”
Dimitri gave my outfit a thorough once-over, but when he said nothing, just walked to the door and opened it, I swallowed the lump forming in the back of my throat.
“Time to go.”
Right. Butwhere?
I followed him out into the hall and into the elevator, deciding to keep my mouth shut since he wasn’t in the mood to talk. When his guards accompanied us, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
I didn’t have a good feeling about this, and the fact that Dimitri hadn’t touched me sent all kinds of worst-case scenarios creeping through my mind.
The elevator doors swept open as we reached the lobby, and he directed me toward the doors we’d entered upon our arrival. When we stepped outside and I saw a man standing at the top of the dock waiting on us, my feet froze.
A gondola floated on the canal below, the lights flickering on it making it easier to see, and when Dimitri noticed I’d stopped, he turned to face me.
