“Didn’t you?” Dmytro lifted his brow.
Ajax turned away to rub warmth into his shoulders. He still felt Dmytro’s cold stare. That was okay because now that he knew Dmytro had adorable little girls, he seemed warmer despite his icy eyes. More human. He turned back because he wasn’t done pleading for a trip to the spa room.
“Please?” The puppy-dog eyes only worked on his father, but he tried them anyway. “I promise I’ll observe every rule you set forth if you let me go.”
Dmytro shook his head. “No.”
“What could happen?”
Dmytro cursed.
“You should speak English,” Ajax told Dmytro. “Or I should learn Ukrainian or whatever you speak. I could do that if you gave me my laptop back.”
“Then I’ll just switch to Russian or Polish. Since I don’t want you to understand me, I would simply switch to another language.”
“No need to be hostile.”
“When you need to know something, I will tell you very clearly in English. You have your bags. Where would you like to change?” He glanced at his watch. “I believe the spa closes at ten, so if you want to go—”
“Really?” Ajax tried not to leap for joy.
“Did I not speak English?”
“Thank you!” Ajax got his big bag, unzipped it, and found his swim gear easily. “I really need this.”
Dmytro picked up his pilot case and said, “Take that to the bath and change. I’ll change out here. Knock when you’re ready, bring towels, and we’ll make our way down together. You stay behind me. You stay low.”
Ajax laughed. “You make it sound like a military operation.”
“It might as well be. Think about it. The house we planned to use was compromised. Now the car we used is disabled.”
Ajax nearly went down the rabit hole trying to calculate the odds of that happening. He stopped himself with effort. “Coincidences happen all the time, Dmytro.”
“Or someone is intentionally herding us into a trap.”
The words made Ajax’s heart plummet. “You don’t actually believe that.”
“No, I don’t.” Dmytro sighed. “That kind of conspiracy is normally reserved for bigger problems than upstart podcasters.”
“Right? If someone really wanted to kill me, why not just pop me coming out of the gym and save yourself the trouble of sending all those stupid letters? Whoever has been threatening me is doing it because they’re too lazy to come after me. They’ve had ample opportunity.”
Dmytro’s jaw tightened, but he shooed Ajax into the bathroom, which was perfectly, tragically dated. Earth. Tone. Tiles. Like being in the Museum of Natural History. Ajax hoped Dmytro didn’t make him live in there. There was barely enoughroom for the toilet and bath. He closed his eyes for a minute and reminded himself to breathe.
Presumably normal people didn’t mind seeing one another change. Dmytro must have issues on that score. God, how disappointing for Mrs. Dmytro if he had a small dick.
Ajax stripped down and slipped on his trunks before folding his clothes neatly. He chose two towels and tapped on the door.
“Come.”
“Are you decent?” The sight when he stepped out of the bathroom—Dmytro wearing a Speedo bikini bathing suit like some European gigolo—made Ajax’s eyes pop out of his head,owooga. On Dmytro, everything that was wrong with bikini suits was right. Dmytro sat to put on sandals before slipping a Tommy Bahama linen shirt on like an afterthought. He put his phone in his shirt pocket.
Ajax took in the breadth of his shoulders, long legs, package, and… weapon? Ajax’s breath caught. Dmytro’s gun—large and dark and deadly—lay beside him on the bed. While it was intimidating as hell, it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as the man himself.
“Here’s the towel you asked for.” An inconvenient rush of hot longing made Ajax’s blood speed south. He handed one towel over and kept one strategically positioned against his groin.
“Thank you.” Dmytro barely acknowledged him. He picked up his weapon and folded it into the towel as if they were simply going to the pool to kill someone.Nothing to see here. Ajax waited while he lifted the curtain and peered out.
Dmytro glanced back at him. “You do everything I say, immediately, even if it doesn’t make sense. You follow instructions.”
