I step forward to go after her, but I’m pulled up short by Ava’s hand on my arm.
“Let me talk to her,” she says.
I jerk away from her, intent on going upstairs. Liam steps in front of me. “Let Ava talk to her first.”
I grunt. “Do you seriously believe that will make a difference? Ava lied to Chloe about how she knew me. Everyone dealing with the case has lied to her.”
“Yes, but I know her better than anyone in this room,” Ava says. “You’ve only known her a few weeks. I’ve known her for a few years.”
She doesn’t wait for my reply. She tells the agents she’ll be back and hurries after her friend.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I begin pacing the length of the living room. Fortunately, everyone has the foresight to keep out of my way. They practically dive out of my path, as if I’m in Santa’s sleigh filled with firecrackers, and it’s spiraling toward them.
A wise move, I might add.
While I pace, Liam, Adam, and the two agents discuss what to do next. Chloe used to be close to her cousin, and at one point, she meant the world to him. But that was when he wanted to be a cop.
People change.
When it comes to tracking down Nikolai, we’ve been wasting our time. He clearly doesn’t see my boyfriend status with Chloe as a threat.
“Do you think Nikolai Orlov is aware of the contract on Chloe?” I ask the four individuals in the room.
“If we knew about it, then I’m positive he does, too,” Agent Ramsey says.
“Yet, he’s done nothing to protect her.” My gut tightens. Shrinks to the size of a puck. Like it wants nothing more than to hit her cousin in the head and knock him unconscious.
“There’s always a chance he didn’t want to waste manpower on that. We’re doing the job for him.”
“And he didn’t have an issue with it?”
The two agents shrug—the move perfectly synchronized to the point of being almost comical. “It could be we misjudged his relationship with Chloe, and he had no intention of contacting her.”
My gut tightens some more. If Liam’s team hadn’t stepped in, would Nikolai have reached out to her to protect her? Or would she have been disposable, like the men in her life her grandfather killed?
Ava returns five minutes later with Chloe following behind her. Chloe doesn’t even look at me, a suitcase in one hand. Neither of them appears happy.
Chloe heads straight for the front door.
What the hell…?
I steamroll my way over to her. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Back to my apartment.” She doesn’t spare me a second glance. “Someone will pick up the rest of my stuff.”
“I’ll go with you.”
She shakes her head. “No, you won’t. Consider our fake relationship null and void. I’m officially dumping you.”She finally looks at me, pain and resolution swirling in the depth of those beautiful brown eyes. “At least that’s the version that will spread through the teacher’s lounge on Monday like an infestation of head lice.”
I wince and then remind her, “It’s not safe. You have a contract on your head.”
Without a word, she opens the front door. Whiskey barks at her. She smiles down at him. “I’m gonna miss you, little guy. Good luck with your forever home. Hopefully, you don’t have to wait long for it.” She doesn’t even look in my direction when she says it.
She scratches him behind the ear and leaves.
Fuck.
