I step back and turn to go back the way I came. I feel him watching every step I take like a lion ready to pounce on its prey and devour it.
I can’t get out of that office soon enough.
When I get back to my office my gaze lands on an anxious Amy sitting by the window.
I nod once and she knows what that means. She knows I got the all clear to go to L.A.
We can’t talk here though. Even if we risked a comment here and there in the past, this situation isn’t like that. It’s too important to take any risk and chances are Jude will be watching me even closer after my request. I know him so well. He’ll keep a closer eye to be sure I’m not up to something.
Amy and I already agreed to talk at the house later. So, eager as I am, and anxious, I’ll have to wait until then.
* * *
The day drags on, but at six Amy, Mom, and I meet in the sitting room again.
This time, while we know this is just the beginning and we haven’t really started doing anything yet, the door of chance is open for me to walk through.
Amy pulls out a plastic folder from her bag and holds it up. “This is everything you need for the trip. I took out some stuff from the original file, so you’d just have the important things about Eric and Aiden to fit in your purse.”
“Thanks that will help,” I say with a curt nod.
“Here’s your guy.”
With a sigh she takes the first sheet of paper from the folder and lays it down on the table.
When I look at the picture of Aiden Romanov, my stomach does a somersault. Of course, the man had to be handsome. And possibly the most handsome man I’ve ever seen in my life with those ice blue eyes, and his dark brown hair cut into a stylish faux hawk.
The sharp angles and planes of his face would give most male models a run for their money, but there’s a rough edge about him that says you would never see a man like him on a cover of a magazine. He’s too masculine and alpha for something like that.
Amy lays out another document with his personal information on it.
Name: Aiden Boryenka Romanov
Age:36
Height:6ft 6in
Birthplace:St. Petersburg, Russia
Current residence:Los Angeles, California
Marital Status:Widower
Occupation:C.E.O. and owner of Romanov Logistics, Pakhan of the Voirik Brotherhood.
I look over the details, but my eyes stay on the word widower. He was married and his wife died. Why?
What killed her and what kind of woman was she to marry a man like that? A Russian mob boss.
“His wife died?” Mom asks with a sheen of sympathy in her eyes.
“His wife and son died in a fire.”
“That’s awful.” I rasp out pressing my lips together.
The sympathy in Mom’s eyes deepens and the horrific thought of how it must have happened pulls on my insides.
“Yes. And that just turned the man into a monster,” Amy replies and a chill skates down my spine. “Sorry to scare you, but you need to know what you’re up against. Don’t look for any kind of understanding with this guy.”