MIKHAIL
It takeseverything inside me not to turn around and drag her into the vehicle. It’s pouring outside, Madisyn has a black eye, and I’m not in the mood to play games.
I climb into the passenger side and shut the door.
“Wait a minute,” I say, holding up a finger to Luka.
Rain pours down on the windshield. It’s difficult to see much of anything, but I have my gaze trained on the side mirror.
She hurries across the street, soaking wet. The umbrella she has is absolute garbage, not even worth bringing out in the rain. She should be inside or taking a cab to wherever she’s going.
“Follow her,” I say.
Luka glances at me. “I’ll obey your orders, but I’ve been around enough women to know that she doesn’t want to be followed.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
I don’t expect an answer from Luka, but he gives me one, anyway. “Leave her be. I don’t know why you’re chasing her. She’s a Fed and bound to get your ass thrown in lockup.”
“Did you see her black eye?”
“Yeah, never took you for one to rough up the ladies,” Luka says. He glances at me before flipping on his blinker to pull out into traffic.
“I didn’t lay a finger on her.”
“Do you know who did?” Luka veers into traffic and hits the gas. We lurch forward abruptly as he cuts off another vehicle.
“Yeah, her ex-boyfriend, Aaron. He’s an asshole,” I mutter. The seatbelt tightens as Luka is forced to slam on his brakes. Traffic is a nightmare in the city, and the rain isn’t doing us any favors.
“Have an address for him?”
“He works with her,” I say and pinch the bridge of my nose. I’d like to mess up his face and teach that bastard a lesson. But he’s a Fed, which puts me in a predicament. If I rough him up, I’ll have to kill him.
“Staking out the Feds and waiting until he gets off work, okay, that’s a tough sell. I can’t say I’m thrilled with the idea, but you know I never turn down a challenge.”
At least he’s honest.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to touch him. I won’t have to because Madisyn will come crawling back to me.”
“And you want her back, boss?” Luka turns the corner, and I realize we’ve driven in a circle. We’re back on the main road, the same one that Madisyn had been walking down earlier.
It is a coincidence that we drove by and saw Madisyn. We hadn’t intentionally cruised past Federal Plaza. We were on Lafayette Street heading to a business lunch, which was canceled.
“I don’t want Aaron anywhere near her.”
“And you are going to accomplish that how? They work together; you said so yourself.”
“I’ll get his ass fired.”
Luka pulls the vehicle over to the side of the road. “You might as well get out here.”
He’s dropping me off so that I don’t get soaked. It’s a little late for that, but I open the door and climb out of the SUV. The rain hasn’t yet ceased, and while we intended to meet our associate for lunch, it’ll just be the two of us.
Luka pulls back into traffic to park the vehicle around the block.
The bell on the door jingles as I open it and step out of the rain. I’m still quite damp from the storm, but I’ll survive.
I catch a glimpse of Madisyn, drenched from head to toe. Her hair is dark when wet and tangled. She’s soaked as she stands in front of me, waiting for the hostess to seat her for lunch.
She glances over her shoulder and emits a heavy sigh. “Are you following me?” Madisyn asks.
“I’m just here with Luka to grab lunch.”
“And he is—” Madisyn glances around the restaurant and then behind me, presumably searching for him.
“He’s parking the vehicle,” I say.
I wasn’t following her, but the idea is tempting, to see where she lives, who she is outside of the persona she pretends to be when she is with me.
Her brow furrows, but she doesn’t say anything.
“Table for two?” the hostess asks as she grabs the menus from the counter.
“Just one,” Madisyn answers.
I gesture toward her bruised face. “We still need to talk about what he did to you.” I don’t take kindly to men who beat up on women.
Even though she betrayed me and pretended to be someone she’s not, she didn’t deserve his wrath.
Only mine.
But I wouldn’t hit her.
“Mikhail,” Luka says as he shuffles inside out of the rain. The umbrella held up well for him. I should have used that damn thing when I talked to Madisyn earlier in the storm.
We’re quickly seated at a table not too far from Madisyn. I have a direct line of sight on her. She glances at the menu briefly before gesturing the waitress over to order.
“I thought it was over between the two of you,” Luka says. He lifts the menu and pretends to read it. We’ve eaten here dozens of times. He always gets the same meal.
“We’re not gossiping about my personal life.” I throw him a look to shut up.
“It’s not gossip if I’m talking to you about it,” Luka says. He puts the menu down on the table. “Not that you want my advice, but go talk to her. You’ve been staring at her since the minute I stepped foot inside, probably longer.”
I grunt and glance away from Madisyn. She’s been staring at her phone since the waitress left. “I don’t want anything to do with her,” I say.
“You’re a shitty liar.”
“That’s enough!” I growl at him to shut his trap. This discussion is over.
* * *