Because the cottage is in the woods, chances are the noise I’m hearing is probably outside. It could be a fox or a raccoon.
To be on the safe side, I retrieve the revolver Scarlett keeps in the nightstand and hold it by my side. We both hate guns, but I understand why she got it to protect herself out here.
The moment I step outside the room, my nerves spike.
Something feels off about the place, and there’s a presence in the air that wasn’t there before.
God, what if Jake has found me, and he’s here?
Why am I even thinking that? Jake has powerful mafia connections. He has people everywhere in the world who can do his bidding. He doesn’t have to come here himself.
Carefully, I put one foot in front of the other and go down the stairs.
Keeping my gun close, the first room I decide to venture into is the living room. It has sliding doors. If anyone comes in, they will come through that way, or possibly the kitchen, which is directly at the back of the cottage.
If someone is in there, I’ll escape through the front door.
Pulling in a deep breath, I walk into the living room, and that’s when I see a tall, muscular man with dark blond hair standing by the window.
I freeze in my tracks, everything inside me stopping, including my heart.
With his back turned to me, he’s just standing there looking through the window.
He must know I’m here, but he hasn’t turned around yet.
I try to calm down and consider if this guy could potentially be someone Scarlett knew. Maybe a boyfriend or a guy who wanted to be. We both had no shortage of men like that.
But she would tell me. She always told me. There hasn’t been anyone recently, and not someone who’d think it was okay to come to this cottage without her being here.
With that reasoning, my mind swiftly jumps to the other thing this guy could be.
Danger.
All I can see as he stands before me is wide powerful shoulders and muscles pressing against the outline of his black leather jacket.
A pair of black jeans slinks low on his hips and display long, athletic legs.
He has the look and vibe of one of them—a dangerous man.
Even before he turns to face me, I already know he’s going to have that deadly handsome look all beautiful devils have. He does.
He definitely does, except even with my assumption, I’m not prepared to see him face to face.
Sharp, baby blue eyes stare back at me, deep-set in a face that has all angles and planes.
A five o’clock shadow dusts lightly over his cheeks, accentuating his high exotic cheekbones.
He’s beautiful, and the beauty I see tempts me to stare and forget the danger he could be. It’s only when he tilts his head to the side and a lock of hair falls over his eye that the trance breaks.
“Who are you?” I ask, trying to keep the quiver out of my voice.
“My name is Eric Markov.” The deep baritone of his voice works its way into me and spikes my nerves.
“What do you want?”
“Let’s just say I’m a friend.” The corners of his lips turn up into a smooth, sexy smile.
“What kind of friend are you?” I rasp out.