His (Ties That Bind #2) - Natasha Knight Page 0,5

her pleasure. It isn’t sexual. It’s just intimate. A way to release some of her emotions and allow her to fully relax. And as I bring her to climax, I’m satisfied that I’ve done my job when she bucks against me, her breath hissing between her teeth.

She’s emotionally and physically spent as I gather her into my arms and towel her off, wrapping her in the hotel’s bathrobe before I lay her on the bed beside Josh. She looks up at me, murmuring that she doesn’t want me to go anywhere, and then falls back asleep.

3

Lev

Kat stirs from her sleep a little after midnight, blinking as she bolts upright in the bed. When her eyes collide with mine across the room, her shoulders relax, and she drags in a deep breath.

“How long have I been asleep?” she whispers.

“For a few hours.”

I shut the brown paper file on the table in front of me, and her gaze moves to the bombshell I’m not quite ready to deliver just yet.

“What is that?”

I lean back against the chair and crane my neck to the side, attempting to relieve some of the tension that’s gathered there. “I asked Alexei to do some research into the names listed on the drive. He’s handing it off to me as he goes through it.”

Kat frowns, glancing at Josh and adjusting his covers before she slips off the bed and comes to sit across from me. The soft glow of a lamp provides the only light in the hotel room, but I can still see the tension in her eyes.

“So, what happens now?” She swallows. “We can’t hide out in this hotel forever.”

“No, we can’t,” I agree. “I’m trying to figure out the next steps. And I know it’s not fair for me to ask, but I need you to trust me right now, Katya.”

Her fingers tangle together in her lap, and she seems to consider that before she makes her own suggestion. “Or we could just run, Lev. We could run to another city and never look back. Farther than Boston. We could go anywhere. California. Texas. A place where none of this exists.”

I lean forward and wrap my fingers around hers, tugging her up and onto my lap. She relaxes into my chest, curling her legs between mine.

“Running isn’t an option, sweetheart.” I stroke her arm and bury my face into her neck. “I think you already know that. The only way to fix this is to face it head-on.”

“Are you talking about going to war with Vasily?” she croaks.

“I don’t know yet.” My grip on her tightens. “But if that’s what it comes down to—”

“You have a family now,” she bites out. “That’s what you keep telling me. Your job is to protect us. To stay with us.”

When her voice fractures, I drag my lips up to hers. “Shh, baby. I know.”

We’re both quiet for a while, lost in our own thoughts, before Kat speaks again.

“Is Andrei the one who killed Nina?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m glad he’s dead,” she whispers.

“Me too.” I close my eyes and breathe her in.

While I might be glad that the world is rid of Andrei, I’m also aware of the shitstorm his death will rain down on us. And I think it’s time that Kat understands that too. Going forward, I need her to be strong. I need her to trust that I’m doing what’s necessary, even if she may not like it.

“I know you have some questions. Perhaps now is the time to ask them.”

She looks up at me, curious, and I think... relieved. “Will you be honest with me?”

“Yes.”

She grazes her fingers over my forearm, the smallest gesture of affection, and I don’t even think she realizes she’s doing it. But I do. And it means more than she could ever know.

“Is Vasily the head of your mafia family?” she asks.

“No. He’s what you would call a captain, if you will. He controls men beneath him, but he also reports to someone else.”

“So he’s powerful,” she notes. “But he answers to someone else. Does that mean the man in charge will want us dead too?”

“Not likely,” I tell her. “I doubt he’s even aware of what’s happening right now. Of course, Andrei’s death might raise some questions, but Vasily isn’t going to bring this to his boss. He handles things like this on his own, often under the radar of official Vor business. He’d have to be pretty desperate to take this all the way to the top.”

Kat turns to