Spying Under the Mistletoe (Love Undercover #2) - Stina Lindenblatt Page 0,29

It’s very much true.” Landon doesn’t seem too thrilled about that.

That makes two of us.

“Your client? Who’s your client?”

He doesn’t answer right away. “When was the last time you talked to your cousin Nikolai?”

That gets a startled response from me. “Nikolai? What does this have to do with him?” My words come out soft, little more than a whisper, as memories of my cousin flood me.

Of his parents dying fourteen years ago when one of our grandfather’s enemies blew up their car. Nikolai’s brother and sister were with them at the time. They were going to see the Philharmonic Orchestra, but Nikolai backed out at the last minute, more interested in attending a hockey game with his friends than attending the concert with his family.

He was sixteen years old at the time.

I was also supposed to be in that car. This was one of those rare times when being hit with the flu was a good thing.

Before Landon can answer, I guess, “That’s who your client is? My cousin?”

It actually makes sense. Nikolai was always looking out for me when we were kids. If I got hurt, he would try to make the pain go away, even if it just meant bringing me cookies and watching my favorite show with me.

When a bully decided to pick on me at school, Nikolai was the one to put him in his place.

And when Nikolai heard a rumor about me that was going around school, he was the one to set everyone straight.

Landon hesitates for a brief second, then nods. “That’s right. He wants to keep you safe. You weren’t supposed to find out about it, though. We thought it’d be best if I become your boyfriend, so I’d have a logical reason for being with you all the time. Practically twenty-four seven.”

“Twenty-four seven? You mean not only are we supposed to work together, I’m also supposed to live with you?” Nikolai and I haven’t seen each other in years, but he should know me better than that.

I would never move in with a man I’ve only known for a few days.

That would be crazy.

“That’s right,” Landon confirms. “It’s the best way to keep you safe until all the individuals associated with the contract on you have been arrested.”

“Arrested? Since when did anything related to my family result in arrests? I mean, other than when members of my family are the ones who are being arrested. This is nuts.” I’d start pacing while thinking things through, but that’s not exactly feasible with Whiskey on my lap.

Not unless I want to remove him.

Which I don’t.

“I didn’t escape my family and their criminal activities only to end up with a fake boyfriend who’s also the bad guy.”

Landon’s eyebrow quirks up. “Bad guy? What do you think I am, a comic book villain?”

I wave off his comment. “You know what I mean. I have no intention of being yanked back into that family.” I’m still confused by his earlier comment. My family does everything they can to avoid the cops and the FBI. They don’t try to get people arrested.

They just kill them off.

“Is that’s why you wanted me to wait for you so you could walk me to my car?” Another thought kicks me in the gut, knocking it out from under my heart. “That’s the real reason you took me out last night to the restaurant, and why you want to help with the Christmas concert?” It wasn’t because he liked me and wanted to help me out. It was because he was hired to be my bodyguard.

Landon cringes. Not a whole lot, but enough for me to catch it. “Yes, I’ll admit they’re part of it.”

“So, you don’t actually want to date me?” I think I do a pretty decent job of keeping the hurt from my tone and ignoring the real issue here. “And you don’t really want to help with the Christmas concert?”

Landon finishes his drink in a swift move and lowers the glass to the coffee table. “That’s not entirely true. I might not know the first thing about running a Christmas show, but I do want to help with it. And as for the dating part. Like you, I don’t date. So we’re all good on that.”

“So, you were pretty much planning to use me for sex?” Why else would anyone move in with their new boyfriend or girlfriend after a few dates?

Landon rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, we didn’t exactly think that one through. We were