fume. He’s handsome, urbane, cultured looking. All the things I’m not.
For a moment I envision a slide show of him and her together. I imagine him taking her to Italy, to Rome. To Florence. That man. That stranger, he’d get to do all those things with her because he would man the fuck up and not be scared of putting himself out there.
Shit.
I can’t fucking breathe. It’s like a panic attack or something. I want to show Cassie all these things, but I can’t. I’m letting her go.
The thought of her with some other man, living her life with him, has my heart racing.
I don’t want anyone else to get to have this.
You don’t just want her; you have feelings for her. Deep feelings. Great, dead Yulia is back, talking in my head again.
“This is incredible.” Cassie wanders over to various sculptures, me trailing behind her having some sort of mini-breakdown.
“I think this is the most awesome place I’ve ever been,” she says, turning fully to face me. There’s the shimmer of unshed tears in her eyes, and I recognize these tears as good tears, and I put them there.
My chest swells. I did this. I made this beautiful, precious woman so happy she’s almost crying.
Shit, I’m in trouble. Big trouble. I want her, for real, for keeps.
How, though?
I’d have to change my whole life. It isn’t set up for domestic bliss.
She’d be in danger. Constant danger. Look what happened to Yulia. I can’t go through it again.
As I’m thinking, I realize she’s wandered farther down the huge space, and I move to catch up with her.
Everything happens so quickly from there on.
One moment, Cassie is staring at a sculpture with that same look of awe on her face. The next she’s gasping and bending over.
Is she sick?
Her hand grabs her stomach, to the side. Oh, God, she’s going to throw up. I’m moving toward her when I see the red seeping through her fingers.
What the fuck?
Someone roughly pushes past me, and Bohdan runs by me, after a man quickly walks away from Cassie. The man sees Bohdan and runs.
Oh no, no, no!
Shit. This is an attack. On me, but to get to me, they went through Cassie. How did Damen get this so wrong?
I race to Cassie. She’s on the floor, and I skid to my knees beside her. Around me people are shouting, and a woman is screaming. I can’t focus on anything but Cassie’s pale, shocked face.
Oh, Christ no. Please no.
I bend over her and move her hand. In her side is a stab wound. I force myself to focus, pushing the panic away.
I inspect the wound. It’s not too deep, but where it is in her side, there’s a good chance it might have caught something vital. I examine it, the depth, the angle. Please God, don’t let it have hit her kidney, I pray.
I know I’ve been a fucking sinner, but I swear, I swear I’ll reform. Please God, don’t do this to me again. I should have realized before now what she meant to me; please don’t take anyone else from me.
She’s bleeding a lot, though, and she’s in shock, so maybe the big guy upstairs washed his hands of me a long time ago.
I turn to the people all gawping around me. “Call a fucking ambulance,” I shout.
They stare at me in stunned confusion, and I realize I spoke in Russian. “Ambulance,” I say in English. “Appeler une ambulance,” I shout, hoping I have it right.
A man puts his hand on my shoulder. “One is coming. I’ve called.”
Bohdan comes back to me, sweating and out of breath. “Fucker got away,” he says in Russian as he bends down next to me. “Our other man is looking for him, but I think he’s long gone. How is she doing?”
“She’s going to live.” If I say it, maybe I can will it. “You have to call the house, warn them. No way was this random.”
“You ought to leave, boss. I’ll stay with her. You’re a target right now.”
“Are you fucking crazy? I’m not leaving her. Call Reece. Tell him I need his help. I need some sway if the authorities here start to give me shit. He needs to get ahold of Marcus. I can’t end up stuck in some police cell for hours instead of where I need to be, with Cassie. Damen can put Reece through to Marcus; he’s got all the details. Get everyone at the house here and in England on