Her head snapped around. I couldn’t see her eyes behind her sunglasses, but I had no doubt she was glowering at me. “And I’d like to keep it that way.”
I pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down, taking a sip of her wine as I did so. “You’ve sure been a busy girl this morning, Mrs. Rossetti.”
“Don’t call me that.” She swiped the glass out of my hand and returned it to her side of the table. “What was I supposed to do? Stay home and knit?”
“I couldn’t care less what you do,” I lied. “But getting attacked or kidnapped wouldn’t exactly fit into my schedule, so it would be nice to at least know where you’re going. That way I can trace your steps if you do happen to disappear.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, her fingers squeezing her biceps in obvious annoyance. “We aren’t in Russia anymore. No one here knows who I am.”
“Your father’s compound was attacked by an unknown enemy yesterday with unknown intentions,” I grated in a low voice. “You have no idea who knows you. Running off on your own was a dumb move, legs.”
In fact, the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. She had been exposing herself so carelessly all morning. Had she no survival instincts? No sense of self-preservation?
She whipped off her sunglasses and pinned me with a seething expression. “This isn’t the first threat my father has ever received. Far from it. And I’m pretty sure you know that. I’m not going to crawl into a hole every time a security risk arises.”
“A security risk?” I hissed. “Trigger-happy men with automatic weapons converged on your father’s property. Don’t you find it disconcerting that those men got through all of your father’s guards and the high-tech security system? That tells me that these men, whoever they are, are smart and determined. And that combination is always dangerous.”
“Danger has always lurked around my father. It’s nothing I’m not used to.”
My eyebrow went up. “How do you know they weren’t there for you? An enemy could demand a lot of money for your ransom.”
Her eyes cleared for a moment, as if that possibility had never occurred to her. “I never go anywhere without my own security.”
Before I could ask her what the hell that meant, she snapped open her purse and discreetly tipped it in my direction. Tucked inside at the very bottom was a small silver gun, what looked to be a .357 magnum revolver.
Okay. Wasn’t expecting that.
“Jesus Christ.” I yanked the purse closed and shoved it away. “Do you even know how to use that?”
Her mouth tugged upward in satisfaction. “Many of my father’s byki are ex-military. And how to shoot wasn’t the only thing I learned from them.”
I almost asked if she had fucked any of them. Demanded to know. Because God knew they wanted to fuck her. What man wouldn’t? And what else had the bastards taught her?
But knowing she wouldn’t tell me if I asked, I kept my mouth shut. Why did I even care anyway? Her sexual history was none of my business, just like I wasn’t going to lay mine out in detail for her.
After all, it wasn’t like we were fucking.
“You would actually pull the trigger if someone came at you?” I asked, unconvinced.
Her head reared back. “Is that a serious question? I wouldn’t carry that bloody thing around if I wasn’t prepared to use it. I learned that lesson once already.”
I felt my features harden to granite. I really didn’t like the way that sounded. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
She waved me off, looking frustrated that she’d let the comment slip. “Nothing. Doesn’t matter.”
My hand shot out to grasp her wrist just as she picked up the wine glass. The glass froze in mid-air, her eyes widening at the lightning fast movement. My fingers circled her delicate bones in an unyielding grip.
“Tell. Me,” I commanded through gritted teeth.
Her chest heaved as her breathing turned ragged, but I couldn’t get a read on what was causing that reaction. When our gazes connected, it felt like the space between us became electrified. The air over the table crackled with some kind of charged energy. My thumb was right over her pulse point, so I knew exactly how fast it had quickened.
“Let me go first,” she whispered in a softer voice than I expected.