Targeted Risk (R.I.S.C. #7) - Anna Blakely Page 0,43

both took notes, and when Derek was finished going through it all, Riley looked over at her with an assessing glance.

“That’s where I know you from.” The other woman smiled. “You’re Juliet Volkov. Alexandar Volkov’s daughter.”

The association with that name made her cringe. “I am.”

“And you think your father is the one who tried to kill you?”

Juliet stared back at Riley. “I know he is.”

With Derek’s help, they went through everything up to that point. Juliet added in how she and Jay first met when he was working with her father before his arrest and incarceration but made it clear Jay had nothing to do with the charges her father and Ivan had both faced.

“Jay’s a good guy,” she told them both. “He would never do anything like what my father did.”

“We know.” Derek quickly assured her.

Eric flipped his notebook closed and slid it into his back pocket. “All right. I’ll pass all that on with the fire department’s investigator. I’m sure his findings will corroborate your story, along with statements from any of Jay’s neighbors who were home at the time of the shooting.”

“Of course, they will.” Derek scowled. “You think I’d make this shit up?”

“That’s not what he said,” Riley jumped to Eric’s defense.

Derek started to argue his case further when his phone began to ring. Pulling it from his pocket, he cursed under his breath.

“It’s your boy.” He looked over at her. “He called when I was on the phone with Eric a few minutes ago. I sent him a text tellin’ him we were okay, but I just realized it never actually went through. Guy’s probably losin’ his shit.” Derek finally answered the phone. “Hello? Calm down, man. She’s fine. We’re both a little banged up, but we’re okay. Eric and Riley are here, now, and...sure. Hang on a sec.” He held out the phone for her. “He wants to talk to you.”

I want to talk to him, too.

“Jay? It’s me.”

“Jules? Oh, thank fuck.” He sighed with relief. “Are you hurt? What the hell happened?”

I told you I loved you, and then your house blew up.

“We’re okay, but Jay...your house.” She took in the chaos surrounding them. “I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t give a fuck about the house. It’s you I’m worried about.”

“I’m good. Really.”

“We’re landing in twenty. I want you and Derek to go straight to the hospital. I’ll meet you there.”

“Hospital? Jay, I don’t need a—”

“Baby, I’m holding on by a fucking thread, right now, so please just...do this for me.”

The pain and fear in his voice was so real she could practically feel it through the phone. “Okay. I’ll meet you there.”

He blew out another breath. “Thank you. I need to talk to D real quick.”

“He’s right here.” Juliet started to hand over the phone but stopped when she heard Jay say her name.

“Jules?”

She put the phone back to her ear. “Yeah?”

A slight pause and then she heard, “I love you, too.”

Chapter 11

I love you.

Mike couldn’t get those three words out of his head. Not that he wanted to. Ever since Juliet had said them, they were all he could think about. That and the fact that he’d damn near lost her.

Again.

Christ, he was getting sick of this shit. Sick of feeling as if he might lose the best thing that had ever happened to him.

And after his meeting with Volkov, he was no closer to figuring out who wanted her dead than he was before.

I love you.

Mike still couldn’t believe she’d said that. Couldn’t believe he’d told her he loved her, too. He did, of course. Had for what seemed like forever. But he’d had a plan. An order to how he wanted things to go...

Keep her safe.

Find and destroy the person or people trying to hurt her.

Tell her the truth and pray she’d understand.

Tell her he loved her and beg for her forgiveness.

Then some fucknut decided to go after his woman and his friend by turning his goddamn house into Swiss cheese, and then blowing it up...with them still in it.

She thought she was dying.

That was another thought he’d had rolling through his mind. Did she actually mean what she’d said, or did Juliet only utter those precious words in a moment of panic and fear?

Deep down, he knew the truth. She did love him, just as he loved her. And now that, that particular cat was out of the bag, there was no going back.

There was also no way in hell they were staying in Dallas. Or anywhere close to the