Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Another red flag went up. Alarms sounded in her brain. That didn’t sound good. Not answering her questions right away? She would have to have understanding for him if he decided he couldn’t talk to her about some subject she was confused about. Or worried about.
Azelie made a move to get off his lap. His arms tightened around her, preventing the hesitant movement.
“We knew this wasn’t going to be an easy talk, Zelie. It’s necessary if we’re going to have the kind of relationship we both want. Don’t run away from me because you don’t understand. We’re going to keep talking until you do. Talk to me. Communication is necessary in our relationship, although when you ask me questions, I reiterate, I might not answer immediately. I might ask you to wait for answers. If that happens, I want you to know I have very good reasons for needing you to be patient.”
Azelie didn’t know what to think. He talked about communication but then told her straight up that he might not answer her if she asked questions. “You’re confusing me, Andrii. You say you want us to communicate, but then in the same breath, you say you might not answer questions I ask.” Azelie forced her gaze to meet his. “Are you a criminal?”
His gaze didn’t waver from hers, but he remained silent for too long. Far too long. She sighed and tried to turn her head. He gently cupped her chin in a silent demand to keep her looking at him.
“Baby, I own a construction business with three friends. I play music in a band. Those are legitimate businesses and I get paid very well for them. I also do other things when the circumstances warrant it.”
Her heart jumped. She felt instantly sick and, without thinking, pressed her hand tight over her rolling stomach.
“Don’t you think me getting mixed up with Billows is bad enough? I didn’t know who he was when I was sixteen. I’m not sixteen anymore, Andrii. Making bad decisions would be insane. I’m in over my head with Billows and don’t see a way out. I know I told you I was just waiting to get out from under him, but I haven’t really figured out how. Not and stay alive.”
She looked down at her hands before once again meeting his gaze. “I don’t need to jump from the proverbial frying pan into the fire. I’m going to take a wild guess and say you’re still working with your dubious expert skills.”
For one moment a hint of male amusement lit his gray eyes, giving them a slightly silver appearance. For some unknown reason, when she was certain she should be annoyed by his sense of humor, that look made her heart flutter. Not just her heart. Other body parts. She was so susceptible to him.
“Dubious expert skills? Are you calling my assassin skills into question?”
She scowled at him, but it wasn’t easy. She liked making him smile or almost smile. He wore an expressionless mask most of the time, so when he showed her emotion, she felt as if he’d given her a gift. “I wish I didn’t believe you had those skills, Andrii, but I have no doubt that you do. I think you’re very good at whatever it is that you do. I just don’t understand why you do it, and I don’t think I can live with it.”
Once more she made an attempt to get off his lap. She needed to put distance between them. Surrounded by his scent, feeling his hard body, hot and muscular, made her weak. This was self-preservation.
His arms tightened, locking her to him. “Where are you going?”
“I think it’s better if I sit across from you and figure this out. You’re scaring me, Andrii.”
He shook his head. “Don’t start lying now, Zelie. Not to me and not to yourself. I don’t scare you. You know I’d never harm you. You know it in your heart. You see me. Into me. You know I’m not capable of hurting you.”
“But you hurt others.” She sat stiffly in his lap, refusing to relax against his chest. That way lay disaster.
“I hunt pedophiles and traffickers, Azelie. The men and women who slip through the cracks and are never brought to justice. I don’t run drugs or guns. I don’t participate in trafficking. I don’t have a stable of women. Most of my time is spent building things. Crafting with wood. Playing music. But there are times when we come across information that has to be acted on.”
She didn’t know what to think or feel. He was so matter-of-fact, completely honest, telling her that he hunted criminals and then executed them.
“Can’t you turn these people over to the police?”
His hand swept down the back of her head, and then his fingers slipped into her hair as he gently massaged her scalp and the nape of her neck. “You need to hear me, Azelie. Everything I say. Don’t get stuck on the concept of what I am. We hunt criminals who aren’t being caught or punished. Sometimes we manage to take back a child, and sometimes we shut down a trafficking ring. We follow a chain of activity online and off in order to do that. These people would never see the inside of a prison, or if they did, they would manage to get out immediately.”