Azelie looked wildly around the room. Billows and a tall woman who looked familiar, like a model out of a magazine, were at the door being greeted by the hostess. Terror froze her in her place. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. She was risking Andrii’s life for selfish reasons. What was wrong with her? Andrii deserved so much better, someone who would put his wants and needs first. His safety. He was thoughtful and protective. She couldn’t allow Billows to know she was dating Andrii.

Azelie could only be thankful that Billows hadn’t come in when Andrii was playing the piano and singing her song. He was back playing the guitar. She knew he noted Billows the moment he entered the club.

“I’m not feeling very well,” she told Lana. It was the truth. She texted Andrii that she’d meet him at her apartment. “I’ll take an Uber home.”

“We’ll see you home,” Kasimir said immediately. “We have a car.”

It was too late. Billows headed straight to her table, while the host escorted his supermodel to their much more intimate table.

Azelie plastered on a smile. “Alan. How good to see you, although we were just about to leave.”

“Alan Billows.” Billows held out his hand to Kasimir, his gaze sweeping over Lana. “Azelie works for me.”

“Kasimir Popov,” Lana’s brother replied. “This is Lana.”

Billows gave Lana his charming smile. “Nice to meet you. I hope we have a chance to meet again. Azelie can give you the particulars, but any friends of hers are always welcome at either of my clubs.” He handed Lana his business card. “Show that to the doorman. He’ll contact me and I’ll show you around.”

Azelie found it significant that he gave his card to Lana, not her brother. She also found it extremely interesting that Billows didn’t connect Kasimir with her, or if he did, he didn’t respond with jealousy or threats. Was that because he’d brought a woman with him to the club and thought it would be inappropriate? That didn’t seem to mesh with his personality. The Billows she knew couldn’t care less about acting inappropriately.

SIXTEEN

His woman, protecting him again. Maestro let himself into her little studio apartment. Immediately, he heard the muted sound of her crying. His heart reacted, hurting. Aching. He desperately wanted to take her back to Caspar, to his home. Somewhere safe. They could put her in the Torpedo Ink clubhouse, and Billows wouldn’t have a hope in hell of finding her. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to take much more.

He’d searched her home and backpack numerous times for the key they needed to access the underground rooms. He wasn’t the only one. Each time he took her away from her apartment, several of the others searched it. It should have been easy to find. She didn’t have a car, and the apartment was tiny. They were well-versed in ferreting out secret places in floors and walls and even the ceiling. It was nowhere. He no longer believed she kept it in her home. But where, then?

She’d worn a necklace when she was at Billows’ offices, but Maestro hadn’t seen her with it on. She’d gone to the apartment, hung her backpack in the closet and spent the night with him. He was tempted to just ask her where the hell it was, explain everything and take her to safety. If he did and Billows suspected something was wrong because she wasn’t available, if the man was holding prisoners in his underground labyrinth, he would move them or kill them. Neither was a good scenario.

Maestro followed the sound of Azelie’s soft weeping straight to the bedroom. “Solnyshkuh.” He sank down onto the bed to remove his shoes.

“No.” She sat up, trying to drag the covers with her, but he was sitting on them. “You can’t be here. You can’t, Andrii. You saw Billows come into the club. He was looking at my friend Lana in a way I really didn’t like. If he knows about us, and he could have found out from anyone at the club that you were singing to someone, he could have you killed. I know he would. You have to believe me.”

He simply reached out and picked her up, settling her onto his lap, his arms around her. Her face was wet with tears, swollen from crying so much. He bent his head and feathered kisses from the corners of both eyes down her soft, wet skin to her chin.

“Shh. You’re breaking my heart.”

“My heart is already broken. I was so selfish, Andrii. It was already such a risk with you coming here. I wanted to believe you could hide yourself from Andrew McGrady. You seem so capable, invincible even, and I needed to believe with your skills you could easily outwit Billows’ man. But I knew better than to be seen in public with you.”

He stroked caresses down the back of her head, massaged her scalp through the thick hair tumbling down her back in an effort to soothe her. The curls and waves were everywhere, a wild mess. He found it more appealing than ever.

“You aren’t in the least selfish, Zelie. If you had your way, we would have remained hidden away from everyone. I was the one insisting you go out with me. I wanted to give you new experiences. It was important to me, and you knew it, so you pushed aside your reservations. You did it for me, not for you.”

Azelie buried her face in the crook of his neck, her arms winding around him, holding him tight. “I don’t want to give you up, Andrii. I don’t. But I can’t have you in harm’s way. I couldn’t bear it if Billows managed to have you killed.”

“Babe.” He said it gently but with a hint of amusement.

He had to hold back a little snicker at the thought of Billows pitting his considerable bullying tactics and henchmen against an assassin trained from the time he was six or seven. Maestro knew more ways to interrogate, torture or kill than Billows could ever conceive of. Maestro had been trained by the cruelest of men. Experts in their field had worked with him and the others, never once suspecting that those children were already crawling through the vents and executing the worst of their brutal jailers.

She lifted her head and glared at him. A hard thing to do when her eyes were glistening with tears that dripped like diamonds off her long lashes. Her lips trembled slightly, just enough that he had no choice but to brush them with his to steady her. He tasted the salt of her tears and could have sworn there was a hint of strawberry on his tongue.

“Don’t do that. Just because you believe you have skills, don’t discount Billows. He’s ruthless and cunning.”

“Not nearly as ruthless as I am. He doesn’t get to take you away from me. It won’t happen. If you prefer to lie low for a while, tell him you need a vacation. I can get you somewhere safe where he won’t be able to find you.”

Her eyes widened with suspicion. “You do plan to do something to him.”

“We’re not talking about that. We’re talking about you being on the verge of flight again. You need to make that commitment to us and stick to it. You need to believe in us as a team.”

The moment the words were out of his mouth, he knew he’d made a mistake. She sat up, pulling a little away from him. Her blue gaze went cool like the liquid in a deep pool. A little stormy, as if a tempest was brewing out over the ocean.

“But we aren’t a team, Andrii. You know Kasimir, don’t you? And don’t try to lie and tell me he follows your band.”

“That wouldn’t be a lie. Kasimir works as a bartender in the roadhouse where we play on a regular basis.”

The intelligence in her eyes gave him a curious pride in her. He liked that she was so damned smart. Quick to figure things out. He really could worship her for her intelligence alone, although right at the moment that meant things were going to get dicey between them.

“You’re looking for a way out because you’re afraid for me, Solnyshkuh. Don’t do that. Say you’ll stay no matter what. I’m not easy. I’ll never be easy, but I’m loyal, and I can promise you that no matter what comes our way, I’ll be willing to work it out to both our satisfaction. I might need to be the one in control, but that doesn’t mean I want to control you. I want to know you’re safe and healthy and happy.”

“That’s what I want for you, Andrii. You aren’t the only one in the relationship. We’re supposed to be partners, but we aren’t.”

“Only because I can’t give you all the answers you need right at this moment.” He caught her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “I swear to you on our first child that as soon as I can, I’ll give you everything. An answer to every question.”

The merest hint of a smile curved her lips briefly. “You can’t swear on our first child. You don’t know we’re going to have a child.”

“We’re going to have several children.” He placed his hand over her belly, fingers splayed wide as if cradling his baby. “If you can’t carry or don’t want to, we’ll adopt. I’m good with adoption. We can be like a friend of mine, taking in all the throwaways out there.”

“You have a friend who takes in throwaways? What are throwaways?”

“Survivors of human trafficking. Young boys and girls with no families and no one who can deal with their trauma.”

“But your friend does.”

“My friend and his wife. His wife is the central figure in teaching all of us how to be better people.”

“All of you?” she echoed.

He was wading into quicksand. He felt the earth moving beneath him, warning him subtly to be very careful. It was important to him that she know as much about him and the others as possible, so when the time came to tell her the things he was holding back, she would be more accepting. He would be more than grateful for her intelligence, knowing she would understand once he explained their mission.

“Throwaways like me,” he said. “Children whose parents were murdered, and who were handed over to the cruelest people imaginable.”

She was silent, her eyes soft. Lashes still wet. “Kasimir.”

He didn’t respond. She knew. She’d figured it out. She was accepting of Kasimir, but the blow was about to come. He saw her piecing it all together.

“Lana is Kasimir’s birth sister. He has that curly hair, and her hair is straight and black. But they have similar features. She wasn’t lying to me when she said Kasimir is her brother, was she?”

He remained silent. Hurt crept into her blue eyes and his heart stuttered. His gut clenched. He’d known this confrontation was coming. He’d assessed the risk and thought they could pull it off. They were all used to playing roles. The problem was he didn’t want the members of his club to play a role with Azelie. They were his family, and he wanted her to know them as his family. That risk had been his. He’d tossed the dice and he lost.