Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
“Not just good, Gorya, she’s elite. The best. Incredible. And so are her friends. She taught me everything I know. It was just luck that I had a knack for computers and caught on fast.”
“How are you safe, then? She has to be able to find you. That means if she’s discovered, you’re at risk.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “I didn’t give her my real name. The minute I hit the streets I became someone else. I knew they’d look for me. I told you I listened to every conversation. I heard about all the freighters coming in. Also, there were refugees, families coming in from other countries, paying to get papers to be able to work in the States. It was a pretty brisk business to enslave them to work for years to pay off the papers. I had heard of a family, parents and a daughter about my age, who came from Ukraine. The father refused to hand over their money, and when they threatened to put his wife and daughter into the whorehouse to pay off his debts, he shot his wife, his daughter and himself. His daughter ran, she was bleeding profusely, but she jumped into the water and was washed away. They didn’t recover her body. Some said she lived, that they saw her on the streets. Her name was Teona Kyva. I became Teona Kyva.”
She’d been no more than twelve or thirteen when she’d left the house after Polina had been taken, and yet she’d had a cover in place. Gorya admired her even more.
“I suppose Lexie helped you get identification because you had none.”
“She did. I stuck to the story of what happened to Teona. It’s easier to tell the truth as much as possible. If she investigated it, she would find there was a man from Ukraine who shot his wife and himself. He had also shot his daughter, but she disappeared. Her body has never been found. I was very up-front that no one could know I was alive or else those who brought us here would demand I pay my parents’ debts and I would never be free.”
“Very clever. You knew she would investigate.”
Maya nodded. “She had to know if I lied. She was letting me into her parents’ home. Into her sacred circle. She didn’t tell her parents. Her friends were anonymous for the most part, especially at first. They participated remotely, some from other parts of the country. She let me stay in her house. It was an enormous risk she took. I couldn’t believe my luck. She taught me so much. Everything from my computer skills to driving cars. She treated me like a sister even though I wasn’t at all very trusting in the beginning.”
Gorya could tell she was a little ashamed that Lexie didn’t know her real name. She really cared about the woman.
“Not giving her your real name was as much for her protection as it was for yours,” he reminded her gently.
“I know, but it still feels wrong. She’s all I’ve got.”
“You have me.”
And me. Rogue spoke directly to Maya. And Wraith.
Maya looked startled. “I do, don’t I?”
“You do.” Gorya was decisive. “We’ll find a way to make this work.”
“You always sound so sure that we can do it, but I know you’re not that certain, Gorya.”
“I wasn’t,” he admitted. “But Rogue said something to me that made sense.” He flashed a fleeting smile at her. “He does that on rare occasions—make sense. I don’t like admitting it where he can overhear me, because he’s a smug bastard, but in this case, I have to give him credit.”
Those long pale lashes fluttered, drawing his attention. He really loved her lashes. Her lips curved, giving him the idea that kissing her before they went to bed might be a good habit to start.
“What could your leopard have said to you that made sense?”
“He said we belonged together, and he trusted me to work out any problems because I always did. Shifters always overthink things.”
She burst out laughing. “That simple?”
“He knows it isn’t quite that simple, but he said whatever it took, he would help.”
Her eyes went silvery blue. “I think I’m going to like your leopard.”
He hoped so. If he had his way, they’d be together a lifetime.
8
The food was delicious. Gorya knew it would be. Gedeon was amazing at grilling anything, from vegetables to steak. Gorya and Maya sat in the comfortable lounge chairs under the stars, eating with Gedeon, Meiling, Matvei, Rodion and Kyanite. The fire pit wasn’t necessary as the night was cool but not really cold. Still, it added ambience.
Maya looked calm and relaxed, not in the least uneasy surrounded by men she knew were not only leopard but bratva and had been raised in the Amurov lairs. Gorya knew differently. She hadn’t shut him out of her mind, and he felt her discomfort.