Friday. Home. Arlington, VA.HALEY HAD GIVEN UP the pretense of being calm.She was alone in the condo.She could freak out all she wanted."I just want to know what's going on," she whined at her phone.Lumen and Jennifer looked back at her from their squares on her screen."Have you considered talking to Merida about this?" Lumen asked."I talked to her last night, unofficially." Haley ran her fingers through her hair. She'd given up on keeping it pulled back an hour into this hell.Jennifer laughed. "About that kiss, I bet."Haley closed her eyes. "Do me a favor and pretend that didn't happen?""You know that's amping up your anxiety and stress right now, don't you?" Jennifer countered.Haley drew in a deep breath. "Yes, thank you, Jenn. Right now, Zasha is what is most important. Nothing else matters."Lumen leaned into the frame closer so that it was impossible to not look into her cool, blue eyes. "Have you really considered yourself in all of this? I m
Friday. Lake House. VA.KONSTANTIN STARED AT THE MONITORS.When was the last time they'd come out here and he'd used them?Usually he only brought one bodyguard with them. And Haley, but she didn't count. She spent all her time running after Zasha, exploring the lake front.It was so peaceful out here, but he didn't dare assume that just because it was quiet that they were also safe. His goal in coming out here was to be able to deal with this issue head on if his mother made a move.A flashlight showed up as a grainy bit of gray on one screen.That was the perimeter guard right on schedule.Part of him felt a pang of guilt for taking these men all the way out here. They'd been briefed on the situation and understood the potential danger. That didn't make Konstantin feel better about it.There was nothing else to be done. He'd taken the necessary measures to harm as few people as possible. The rest was out of his hands.He left the closet doors open in the room tha
Konstantin should go into the office or upstairs, but he didn't want to. Instead he soaked in the sight of Haley in his kitchen looking like she belonged. "What should I ask?"She shrugged. "What do you want to know?"Konstantin mentally flipped through what he knew of her. Parents were still alive. She was the middle of five kids. The second of two girls. The details he knew."What did you want to be growing up?" he asked."Oh, that's easy." She grinned. "I wanted to be a hero like my dad."Konstantin smiled. He hadn't met Haley's family, but he thought he'd like them. "How is he?""Good. Worried about us. He doesn't know what's going on, only that I'm stressed."Your family, are they proud of what you've done?""I think so. Oh, Mom still frets and worries over me, but I think she's just about accepted this is who I am."He propped his chin on his hand. He knew vague details, like she had three brothers and one sister, but nothing personal beyond some vague details a
HALEY CLUTCHED THE EDGE of the counter and stared at Konstantin's broad shoulders as he walked away from her.What the hell was she doing? She'd known down this path lay disaster, and she'd charged ahead, anyway. Now it wasn't her brain doing the talking. It was everything else. Her heart most of all.She hadn't missed the scorn when he talked about himself. For whatever reason, Konstantin saw himself as broken or lacking. It wasn't the first time, either. She couldn't begin to understand a childhood that had made him believe such things about himself, especially when she saw the little things no one else did. Like the carefully organized holiday care packages that went out to all of the entry-level workers across three companies. Konstantin protected his family time, but he gave freely to the community and charities.Those weren't the markers of a bad man.And then there was everything she saw at home, when no one else was watching. The way he was with his daughter. How he tre
Haley didn't know what the big picture held for them, but she did know that tonight she wanted to indulge. To give in.Konstantin led her into his room. He stopped at the dresser and pulled out the middle drawer.Half of the drawer was taken up by a gun box.She placed her sidearm in the drawer next to the box.He shut the drawer and placed his phone on a charging pad near the door.Simple, routine actions. And yet, they felt like a precursor to something else. Something more.An arm snaked around her waist. Konstantin pulled her to him, his mouth once more devouring hers in the toe-curling kiss she was beginning to crave. She slid her hands up and over his shoulders, surrendering to the kiss. He turned them, pressing her against the dresser.This man and flat surfaces. It seemed to be a thing and she did not mind it one bit.Konstantin palmed her breast in a bold move. She groaned at the feel of someone other than herself touching her. It was such a delicious almost fo
Saturday. Lake House. VA.KONSTANTIN REMAINED PERFECTLY STILL. His internal alarm had woken him up first at five, at which point he'd realized that his highly sexual dreams hadn't been dreams at all.Haley was in his bed.She was still there, more than an hour later, and very much naked.Part of him couldn't accept what had happened as reality.How could he allow himself to slip up like that? Twice? And let it lead to this?He wasn't the only architect of this design. Haley had been there. She'd been more than an equal participant. And yet the responsibility was on him.Konstantin swallowed and stared up at the ceiling.From the day they'd met, he'd known they had chemistry. It was impossible to not feel it, see it reflected back in her eyes. But they'd drawn their boundaries and stayed away from each other.Until now.He stared down at the top of her head. She'd wrapped an arm and leg around him, choosing to use his shoulder as a pillow instead of the ridiculous
Saturday. Lake House. VA.HALEY WAS RATHER RELIEVED when Konstantin got a work call at eight on the dot. Being around him when he wasn't in boss mode or playing dad was...intoxicating. Having all that focus on her did things to her head, making it hard to think.She wanted to go outside, have a nice run, clear her head, but that went against their agreed upon guidelines. There was the gym downstairs, but she didn't feel like being cooped up.Restless, she grabbed her laptop and phone from her room then posted up at the dining table.She checked her messages first, smiling at the messages from Zasha yesterday. So far she didn't appear to know that anything was different.Haley scrolled through her girl chat, skimming the messages she'd missed.Her thumbs hovered over the keys, but she couldn't make herself say anything.It was one thing to tell the collective group that she'd kissed Konstantin, but an entirely different matter to sleep with him.Aegis Group didn't hav
Saturday. Lake House. Virginia.KONSTANTIN PUSHED TO HIS feet and strode to the windows before reminding himself that he couldn't open the curtains.Damn his mother. Damn her and whatever the hell plan this was."This isn't coincidental." He turned to face Haley. "She didn't just find out about me and decide to reconnect. This is her plan. She wants something. But what?"Haley looked back at him, her face grim. "Is it time to look at the pictures?""Yes." He grimaced.This wasn't a task he was looking forward to.Haley got up and he followed her out to the dining table. A small suitcase sat against the wall. She picked it up and placed it on the table, opened it and began handing him stacks of framed photographs."We'll have to take them out of the frames," he said."Want me to do that while you look at them?" she suggested."Sure."Haley pulled out a chair and patted it. "Sit."He did as directed, fully aware she'd switched to taking care of him. Guilt gnawe