Where the Snow Falls (Seasons of Betrayal #2)(5)

Whatever she wanted to do.

Violet had the distinct feeling that if she made that call, or sent out a message, it wasn’t going to be enough. She wouldn’t be able to just talk to Kaz and leave it at that until they could figure something else out. She had no doubt in her mind that she was going to want to see him.

So until she could do that, she forced herself to leave the f*cking phone number untouched.

The elevator had shifted a second before the doors opened with a loud ding. Violet shot a look in Tony’s direction, wondering if he was going to walk her down the short hallway to her door as he had done the past few evenings. Sure enough, he waved a hand as if to let her go first.

Sighing, Violet pushed off the wall and strolled out of the elevator. It wasn’t Tony’s fault, and her annoyance wasn’t his burden to bear. He was just following orders, and for the most part, he made his constant presence in her life bearable.

Violet was pretty sure Tony had better things to do than babysit her.

But the man never let on, and she didn't ask.

Halfway down the hall leading to her door—the only apartment on the highest floor—Violet said, “I’m home, Tony, so no need to tuck me in, too.”

Tony chuckled, stopping at a decorative side table with a bouquet of fresh flowers resting on the top. A leather chair sat beside the table. As far as Violet knew, most floors in the building had those personal touches in the hall to make the building feel less … apartment-like.

“I’m sure you can handle that on your own, principessa,” Tony replied easily.

Violet brushed off the ‘princess’ remark and kept walking even as Tony took a seat. “Is that where you’re staying tonight?”

“Until Con gets here and relieves me for the night, yep. Whenever the hell that is. Could be near morning, and by then, I gotta be back here anyway.”

Boy, that sounded fun.

“When do you sleep, anyway?”

Tony flashed her a cool smile. “When I’m dead, apparently.”

Violet thought her father was going a little overboard with the bodyguards, but who was she to say. She was the one who had broken the rules, after all. Alberto didn’t trust her with an inch.

And frankly, rightfully so.

The first chance she got, Violet was gone.

Digging through her purse, she found the apartment keys at the very bottom and pulled them out to unlock the door. Giving one last glance over her shoulder at Tony, who had his phone out and was now playing some annoying sounding game, Violet disappeared into her apartment and shut the door behind her. She turned the deadbolt back in place and kicked off her shoes before even turning around to face her empty place.

Except the second she closed the door, it was as if the air had shifted. Something felt different. Not wrong, or even off, just … different.

Maybe it was the fact her hallway light was on, and it was the last thing she had turned off before she left her place. Always, no exceptions. Or maybe it was the slight scuff of black on the light-colored hardwood floor of her entryway as if someone had spun on their heel a little fast and left a mark behind. That hadn’t been there either, and no one had been in her place with black-soled shoes for weeks.

But beyond those little details, something else caught Violet’s attention.

A lingering scent in her hallway she would recognize anywhere. Smoke, leather, heat, and spice.

Kaz.

Violet dropped her bag to the floor with a thump, and she didn’t think twice about running to her bedroom, her heartbeat echoing in her ears. She didn’t want to hope and be wrong, but the anticipation that coiled through her had a smile on her face before she even reached the room.

There was a second, a moment’s hesitation, as she palmed the door handle and gave it a sharp twist, shoving it open as she walked in. Nothing was different, not at first glance. Her bed was left undisturbed, floor clean, but standing off to the side, leaning a shoulder against the wall as he stared out the windows at the city below was the one person she wanted the most.

He turned, shifting just far enough that she could see his face—familiar gray eyes and the slightest of smiles that grew as he turned to face her fully.

One second, she was still standing in the doorway, staring at him, and the next, she was across the room. She wrapped her arms around him just to prove he was real, that he was actually there. She wanted to feel the warmth of his skin, his heartbeat against her cheek.

But that wasn’t enough, not nearly, at least until his arms closed around her, and just like that … her world got a little smaller, she could breathe, and things felt right again.

Violet hugged Kaz tighter, not caring how he had gotten past the front desk without being seen, never mind how he managed to break into her place. She barely even considered the enforcer outside her door as she leaned up on her tiptoes to stare a grinning Kaz right in the eyes.

“Krasivaya,” he murmured.

Violet wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to say first, but Kaz helped her out by pressing a hard, searing kiss to her smiling lips. It was like hearing an old, favorite tune the way he pulled her closer, and she fisted the back of his jacket to keep him right where he was. The soft swipes of his lips moving over hers turned demanding in a blink, his tongue striking out at the seam of her mouth.

Violet didn’t even care that her fingers ached from holding onto him so tightly, or that her lungs burned with the need for breath as he kissed her deeper, his tongue warring with hers for a brief moment before his teeth nipped at her bottom lip.