Where the Sun Hides (Seasons of Betrayal #1)(40)

But he liked it all the same.

“Ready?”

Nodding without a word, she grabbed her purse and a set of keys, exiting her apartment first before he followed. The ride down to the lobby was quiet and uneventful, but when they stepped off the elevator, she hesitated, looking over at the desk attendants before making a decision about them and turning to go out another exit at the side of the building.

“They answer to my father,” she said softly when they were outside and the metal door was swinging shut. “Since he pays their salary, they’re more willing to tell him what I’m doing.”

Made sense that she wouldn’t want them to be seen leaving together. Earlier, they hadn’t come in together, so there was no reason for the clerks to report to Alberto about who they had seen coming in.

Reaching the mouth of the alley, Violet scanned the street. “Where’s your car?”

Withdrawing his own set of keys, he hit the button on the fob, the headlights to his Range Rover briefly flashing in the darkness of the night. “Probably best that I hadn’t brought it, no?”

She didn’t respond, not verbally, but he could tell she was thinking something.

Going around the front of his truck, he opened the passenger door, offering her a hand as he helped her up and inside. One she was situated, he hurried around to his own side and climbed in, starting it up, and turning on his lights.

“Are all of your windows tinted this way?” she asked, gesturing to the windshield with a wave of her hand.

“I like my privacy.”

And that was the truth. All three of his cars had the same window treatment, and though his apartment faced the beach, he was so far up from the ground that with the sun reflecting on the glass, no one could see in.

Pulling out onto the street, Kaz was mindful of where he was and who he was with. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t driving the car everyone associated with him, it only took a single person to f*ck this up.

His eyes were on the road, his attention focused when Violet called his name. When he looked in her direction, she looked uneasy all of a sudden, but was turned in his direction.

“I’m sorry about your brother. I didn’t know anything about what Franco was going to do, honestly.” She was quiet for a moment before continuing. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but I never said anything negative about him, or you for that matter.”

Kaz contemplated her answer, rolling her words around in his head. Before he had been too angry to see reason, and hadn’t really wanted to listen to a word she said, but now that he was slightly more rational, he believed her. It could still be that the kiss they shared was frying his brain, but for the time being, he accepted her word.

“Is he … is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine,” Kaz said softly. He didn’t bother to mention that Ruslan had suffered worse under the hands of someone that was meant to love him. And before he could talk himself out of it, he added, “Thank you though, for your concern.”

She nodded, and for the rest of the time, they rode in a comfortable silence. When they reached the outskirts of Brooklyn, and closer to his territory, she sat up a little straighter, becoming more aware of her surroundings.

“Don’t worry, krasivaya. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Reaching across the seat, he lifted her hand, stroking his thumb along the back of it to calm her. He could understand her fear, not knowing what to expect, and placing trust into a person that she’d probably always been told was the enemy.

But he did hope, as foolish as it might have been, that he could change her opinion of him.

After another couple of miles, Kaz finally caught sight of a hole-in-the-wall diner that looked like it was one step above being closed down, but while the outside wasn’t much to look at, the interior was little better on the eyes, and the food was f*cking amazing.

The only question was whether or not Violet would be okay in a place like this.





“I know the outside doesn’t give the best impression,” Kaz said as he parked the Range Rover.

Violet gave him a look. “Understatement.”

“Don’t go all spoiled princess on me right now.” He smirked when she scowled. “I promise the food is worth it, if you turn cheek to the appearance. Sometimes the best things come in the most unlikely of packages.”

Violet pursed her lips in an attempt to hide her smile. “Fine. But only for you.”

“I’ll take that.”

Before she could say another thing, he had turned the truck off and was getting out. She barely had time to unbuckle her seatbelt before he was opening her door.

Like any good gentleman would do, she mused.

Kaz offered her a smooth smile and his hand. She took it, but that familiar heat siphoned from his palm straight into hers as he helped her out of the large vehicle.

“When you’re not driving the car, I see you feel the need to drive something that’s big enough to mow trees over,” she said.

“Cheap shots about my vehicles will get you nowhere.”

She doubted that.

It would probably get her something like that kiss from earlier if she irked him enough.

Violet wasn’t looking to do that, however. As it were, she had taken a lot of risks just to give this man a few hours of her time—and it was precious time, considering how much trouble she would find herself in if they were caught. She wasn’t about to ruin it by seeing if she could provoke him into another moment.