Painted Scars (Perfectly Imperfect, #1)(13)

“Peachy.” I grab a cherry tomato from my plate and throw it in my mouth.

Roman leans back and, crossing his arms in front of him, watches me for a few seconds. I try to focus on my food instead of his muscular arms which are stretching the material of his shirt. I fail miserably.

He tilts his head to the side and narrows his eyes at me. “You know, I find it very interesting that you are handling this situation much better than I hoped.”

“What situation?” I reach for the salad bowl and refill my plate with lettuce and more cherry tomatoes.

“This. Being blackmailed into a marriage with someone like me. Having to put your life on hold for six months. I expected you to be wary. Reluctant. Scared. You seem . . . unnaturally nonchalant.”

“You think I’m mentally unstable?” I take a leaf of lettuce, wrap it around a cherry tomato and dip it into the mayonnaise while Roman regards me with interest.

“Are you?” he asks. “Mentally unstable?”

“Of course, not. I’m the embodiment of mental stability. Ask anyone.” I point to my lettuce-tomato-mayo ball. “You want one?”

Based on the look on his face, he is not amused. I sigh and look him straight in the eyes. “Yes, I find this situation disturbing, but it is what it is. Do I have a say in it? No. Can I change anything? No, again. Whether I fight it or not, the result will be the same. The way I see it, it’s better to just accept the fucking thing and go along with it.”

“You’re a little nuts, you know that, right?”

“Life is crazy. You have to embrace it.” I shrug and motion with my head toward the crutches leaned on the table next to him. “Why the wheelchair when you can walk?”

“I’d rather call it dragging. And I still can’t manage the whole day on crutches. I plan on ditching the wheelchair at some point, but until I can make it a full day, I don’t want anyone to know.”

“Why not?”

“I have my reasons. Only Maxim, Varya, and my physiotherapist know. And now you. I want to

keep it that way, Nina.”

“Nobody has caught you walking? A maid? Someone coming into your suite unannounced?”

“Only Varya is allowed in here. She handles the cleaning. Everyone else knows to stay out of my rooms unless they are specifically invited.”

“And what would happen if someone did catch you? Would that be a problem?”

“Not really. Because I would kill them on the spot.”

At first, I think he’s joking, but then he looks at me and I see it in his eyes. He’s dead serious.

“You are a scary man, Mr. Petrov.”

“It goes with the job description, Nina,” he says. “There are only three things people understand in my world: loyalty, money, and death. Remember that.” He reaches for the crutches. “I have to discuss something with Maxim. I’ll be back in an hour.”

I stand up quickly, take a deep breath, and will my legs not to move from the spot. There is no way I’ll allow the episode from this morning to repeat itself. He is not Brian. I will not let my unreasonable fear rule me.

Roman positions his crutches on either side of him and stands upright in front of me. Dear God, he’s huge. My heartbeat quickens but I manage not to flinch. I can handle this. I will be living with him for the next six months, so I have to get it together. Very slowly I raise my head and look him in the eyes without batting an eyelash. But I sure as shit make certain my trembling hands are hidden behind my back.

“I wonder what they fed you growing up,” I say, and even manage a small smirk.

He just watches me for a few seconds, and then reaches with his hand and trails his thumb down my cheek.

“You are an exceptional actress, malysh.”

His hand vanishes from my cheek and he slowly heads into his bedroom. I wonder what he meant by that.





Chapter 5


I look blankly at Maxim, who is standing in front of my desk with his arms crossed at his chest, wondering where he is getting his stupid ideas from all of a sudden.

“No,” I say.

“Why not? It’s a perfect opportunity. She can say she just got lost or that she’s exploring the house.”

“Because one, she probably never saw a listening device in her life and wouldn’t know how or where to place it. And two, no one will believe that she just wandered into Leonid’s room or his office by accident. We don’t know who else is involved. Could be someone from the staff or one of the security guys. I don’t want her tipping off Leonid or his partner sooner than intended.”

“You are sure it was Leonid?”

“Very.”

“Let’s just bag him right away then. Get Mikhail to work on him. He’ll be singing like a bird by morning.”

“And if it wasn’t him?” I ask. “Do you have any idea how it would impact the morale and trust of my men if I tortured one of my own without proof, only to have him turn out innocent?”

“Well, then we have reached a dead-end, Roman.” He takes off his glasses and sighs, “I’ve been listening to the recordings for months and didn’t find anything other than standard gossip. Did you know that Kostya is sleeping with both Valentina and Olga?”

“I don’t give a damn who is sleeping with whom. Which rooms have you bugged so far?”