Chapter 33 IVAN AGAIN
The elevator opened on the 7th floor with a soft ding.
Mia stepped out first, keys already in hand. Alex followed, quieter than he had any right to be for a guy who owned half the block.
Her apartment door was at the end of the hall.
Mia stopped in front of it and turned.
“Thanks for walking me,” Mia said. “You can go now.”
Alex didn’t move.
“Mia,” Alex said.
Mia unlocked the door but didn’t open it.
“I’m serious,” Mia said. “I’m fine. You’ve done the boss thing all day. You don’t have to play bodyguard now.”
Alex looked down the hall, then back at her.
“Ivan’s men were at the diner today,” Alex said. “Two different guys. They’re watching you. They’re watching me. They know where you live.”
Mia’s hand tightened on the keys. “I know.”
“So let me stay,” Alex said.
Mia blinked. “What?”
“On the couch. The floor. I don’t care,” Alex said. “Just let me stay tonight. If they come, I’ll hear it first.”
Mia shook her head. “No.”
“Mia,” Alex said. His voice dropped.
Not Alpha voice. Not boss voice.
Just Alex.
“I can’t do this again,” Alex said. “I can’t go home and lay there knowing you’re alone and he’s planning something. Not after what happened in Rome. Not after what he did to you.”
Mia looked at him.
He looked wrecked. Not tired. Wrecked.
“I’m not asking because of the bond,” Alex said. “Well, not only because of the bond. I’m asking because if something happens to you and I’m not here, I won’t forgive myself.”
Mia swallowed.
“You don’t get to decide that for me,” Mia said.
“I know,” Alex said. “I’m begging.”
Mia stared.
Alex didn’t beg.
He didn’t do this.
Mia opened the door.
“Two hours,” Mia said. “Then you leave.”
Alex exhaled like he’d been holding his breath for days.
“Thank you,” Alex said.
Mia stepped inside. “Don’t make me regret this.”
Inside
The apartment was small. One bedroom, one bathroom, kitchenette. It smelled like coffee and old books.
Mia tossed her bag on the chair and walked to the window.
Alex closed the door behind him and leaned against it.
“You don’t have to stand there,” Mia said without turning.
“I’m not comfortable sitting while you’re standing,” Alex said.
Mia laughed. Quiet. Tired.
“Old habits,” Mia said.
Alex walked over and stopped behind her, not touching although he wanted to touch her badly.
“The city looks different from up here,” Alex said.
Mia nodded. “It’s quieter.”
For a minute, neither of them spoke.
Then Mia said, “You don’t have to stay two hours. One is fine.”
Alex smiled. “I’ll take what I can get.”
Mia turned to face him.
“Why are you really here, Alex?” Mia asked.
Alex didn’t answer right away.
“Because if I leave,” Alex said, “I’ll spend the whole night hearing you scream in my head. And I can’t do that again.”
Mia looked away.
“Stay on the couch,” Mia said. “Bathroom’s there. Don’t go in my room.”
Alex nodded. “Deal.”
Mia went to her room and closed the door.
Alex sat on the edge of the couch and didn’t breathe easy until he heard the lock click.
\---
Meanwhile. 3 blocks down. 9:14 PM
The black SUV idled at the curb.
In the passenger seat, a man spoke into a burner phone.
“He’s inside,” the man said. “Apartment 7B. He didn’t leave.”
On the other end, Ivan’s voice was calm. Too calm.
“Good,” Ivan said. “Stay on them. Both of them.”
“They’re not talking,” the man said. “She let him in, but she’s keeping him out of the bedroom.”
Ivan was quiet for a moment.
“Keep watching,” Ivan said. “If they separate, I move. If they stay together, I change the plan.”
The man hung up.
In the back seat, another man lit a cigarette.
“What’s the plan now?” he asked.
Ivan’s voice came back over the speaker before the phone was fully set down.
“The plan now,” Ivan said, “is to make sure they never want to be in the same room again.”
\---
Back at the apartment. 11:42 PM
Mia couldn’t sleep.
She lay in bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the quiet hum of the fridge and the sound of Alex’s breathing on the couch.
Steady. Even.
It was infuriating.
She got up and opened the door.
Alex was awake.
He sat up immediately when he heard her.
“Can’t sleep?” Alex asked.
Mia shook her head. “You?”
“Not really,” Alex said.
Mia walked over and sat on the edge of the coffee table. Not close enough to touch.
“Why do you care so much?” Mia asked.
Alex looked at her.
“Because you’re it for me,” Alex said. “And because if I lose you, there’s nothing left.”
Mia looked down at her hands.
“That’s not fair,” Mia said.
“I know,” Alex said.
Mia stood up.
“Go to sleep, Alex,” Mia said.
Alex lay back down.
Mia went back to her room.
She didn’t lock the door this time.
\---
Ivan’s office. 1:03 AM
Ivan listened to the report on speakerphone.
“They’re in the same apartment,” the spy said. “She let him stay. But they’re not sleeping together. She’s in the bedroom. He’s on the couch.”
Ivan tapped his fingers on the desk.
“Good,” Ivan said. “Keep them there. Don’t let them leave together in the morning.”
“How?” the spy asked.
Ivan smiled.
“By giving her a reason to leave alone,” Ivan said.
“What kind of reason?”
Ivan leaned back.
“A reason only she would believe,” Ivan said. “Something about her father.”
The spy hesitated. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure,” Ivan said. “And when she walks out that door alone, I’ll be waiting.”
Ivan hung up.
He opened the file on his desk.
Mia Caruso. Father: Thomas Caruso. Deceased. Official cause: heart attack.
Ivan underlined the word official.
He had another file.
Unofficial.
The one that would break her.
\---
Morning. 6:30 AM
Mia’s phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Unknown number.
Mia answered.
“Mia Caruso?” a voice said.
Mia sat up. “Who is this?”
“It’s about your father,” the voice said.
Mia went cold.
“What about him?” Mia asked.
“There are things you don’t know,” the voice said. “Things about how he died. I can tell you. But not here. Meet me at the library. 8 AM. Alone. Or don’t, and keep wondering.”
The line went dead.
Mia stared at the phone.
Alex was already in the doorway.
“What is it?” Alex asked.
Mia looked up.
“They know about my dad,” Mia said.
Alex stepped forward.
“Mia, don’t—”
“I have to go,” Mia said.
“Mia, it’s a trap,” Alex said.
Mia got out of bed.
“If it is, I’ll deal with it,” Mia said. “But if it’s not, and there’s something about my dad I don’t know, I’m not staying here.”
Alex grabbed her arm.
“Don’t go alone,” Alex said.
Mia pulled away.
“I have to,” Mia said.
Alex looked like he wanted to argue.
But he didn’t.
Because he saw it in her eyes.
This wasn’t about him.
This was about her father.
“Fine,” Alex said. “But I’m following you.”
Mia shook her head. “If they see you, they’ll know it’s a setup.”
Alex cursed under his breath.
Mia grabbed her jacket and walked out.
Alex stood in the doorway and watched her go.
His phone was already in his hand.