CHAPTER 26

A moment of understanding passes between us.

Gram was there the first time I experienced claustrophobia after I came to live with her, the first time I had a panic attack when I wasn't in any immediate danger. We didn't have money for a therapist, but she did her best to talk me through it. To help me avoid my triggers. She's the reason I can stand being in a small shower or an elevator. Her patience and understanding made all the difference for me.

We never could tackle my fear of being in a car, though. For good reason.

That's where it all began.

"So, Timofey called you?" I ask. "Or did Ashley?"

I hope it's Ashley. I want Ashley to have been the one to call Gram. If she called, it means Timofey might not know where Gram lives. It means she might still be outside his range of influence. It gives me time to figure out how to protect her from—

"Is that your boss's name?" Gram asks. "Timothy? Yes, he's the one who called."

Shit.I do my best to hide the dread pooling in my stomach.

Ashley leans against the counter. I see her sneaking glances at Akim as he cleans the kitchen like we don't exist. "The reason we showed up together is because your grandma called me. She took the taxi to my place and then picked me up and brought me here. I would have driven, but—"

"Gas is too expensive right now for all that," Gram offers kindly so Ashley doesn't have to think up an excuse.

I squeeze Gram's hand again. A silent thank you. She's one of the few people I've confided in about Ashley's issues and how much I want to help her. It's not like Gram can really afford to be here, either, but she still tried to take care of Ashley on her way to take care of me.

That matters.

Overcome with gratitude that she's standing in front of me, I pull Gram into another hug. "I'm so glad to see you." Ashley clears her throat, and I smile back at her. "Both of you."

"Yeah, well, it's nice your boss called us since you clearly weren't going to." Ashley picks up my fork and takes a bite of my leftover lunch. "Holy shit. This is incredible."

Akim doesn't say anything, but I see him smile as he loads the dishwasher.

God, how do I tell Ashley to stay far, far away from anyone inside the walls of this house without her doing the exact opposite?

I file that worry away for later perusal. One issue at a time.

"I can't believe Timofey called you. I was going to, but—"

But my life is spiraling out of control and I'm trying to get my bearings and figure out if my new boss is going to kill me.

Can Timofey be so bad if he's bringing my friends and family here to comfort me after a panic attack, though?

I'm hesitant to be grateful towards him, especially after I thanked him for freeing me from the jail cell he placed me in earlier. But I can't help it. My heart has long since stopped listening to reason.

"Whatever. I'm just glad you're both here." I lead Gram to a barstool and wrap an arm around each of them. "Can I get you anything? A drink, or something?"

Ashley opens her mouth to respond, but instead of forming words, her jaw just hangs there. Her thin brows arch and a cross between a shocked exhale and a dreamy sigh wheezes out of her lungs. Her eyes are locked over my shoulder, and I know exactly what she is looking at.

Correction: I know who she is looking at.

Sure enough, when I turn around, I see Timofey sauntering into the kitchen. He's undone the top two buttons of his shirt, giving the barest peek of his collarbone and dark chest hair. His hair is tousled from the motorcycle ride.

But that's par for the course at this point. What's weird is that, instead of his characteristic scowl, he's smiling.

Smiling.

I've seen him plenty of times—in the middle of the night, no less—but I'm still floored. I'm half-expecting to see a pig fly past the window any second.

A few changes are all it takes to transform him from surly, intimidating CEO-slash-bonebreaker to a dazzling man of the people. If he was running for office right now, he'd get my vote. Hell, he'd get a lot more than that. I'd start a scandal for this version of him.

Timofey Viktorov . I know for a fact Ashley is taking notice.

"Glad the two of you made it safely," Timofey rumbles.

Gram moves to stand up, but Timofey hurries over and grabs her hand. Then the manbows,like he is royalty or something. Gram's cheeks turn pink. She's charmed, just like that.

"Thanks for having us," she murmurs in a daze. "Your home is lovely."

Ashley snorts. "Understatement. It's fucking incredible."

I elbow her in the ribs. Timofey and I are far beyond the point of first impressions, but I still want Ashley to be on her best behavior. For all she knows, she is standing in my place of work, talking to my boss. She should know better.

She claps a hand over her mouth. "Sorry. Potty mouth. Good thing I'm not taking care of the baby, right? He'd grow up talking like a sailor."

"Speaking of, where is the little angel?" Gram snaps her fingers together like a greedy crab. "I need baby snuggles."

"Sleeping." There's a hard edge to Timofey's voice that wasn't there a second ago. I think I'm the only one who notices it.

Gram nods in understanding. "And you can't wake a sleeping baby. Everyone knows that. Really, you should be sleeping, Dad. Those are the rules. You sleep when the baby sleeps."

"If only that was possible," Timofey chuckles. "I wouldn't want to be asleep now, anyway. I'm excited to meet a few of the people closest to Piper. I know how much she loves both of you. I'd hate to miss the opportunity to get to know each other."

Timofey's gaze flicks to me for just a second and everything clicks.

Gram isn't here because Timofey was worried about me.

He didn't call Ashley to comfort me.

It's a threat.

I could almost laugh. At myself for being so naive, and at Timofey for being so predictable.

But it's hard to laugh when two of the people I care about most in the world are in danger—because of me.