Fortune Favors The Bold

CHAPTER TWENTY: REALITY CHECK

Alaya watched as Adonis’s face blanked in that emotionless blanket which she’d grown to hate. There was absolutely no indication of any nuance whatsoever in that stoic stare of his as he still continued to bark orders on the phone.

She reckoned it was bad news. he’d moved outside to continue his call and was trying his best to keep both posture and the sound of his voice unaffected. Something which he perfectly succeeded, but his eyes gave him away too easily. The perfect olive-green lacked the luster it had whenever he was carefree.

What the hell was going on? She feigned interest in the paintings on the wall when he slid open the glass door, but his wan face was evident of the bad news.

“Everything good?” she asked casually, her detective radar sensing something amiss immediately. His eyes looked unfocused like he was miles away, and she knew him well enough by now to figure out that something about his father’s murder had been revealed.

“Perfect,” he answered smoothly with a neat smile, but he was already picking up his jacket. “Something came up at work. I need to go,” he said in an urgent voice. “Will you wait here till I get back?”

Alaya shook her head, definitely curious about what was going on. “No, it’s okay. I have things to do anyway, so I’ll e on my way. I’ll call a cab.”

“Oh no no no. This business will be at most one hour. Will you stay here? Please?” he added gently, caressing her cheeks in order to coax her into accepting. Alaya was not happy with the way he was treating her. Trust was a b***h, it was either fully given, or not at all.

She was sure that he was hiding something from her, and if it was something about the case, she was going to throw a royal tantrum. They’d pledged to collaborate together, had even slept together. So, if he wasn’t telling her now, that meant he didn’t have faith in her.

“Do you trust me enough to leave me alone in your house? Or is there too tight security that you’re not afraid I would pilfer something precious from here?” she half-joked, but there was a double entendre camouflaged behind her words. She wanted to confirm with him whether he was convinced of her skills as a detective.

He blinked at her in open surprise not catching the innuendo. “Of course I trust you,” he replied blandly. “Just don’t go anywhere until I come back. You can make yourself at home, have a bath, prepare food for yourself. Anything. No one will know you’re here as no one comes here.”

She raised her eyebrows at the statement but refrained from any comment. So, that was his sanctuary.

When he’d brought her here, she’d assumed that like all billionaires he had a stashed billionaire pad which he kept to entertain his female preys. Even the guard at the gates had seemed unsurprised with their unplanned visit, so the presumption had been implicit.

He seemed to sense her hesitation for he fidgeted at her side. “Alaya…,” he began rolling her name on his tongue like it was a candy he was greatly relishing. “I…I…This thing between us is not what I expected. I am not sure…. I…. Ermmm,” he stammered unlike his usual self-confident self as he was struggling to find the right words.

After a moment of silence, he breathed in deeply before taking the plunge. “Frankly, I wasn’t expecting anything like that. I am not sure this insane chemistry is good for either of us, but there’s no getting out of it. So, I suggest…”

His phone rang. As timing went, this sucked big time. It felt like he mimicked her thought for he gave a huge, aggrieved sigh before checking the offensive device.

“Look, I really have to go. I’ll be back in one hour, or I’ll text you as soon as possible,” he said before pecking her lightly on the cheek and disappearing. For a moment, she just stared in the empty space, taking time to appreciate the whiff of perfume that his strong cologne left behind.

What the hell was she doing in a stranger’s house? That was so unlike her that if she told someone who knew her inside out, they would laugh outright. Out of pure impulse, she decided to test her theory. Picking out her phone, she sat on the recliner, and dialed her brother’s number.

“Hey Nik?” she spoke over the speaker. “Wassup?”

“Allie? Am I dreaming?” said the gruff voice at the other end of the receiver. Her whole family was settled in Seattle, and although her father was born Russian, they had settled in the States a long time ago.

“Knock it off,” she replied easily, unsure of how to broach the subject. She could hardly announce on the phone that she was at a friend’s place, waiting for him to come back and have wild s*x with her until she could no longer remember her name. Her big brother Nikolay Petrov would have a heart-attack.

“Alright, kiddo. How is it going? I heard about the big case. Is that why you’re calling? You want some help from big brother?”

Alaya knew they liked to tease her about not being able to manage on her own, and although she knew their light banter was harmless, it grated on her nerves sometimes. “No. Can’t a sister call her brother without an ulterior motive?” she snapped irritably and closed her eyes in dismay when stone silence followed.

She’d always taken their teasing sportingly, never showing how much it affected her.

“Alright,” Nik replied with cageyness. “I’m fine. And what about you? How are you keeping up, kiddo?”

Again that nickname which set her teeth on edge. She was twenty-five and they still thought of her as a child. And that was her youngest brother speaking who was only one year older than herself.

“I’m good,” she answered briskly, wondering what on earth had possessed her to call him. She should know better than to rely on those assholes. They were so self-centered that they sometime forgot she was also a living human being.

“You’re not working this weekend?” Nik surprisingly asked in a gentle note, and Alaya felt hot tears prick at the back of her eyes. Why the hell was she crying For letting the case go over her head? Or for getting involved in a man who was way out of her league? Or because she missed her family?

“No,” she said trying to clear her voice to ward off the huskiness and winced when she failed. “I’m at a friend’s house,” she supplied evasively.

“Oh!” was the surprised answer for she was too prim and proper to make friends, or to waste her time with social niceties which bored her. “That’s good to know. I didn’t know you had a new friend. What’s her name?”

“It’s a male.”

Another lengthy silence at the end of the phone which stretched into a moment of such awkwardness that she cringed. Of course, she knew he would put two and two together. That had been the point of that stupid phone call anyway, hadn’t it? “Okay. Is he treating you well?” he asked politely, although there was more wariness in his tone.

“Yah, he is,” she said without hesitation. The problem wasn’t the way he was treating her, he lacked nothing in the social dimension. Adonis had impeccable manners, he was polite every time, and he never failed to consider her opinion before doing anything. However, he was a Fortune, one of the richest families in Seattle. What would a simpleton like her have in common with him?

“You know…,” Nik was saying casually, seeming to read between the lines. “Life has a certain way to complicate matters too much. I would advise you not to overthink...because that’s what you do. And allow yourself to feel for the moment.”

“Errm….,” she thought of a way to open up, but found that her tongue was tied. Why was she so afraid of being judged or mocked? Was it because they had always treated her like a brainless i***t instead of their equal? Family dinners had been all about the past cases which they’d cracked, each boasting to impress their Daddy.

Alaya had been the only one who’d never bragged about her work, she’d always felt that no matter how far she went, it would never be enough.

Now she was worried about what they would think of her if they got to know that she was on the verge of screwing up the biggest case of her career just because she couldn’t keep her legs crossed.

“I think it’s a good thing that you have someone,” her brother added.

“What if I told you it’s forbidden?” she asked boldly, knowing that she was only playing with words.

“Allie, is he married? Are you telling me that you’re s…?”

“No, he’s not married. Or engaged. I don’t mean that kind of forbidden. I…I…He’s part of an investigation and if the truth is out, I might lose the case. It’s not only unethical, but the Cap will have my hide for being personally involved…”

Nik let out a wolf whistle. “I want to meet him now. Whoever had managed to divert Alaya Petrov from a case must be someone exceptional,” he joked lightly, but there was an amount of wisdom in his tone. “Screw the cops, and screw the captain, Allie. It’s your life, you are allowed to have feelings involved. I think Dad has brainwashed us enough about the police duty to ensure that we don’t fail our loyalties mixed. I know that when the time comes for you to make a decision, you will not fail in your duty.”

Alaya heaved a sigh of relief and was thankful that Nik could understand her without her being able to express herself.

“Do I get to know his name?” Nik was eager, and Alaya repressed a smile.

“No, not for the moment,” she was firm in her refusal. That was the only way to deal with her brothers.

“Alright,” he capitulated easily. “I’m glad you told me before the others, though. Wait until they found out. I’m never going to let them live the fact that I knew it first,” he laughed with sadistic glee. “Eli and Alek are going to be so jealous.”

She rolled her eyes at his childishness but could not help laughing too. Nik made it so simple, she had to sort out her priorities and work out a plan. For now, Adonis was part of her life, and she won’t compromise that truth.

Right on cue, her screen flashed as the Captain Gibbs’ number flashed on her phone, making her sit up from her half-laid position. Cap Gibbs would never disturb her on a weekend, something urgent must have come up.

“Hey, Nik. It was a pleasure to talk to you. Need to go,” she chirped in cheerfully, and Nik seemed reassured with her feigned happy tone.

As soon as her brother disconnected, Alaya picked up the other call. “Cap? What’s up?” she tried for a casual tone, although her hands were trembling as she tightened them around her phone.

“Alaya? Where are you? Are you home? How fast can you get here?”

“No, I’m not home. But I can be at the precinct in fifteen minutes, give or take. What happened? Is there any break in the Fortune case?” she questioned no longer bothering to hide the undercurrents in her trembling voice as excitement gripped her. She was already on the move, putting on her coat and opening the glass door.

“Kenneth Fortune is here. He says he knows who killed Mason Apollo Fortune. I think this is it, Pet. We got out big break here.”

Although she was elated beyond words, a part of her was suspecting that this was the reason why Adonis had fled the penthouse. If it was, she was never going to forgive his betrayal.