Beauty and the Assassin by Nadia Lee

Author:Nadia Lee [Lee, Nadia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Four Isles Press
Published: 2022-01-06T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Angelika

By the time I’m done putting all the new clothes away, Tolyan’s pulling a pot roast and red potatoes out of the oven. The food smells amazing. Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Stravinsky are already salivating.

“Should I set the table?” I say.

“That would be helpful. Thanks.”

“Thank you. I didn’t know you asked Monique to pack some exercise clothes, too,” I say.

“You can’t run in an Armani dress,” he says. “Or you could, but…”

“Yeah. Not the right use of the outfit.”

He brings the food from the oven to the table and cuts the meat with precision. Every slice is so even, it looks machine-cut. The Dobermans lick their chops. Stravinsky whines.

Tolyan serves me, then himself, then hands three thick pieces to his dogs. They gobble up the meat like they haven’t eaten in a century.

“By the way…” I say, after a bite of the juicy meat. “I want to chip in for food and utilities while I’m staying here.”

He washes down the meat with his usual vodka. “That won’t be necessary.”

“I insist. You’re already going above and beyond to help me.”

Do you know why he’s doing that? Courtney’s voice whispers in my head.

I shove it out of my mind.

Something in his gaze says he’s mildly amused. “Then you know I’m not doing it so you can help out with groceries and electricity.”

“Of course not. I just… I don’t want to impose, is all. I mean, more than I already am.”

A corner of his mouth quirks up. “You should’ve thought of that before telling me you were going to go to the police. As I recall, it was to report me for being in the vicinity of that man who tragically killed himself on Friday.”

I squirm. The chair cushion seems to be full of small needles all of a sudden. “I didn’t really mean that. I was desperate.”

“But you said Roy’s been threatening you for eight years now. What suddenly made you so reckless?”

“He sent me a box at work.” My hands start shaking, and I grip my fork and knife tighter, although I can’t decide if I’m doing it to hide my reaction or because I need something that can be used as a weapon. Maybe both.

Tolyan’s expression remains placid. When I don’t speak, he gestures. “Go on. What was inside it? Some sort of roadkill?”

Shudders run through me. His guess is a good one. And I would’ve preferred that. “My underwear. He went through my stuff at home. So that’s why.”

“Poor security at your old place,” he murmurs.

I nod. The garage apartment has zero security. The door is flimsy. The landlord only converted it into a living space so he could make some extra cash that he doesn’t have to report to the IRS.

“So now you understand why I said you needed to move in with me.”

I nod again, flushing at the memory of how I initially objected to that suggestion.

Still, that doesn’t explain why he’s helping you when he doesn’t have to.

But do I really have to know his reason?

His phone buzzes.

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