24: Vacation

KATHY

"You're smiling."

Gabby narrowed her eyes at me as we stepped out of the boutique, shopping bags hanging from both our wrists.

"I'm not"

"You've been smiling for the last five minutes."

"I have not"

She folded her arms.

"You're thinking about a certain grumpy Mr. Expensive."

"I absolutely am not."

She gave me a look that screamed liar.

I chuckled lightly trying to get her to stop talking but before she could tease me again, I casually glanced at the reflection in a nearby shop window.

There they were.

Two men.

One pretending to study a display of watches.

The other scrolling through his phone.

Neither of them was interested in shopping.

They were interested in me, it was too easy to tell.

I almost laughed.

"What?" Gabriella asked.

"Nothing."

I kept walking.

"Just... don't look behind you."

She immediately tried to look behind her.

I grabbed her arm.

"I literally just told you not to."

Her eyes widened.

"Someone's following us?"

"Two someones."

"Oh my God."

"Relax."

"They could be dangerous!"

"They're not."

"How do you know?"

Because they work for Viktor.

I didn't say it out loud.

Instead, I smiled to myself.

So... sending Romanov to tail my car while I was on my way to the boutique this morning wasn't enough.

They decided to keep following my every move with this bunch of hobos.

I couldn't even be annoyed.

Yesterday when I returned from visiting Nana and found Viktor's office door standing wide open.

The first thing I thought was...

That's strange.

Viktor wasn't careless.

He wasn't the kind of man who left confidential files lying around for anyone to find.

Then I saw the documents spread neatly across his desk.

It was too obvious.

It was practically screaming "look at me"

I don't think he knows that I know about the cameras.

I had seen enough of them around the mansion to know they covered almost every hallway.

There was no way his office wasn't under surveillance.

I immediately knew it was a trap.

I knew it the moment I stepped inside.

I also knew Viktor expected me to take the bait.

So...

I did.

I picked up the files.

Pretended to study them.

Even took photographs with my phone... just to give him a show.

I knew he was watching me through the cameras. It took every bit of restraint in me not to look at one of them and smirk.

I mean how dumb did he think I was?

Ugh.

The fact he thought he could easily trap me was irritating me just thinking about it.

I was one of the best detective. I might not be perfect but there was no way I would have fallen for that trick.

Anyways sometimes the best way to fool someone was to let them think they had fooled you.

The corners of my lips lifted.

I hoped he'd enjoyed the performance when he was watching the cameras...

"What are you smiling about now?" Gabriella asked.

"Nothing."

"Liar."

We continued walking through the shopping mall, stopping every now and then to browse different stores.

As we rounded another corner, someone familiar caught my eye.

Natalia.

She stepped out of a luxury jewelry store carrying several expensive bags.

She wasn't alone.

A man in a blue suit walked beside her, speaking quietly as they headed toward the escalator.

Before I could get a better look, they disappeared into the crowd.

I frowned.

Something wasn't right.

Was Natalia going out with another man? While still trying to get Viktor?

Sometimes I try to understand the woman but I just can't.

We hadn't crossed paths in the last two days and that was nothing but relief for me. Breakfast was more peaceful.

Speaking of breakfast, Natalia hadn't been at breakfast this morning or yesterday.

In fact now that I thought about it she was hardly ever at the mansion. She was constantly leaving or constantly returning late.

Always with some excuse.

At first, I'd assumed she simply enjoyed going out.

Now I wasn't so sure anymore.

"What is it?" Gabriella asked.

I kept watching the direction Natalia had disappeared.

"Do you ever get the feeling someone's hiding something?"

Gabriella laughed.

"You are literally a cop and a detective, you never tell me anything about that life"

"Fair point" I sighed

Still...

Something about Natalia bothered me.

A lot.

But that was something I'd figure out another day.

By the time I returned to the mansion, the sun had already begun to set.

The shopping bags felt heavier than they had a few hours earlier.

I had caught the two guards following me when Gabriella left and I gave them my shopping bags to carry instead.

The moment I stepped inside, one of the guards approached me.

"Mr. Svyatoslav is waiting for you"

Of course he was.

I found Viktor in the living room, seated comfortably with a glass of whiskey in one hand.

He looked up as I entered.

"You took your time."

"I was shopping."

"I noticed."

I raised an eyebrow.

"You noticed?"

His lips twitched ever so slightly.

"I receive reports."

Right.

The two bodyguards.

"I hope they enjoyed carrying my shopping bags."

"They complained."

"Good."

A hint of amusement flashed across his face before disappearing.

His expression turned serious.

"We're leaving in two days."

I frowned.

"Leaving?"

"For a vacation."

I stared at him.

"You?"

"Yes."

"You take vacations?"

"Occasionally."

That was somehow harder to believe than him smiling.

He set his glass down.

"Everyone is going."

"Everyone?"

"Anya, Natalia, My security team." His gray eyes settled on mine "And you."

I blinked.

"Me?"

"You heard me."

"I wasn't invited."

"You are now."

"I don't think that's how invitations work."

"They do in this house."

I sighed.

"So I don't really have a choice."

"No."

He stood, adjusting the sleeve of his shirt.

"Pack for a week."

"Where are we going?"

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"You'll find out when we get there."

Before I could protest, he walked past me and disappeared upstairs.

I stared at his receding body.

A vacation.

With Viktor.

Natalia.

Anya.

And an entire team of armed bodyguards.

How was I supposed to explain to Commissioner Harris that I was leaving the country... with the man I was supposed to arrest?