Page 11 of The Hunted Wife

“Why? Do we need groceries already?”

“No, I just wanted to be prepared.”

“That will be up to you since you’re doing the cooking now, you’ll know when we need more groceries.” He leaned forward onto the desk and steepled his fingers.

“Okay. But how often do you usually go?” In case I need to run, I need to pretend to go shopping.

“Millie is there something wrong. I’ve noticed you watching the windows whenever someone drives up. And in every room you enter, you act like you are looking for a way out other than the door. So tell me, what is wrong? What can I do to help?”

“It’s nothing.” How can he read my body language already. We barely know each other. Is it because of his security business? “I’m just curious about who is driving up. You know whether I’ll need to prepare more food…that kind of thing.”

His eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed, but he relaxed and accepted what she said. “Okay, but I’ll definitely let you know if you need to prepare extra at any meal.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“Are you okay, now?”

“Yes. I’m fine. Thank you for understanding all of this. There is something else I’d like to discuss.” She took a deep breath, looked down at her lap and then met Adam’s deep blue eyes with hers. “I’d like us to start sleeping together. I want us to have a real marriage, Adam. I know that request might seem strange.” She worried her hands in her lap, bunching the apron she wore over her jeans. “But I want children and I believe you do as well, since that is the reason for us getting married in the first place.”

“This is rather sudden.” He grinned. “Miss me after only one night?”

Millie barked out a laugh. “No, but I’m glad to see you have a healthy ego.”

He waggled his brows. “That I do. You can’t do what I’ve done as quickly as I’ve done it and not have one.”

She let her gaze roam up and down his body. “No, I don’t suppose you could. You started your business from scratch, right?”

“I did. Because I did well with the first dozen or so assignments, my name started coming up more and more often as someone who could protect you. Because of the word of mouth, my business grew extremely fast and I couldn’t keep up with it myself. I brought several of my brothers in and eventually all of them. Everett and Christopher have started their own businesses and they are also doing quite well.”

“I’m very glad for all of you. On another note, you should tell me what you want for dinner. When I get an idea of what each brother’s favorite is, I’ll be able to plan meals better.”

“That was quite the change in subjects but I’ll concede the change. I guess our favorite is fried chicken. My mother used to make it but you need to fry about six chickens. As you’ve noticed, we eat a lot.”

“Speaking of which I need to get started on lunch. I hope cold cuts with potato salad and chips will be satisfactory for tomorrow. I’ll do hot lunches after this. I just need to get my feet under me first.”

“That’s fine. I bought a lot of lunch meat, cheese, and bread. I figured we’d have one cold meal per day. Actually, I figured on two meals, but that was before we married.”

“Good. That makes it easy on me. I’ll just go get the potatoes started for the potato salad. If I cook them tonight I’ll be able to make the salad that much quicker” She stood. “Thanks again for understanding.” She turned and left the room.

Why didn’t she tell him she wanted to go to bed now? Instead she was cooking. Awk! What was the matter with her?

She would have to be more subtle about watching the windows and doors. She didn’t want to have to explain about Sokolov…at least, not yet.

Chapter 4

Ricard Sokolov arrived in Steamboat Springs early in the morning on a late April day. Milena Ivanov had avoided him so far, but he had good intel that she was seen here two weeks ago. After that the trail went cold. He figured she was still here…somewhere. He needed to find her and the flash drive she had. Why her father had her working in his accounting department Ricard didn’t know. She didn’t need to work. Her father would have provided everything. Maybe the Pakhan had been suspicious and that was why. Too bad his suspicions were correct.

He’d thought about killing her to get it, but that would just put a bullseye on his back. No, he would continue with their engagement and promise they would marry. Then she’d never steal from him again. She’d be his wife, his property and he could do with her as he wished.

He rode in a black Mercedes sedan driven by, Viktor Kravchenko, who’d been his driver for more than ten years. Viktor knew many secrets and was one of two people who was aware Milena had escaped him. If her father found out she’d run away, then there would be hell to pay for both her and Ricard.

The other man sitting next to him in the back of the Mercedes was Mikhail Brezenoff, Ricard’s bodyguard and second in command. Milena had tried to befriend him and trick him into helping her. He’d told Ricard of her plans, but the information hadn’t been soon enough. She’d escaped with the help of one of the kitchen maids who had also disappeared.

Ricard had an idea who the woman was and he couldn’t get near her, if she was Margareta Popov, as he expected. She was the sister of his nemesis Alexander Popov. The brother wanted what Ricard had, all of the north and east side territory back in New York. Right now Popov had the south and west sides but Ricard’s territory was more lucrative and Alexander wanted it all. He also wanted Milena or so Ricard had heard. That would happen over Ricard’s dead body. She was his and no one would touch her or they would die.

Millie had finished the potato salad. She’d made it in the largest bowl she’d ever seen. She noticed that all of the pots and pans and serving bowls here were giant sized. Millie wouldn’t have any idea where to go if she had to replace them. Good thing most were metal and not likely to be needing replacement anytime soon.

Though she didn’t bring the groceries in, she did help put them away. She’d snagged seven chickens before the rest were frozen. She wasn’t planning on fried chicken but had wanted to make baked chicken because that dish would have been easy. Frying it up was definitely not easy, but Adam said it was their favorite and Millie wanted to make them happy.