Page 187 of Hate to Love You
“The UK.” He finishes, the rage in his eyes evaporating as they now fall to the flowers in my hand.
“Oh!” I say, excitedly, smiling broadly. “You know about flowers!”
Roman shakes his head, his cold stare now locked on the roses.
“No, but Polina does.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
ROMAN
I wish I could say that the minute I got the two fucking morons out of my penthouse, and locked away in Pasha’s penthouse, that I ripped off Abby’s dress, and fucked her rotten.
But given Abby’s dislike of the penthouse, and the evening that we’ve had, I decided that it would be best for us both that we went to the office penthouse.
Besides, my brain is far too preoccupied for sex, which is definitely a first for me.
However, in my defense, the last twelve hours had been more than a whirlwind.
Pasha had tried to kill Wesley.
The Irish had tried to kill me.
And I’d witnessed Abigail actually kill someone.
Despite how absolutely stunningly beautiful she looked tonight, and how little we got to enjoy the gala, her dress was also covered in forensic evidence, and needed to be disposed of as quickly and professionally as possible. And, despite Ana telling me that she wasn’t going to be around for any more of my late-night requests, I sent her on a mission to find new clothes for my life-saving lady friend.
Thankfully, she happily obliged, and showed up within an hour with three different outfits, as well as some small toiletries for Abby.
“I look forward to hearing the story of how you saved my brother’s life,” Ana smiles at Abby as she lays the garment bags on the bed. “But, I figured you’d probably appreciate a shower first and a fresh set of clothes.”
“Thanks,” Abby grins. “That’s very kind of you.”
She quietly takes the small leather bag off the bed and heads into my bathroom, closing the door.
I wait for the shower to start before ushering Ana outside onto the balcony.
“What the actual fuck?” she snaps, dropping her polite smile the moment the sliding glass door closes. “The Irish issued a hit on you? At the Children’s Benefit?! That’s bold even for them.”
“I know,” I say quietly.
“And what the hell was Pasha thinking?!” she continues, flailing her arms about angrily.
“I know.”
“Drinking absinthe with Pace’s man? Is he a complete idiot? Did he ever stop to think about the repercussions of—”
“Ana,” I cut in, somewhat irritably. “I realize that all of this is new for you, but I’ve been living in this disaster all day. I don’t need you to reiterate it for me.”
“Sorry,” she shrugs apologetically before shaking her head. “I just cannot believe how stupid he was. And then to invite hookers back to your…sorry, again. You just said you didn’t want to talk about it.”
“Actually,” I say, licking my bottom lip. “That is the part I actually want to talk about.”
“You said on the phone that you think Polina is involved somehow?” Ana says, raising her brow. “I don’t understand, though. How?”
I shake my head.
“I have no idea. All I know is that Pasha said that the hookers they hired tonight were from this company called Jewel Rose. Apparently, their specialty is discretion. Their signature calling card is that the girls are sent to a client’s house with a rose, and are told to utter a particular phrase in order to identify their client for the evening.”