Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 80942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“What do you know?”
“Cutting straight to the chase, I see.”
“Don’t waste my time, Morozov.”
“You know, in case no one told you, when asking for a favor, you’re supposed to do it nicely.”
“My nice phase is coming to an end and so is any agreement we might reach together.”
“Jesus. You’re as grumpy as an old man.”
“What do you know?” I emphasize.
“What makes you think I know something?”
“You’ve been giving less than subtle hints.”
“So you did catch those. Here I thought I had to take my hinting game to the next level. What do you want to learn first?”
“What do you have?”
“What if I told you I know a tidbit about your wife’s past that you might not be aware of?”
I still the slow tap of my forefinger on my thigh. There’s no way in hell he knows she’s Lazlo’s daughter. The people who are aware of that information are dead. I made sure of it.
So I hold onto my cool. “What is it?”
“Did you know that she grew up with an Italian boy?”
“An Italian boy?”
“Yes. Neighbors. I didn’t think much of it at the beginning when I looked into her, but then, alarms went off in my head.”
“You looked into her?”
“Of course I did. Vladimir, Igor, and Sergei did, too. You bring a woman out of nowhere and announce she’s your wife and baby mama and think we’ll just nod our heads? You don’t make mistakes, Adrian, so no matter how much you try to convince everyone that you only married her for an accidental pregnancy, I don’t believe it. I’m sure it was all part of a master plan. Now, where was I? Right. The Italian. Even though it seemed normal, when I looked further into him and his parents, I found nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Absolute nada. No normal citizen would cover their tracks that meticulously, would they?”
“No.”
“Exactly.”
“What’s his name?”
“Luca.”
“Last name?”
“Brown. Luca Brown. Ring any bells?”
“No.”
He clicks his tongue. “To me neither. But I’ll find that motherfucker. No one hides from me.”
“Keep me posted.”
“My, my, Adrian. Aren’t you full of love today?”
“Just do as you’re told.”
“And I’ll get something in return?”
“Yes.”
“Fantastic. Love doing business with you.”
I stare at my phone, then focus on Kolya. “Why didn’t you tell me she had an Italian neighbor in your first screening of her?”
“Didn’t seem like it mattered at the time. They were both kids and many in New York have Italian neighbors. I didn’t feel like I needed to go more in-depth.”
He’s right. It shouldn’t have mattered. But after what Kirill mentioned, I have a suspicion that this Luca is even more involved than I ever thought.
There’s only one other person who can tell me the details, even if I have to punish them out of her.
“Let’s call it a night, Kolya.” I stand up and my second-in-command follows.
“Boris sent me a text earlier and I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“About?”
“Mrs. Volkov went to the guest house to visit Yan.”
I clench a fist. “You didn’t want to disturb me or were you protecting the little fuck?”
He releases a long sigh. “Both.”
“He knows something, Kolya. He was there and he’s hiding it from me.”
“I know.”
“You finally agree?”
“Yes. He wouldn’t tell me either but it’s obvious. He’s protecting Mrs. Volkov.”
“From me?”
“Yes, sir. You know he’s still mad about how you drove her to the edge of that cliff.”
“So now you’re on his side?”
“I’m on your side. And to do that, I have to tell you things as they are. That’s how it’s been for the past three decades.”
I jam a finger into his chest. “Find out what he’s hiding or I’m torturing him the same day he can get on his feet.”
With that, I leave the office and head upstairs. I don’t bother with dinner, having no appetite whatsoever.
It’s ten in the evening, so Lia must be in Jeremy’s room. I go there, bent on carrying her out and extracting the answers from her skin.
The raging need for more that I’ve felt since I painted her mouth with my cum returns with a vengeance.
Surprisingly, when I get to Malysh’s room, he’s the only one sleeping there. I close the door quietly and set out for our bedroom.
Don’t tell me she’s still with Yan? If that’s the case, I will—
My murderous thoughts and feet screech to a halt in the doorway.
The only light comes from red candles that sit on every surface—the vanity, the nightstands, and even the chairs. The sheets that I didn’t even know we had are red and the scent of roses wafts in the air.
A tray of food is on the vanity, surrounded by more candles and roses.
The setting is similar to last night, but the only difference is the woman standing in the middle of the room, wearing just a bathrobe and lighting more candles.
“Oh.” She lifts her head. “You weren’t supposed to be back for another half hour. I didn’t even put on makeup—”