Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
At Gorya’s request, Drake had chosen a neutral location to meet. Gorya hadn’t wanted any of his men to know he was meeting with Gedeon and Meiling. When Drake had first come to Gedeon with the proposal of working for Gorya, the job of head of his security had been for Gedeon alone. Gorya hadn’t wanted Meiling. Gedeon made it clear he didn’t work without his partner. Gorya took his time thinking it over before he offered a meeting.
“He has the scent of an Amurov. The eyes of one. We’re missing something, Lotus, there’s no doubt about it.”
“Maybe the danger’s to Gorya and not to us,” Meiling ventured. “Just taking over this territory was a huge risk. He’s made a lot of enemies.”
Gedeon studied the buildings surrounding the rectangular building they were to meet Gorya in. Mostly garages and mechanic buildings, with one warehouse close. “He doesn’t seem to have any bodyguards or snipers lying in wait for us.”
“I’m going up on the roof,” Meiling said. “If there’s a way in, I’ll take it.”
He didn’t tell her to be careful. She would have been insulted if he did. He didn’t remind her that she was pregnant either. Obviously, she was aware that she was. His eyes met hers just to let her know she was his world. That was the reminder.
She nodded, and then she was going up the side of the building, a small shadow blending in with the darker side of the concrete wall.
Gedeon was grateful they were able to speak mind to mind. The leopards helped with that. He could always stay in touch with her, know exactly where she was or if she was in trouble and needed him—or the other way around.
Gedeon moved around the building slowly, checking the streets, the cars, the pattern of traffic, rooftops, every doorway and window facing the warehouse. He could find no threat to them or to the man they had come to interview.
Donovan had chosen a good location. It was off the beaten path, yet not so far out that it appeared abandoned. On either side of the small warehouse were two shops, still open. One was a garage that custom-painted cars, and the other repaired tires. Across the street was a welding shop. It was closed.
I can only detect one man inside, Gedeon. If that’s Gorya Amurov, he’s alone. He came without bodyguards. Does that seem right?
Nothing about this meeting was right. Gedeon was half inclined to call it off, but he knew part of that decision would be because he was becoming overprotective of Meiling. He would have gone in immediately had he been alone.
I’m going in, Meiling. Drake was adamant that Amurov needs help. He specifically asked for me. He had no idea we were considering getting out of our business, yet he reached out to Drake and asked for a meeting to be set up.
Wanting to exclude me, Meiling reminded him.
He noted that this time she didn’t sound hurt. She sounded thoughtful.
Gorya’s cousins weren’t like their fathers. They didn’t think of women as lesser beings. If anything, they treated their wives the way he did Meiling—as if they wouldn’t be able to survive without them. Gedeon was sure their leopards were mated as well. That made the women doubly important to their men.
Gorya was the only cousin without a woman of his own. How difficult would that be for him? For his leopard? Now he’d been thrown into a situation demanding him to make snap decisions and contend with violence at every turn. The pakhan of the bratva, when challenged, had to respond with speed and ferocity. His men had to respect him. Their leopards had to fear his leopard. Was Gorya Amurov capable of commanding the same kind of deference and fear as his cousins?
I don’t think it’s about you being a woman, Meiling, he mused. Icy fingers of dread crept down his spine at his next thought, the one he couldn’t push away.
What is it?
He sighed. There was no getting around Meiling. He’s leopard, Lotus. Leopards are capable of slipping into a building unseen and unheard. We do it all the time. Suppose, just for a moment, that Gorya researched us the way we researched him. Only he was even more thorough.
I don’t like where you’re going with this.
It’s possible he knows you’re pregnant.
No one knows I’m pregnant. We haven’t even told Rene.
The more he considered the idea, the more Gedeon feared he could be on the right track. That doesn’t mean he didn’t figure it out. You were in heat. Leopard sex is wild. The odds of you getting pregnant were very high. Even if he’s just guessing, he’s got a fifty-fifty shot at being correct. He didn’t think Gorya was making a guess. He thought the man had found a way to confirm his suspicion, and he didn’t want Meiling in the line of fire.