Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“Why are things never simple with you?” Aiden shook his head. “You know what, don’t answer that. Nothing is simple anymore.”
That was the damn truth. Even if Olivia hadn’t ended up in his life, Dmitri Romanov still would have been skimming off their top. Everything was so twisted up, it was a wonder he could keep any of it straight anymore. I don’t have to keep shit straight. The only thing that matters is getting that little girl back.
With that driving him, he walked past his siblings and slipped into the office, locking the door behind him. His father sent him an aggravated look. “We’re talking business, boy. Get out.”
“I have business with Romanov.” He ignored his father and crossed to stand in front of Dmitri. Not close enough to be in the man’s space, but close enough that he had no choice but to focus on Cillian. “That little girl is your niece.”
Another of those goddamn shrugs. “As my sister is so fond of telling me, she’s only half my niece.”
Maybe. But he could read the tension in the man’s shoulders. Whatever he thought of Olivia, she was right that his promise to his late father was weighing on him. If he wanted to honor Andrei’s wishes, letting Hadley be hurt—or worse—was a shitty way to go about it. “Do you really think this Sergei can take care of a toddler?”
Dmitri’s mouth went tight. “I told Olivia, and now I’m telling you—I don’t know where the man is. If I did, I would take care of things. I don’t tolerate disobedience.”
That was the button to push to get the information he needed. “A man like that doesn’t have a whole lot going for him that isn’t connected to you and your people. Where would he go?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “What interest do you have?”
“He killed three of my men. I don’t like that.” He couldn’t believe how calm he sounded. It felt like there was a creature inside him, shredding his heart and lungs and stomach, but nothing showed in his voice.
“You care about my sister. If I don’t miss my guess, you love her.” Dmitri’s brows rose. “Fascinating.”
Hearing that word—that truth—from an enemy’s lips made his blood pressure rise. He hadn’t had the luxury of exploring his feelings for her, not beyond knowing that he had no intention of letting her go. To have this man call him out like that…Cillian took a step forward. “Think hard, Romanov. Because otherwise Olivia and I are going to work our way through your people, and you’re not going to like the results.”
“You threaten me?”
“Cillian.”
He ignored his father and focused solely on Romanov. “No, I’m telling you plainly what will happen. You think three percent is a way to undermine our operations. Let’s see how you feel when I start chipping away at yours.”
“Impossible.”
“You can take that risk, or you can fix a problem that you’re partly responsible for. Call Sergei. He’ll answer.” Cillian hoped. If the man was as loyal as Olivia said, there was a decent chance he’d pick up before he had a chance to think better of it if Dmitri was calling. He might have gone off the deep end, but old habits died hard.
Dmitri gave a put-upon sigh. “Fine.” He pulled a phone out of his jacket and dialed. After a second, he switched it to speaker so all three of them could hear.
“Da?”
“English, Sergei.”
“Yes?” The man on the other end sounded tired. Exhausted, even.
“You’ve displeased me.” Dmitri looked displeased. But then, he would be. A king was only in power as long as he was obeyed without question. The second someone started doing things without permission, everything started falling apart. It was why such drastic measures sometimes had to be taken to ensure loyalty. If everyone saw some dickhead disrespecting the one in power, they might start doing the same damn thing.
The background noise was the type you’d find when someone was driving, which meant he could be anywhere. “You don’t understand, boss. Olivia was fucking that Irish bastard. She has to be taught a lesson.”
It was everything Cillian could do to keep his mouth shut. That piece of shit might disrespect Olivia, but the endgame was more important than the fact that he wanted to reach through the phone and strangle him.
For his part, Dmitri didn’t seem to like hearing that, either. “That’s for me to decide.”
“You were taking too long.”
And he was losing Sergei. If he didn’t do something to reel the man back in, they wouldn’t get the information they needed. Cillian crossed his arms over his chest, which made Dmitri raise an eyebrow. “Tell me where you are so we can fix this.”
“You should have let me keep her. If you had, none of this would have happened. It’s your fault she left me.”