The night I put a tracker on Sloane, she stayed in her room. She does the same thing the second day, the third . . . and the fourth.
I’m giving her the freedom to roam as she pleases—as she requested—but she refuses for some reason. I hate people going through my things, but I kind of want her to. I want her to get to know me without me having to talk to her. She should know who I am and what I’m capable of. If she did, maybe she wouldn’t fight me so much.
God, the fucking mouth on her. She never knows when to shut up. Every time she opens those lips some snide comment comes out. It’s amusing—she always looks so shocked by her own words as if she never thought herself capable of being a little offensive. The girl is a glimmer of sunshine in a dark room. Eventually, though, the sun will go down and there’ll be nothing but darkness—and that’s when it’ll get interesting.
I can tell being trapped in here isn’t something she’s scared of, and that pisses me off. For the first couple of days, she paced her room day and night—I could hear her light-footed stomps on the floorboards—but now she’s content resting in bed. Something’s changed. Was it the locked door?
“Did Adrian call you this morning? How did his encounter go?” Dimitri asks.
I let out a bitter noise when I remember the phone call I had with him. “Yeah. His finger is gone and his eye is still fucked up. He’s watching the city right now.”
When Adrian told me he wanted to deliver Sloane’s hair to Giovanni in person, I let him because I thought the outcome would be funny. He told me about the endless stream of threats Giovanni gave him. It was all fun and games until he took his finger. That pissed me off, but I can’t say I didn’t expect it. Taking his ear would’ve been a typical move for Giovanni, but a finger is different.
Some things with Giovanni haven’t changed. Once he has his heart and mind set on something, he goes for it. Which is exactly what I want him to do. Giovanni will take his men with him to Russia in the hope of finding Sloane. That’s exactly what I want.
Little do they know, she’s right under their noses. Only about ten miles offshore. She’d be easy to find if I stayed in the city, even at the beach property my father purchased. The Romano and Genovese families would see her, especially if they got the police involved.
But they don’t have a single fucking clue where Sloane is. Three families with all the resources they could need at their disposal, and they can’t even find her. It’s laughable.
Giovanni has caused more fights than I can count, and he can’t decide what his next move will be. The moment he’s brought to me, I’ll put him through hell and thrive on his empty threats. Or maybe I’ll let him sweat for a little while longer.
“What, he can’t handle her body or her attitude?”
“Probably both.” I shrug. Adrian was the first of us to crack. He believes in the tale of Koldunya and claims the moment Sloane looked at him he forgot everything he was doing.
The tale is fucking stupid.
Dimitri laughs with me. “Do you know how long he’s staying in the city?”
I shake my head. I’ve been wondering the same thing. I know there’s another reason he doesn’t want to come back, but I don’t know what it is. He’s probably tired of being tied up in all my shit, but it’s not my actions that cause him issues—it’s his strategy. He’s fucking lucky Giovanni’s turning softer than before.
“Do you want to target Nina too?” Dimitri asks.
I shake my head quickly. “No. She’s pregnant.”
His eyebrows rise. “Okay, that’s a two-for-one.”
His words irritate me. I know he craves a fight and has to be the first to spill blood, but this is where I draw the line. A thick fucking line. “I’m not taking his wife away.”
“What the fuck happened to you, Mikhail?” He looks at me, his lips pressed tightly together.
“Nothing fucking happened,” I snap. I can’t have my men questioning me, but I don’t want to lose sight of who I am. If I had a daughter on the way, I’d protect my wife with my life. One of the many reasons I don’t form emotional attachments.
I never want to harm Nina, only Giovanni. But now I can use her against him to get what I want. He doesn’t have to know I wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt his family; he just needs to believe I’m capable of it.
That’s something Kirill taught me: I need to be steps ahead of my enemies. I need to think like them. He always said that in order to generate concern, you need to use their weaknesses.
That’s what I’m trying to do with Sloane. I’m sure she has more than one weakness. Her family is an obvious one, but I’ve yet to find another. I plan to tear her down till there’s nothing left but bone. I’ll know all her secrets, fears, hopes, and dreams . . . everything.
Dimitri’s hands find his face and he hides his expression from me. “Are you sure Sloane doesn’t know anything?”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to figure out. She fights fire with fire.”
“I told you,”—his face looks blank, just like mine—“the girl is Bratva too. She was raised by Ludis—of course she’s going to find your spot. She’s fucking ruthless. I like it.” He smiles as his mind drifts off into oblivion. He stares at the ceiling, a small smile curving the corner of his lips.
“Dimitri.” I snap my fingers in his face.
“Right. Um. Do you think if they see her, they’ll make a deal?” he asks.
I stare down at my desk questioning my next move. I knew I wanted Sloane here, but I’m not as prepared as I’d like to be.
“No. They’ll ambush, and I don’t want to risk your lives. The Romano and Genovese men have an army now they’re combined.”
“We need to arrange a meeting with them eventually,” Dimitri insists.
“It’s only been a few days. I want to see them sweat a while longer. You can go,” I tell him, and he exits the room and shuts the door behind him.
I spend the next couple of hours scrolling through tedious documents, planning on taking more from Giovanni than just Sloane.
