My fingers tap against the wood of my desk as I stare at the feed on my screen.
Kolya sits across from me, telling me about the latest reports from V Corp, but my concentration is scattered, and I’m hardly paying his words any attention.
Lia is hugging Jeremy, their legs wrapped around each other as they sleep on his bed. Her dress rides up her pale thigh, barely hiding the crack of her ass. Even through the monitor, I can see the red welts on the backs of her thighs from last night’s punishment. I didn’t hold back, and she writhed and squirmed more than the other times.
She almost screamed. Almost.
She’s developed the habit of napping with Jeremy over the past couple of days. Something that makes my son ecstatic.
It’s been a week since she became a part of his life, and he has no doubt in his mind that she’s his mother.
During this short period of time, Lia has been doing weird things, like dressing him to match her and dancing with him in the hallways—things that Ogla does not like. His nanny has scarcely done any work, because Lia makes sure she’s Jeremy’s only caregiver, teacher, and playmate. In no time, they’ve become inseparable, their bond growing naturally, without the need for my interference.
However, her influence isn’t exactly very positive. While I’m glad Jeremy is coming out of his shell, she’s teaching him unnecessary things, like how to whistle or to run inside the house as they play hide-and-seek. I often bump into them, and she uses Jeremy’s presence as a shield to escape my questioning.
At night, though, when Jeremy’s fast asleep, she can’t avoid me. At first, she tried to convince me that she’s better off sleeping with him because he needs her more, but after that ended with her being punished, she started coming to the bedroom of her own volition.
Her movements remain hesitant with a slight twinge of fear in her light blue eyes. But the moment I touch her, she free-falls with no wings to hold her upright.
It’s not due to her lack of resistance, because she does resist, fighting tooth and nail.
Lia still bites her lip or the pillow to muffle any sound she might make. She still stares at me with defiance after she orgasms. She still turns away from me when she sleeps and inches to the edge of the bed to keep as much distance from me as possible. She still stiffens like a board whenever I wrap an arm around her waist and flatten my chest against the delicate skin of her back.
I’m waiting for her to come around with time, but I’m not a patient man. Correction. I’m not a patient man when it comes to her.
In other parts of my life, I’m the epitome of steady decisions. I don’t allow myself to get agitated or to lose my head; that will only lead me to rash decisions, and eventually, to my downfall.
When it comes to Lia, however, I seem to lose sight of my modus operandi. It doesn’t help that she defies me every step of the way. Even when she’s shattering all over my fingers.
She looks so compliant when asleep, her lips slightly parted and the soft lines of her face in eternal peace.
If only she were as docile while awake.
Maybe it’s her sleeping face that stops me. Maybe it’s her relationship with Jeremy.
But I’ve been holding off the inevitable for some time now. I need to take the next step with her before it’s too late.
“Kirill didn’t show any suspicious activity,” Kolya says, tapping rapidly on his laptop.
When he received military training, Kolya excelled in both the intellectual and the physical departments. In a way, he’s the most valuable second-in-command in the entire brotherhood. And he’s smart enough to hide his actual worth so that the Pakhan doesn’t take him for himself. Nikolai Sokolov came close once, but he died before he could fight me for him.
“Don’t allow the men to slacken around Kirill,” I say, still watching Lia. “He’s most likely waiting for an opportunity to strike.”
“They’re my best men. They wouldn’t disappoint you.”
“We will see.” I pause, tapping on the desk. “How about Vladimir?”
“We can’t tell for sure.” Kolya pauses and stares for a beat at his laptop screen before his brown eyes slide back to me. “He’s keeping his cards close to his chest, but since the Pakhan hasn’t said anything, he knows nothing.”
“He knows nothing yet. That could change any second.”
Kolya taps a few more things into his laptop. “Vladimir’s movements have been normal. He’s done nothing unusual except for going to the police station.”
“He could be getting help.”
“From whom?”
“Mikhail. Igor. Rai,” I enunciate her name. “Keep an eye on the three of them and on her husband. He has killer friends and wouldn’t hesitate to use their intel if he thinks it would benefit her.”
“Not Damien and Kirill?”
“Kirill wouldn’t have told me if he were going to choose the other side. His game is different than internal affairs. And Damien doesn’t get involved in anything that won’t allow him to use his fists.”
“On it.”
“And Kolya?”
“Yes?” He lifts his head.
“We need to have a meeting with the Italians.”
His Adam’s apple bobs up and down with a swallow. Nothing gets that reaction from my second-in-command. Not blood, not killing, and not even bombing a place just to get me out. When we were in our twenties, he single-handedly killed five men to save me from an attempted assassination.
He’s the most courageous and loyal man I know, and it’s been tested throughout the twenty-five years we’ve known each other. The fact that he’s even showing a sliver of discomfort right now is for one reason, and one reason only.
He’s worried for my life.
“I’m against it, sir.”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion. I only told you that it will happen.”
“With all due respect, if Sergei or any of the others find out, it’ll be the last strike. They will have every reason to question your loyalty.”
“They already do. Might as well get things done.”
“Suspecting you and having proof are entirely different. This will get you killed. You should stay away from the Italians for some time, until we at least know what Vladimir is up to.”
“You know full well that I don’t have time.”
“You could carve some.”
“Time is like a ticking bomb; the more I wait, the faster I’m heading to the end.”
He sighs heavily, running his hand over his light hair.
“What is it, Kolya? If you have something to say, say it.”
“Remember when that man tried to kill you some time ago? We ran after him, accompanied by Damien and Kirill, but then we found him dead?”
“Yes.” I could never forget the only assassination attempt that my system failed to identify. Usually, I’d find the perpetrator and make an example out of them. Not that time, though. Not only the mercenary who was sent out to kill me was shot in the nape, but we also found evidence of someone removing the bullet from him.
“I have a premonition that the past will be repeated and the solution will be murdered before our eyes.”
“Since when have you become superstitious?”
“Since then.” His voice is hard, and while I know his concerns are genuine, I’m also certain that if I don’t take a step now, everything will fall like a house of cards.
“We’ll do the meeting on Igor’s birthday.” I tap my fingers on the table. “We’ll make it seem normal. If I convince Lazlo Luciano to give us an in with his mayoral candidate, it’ll appease Sergei.”
“You can play your trump card.”
“No,” I say firmly.
“But it’s desperate times.”
“I said no, Kolya, and that’s final.”
He thins his lips but stops himself from spouting any more nonsense.
That’s one of Kolya’s best qualities. He knows when to stay quiet and when to talk.
My gaze slides back to the monitor as I notice some movement. Lia wraps her arms tightly around Jeremy to the point that he squirms awake. My entire body turns rigid and I’m about to go there until Jeremy breaks out in giggles as she tickles his stomach.
My body relaxes a little, but I keep watching them as she helps him put on his coat and wraps a scarf around his neck before she throws on her own coat and they head outside. I navigate through the hallway camera, then the stairs, following their every move.
Soon enough, they head to the gazebo in the garden. There’s a camera there, but I watch them through the window instead. I see Yan, who’s standing at a corner of the gazebo, posture relaxed but alert.
Jeremy and Lia are still struggling to build his war zone, or more like, she’s struggling. It’s the hundredth attempt, and Jeremy keeps bringing her one model after the other, wanting them all done.
Her brows draw together with concentration and she huffs a breath in frustration when it doesn’t work. She has absolutely no patience, which is why she manages to get herself a punishment—or few—every night. She still talks back and spouts things, even when she knows full well that it will get her in trouble. Sometimes, I see the regret, but other times, her expression says without words, ‘Fuck it, it’ll happen anyway, so why delay it?’
After a few failed attempts, Lia calls for Yan, who joins them. She motions at the bench, probably inviting him to sit, but he shakes his head once.
So she stands up, grabs him by the hand, and drags him to the seat beside her. Yan’s alert gaze meets mine through the window, and I’m about ready to go out there and beat him to a pulp.
I know it’s not his fault, that she did it, but my brain can’t look past her hand on his. Her hand is on his.
As if sensing my murderous plans, Yan swiftly pulls away, but that doesn’t extinguish the fire that’s burning holes in my chest.
Staring him down, I motion at him to get the fuck up, and he immediately starts to comply, but Lia places a hand on his knee, forcing him to stay.
That’s it. I’m going to kill him.
I tilt my head to the side and motion at him to leave. In that moment, Lia turns around and faces me, her eyes narrowed and lips pursed, then she mouths, “Stop it.”
Me, stop it?
I retrieve my phone and type her a text.
Adrian: Get in here.
She stares at her screen for a second, her lips pursing further before she types back at rapid-fire speed.
Lia: No. I’m playing with Jeremy.
Adrian: That’s three, Lenochka.
Her eyes widen and she meets my gaze through the window.
Lia: I did nothing wrong today.
Adrian: You touched Yan twice and you just refused a direct order. Three.
Lia: You’re impossible.
Adrian: I will show you how impossible I can truly become if you don’t get in here in the next minute.
Lia glares at me through the window, her temper rising with every second before she types.
Lia: No.
Adrian: Then tell Yan to come.
A frown etches her delicate brow.
Lia: Why?
Adrian: So he can pay for touching you.
Lia: He didn’t do it. I did.
Adrian: Doesn’t matter.
The fact that she’s defending him makes his case worse, and the more she takes Yan’s side, the deeper his grave gets.
Lia: You need help, okay?
Adrian: And that’s four.
Lia jerks upright, throwing her phone beside Jeremy. He stares up at her with unsure eyes, but soon smiles when she kisses his cheeks and probably tells him she won’t be long.
Yan stands as well, but remains by Jeremy’s side.
Kolya, who must’ve witnessed the entire thing, gets to his feet and grabs his laptop. “I’ll be in the annex if you need me.”
“What?” I ask when he doesn’t attempt to go.
“Why do you keep Yan as her guard when you don’t trust him around her?”
“I’m testing him.”
“You’re breaking him in.”
“Same thing.”
“Still.”
“Stop spoiling him, Kolya. He’s not a kid anymore. In fact, he’s more cunning and works under the surface deeper than you’re blinded to see.”
“You’re only saying that because he’s close to Mrs. Volkov.”
“And you’re only defending him because you refuse to recognizes what he’s turned into. Can’t you see it?”
He frowns. “See what?”
“Yan is not the little kid who used to follow you around wherever you went.”
He pauses as if he wants to say something, but thinks better of it, nods, and leaves.
I click my monitors shut and head to my minibar to pour myself a glass of cognac on ice. By the time I settle back into my chair, the door opens not so gently as a furious Lia barges inside and slams it shut behind her.
Taking my time, I drink her in. She removed the coat and is wearing a light pink dress that flattens against the curve of her breasts and waist before falling to her knees. Her cheeks are red, her lips pursed, accentuating the cut from when she bit them to the point of drawing blood.
That will change.
Sooner or later, that habit will disappear.
Sooner or later, she’ll be completely mine. Literally. Figuratively. In every sense of the word.
I click on the remote, causing the curtains to fall closed, shielding us from the outside world.
“What the hell do you want?” she snaps.
“And that’s five, Lenochka.” I motion at her to move closer. “Now, come here.”
