Page 6 of Torn Souls

I’m doubtful that we could keep even one woman safe. Four? That would be impossible and not something I would risk.

When Wolfe and his team found their woman, one they rescued from the hands of Morozov years ago, I allowed a tiny bit of hope to grow in the depths of my soul. They have found a woman to be at the center of their little mercenary group. While it’s possible we could find the same, I’m not going to be holding my breath or believing it is an inevitability.

Dealing with fairy tales and happy endings is not something I have the luxury of doing.

“You should have taken me up on my offer to find a way to blow off some steam last night,” Maxim teases me even though his eyes are assessing. My brother sees more than I want him to; it has always been his way. “You clearly need to blow off some steam and whatever sleep you managed to get last night didn’t help.”

I press my lips together because sleep was illusive as fuck last night. It has been for months. Longer, if I wanted to really be honest with myself.

It feels like everything is moving too fast and the shadows are creeping in closer and closer. Something is coming. If it’s a reckoning, I’m ready. But it feels like so much more.

My gut is screaming at me that we won’t just have to deal with Mikhail and the echoes of his father. We’ll have to fight harder, protect fiercer, and drag so much more out into the light.

“I don’t need to blow off steam,” I grumble.

I run a hand over my face, the day feeling heavy on my shoulders even though it has only just begun.

“Ralph has put off our meeting,” I inform my brother, and he sits up a little straighter.

“Why?” Maxim growls the question, and I can’t help but smirk.

I’m not surprised at his reaction, he oversees the real estate side of the business because it’s all about people, an area where he has always excelled.

While I intimidate, Maxim charms. That is not to say he can’t be intimidating. If anyone wanted to look deeper, they would see that my brother is just as deadly as I am. Maybe even more.

“Apparently he has a client meeting,” my voice is banal.

Maxim narrows his eyes as Huck and Baker walk in. They look between us as they take seats around my office.

We all have our own work areas, which we use, but I ensured my office would be big enough for the four of us to work out of as well. We work best together and I’m not prideful enough to be unwilling to admit that to myself or the other men in the room with me.

Together our strengths are capitalized. When apart we function, damn well, but we’d rather be at our best.

“Do we even want to know?” Huck smirks as he pulls his tablet out and starts getting to work.

“Probably not,” I grunt which has them all chuckling.

My mind settles with the quiet as we all start to work. Well, all of us except for Maxim who seems to spend a long time just lounging. It’s what he does best, and I stopped expecting anything else a long time ago.

It’s almost lunch time when Betty bustles into my office. Her mouth forms a perfect ‘o’ of surprise when she sees the rest of the guys sitting in the room. Huck and Baker look up from whatever they’re working on, and Maxim covers his mouth with his hand.

Betty clears her throat and stands a little taller with her shoulders back. It’s clear she’s trying to appear confident. Nothing good would come from calling her out on it.

“Mr. Volkov,” she simpers, “I got another call from Richard Chambers. He is still requesting a meeting.”

My eyebrows pull together, and I can feel the guy’s interest in the conversation. We know exactly who Richard Chambers is. He’s been requesting a meeting with me for months.

But why would I invite someone who did business with Morozov into my house? Anyone who would align themselves with Anatoly Morozov is not a good man and they sure as fuck aren’t someone I want to be involved with.

Anatoly terrorized this city. The worst part is that the people who cowered from him didn’t even know his name. They justknew you always had to be looking over your shoulder with the expectation of the shadows reaching for you.

From what we’ve found so far, Chambers wasn’t involved in every facet of Morozov’s business. He helped Morozov find men who didn’t mind dabbling in the seedier side of the city while also finding ways to launder the money.

I would have taken him out when Anatoly was killed, but he wasn’t there. We made a plan to allow him to believe that his involvement wasn’t detected. Men make stupid decisions when they believe they’ve gotten away with something.

And Chambers hasn’t disappointed.

Since Morozov’s death, Chambers has been clamoring for a meeting with me. He tried to reach me directly, which was never going to happen. Then he started reaching out to my office. As our business has grown, along with our power, he’s increased the frequency of his calls.

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