Page 32 of Cruel Russian Monster
“It’s fine. But we’ve got to watch each other’s backs. If they take out one of us, it affects all of us. And that’s exactly what the enemy wants. We can’t let that happen. Got it?”
“Got it,” they said in unison.
I kissed each sister on the cheek and headed out, finally on my way to meet up with Lev at the office.
***
Over the next few days, I kept myself busy with Bratva business. I left the house early and came home long after midnight, doing everything I could to avoid Vera.
Avoiding her physically was easy. Mentally? That was another story.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her in that damn satin pajama top, clinging to her skin, her breasts outlined, my lips and fingers yearning for her.
With our rooms side by side, there were nights I stood in the hallway, fighting the urge to go to her. Just to look. Just to breathe the same air. But I reminded myself why I couldn’t.
The goal was clear: she was only here to stabilize the faction.
Vera might carry my last name, but she was still a business deal, an agreement inked for survival, not affection.
She’d asked for some freedom, and in return, she wouldn't escape. To her credit, she’d stayed indoors. But as for using her freedom? My guess? The shootout rattled her, and she wasn’t ready to roam the city, which was fine by me.
One afternoon at the office, I got a call from Timur.
“Sir, Yegor and Zahkar are in Las Vegas looking for Vera. After realizing her things were still at the Airbnb and she wasn't answering her phone, they called in reinforcements.”
I had no doubt Timur knew she was at my house, but he was smart enough not to say it.
“Scrub every surveillance feed showing her from the past two weeks.”
“I already have, sir.”
I couldn’t afford for them to trace her disappearance back to me.
As much as we were on semi-decent terms with Yegor and Zahkar, and as much as I wanted to announce the marriage, and as crazy as it sounded…I wasn’t ready to share her yet.
“Has Artyom been informed?”
“No, sir. I collapsed one of his major deals to keep him occupied. He’s knee-deep in cleanup. He still thinks Vera’s enjoying her trip in Vegas.”
“Good. Keep me posted.”
“Yes, sir.”
Just as I ended the call, an alert pinged on my phone.
One of the cars from my garage was on the move. I checked Vera’s location; of course, her phone was with it.
I made my way out of the office. Was she running again? Had she called someone to pick her up, to help her disappear?
I wanted to believe she'd honor the deal…but with her history of vanishing it, was hard to do. I should’ve hired a damn guard for her.
I walked outside and got into the car. Tomas slid into the driver’s seat.
“Where to, sir?”
Since I didn’t know where she was headed yet, I gave him the name of the street she was on. She already had a fifteen-minute lead.
My fists clenched in my lap as the GPS finally stopped at the city library.
