Page 33 of The Tsar's Obsession
“Hmm.” His update was expected but still not what I wanted to hear. “I’ll have to see Domenic myself. I’m going down south next week to finalize it with the cartel. There won’t be any coming back from that.”
And then I caughtsight of goddamn fucking Jeremy twirling Mia around the dancefloor and whispering something into her ear with a little too much energy. The vein in my forehead pressed against my skin, ready to burst at the sight.
From across the room, I saw her stiffen in Jeremy’s arms. Her shoulders tensed, and her head shook once, twice, denying his words.
“Maybe it’s best we all go down south. Not to the meeting, just to be there. You know the situation isn’t what we want it to be, and while Polina’s sources say the coast is clear–”
“Since when are you so pessimistic, Dima? Thesituationis perfectly fine. Everything is running smoothly. Boston is under our control, Miami, Baltimore.” Goddamn, one more rock into my garden and I was going to lose my fucking shit on someone.
“There’s more.” Dmitry poked the bear inside me. “I’ve spoken to each one of our men who is to arrive for the meeting. The whispers are turning into outright defiance, Kirill.” Again, that word. “A few have mentioned they will skip if the location isn’t moved from New York. Coincidentally, it’s the same ones that think you’ve made the decision to move because of your personal life.”
“Skip? How many isa few?Give me real numbers, not hypotheticals,” I demanded, adding Jeremy to the list of people talking dirt about me. I read his lips. It was easy because of how forcefully he spoke.You don’t know this man.
“Four.”
“You know their names?” I asked Dmitry, keeping my eyes glued to Mia and Jeremy’s little dance. Ooh, it looked like Mia didn’t like that. My girl.
“I have my suspicions.”
“Good. Have their names and locations on my desk on Monday before eight in the morning. I also want details on their wives, girlfriends, children, parents, and their connection to our business here. And if any of them are in North America, I need you to get Vova and have him clear his schedule for me.”
Dmitry faced away from the dancefloor while I got the perfect view of Mia dancing with Jeremy and Polina diligently watchingour discussion. The jazz music played, but Dmitry stayed silent, chewing his lip, deep in thought.
“You planning to take them all out?” His question was so heavy, like he was asking me if I thought this through.
“What does Polina think? Why isn’t she speaking to me about this? If you already have names, it must mean that it isn’twhispersanymore.” Dmitry stilled at my message, pausing before finding the right words.
“Polina’s been…distracted.” Why did he pause when he said that word? “With the gala and the men here. There’s been a lot on her plate.” That sounded an awful lot like he was making excuses for her.
Polina may have been a woman, but that didn’t mean she received any preferential treatment. She was equivalent to a man under my command, whether others saw her like that or not.
I had the inkling that there was a complicated web being woven behind my back. Somewhere, someone was hard at work, not for me, but against me, and their labor was out of my sight. “All their details. On my desk on Monday before eight,” I reminded him and stepped away, all my dark thoughts promptly flying out of my head when Mia’s hand snaked into mine, her grasp soft but confident.
I led her to the waiting car, feeling lighter with every step I took away from that room. Fuck this stupid party. It was time to just be with her, no more fucking games.
"Are you kidnapping me? Where are we going?" Mia asked quietly when she noticed we weren't on our way to her house.
"Just for a drink."
My hand in hers, we stopped in front of a nondescript door, unnoticeable to those who didn't know it was there. I entered the code, but Mia stopped in her tracks, and I sensed her uncertainty and apprehension.
"Do you trust me?" I shot the question out, both regretting asking it and incredibly curious to hear what she would say. She paused, and I waited.
"I don't know," she confessed, her eyes searching mine. "You're not who you say you are; that much is clear. But I can't help myself," she admitted quietly and took a tiny step closer, her hand firmly resting in mine and that innocent gaze suffocating me. "I can't...I can't keep away."
It would all happen. It would all happen for me, forus. Mia was falling in love. Soon, she wouldn’t just understand what I felt for the last decade. She would join me.
I had to close my eyes and distract myself before I crushed my lips into hers and fucked this up. Instead, I pulled her into me, landing a delicate kiss inside her palm, in physical pain from how deliberate all my actions had been.
"I'll explain," I promised, but knew that I couldn't say it all yet. That would be too much, too sudden—too overwhelming.
"Want to start by explaining why we're standing in front of a dark staircase leading into nothing?"
"It's a private wine club. I plan to fuck around and find out what happens to you when you drink tequila.” Mia giggled but remained in the same spot, clearly hesitant to join me down the dark staircase. “One drink. I’ll bring you home before bedtime. Pinky promise.” I stuck my pinky out and waited for her to accept. She bit her bottom lip, fighting a smile, but relented and clasped my pinky with hers.
“One drink.” She raised her index finger and took a step closer. “And then take me home.”
I would. I would keep my promise and take her home. She just didn’t specifywhosehome.
