Page 87 of Breaking the Rules
“And just who in the hell are you?” Grigory snapped.
“Mr. Stepanov, this is the woman who saved Petra, myself, and Yurgei from the gunmen. She is a friend. I promise you that,” Anatoli said fervently.
“Sir, I think we need to speak in person,” Waverly suggested.
The Russian grunted and mopped at his brow. “I feel as if I am walking into a trap. But I would walk anywhere for my little girl.”
“Papa, please come. I miss you, and I would like you to spend more time with Dante as we will be married.”
“Married?” Grigory shrieked.
“Married?” It was Waverly’s turn to be shocked. To Dante, marriage held all the appeal of a firing squad. She wondered if he was aware of Petra’s plans.
“Someone please tell me what the hell is going on,” Xavier asked. “All I caught was gunmen and married.”
Petra and her father were yelling again and when Dante put an arm around Petra’s shoulders to comfort her, Grigory howled in rage.
“Dante, if you value your life, please stop touching Petra right now,” Waverly hissed in English.
“I will meet you,” Grigory said also in English, finally regaining a modicum of calm. “If only to kill this man!”
And the calm was gone.
“I’m starting to like this Stepanov guy,” Xavier whispered to Waverly.
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The house Roz procured for them was a rambling eight-bedroom Spanish villa in Malibu. It sat on two manicured acres behind thick brick walls and an iron gate. The neighborhood itself was gated as well. The interior was all rustic beams, graceful arched doorways, and timber ceilings. Bedrooms were divvied up, and everyone dispersed to claim their space.
Roz had done an impressive job stocking it with all the necessities from toothbrushes to frozen pizza.
Grigory arrived alone that evening, adding to the fleet of luxury SUVs already in the drive and garage. He was a short, stern little man whose eyes shone like diamonds when they looked at his daughter. Xavier noted that they showed something like malice when they looked in Dante’s direction.
Through stilted discussions, Xavier and Micah were able to assure Grigory that they were here to help. And after a long chat with Anatoli, during which Xavier was convinced that the man did have a significant crush on Waverly that sprung from her saving his life, they were able to identify the possible inside source.
Target Productions had been in preliminary talks with Petra over a reality show starring foreign heiresses as they navigated the L.A. scene. To sweeten the deal, the studio had hooked her up with a part-time assistant who managed her calendar. Xavier had to admit he was impressed with Target’s creativity. When Petra had been identified as an asset to the negotiations, they most likely made contact with her under the guise of a show business deal. What better way to keep tabs on a target?
To Xavier, it made sense that Target’s moonlighting wasn’t limited to just acting talent. Having a stable of behind-the-scenes spies could come in handy for assignments or run-of-the-mill blackmail, he mused. From the outside, it looked as though Brad Tomasso was building his own intelligence network.
However, since Petra’s untimely lockdown, the assistant had communicated with her through Stepanov’s security and had what Anatoli referred to as “a cow” when they hadn’t told her in advance about Petra’s spontaneous outing to the club.
Xavier and Micah agreed that it was enough that it warranted another call to Travers. The ever rumpled, ever grumpy Travers arrived after dark and took one look at the assembled crew and shook his head. “I’m out,” he announced.
Kate surreptitiously locked the front door behind him, blocking his escape.
“You haven’t even heard what’s going on yet,” Micah said, putting a hand on Malachi’s shoulder and helpfully shoving him toward the house’s library. “Come on in, take a load off, andthentell us to fuck off.”
Waverly plied him with coffee and a plate of the apple crumble Anatoli, the man of many talents, had made as his contribution to dinner.
Settled in around the library’s walnut table, Xavier laid it all out—minus what could have been misconstrued as a kidnapping, as well as the stickiness of Grigory sort of holding Dante prisoner.
Travers had the reaction Xavier had expected.
“Why is it everything with you guys is a freaking mess? Can’t you just stick to protecting celebrities?”
“Malachi, don’t tell me you don’t want in on this,” Waverly said, turning those big eyes his way. Xavier felt pity for the man who didn’t yet realize that he had no chance against her persuasion.
“Look, from what you’ve told me, this has to go higher than someone in the Special Collection Service. This has to be someone with oversight. Maybe even Joint Intelligence Community Council. There’s no way that Tomasso is operating out of bounds without someone serious in his corner. You sure you want to stir up this hornets’ nest?”
