Page 14 of Shattered Oath

“I thought this was a vacation?” she asks, and I pause.

“It is,” I reply.

“It doesn’t seem like that to me. All you’ve done since the beginning of this trip is work your ass off,” she rightly says. How do I explain that I’ve only been trying to distract myself from throwing caution to the wind and confronting her about what she’s up to? But I know it would be a lethal mistake. Plus, she’d only lie. I must stick to the plan, and right now, work is the only thing keeping me on track.

I keep walking, closing the bedroom door behind me. I place a call to Ludis as soon as I reach the living room.

“Boss?” he says as he answers the call.

“I got a message from our people in Madrid. Our cargo is en route. Get the men ready at the port. I want them on standby from tonight. We can expect delivery by 2 p.m. tomorrow. I’ll send the details to you,” I tell him. I don’t want any mistakes with these goods. It is why I’ve decided that my men should be on guard by the time it arrives.

“Boss, with all due respect, we can put the men on guard tomorrow morning,” Ludis starts to protest.

“I have my reasons,” I interrupt. “We can’t fuck up this shipment. Am I clear?” I ask him. I wonder what has gotten into Ludis lately. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. He’s waiting for my show of strength against the traitor among us, obviously not seeing the bigger picture. His silence on the other end of the line is as damning as an accusation.

“Got it, Boss,” he finally says. His frustration is palpable as he second-guesses me. My long-standing captain is wondering if he could be doing a better job.

It makes me think of Petrov. I’ve still not gotten anything from him and it worries me. It’s a fucking waiting game and it’s really putting my patience to the test.

“I’ve got this, Ludis,” I say firmly. “I know what I’m doing.” I don’t know why I feel the urge to explain myself.

Maybe Iamgetting weak.

This is what happens when a fucking woman gets under your skin, asshole.

“Sorry, Boss. I’ll get to it,” he says.

“If anyone tries anything funny… I don’t need to tell you what to do. Am I clear?” I tell him.

“Crystal,” he says before I end the call.

The next call I make is to Sergei, who answers almost immediately.

“I want you to carry out an assignment for me,” I tell him, making sure the door to the room is shut as I speak. “This needs to be private. I don’t want you discussing this with anyone else.” There’s a pause as my words sink in.

“Alright, Boss,” Sergei says.

“Good, I’ll send you the details,” I tell him. “You’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning,” I add.

“I’ll be ready, Boss,” he says before I cut the line.

As much as I need to find out who Aurora is working for, I also need to find Petrov. Something is very wrong here. He’s either in on the whole thing or he’s been silenced by whoever is trying to take us down.

I send the encrypted message to Sergei, including Petrov’s last location. I can only hope that Sergei will find him alive.

When I hit send, I lay back in my seat and take a moment to get my mind straight. It’s only a matter of time now before we find out who’s trying to fuck us up. And like Ludis and Sergei, I also have a job to do.

Now it’s time to focus on my biggest nemesis: my lovely little wife.

***

I enter the bedroom with the tray in my hand.

After we had dinner, I spent the evening lining up a string of trades that should make up for the losses of the past weeks. But it meant that I left Aurora to her own devices the entire evening. By the time I got back to the bedroom, she was fast asleep. As much as I wanted to wake her and impale her with my dick, I restrained myself and went back to fall asleep on the couch.

But today is a new day. And it’s perfect to finally set my plans in motion.

“Good morning,Solnishko,” I say as I lean down and place a light kiss on her lips.

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