“I just want one.”
She pauses, swallows once and then again before she clears her throat, her cheeks becoming a deep shade of red. This view of her, all bashful and looking absolutely fuckable in my shirt, is an image I need to engrave in my head for life.
New resolve—make her wear my shirts more often.
Her colorful eyes flicker to more green than brown as she whispers, “Solnste?”
“That’s just lazy. You can’t just choose the masculine form of the pet name I gave you.”
“Well, that’s the first thing I thought about.”
“Think harder then and put some effort into it.”
“As if you put any effort into Solnyshko,” she murmurs almost to herself.
“I will have you know that I did.”
“What type of effort is that? You just picked the first one you thought of back then.”
“Not true, but that’s not our topic of discussion right now.”
“I just need time to think about it. I haven’t done this before, okay?”
So she didn’t give her lover a pet name? One-nil to me, motherfucker.
“You have until the end of the day.”
“Gee, way to put pressure on someone,” she mutters under her breath again.
“What was that?”
“Nothing, nothing.” She smiles sweetly, and I completely forget why I should be mad at this woman for more reasons than one. “Where are you going?”
“To a meeting at the Pakhan’s house.”
She stumbles out of bed. “You should’ve woken me up earlier. I’ll be ready in a minute.”
I’m the one who grabs her by the wrist this time before she reaches the bathroom. Sasha whirls around and stumbles in my embrace. “Have you forgotten what I told you in the text last night? You have a day off.”
“I’m fine now. I don’t want a day off.”
“You’re getting it anyway.”
“But—”
“That’s an order, Sasha.”
“I’m going with you, Kirill.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Either I accompany you in the same car, or I follow in a separate vehicle. You choose the method.”
“How fucking dare you give me an ultimatum?” I sound angry, but I’m actually proud of this little shit. She’s come a long way from being an inflexible, weak soldier to this strong, assertive guard.
“I’m just informing you of my actions, sir.” She straightens against me, and that only causes her hard nipples to brush against both our shirts.
The little fucking tease.
“You can come along.” I squeeze her wrist. “But I swear to fuck, if you do something out of order, I’ll tie you the fuck down and send you back here faster than you can blink.”
She grins. “Yes, sir.”
And then she runs to the bathroom.
About two hours later, we’re done with the brotherhood meeting, so it’s time for my own plan.
During the entire thing, I had to physically stop myself from shooting Rai because she smiled at Sasha.
The worst part? The fucking traitor who claims to only be loyal to me smiled back.
Despite yesterday’s debacle, Rai is put together. She even hid the scratches on her face with makeup and looked like some sort of politician. She’s currently lost in her own thoughts while manically checking her phone. I’m going to take a wild guess that she’s distressed because her husband isn’t around.
Good. I hope he dies and she becomes a widow and then decides to become a nun.
But since that option isn’t on the table right now, I look at her stone-faced guard and then at Sasha. “Leave us. I need a word with Rai.”
She lifts her head from her phone and nods at her guard, who obediently leaves. Sasha, however, steps to my side, body full of tension. I don’t give a fuck that she became Team Rai overnight. The woman sitting opposite me is a threat that needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later.
Sasha’s lips part. “Boss—”
“What part of fucking leave do you not understand?” I don’t look at her as I cast the harsh command. I can feel her going rigid behind me, unease drifting off her in waves. When I lift my head, she nods at me and follows the other guard, but not before glancing at Rai.
As if she wants to warn her or something.
Sasha needs to be hit upside the head with a clear definition of loyalty and private lessons from Viktor.
“I didn’t realize we were close enough to sit for tea after breakfast, Kirill.” She sips her coffee and glares at me.
“We’re not. Fortunately.”
“Fortunately. So to what do I owe this honorable meeting?”
“I’ve been wondering.”
“About?”
“When are you going to tell Sergei and the others about what you saw?”
“What I saw?”
“In the club. You remember now, don’t you?”
“Oh, you mean your sexual preferences? I told you, I don’t want to use that against you unless you force my hand.”
“I’m forcing your hand, then.” I adjust my glasses with my middle finger. “Tell them.”
Her brow furrows in clear bemusement. “Why would you want me to tell them?”
“Don’t you want to destroy me? You have your chance, so fucking seize it.”
“No,” she says with force.
On one hand, I take this strong opposition as an indication that Rai probably never meant to use that bit of information and only wanted to hold it as ammunition.
On the other, being outed as gay would be the only way to protect Sasha’s real gender. If they know she’s a woman, she might get killed just for having the audacity to lie to the Pakhan.
Knowing her character, she’ll probably say I didn’t know, and I’ll get out of it unscathed, but I made an internal vow to protect her gender in the army until she’s comfortable revealing it herself.
So I glare at Rai. “I said. Do. It.”
“No, Kirill. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“If you don’t, I’ll kill your sister.”
She freezes and swallows, but she soon regains her composure. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Reina Ellis. Though she’s Reina Carson now, yes?”
She chokes on her mouthful of coffee, sending splashes flying all over the table. “How…”
“Did you really think I wouldn’t find out about her with you holding something over my head? You hid her well, but I have my ways.”
“Kirill,” she warns.
“She’s been married to her childhood sweetheart for seven years now, right? He’s a lawyer and works for his father’s firm. They also have a beautiful little boy who was named after your father. Should I start with the child first? Would that give you a good enough incentive?”
She lunges up, grabs her gun from her bag, and points it at my forehead. “I’ll spill your brains here and now.”
Checkmate.
After Rai caught me with Sasha, I made it my mission to have her followed wherever she went. That’s how I knew she has a twin sister that she barely keeps in touch with due to not wanting to drag her into our mafia affairs.