I actually find myself smiling. If anyone deserves retirement, it’s Ariel. “That’s great news.”
“Don’t celebrate just yet,” Leo says. “She still needs to coordinate the escape. That’ll take time. And risk.”
“How much time?” I ask urgently.
“At least a few days. This has to be executed perfectly. If not…”
He tapers off, and I’m glad he does. I don’t need to hear him say what Belov will do to her if he catches her.
“What happens in the meantime?”
“We wait for her call. If nothing comes in the next forty-eight hours, that means there’s no plan in place and no way for her to leave safely.”
My heart sinks at the very thought. “Do we have a backup plan?”
He looks at me and smirks. “Always.”
“Which is…？”
“We go in, guns blazing.”
I gawk at him. “Is this the part where you say, ‘Just kidding’？”
“I never kid. That’s the plan.”
“Leo,” I say, standing up and starting to pace nervously. “A full-on attack is risky, to say the least.”
“Any plan at this point is going to be risky.”
“But… but he could kill Pasha the moment we attack.”
“We won’t give him time to,” Leo says confidently. “In any case, Ariel will still be on the inside if we have to resort to that. She’ll make sure he’s safe.”
“I don’t know about this.”
“This is how we do things here, Willow.”
I groan. “Jesus. ‘The fucking Bratva way.’ I don’t know how you can live with this constant weight on your chest. God knows I’m sick of it. No wonder you murdered the punching bag.”
He smiles. “I was seeing Belov’s face every time my fist struck.”
“If only it were really him.”
“I would love to gut the bastard myself. But I promised that honor to Ariel. She deserves the closure.”
I pause and consider that. “You’re probably right. But will she get it?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Some days, I fear she’s gone too far down the rabbit hole to ever come back.”
I shudder, remembering how dead and flat her eyes looked when Belov smashed her face into the table at the meeting. “Don’t say that.”
“Avoiding hard truths doesn’t help anyone, Willow.”
“Maybe not, but for once, can’t you just pretend?” I ask. “Can’t you just pretend that everything’s going to work out and we’re going to have a happy ending?”
He smiles. “Okay. Let’s pretend.”
I groan. “Why do I feel like you’re about to make me regret this?”
“Let’s have dinner tonight,” he continues. “For one night, we can pretend that all this is behind us. We can pretend everything is fine, and we’re happy.”
“You’re taking this further than I thought you would.”
He holds out a hand to me. “Is that a yes?”
I sigh. This isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I know enough to know this: Leo Solovev always gets what he wants.
So I take his hand and we go inside.
33
LEO
Willow is late for dinner.
The food has been out for five minutes. The crab legs in curry leaf leche de tigre are starting to get cold.
Then I hear footsteps on the stairs.
I look up. Sky-high black heels give way to long, gorgeous legs as she rounds the spiral staircase.
She has on a slinky silver dress with the thinnest straps imaginable. The neckline is deep, highlighting her gorgeous breasts.
The hem falls below her knees, but it follows the curves of her body closely, leaving little to the imagination.
She’s brushed out her hair and left it loose around her shoulders. It falls in rich, silky waves.
As she walks towards me, I’m transfixed by the way her hips are moving. I blink and pull myself together before I can start to drool.
“Sorry I’m late,” she murmurs.
I force my eyes up to her face. We may be pretending tonight, but I don’t have to fake my reaction. “It was worth the wait. You’re a fucking vision.”
Her lips turn up in a shy smile, and color blooms on her cheeks. She tries to hide her pleasure as she sits down gracefully next to me.
“Thank you. You look pretty dapper yourself.”
I haven’t taken as many pains as she has, but I know I pass muster. I’ve gone for fitted pants and a black button-down that hugs my biceps closely.