Page 50 of Little Blue

The door closes and Lev stands naked and trembling. “My father is going to kill you.”

“Unlikely. But I’m definitely going to kill you.”

There’s always a wildness that overtakes a man’s eyes when he faces death. It’s a truly exquisite thing, as though the soul knows it’s near its end, and it rises from the depths of its cage to push at the portal of the eyes, begging, stretching and yearning to be set free.

“Please,” Lev pleads as I tuck my gun into the back of my pants. He’s going to fight, and I’m ready for it.

I’m always ready for it.

Revel in it, even.

“Your father has attacked my businesses and killed my men. He’s made attempts on my life and called for a war. This is my response.”

“Fuck man, I don’t have anything to do with that shit. Please!”

“You’ll give your father a message for me, won’t you?”

“Yes, anything. Fuck.” His hands scoop through his hair. His nods are frantic. “Anything.”

I grin, and then I lunge. He fights back. He even gets a solid hit into my jaw before I’ve bound his wrists to the bed.

I leave him there on the bed, chest open wide, heart torn from the cavity to lay on a bed of feathers next to his head. Popov will get my message. It’s officially war.

Still, my heart doesn’t even quicken as I take his life. Not until I’m walking from the room to find Misha. Not until I think, it’s time to return home to her.

That’s when it flutters.

Twenty-Two

Ilya

I called Luka when we landed, so he’s waiting for me in the great room when I return. Misha gives a two-finger salute before he heads for his room, ready to sleep off a long two weeks.

I’m not happy about the time I’ve been away. I’d hoped to know more about the little woman I’d taken for my own by this point. I hadn’t necessarily been anticipating a war when I took her.

“How is she?”

“She’s doing well. As you know, at first, she spent her days in her room. Polina is teaching her to bake and cook. I think she likes it.” I don’t like the way he smiles as he talks of her. “She’s taken to conning me and Boris into playing cards with her. She likes a game called war, and no matter how many times she wins, she wants to play more.” His smile fades at the hardness I know he sees in my eyes. “She’s taken to the dogs.”

“What?” My eyes sharpen, my fists curling.

He introduced her to the dogs? They could have ripped her to shreds.

Violence bursts in my chest and Luka takes a quick step back. “She’s taken to talking to them through the cage. She sits on the bench and has not attempted to pet any of them.”

A little of the violence eases. “Go on.”

Luka takes a breath. “Six of the eight have taken to her. When they see her now, they come to the gate and lay at her feet to listen as she talks to them. The other two watch her with caution, but even they are seduced.”

“What does she talk about to them?”

Luka shifts awkwardly. I raise a brow and he blows out a breath. “Uh, she mostly talks about you.”

“Me?” Is that excitement I feel?

“Yes, Pakhan.”

“What does she say?”

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