Page 57 of Ruthless Reign

“Fuck, it’s cold.” He blows into his hands while rubbing them together.

Outside the windshield, snow continues to fall, blanketing the neglected industrial area in a pristine white blanket.

“That’s what gloves are for.” I spare him a quick look, noticing his fleece checkered bottoms. “Are you wearing pajamas?”

Pavel reaches forward and jacks the heat in my G-Class Benz. “It’s the middle of the night.”

“I would have gladly waited the extra five minutes for you to change,” I say.

I keep watch on the silent building. About an hour ago, we got a call from the man Pavel had assigned to keep an eye on Anatoly. The Petroviches have plenty of other clients, but they’re all respectable business people for the most part, so a meeting like this—under the cover of night and in a derelict warehouse on the wrong side of town—raised a red flag.

“So, what did I miss?” Pavel jacks the temperature once again.

My patience already thin, I swat his hand away, lowering the temperature back to where it was. “Anatoly is still in the building. I can’t tell how many are in there with him, but there’s a few vehicles parked around the side.” I pick up the binoculars from the middle console and scan the building once again, but there’s still no hint of movement.

Pavel takes the binoculars from me and does his own visual sweep. “Seems pretty quiet.” He gives me a look that I don’t know how to interpret. “Did Liza say anything else about that dinner he dragged Sofiya to?”

My jaw clenches. “We didn’t talk about it, to be honest.” Because we had other matters to keep us busy.

In my bones, I know there’s something deeply fucking wrong with Anatoly, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it one way or another. Preferably, before he marries Liza.

It’s been less than a week since we came back from London, and Liza has been on my mind way too fucking much. I keep replaying the night—her tied up and spread wide, just for me. How she tasted, and the way she fell apart under my touch. It took everything in me not to surge forward and fuck her like my life depended on it. She wanted it, too.

So what stopped me?

I needed to be sure she was spreading her legs because she wanted to, and not for money or because she thought it was the best way to keep me from spilling her dirty little secret.

“So, how was London-town?” Pavel tries to put on a casual tone and fails. “We never did get to talk about your time playing bodyguard.”

I roll my eyes. “Nothing to report.”

“Somehow, I don’t think that’s true.” Amusement colors Pavel’s tone.

I have to restrain myself from pulling a gun on him. “Nothing that concerns you,” I say, irritated.

Pavel’s lips twist. “Really? Because I’m gonna be honest; you’ve been a cranky bastard since you came home from London.”

I grind my molars together, well aware he's right. I just hoped it wasn't so damn obvious that my head was a mess.

Liza can tell herself that she’s perfectly happy marrying Anatoly, but I know what I’ve seen—the way her hands shake when she speaks to him, the bruise on her face, or how she had to fight back tears when she told me that Anatoly is her choice.

She has reasons for going through with the marriage, but they are rooted in fear and desperation. If she wanted my help, I’d give it to her, but I’m not a man who begs. And she’s made her choice.

Beside me, Pavel releases a harsh breath, forcing my mind back to the present. “You’re really keeping your quiet about this, huh?”

I release a heavy sigh. “Trust me. It’s not that interesting.”

I’d also rather not be lectured on why getting involved with Liza is such a shitty idea. I know it is. Even if both Pavel and I suspect Anatoly is crooked, we’re still locked into a multimillion-dollar business deal with him.

“If you say so.”

“Shouldn’t you be focused on finding Hope King rather than worrying about who I’m lusting after?”

That shuts him up for a good second or two.

Hope King is the daughter of Lai King, the leader of the Black Company, a Triad we recently went to war with. During the attack on King’s hideout in Switzerland, Pavel was stabbed by the young beauty. He could have easily taken her down, but he didn’t. He couldn’t bring himself to shoot her.

Lai King offed himself before he could face our wrath, but Hope vanished without a trace after the attack. She’s a loose end that we need tied up because, as the heir to the Black Company, she could rise to power and mobilize against us. Who wouldn’t want revenge after we took down her father?

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