Page 5 of Scorch

I pace in the office and shake my head. “Fuck.”

“Her marriage to him will bring severe consequences,” Lev counters. “If we secure the hand of both Ivanov women, you know what that means for us.”

I do. It means creating a foundation that decades of influence and legacy couldn’t rival. It means allowing brutal devastation to our friends and family if we fail.

But it’s complicated. So fucking complicated.

Mikhail holds my gaze. “Tell me what you know about Yudin.”

I look away, my jaw tense. “I’ve stayed away.”

I had to.

Watching her go anywhere near him sends my blood to boiling, and my gaze grows hazy. I have to focus on protecting my family and can’t risk going nuclear on a man who means nothing to me. I can’t expend energy on a situation that’s out of my control.

I’ve watched. I’ve watched so carefully but from a distance. “He hasn’t hurt her, and that’s all that matters.”

Timur Yudin buys her nice things, makes sure she has a guard on her, albeit it a weaker one than I would have, and has never once raised a hand to her. I would know. If he did, I’d rip his dick off and shove it down his throat so he choked on it while I slit his throat.

“Yet,” Aleks says, shaking his head. “Aria’s got a file on him. We researched heavily after Nikko’s marriage to Vera.”

My skin prickles, and I swivel my gaze to Aleks.

Aria, Mikhail’s wife, is our head of cybersecurity and excellent at what she does. When our brother Nikko married Lydia’s sister Vera Ivanova, it became necessary to zone in on whoever might pose a threat to us.

I look away, not wanting to listen to the details.

What good will it do? I’ll only want to fucking torture every cell in his body before I murder him with my own bare hands. I hate him for being near her. I despise him for not being worthy of her. If I find out one goddamn detail about him?—

“He’s a master at orchestrating these deadly catastrophes,” Aleks says, his voice icy. “He makes sure people in his stable have fatal accidents, then he swoops in and collects hidden insurance policies.”

I shake my head. Fucking douchebag move, but it’s not out of the ordinary to?—

Aleks goes on relentlessly. “He stages human trafficking. He sells women and children as if they’re cattle. He’s a top trader in the black market.”

I clench my jaw and stare straight ahead. The fucking asshole. I’m no saint, but anyone involved in human trafficking deserves to be dealt with severely. He’ll live to regret every vile action he’s taken. No one harms the innocent on my watch.

And I want her. I want her so fucking bad it consumes my every thought. If I can’t have her… if she ends up with that self-serving, sadistic prick…

Lev speaks up. “There’s more. Don’t shut this down, Viktor, and fucking listen.” My gaze snaps to his. “Three months ago, his lawyer got him acquitted on accusations of ownership of child pornography, but he’s guilty as fuck. He’s just untouchable. Too much money and too much power.”

“Fuck,” I growl.

Aleksandr delivers the final blow. “Aria uncovered accusations that were deeply buried. He brutally assaulted his last girlfriend. She faked her death to escape, but he found her. When he did, he broke her jaw before she threw herself into oncoming traffic.”

Bile rises in my throat with the effort of restraining myself.

“It’s not a question of if he will hurt her, Viktor, but when.”

“You’ve been tailing him?” I growl. “Where is he?”

Aleks frowns, making a few clicks on his keyboard. “Two hours north of here. Near the Mid-Hudson Bridge.” He reaches for his phone without breaking eye contact with Mikhail, signaling the gravity of the decision. He dials quickly, and the room falls silent, waiting for the call to connect.

“Nikko,” Aleksandr begins when the call is picked up, “we need to discuss the Ivanov situation.”

Nikko, always quick on the uptake, responds, “I’ve been waiting for this call. Go.”

Mikhail takes over, his voice firm. “It’s about Lydia. We need to secure her for Viktor.” He fills him in.

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