Page 24 of Mikhail Petrov

“How does it feel when I scream your name?” Mikhail’s grip grows deliciously painful. “You can’t wait to hear it again, can you?”

Our eyes connect, and I know the door to his heart is cracked open, but I don’t want to be the one to jump through and get disappointed again. He needs to show me he wants this and is willing to fight for us.

In the meantime, I’ll have my fun.

CHAPTER 11

MIKHAIL

“Curfew lifts in the morning. We should be in the air by ten, at the latest.” Dad’s quiet for several beats, and I lift the phone from my ear to make sure the call hasn’t been disconnected. “You still there?”

Another maddening few seconds crawl by before he clears his throat.

“Everything okay, Mikhail?”

When he says my name with a Russian pronunciation, I know that whatever follows is serious, and he’ll accept no bullshit. After giving him the rundown on Leah and leaving out what happened between us, his tone shifts, and I can almost hear the wheels in his head turning over different scenarios.

“You know I don’t like to miss deadlines or feel like I’ve lost control.”

“Lost control,” he repeats, more as a statement than a question.

I relax against the sofa and huff a breath, not in the mood for his cryptic lectures.

“What’s your question?”

“You’re old enough to make your own decisions. I just hope you know what you’re doing here. She’s beautiful, but...”

I knew that’s where his mind would go.

“Leah is a business partner. Nothing more.”

It’s not that my father suspects there’s ever been anything between us, but he knows the sons he’s raised. While loyal to Mom, he brought us up as gods among men. And pussy goes hand in hand with power, respect, and money.

“I don’t meddle in your personal life, not even when all that shit happened with Celeste and your divorce, but this girl—you know what’s at stake. Emilio might be letting her play the part she wants for now, but he has other plans for her, Mikhail. She’s his prized possession.”

The thought of Leah being seen as a pawn and nothing more than a means to gain wealth sets my blood on fire. I can offer her everything, give her the whole goddamn world, but it’s not good enough.

Pure bloodlines, I heard her father say once. It’s bullshit.

“How’s your wife? And the baby?” I ask, choosing to change the subject.

He releases a quiet sigh, as if deciding not to press any further. “They’re good.”

I don’t miss how his tone brightens. A part of me is happy that he’s found someone after all these years. But I won’t lie. The thought of him fucking his now-dead best friend’s daughter, then subsequently marrying her, is still a hard pill to swallow. She’s years younger than Roman and Lev–younger than Leah–and pregnant with my little sister.

Now-dead best friend.

I turn those words over in my thoughts and laugh at the irony and similarities of our situation.

My attention focuses on the black door across the room, where the sound of running water suddenly stops.

I don’t have to wonder if I’d do the same for Leah, because I know the answer. I’ve killed for her in the past. And if it comes down to Rodrigo and Emilio...

“Son, are you still there?”

My father pulls me from the vision of both men dead by my hand. “Yeah,” I say, my eyes drifting back to the shadow of Leah’s feet beneath the door. “I’ll send you a text once we’ve landed tomorrow.”

I offer a quick goodbye and toss my cell onto a side table as I close my eyes and indulge in her voice filtering across the room. She’s singing loud enough for me to hear and know it’s Spanish, but low enough that I can’t make out the lyrics even if I understood them.

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