Page 82 of Sweet Animosity

Reluctantly releasing her, I leaned over and snatched my folded blazer off the back of a nearby chair and shrugged into it.

Vivian, looking adorably mismatched in my oversized, silky basketball shorts and dress shirt, placed her hands on her hips and scowled at me. “Were you not listening to what I said?”

With my hand around the back of her neck, I pulled her in for a hard kiss. “You hate me. Yes, I heard.”

Pressing her fingertips against her now bruised lips, she arched an eyebrow. “And?”

“And… it changes nothing. The other bathroom has a Jacuzzi if you’re interested. See you later tonight.”

After another quick kiss, I headed out the door.

Anton checked his watch. “What the hell took you so long?”

Reaching for the handles on either side of the open door, I hoisted myself into the helicopter. “I had a bomb to defuse.”

Later, once we were settled in our private plane on our way to New York, I discussed the Vivian issue with Anton and Mac.

Mac leaned back in his seat. “She’s certain the man is Russian?”

Anton smirked as he reached for a breakfast pastry. “It’s not like one of us could be confused for an American.”

Despite the gravity of the situation, we all laughed. Each heavily tattooed and above average in height thanks to a childhood diet of harsh Russian winters and generations of stoic resiliency, it would be hard to mistake a Russian male for being from anywhere else but the motherland.

Mac shook his head. “I can’t imagine anyone with that amount of balls operating in our territory without our knowledge.”

I nodded. “I thought the same. Isn’t Gregor Ivanov coming into town soon?”

Anton brushed crumbs off his suit vest before responding. “Affirmative. He, Damien, and Mikhail are escorting their wives to Chicago for some massive photoshoot on Michigan Avenue. We’re providing security. Gregor and Mikhail are staying with Dimitri and Emma, but apparently Yelena wants to gamble, so she and Damien are staying in one of the club’s penthouse suites.”

I frowned. “Isn’t she the one who almost got herself killed cheating the Colombians over a gambling scheme?”

Anton nodded. “Already on it. Damien assures us she absolutely will attempt to cheat at the tables, so we’ll fill the seats with staff members.”

“Maybe Brynn could join in.” Mac chuckled, alluding to how Anton first met his girl when she’d tried to cheat at the tables.

“The last thing I need is Yelena teaching Brynn how to be better at cards. Strip poker night wouldn’t be half as much fun if she started winning.”

Mac raised an eyebrow. “What you really mean is you don’t want Yelena cluing Brynn in to the ways you already cheat at strip poker.”

Anton winked as he pointed at Mac. “Exactly.”

A frustrated sigh escaped my lips. “Can we get back to my problem?”

Mac nodded. “Already on it. I’ll call Gregor and ask him if he knows of any Russians attached to high-priced stolen art who are in town right now.”

Anton reached into the black leather satchel on the seat next to him. He pulled out a thick manila envelope. “And your other problem is already solved. Serg gave this to me to give to you.”

I opened the envelope and checked the contents. It was a new passport, identification, birth certificate, and other documentation for Vivian.

Anton pointed to it. “She now has everything she needs to safely leave the country. We’ll make good on our promise of a million euros for her silence. She’ll no longer be a liability to us, and she’ll be out of danger from this mystery Russian. Problem solved.”

I tossed the envelope onto the table between us. “I had a different, more permanent solution in mind.”

“What was that?”

“I thought I’d marry her instead.”

CHAPTER 30

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