Page 24 of The Councilor

“Look at me, Raphaella.”

“I am, sir.”

“No, you’re turned the other way. Look at me.”

She did so hesitantly, still averting her eyes from me. I noticed first she was wearing more makeup than before, but it couldn’t hide the swelling under her eye or the bruise.

“What the hell happened? Who hit you?”

“Don’t worry about it,” she half whispered. “It was just a disagreement.”

I sensed she wasn’t going to tell me anything else, which angered me even more. Violence was often necessary, even killing men who dared betray the Bratva, but women never deserved to be hit. I moved around to the other side of my desk, very gently placing a finger under her chin and lifting. Jesus. There were tears in her eyes. “Who did this to you? You can talk to me.” I wanted to tell her that I’d be happy to kill the bastard but I doubted she would understand.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me. A boyfriend?”

At least she was able to snort. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Then who? Did someone attack you?” The girl took the goddamn subway, for Christ’s sake. She could have been mugged.

But my gut told me this was more domestically related. Yeah, I knew it wasn’t my business and I wasn’t some crusader, but if I learned the identity of the person responsible, the fucker would be taught a serious lesson.

“Please, just let it go, Mr. Semenov. I’m fine. I’ll get to work on this.” She picked up the folder and left my office before I could stop her.

I tossed my pen halfway across the desk, furious that I couldn’t help.

For now.

Twice in two days.

Vadim had requested my presence for drinks tonight, which likely meant I should shut down the office preparing for a war, or he had news of another kind.

While I was in the mood for a drink, I wasn’t for any kind of celebration.

Raphaella had managed to avoid me for the rest of the day. I’d gone to Shanna to ensure a member of my staff hadn’t been so stupid, but she’d known nothing about what happened.

As I exited my Ferrari, the anger remained. I buttoned my jacket, scanned the perimeter out of habit, and headed to the front door. I didn’t need to bother knocking, the housekeeper opening it with a smile on her face. I also heard music, which wasn’t abnormal given Caroline’s love of every genre.

I was barely inside when she greeted me, racing toward me as if I was a long-lost friend.

“It’s so good to see you, Aleksander. It’s been too long.” She kissed me as she’d always done, her eyes lighting up.

“Is Vadim in a good or bad mood?”

She laughed and pulled away. “Good. He even brought me flowers. Of course, I asked him who his mistress was.”

Now I laughed. While Vadim had never been considered the most romantic man in the world, he absolutely adored his wife. There was no way in hell he’d ever step out on her. “I don’t think you need to worry, sweet Caroline. You’ve managed to wrap him around your little finger.”

“You think?” She winked.

“I do.”

“Well, I hope you can find that someone special one day. I’m making dinner, a little late but Vadim was busy. Please stay if you’d like.”

“I don’t know. I still have a lot of work to do.”

“You know what they say, all work and no play…”

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