Page 97 of Smoke and Shadows

Viktor turned around and stalked out of the study. He ran into Marissa a few paces out the door. Her face was furious and battle-ready.

“Trent told me that Dad—” Marissa hissed. He grabbed her hand and dragged her down the hallway into an alcove.

Viktor realized he was breathing hard from unspent anger.

“What did he say, Viktor?” Marissa asked nervously.

“You need to know, Iz.” Viktor said, his voice raspy like sandpaper. “My gut tells me you won’t give a shit and you’re not leaving me. But I’m telling you now, sweetheart, if you fucking break up with me over this, I’m not letting you go anyway. I’m fighting for you, even if the person I have to fight is you.”

“You’re not making any damned sense.” Her eyes flared impatiently. “What did my father say to you?”

“He’s cutting you off.”

“He’s disowning me?” Marissa said in confusion. “Kinda archaic, don’t you think? It’s not like I talk to him much nowadays—”

“No. Your inheritance,” Viktor snapped. “You stay with me even for another night. Billions. Gone.”

“And he thinks I care?” Marissa’s voice got louder. She was positively shaking with rage. “What else? And don’t leave anything out, big guy. Because you’re foaming at the mouth. He must have done something unforgivable, like offering you money.”

“You know your father too well,” Viktor drawled, relief crashing over him.

“Oh, God. How much?”

“Twenty mil.”

Marissa laughed. “Well, I’m glad I’m worth more than—”

Viktor couldn’t help it. He hauled her against him andkissed her roughly, not caring if anyone, including her father, walked in on them.

After a few minutes of intense lip-lock, Marissa pulled away and stared up at him with all the emotion he wanted to see in her eyes. Total acceptance of what they had, of him. “Take me home, big guy.”

Home.Viktor couldn’t agree more.

Stuart Kwon’sphone buzzed with the call he was expecting.

“He wouldn’t take it,” Trenton Cole muttered from the other line.

Stuart smiled without mirth. Either Viktor Baran didn’t like being blackmailed or he truly cared for the girl.

“That’s too bad,” Stuart replied. “You understand that this will null and void our contract.” The contract having to do with oil tankers being owned and managed by Cole Nauticals.

“I still don’t see how Viktor Baran’s company would threaten the interests of Exetron Oil,” Cole argued. “They deal with corporate security and fraud, and we have nothing to hide. All our dealings are by the book. An alliance with AGS would actually increase the confidence level of our business partners.”

“There are some concerns that AGS is involved in espionage for the CIA,” Stuart said carefully. Trenton Cole was on need to know, and the man didn’t know that Kwon knew Marissa Cole worked for the CIA. “As a Russian company, those allegations are troubling.”

“Look, I’ll try to reason with Marissa,” Cole said.

After he ended the conversation with Trenton Cole, Stuart used his secure phone to contact Owen Reed.

“Baran’s relationship with Ms. Cole is more serious than we anticipated,” Stuart told his henchman.

Reed was silent for a beat before saying, “We could exploit the situation.”

“Threaten one of them or make them work against each other,” Stuart agreed. “We need to provide a catalyst. Are you in position?”

“Waiting for the word, Mr. Kwon.”

“Do it.”

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