Page 139 of Cashmere Cruelty

And knowing, all the while, it would be the last time.

“I’ll have my men bring my things,” I inform her that morning at the breakfast table.

“Oh,” April says. “Good. What time are they coming by? I’ll make some room in the closet?—”

“I’ve instructed them to put everything in the guest room.”

April’s face falls. “I… I see.” She tries to force a smile. It’s painful to watch. “Makes sense. So much space in here. Be a pity if we didn’t use it.”

“Mm.” The guest room is just across the living area, near the kitchen. It’s also closer to the door. If anybody were to break in, I could neutralize them before they crept any further in.

But I don’t tell April any of that. It’s no longer her business to know my reasoning.

It never was in the first place.

That’s what I tell myself as I watch her pick at her breakfast. April’s appetite is her dashboard light: if she’s eating, that means she’s happy. If she’s not…

Ignore it, I growl at the part of me that’s grown soft.It’s none of your concern anymore.

But it’s easier said than done.

This is ridiculous. I’m a Bratvapakhan.I’ve killed countless men in cold blood. So why does this fucking hurt so much?

When I leave for work, April walks me to the door. Her hand twitches, as if expecting I’ll pick it up and kiss it. Like I’ve always done.

This time, I don’t.

“I doubled your guard,” I tell her instead. “If you need anything from downstairs, just ask them.”

April frowns. “Why? Can’t I just go grab it?”

“No.”

She almost flinches at that.Like she flinched away from her mother, a masochistic part of me points out.

“Until further notice, you’re confined to your quarters,” I force myself to say. “No walks, no visits.”

“But June was supposed to?—”

“No. Visits.” I channel all my authority into those two words. I don’t care if she doesn’t understand—I can’t go through it again. Last night, the aftermath. The blood on her dress. “Have I made myself clear?”

Steeling herself, April swallows. “Crystal.”

It’s better this way, I tell myself as I climb into my car. April and I had already crossed too many boundaries. I need to be firm about this. Decisive. I can’t afford to falter.

I need to bury the man and embrace thepakhan.

So that’s exactly what I do. I go to work. I attend to my duties. I re-read Yuri’s proposal from scratch and go over the quarterly reports I’ve been ignoring from myvory.

All throughout the day, I push April far from my mind.She’s safe, I tell myself. Her guards have been replaced and doubled. My best men are on the job, like they should’ve been from the start.

Well, my second-best men.

On either side of me, Grisha and Yuri are sorting documents from the unstable piles they’d become on my desk. With Grisha’s organizational skills and Yuri’s competitiveness, everything quickly finds its way back where it’s supposed to be.

And then I glimpse a file under Yuri’s arm.

Ballistics Exam Report.

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