Page 66 of Deceitful Vows

I’m needed at home.

If I weren’t, my head would already be buried back between Zoya Galdean’s legs.

My cock’s twitch of conformation is responsible for my next demand. “I want our team based out of Myasnikov until informed otherwise. What happened this morning cannot occur again.”

“Okay,” Konstantine says before he shocks me by questioning my directive. He usually never seeks confirmation of my orders. He follows them to a T, conscious of the downfall if he were to stray from them for a single second. “But can I ask why?”

“No, you can’t.”

I’m not being arrogant. I honestly don’t know why I’m suddenly mindful of Zoya’s security. I would like to blame the low-ranking gangster whose death will spread caution across the globe of the consequences of messing with her. Ethics won’t allow it.

I want to protect her as desperately as I want her to scream my name, but both tasks will be difficult to achieve if I don’t bridge the three thousand miles between us.

Chelabini was my hometown growing up, but last month was the first time I’d been there in years. I have too many skeletons there, too many ghosts.

I refuse for Myasnikov to be stained in the same manner.

“I will instruct Anoushka in the morning to start arrangements to transfer our home base. We will join you in Myasnikov at the earliest possible convenience.”

Stealing Konstantine’s chance to reply, I exit my chauffeur-driven ride seconds after it pulls to the entrance of one of my many palatial mansions. My brisk departure saves the driver from shutting down the engine, which means Konstantine can begin an immediate departure to Myasnikov.

Help flounders when they spot me coming. I’m not a kind man, and their scramble to act busy announces I am not afraid to show this.

“Andrik,” a familiar voice greets a second before she commences removing my coat.

Anoushka was the longest serving nanny to the Dokovic clan before I promoted her to my head of staff. Her title and longevity in my inner circle give her the right to call me Andrik. Only those closest to me are privileged, and they’re mindful it isn’t to be used anywhere that could have it overheard.

The remembrance announces my car’s weave through the manicured lawns of my mansion had the effect I was aiming for.

It is just Anoushka and me in the entryway of my home.

“Where is my father?”

Anoushka shakes out my coat to rid it of the sprinkles of rain I gathered during the short trek from the driveway to the main house before she hangs it in the coat room. “With Zakhar in his room.” Her smile is gentle. “Zak has been asking for you all day.” The drop in her smile softens the lines sprouting in the corners of her glistening eyes. “You were gone longer than expected.”

“I had business to take care of.”

Anoushka dips her head in understanding.

The witch outstaying her welcome doesn’t.

“Business where?” Dina saunters into the foyer, nursing an overzealous glass of gin. “Your secretary said she hasn’t seen you since your meeting this morning.” She spins the watch too large for her rake-thin wrist until it displays the time. “That was over thirteen hours ago. What could possibly take that long to finalize?”

“I can think of a number of things,” I mutter, my tone hinting at just how deprived she makes my thoughts. “But none I need to discuss with you.”

She scoffs but doesn’t dare to continue badgering me. It won’t end well for her, and her wish to remain at her daughter’s side as negotiated in our contract reminds her of that fact.

After wordlessly cautioning Arabella to bring her mother into line, I head for the west wing.

Yes, my home has wings.

No, I will never have the need for the thirty-plus rooms they house.

The grandeur of my home is part of the gimmick I am forced to portray.

It is a prop—as are the people I invite inside. They’re all part of the plan. Only one person is excluded. The little boy swamped by a hospital bed he hasn’t left in months.

I had originally intended to make him part of my ruse, but just like Zoya, he imprinted himself on my soul in less than a heartbeat, so he will be protected just as fiercely.

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