Page 37 of Blood Mosaic

“Are you really bragging about one of your women right now?”

Oleg muttered, “I wouldn’t call it bragging.”

A cutting rain was pounding against the side of the plane as Mika cut his eyes across the cabin. “This plane may be fireproof, but there’s more than enough rain to bring it down.”

His empty threat made Oleg truly laugh for the first time in days. “You wouldn’t do that to Roman.”

Mika snarled. “Why are you in such a good mood?”

“Because you’re in a bad one. It’s about balance.” He glanced at Mika, then back to the magazine. “What was more important than making me happy by accompanying me to Sevastopol?”

“A screen call with Ivan and Alexey.”

Oleg grunted. “The two most criminal of my brothers. What do they want?”

“They want to buy out our interests in Serbia.”

“I’m assuming not the legitimate ones.”

“Of course not.”

Oleg had a smuggling hub outside Belgrade that had served him well for two centuries, but it was in need of massive investment to keep it updated, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to spend his money on smuggled cigarettes, liquor, and electronics when he had legitimate opportunities with his freight companies that required less graft.

“How much are my brothers offering?”

“For the hub?”

“And the networks.”

Mika’s eyebrow went up. “They were just offering for the hub, and it was ten million US.”

“See what they’ll offer for the network. Dollars, not local currency.” Oleg flipped through the magazine and saw another former lover. “Oh look, Ingrid is in here too.”

Oleg enjoyed the occasional human lover. Human women were amusing and easy to please. He had a feeling that Tatyana Vorona would have sharper teeth.

Oleg snapped the magazine closed and tossed it on the seat next to him.

“You want to sell the liquor network?” Mika asked. “Really?”

He waved a hand. “It all goes together. If they make a decent offer, give them a timeline. We’ll have people working there who won’t want to work with Ivan, so we’ll need to put them in other positions.”

“Fine.” Mika was still pissy. “Maybe you should have asked me what I had planned for tonight before you committed me to flying off to rescue your new girlfriend.”

“My girlfriend?” Amusing. “Your bait, you mean? I would think you’d want to keep her safe.”

“She’s still my bait even if she gets a bit damaged,” Mika said. “You’re obsessed with the woman because she looks like Luana.”

“I honestly don’t see the resemblance.” He was slightly preoccupied with the woman, but it wasn’t about her looks. He was far more curious why she continued to see him as anything more than a man. “Am I becoming less human?”

“Peko’s balls.” Mika rubbed a hand over his face. “Is this because you’re going to therapy now?”

“Fuck off.” He spoke to a friend who was a therapist. That didn’t mean he was in therapy. “She’s not my therapist. I’ve been trying to seduce her.”

“You’ve been trying to seduce her once a month for the past five years,” Mika said. “Her ass can’t be that alluring.”

The corner of his mouth curled up. “You’ve been trying to seduce Elene for twenty years.”

If looks could kill a vampire, Mika’s glare would have decapitated Oleg.

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