Page 11 of Blood Mosaic

“See to it personally,” he snapped. “Elene has enough to do.”

“And I don’t?” Mika’s eyes were stormy. “You think it’s easy dealing with all the shit your daughter left in her wake? I’m still sorting out allies in the east whom Zara fucked over when she left Sevastopol for Laskaris’s mansion in Istanbul.”

“How much last week?”

“She increased the tariffs again.” He snapped his fingers. “No, sorry.Laskarisincreased the tariffs through the Bosporus. It’s definitely not your daughter.”

As irritated as Oleg was about the extra money Zara was leaching from his businesses, he had to admire her cunning. He’d left his own sire once, and it had been just as brutal to create his own reputation in the vampire world.

If she weren’t a sociopath, he’d be proud of her.

“I have an idea,” Mika said.

They were pulling up to the luxury hotel where Oleg kept a dedicated suite of rooms for humans who worked for him.

“Later. Let’s get this one situated.” He snapped his fingers and touched a spark to Tatyana’s cheek. “Miss Vorona.”

At his touch, the woman’s eyes flickered open, but they were confused. “Where?—”

“We’re at the hotel, Miss Vorona. You passed out in the conference room, and we’re making sure you’re delivered safely to a hotel.”

“No I want…” She sounded exhausted. “My bag.” Her voice grew in strength. “My bag is?—”

“Right next to you.” He patted the shabby messenger bag. “We have a deal now, Miss Vorona. We’re partners, and I don’t steal from my business partners.”

Her fingers closed around the handle of the bag, and he saw her trying to sit up.

“Relax.” He touched her hand, and the natural shields that had been so strong before were weak and soft against his touch. He saw her hand relax and ignored the quick burst of pleasure it gave him to see her surrender. “Relax, Tatyana.”

Her blue eyes flickered open and found his own. “Who are you?”

“Oleg.” He used the Russian pronunciation, so it sounded more like Alec.

Mika opened the passenger door and held Tatyana’s back so she didn’t fall out. “The concierge is bringing a chair over.”

“Excellent.” He kept his eyes on Tatyana’s. “My assistant has called for the concierge. She’s a lovely woman named Marina, and she’ll see you to your room and make sure you have everything you need.”

“I don’t know…” She closed her eyes. “I’m tired. Why am I so tired?”

“It’s late and you had a stressful day.” He touched her hand again. “Sleep, volchitsa. I’m sure your fangs will be back when I see you tomorrow night.”

He smiled and allowed a hint of his own fangs to peek out, but Tatyana’s eyes were already closed.

“I still havemy doubts whether this woman can find the money Zara stole,” Mika said, taking Tatyana’s seat in the back of the Mercedes as they headed toward Oleg’s private penthouse near the city center.

Oleg had a large compound in Odesa, but he kept a secure apartment near SMO’s offices for the times Elene needed him to work. Mika had a room in the same complex, as did Elene for the times she didn’t want to make the commute from her house outside the city.

There was no sea view as there was at his larger compound, but Oleg wasn’t a water vampire who needed to see the ocean every five minutes or he would expire.

“You have doubts,” Oleg said. “I have doubts. Elene hasfewerdoubts, and she’s the only who’s been trying to figure out how Zara did it, so why don’t we trust the smartest woman we know, huh?”

“Not as smart as Tatyana, according to your little wolf.”

Oleg chuckled. “You caught that.”

“I like a woman with ego, but this feels more like bravado.” Mika shrugged. “Still, I have an idea.”

“Which is?” Oleg made a habit of hiring smart people and then listening to them. It had helped him build an empire, and it was the only way he kept it.

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