Page 122 of An Indecent Longing

Gritting his teeth against the urge to tell the guy to go fuck himself, Ian focused on Larisa and recounted what had happened, every last detail that he could remember.

And when he finally fell silent, Antonoff and his daughter exchanged a long glance.

Obviously, they knew something Ian didn’t. And Ian didn’t want to know. He wanted nothing more to do with Dorrie. Wanted to hand her back to Antonoff and forget he’d ever considered—

Considered what?

“Thank you, Mr. Keller.” Antonoff sighed and rose from his chair. “I appreciate your candor and your assistance with this situation. My men will take it from here. I’m sure you don’t wish to be pulled any farther into this business.”

Antonoff was absolutely right.

“So that’s what you considered Dorrie? Business?”

The contempt in Larisa’s voice bit at Ian, but he told himself he shouldn’t care what she thought. He only cared about getting the hell out of this toxic arrangement before it killed him or Ben. Christ, if anything happened to Ben because of this, it’d be Ian’s fault. He’d dragged his cousin into this mess that first night at the Lazarus.

“I suggest you don’t answer that question, Mr. Keller.” Antonoff’s expression actually held a hint of resigned humor. “I can assure you, there’s no answer to that question that will placate my daughter. When it comes to her relationship with her sister, she might be the more dangerous of the two of us. But I will say this, if you don’t leave now, I may let her take a swing at you. Because if I decided to take my shot, you might not survive.”

And there was the man who’d taken control of a major Russian crime family and made it his own in a matter of months with very little bloodshed.

If Ian hadn’t been so far beyond his tolerance level already, he would’ve known to walk away right then. But the rage that’d had years to build had finally reached its tipping point.

“I don’t take orders from you.” Ian’s hands clenched at his sides and he made very sure he kept his gaze on Antonoff. Larisa had nothing to do with this. “I will never take orders from you and I’m not afraid of you. You’re the reason your daughters have to constantly watch for threats over their shoulders. You’re the reason Dorrie’s life is about to be ruined. You’re the reason my father never made it out of prison.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Larisa’s eyes widen in shock but he couldn’t stop now. He’d kept this bottled inside for so long, if he didn’t get it out, he was afraid he might choke on it.

Antonoff’s expression never changed. Because he knew Ian was right.

“You have ruined so many fucking lives, and your daughters are the ones who are going to pay.” Now he did look at Larisa. “If I were you, I’d change your name and move somewhere no one knew you. Far away from him. And take your sister with you.”

Then he turned and walked back through the house and out the door.

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