Page 70 of Shatter Me

He stares at me for a long moment, then nods once, sharply. “I’ll have Akim take you. Two men will be outside your door, two more in the lobby.”

The control in his voice wavers, and I see how much this costs him. But right now, I can’t bring myself to care.

27

DMITRI

Istare at the security feed showing Tash's apartment building, my fingers drumming against the mahogany desk. Three days of silence. Three days of watching her through cameras, ensuring her safety while giving her the space she demanded.

At least she kept the security detail. Smart woman.

"Sir, Igor’s men were spotted near the museum again." Akim's voice breaks through my brooding.

"Increase patrols. I want eyes on every entrance." I straighten my tie, unable to stop thinking about the look on her face when I told her everything. The horror. The betrayal. The fear.

My phone buzzes with another report of Igor’s retaliation. Three of our warehouses were torched overnight. The body count keeps rising.

"Your brother's on line two," my assistant calls through the intercom.

I pick up. "What?"

"You look like shit," Nikolai says. He must be watching me through the office cameras. "When's the last time you slept?"

"I'm fine."

"Sure. That's why you've been staring at her building for hours. At least she's smart enough to keep the guards."

I grunt in response, watching Natasha emerge from her building flanked by two of my best men. Even through the grainy footage, she looks exhausted. Dark circles under her eyes. Hair pulled back messily.

"The museum board meeting is tomorrow," Nikolai reminds me. "You'll have to face her."

My jaw clenches. "I know."

"Try not to get us all killed because you're distracted by your curator."

I end the call, watching Tash slide into the waiting car. Part of me wants to go to her, to explain everything again, to make her understand. But I know better. She needs time to process who I really am and what I really do.

The car pulls away from the curb, and I switch to the traffic cam feed to follow her progress. Ensuring she arrives safely at the museum is the least I can do, even if she hates me.

I slide into the back of my Mercedes, nodding to Akim behind the wheel. Erik's message weighs on my mind—his first contact since we secured Katarina at the facility. He's been holed up there, refusing to leave her side. Obsessed, though he'd never admit it.

"Take the north route," I tell Akim. "Less traffic."

The city blurs past my window as we head toward the outskirts. An hour. A whole fucking hour away from Tash. My fingers tap against my thigh as I check the security feed on my phone. She's still at the museum, cataloging new acquisitions.

"Sir, your brother Nikolai called. He wants an update on Erik's situation."

"Tell him I'll report back after I see for myself."

The concrete jungle gives way to industrial zones, then sparse suburbs. Each mile puts more distance between Tash and me. My jaw clenches. I should have stationed more men around the museum before leaving. Igor Lebedev is getting bolder by the day.

I dial my head of security. "Double the detail on Ms. Blackwood."

The car turns onto a private road, gravel crunching under the tires. Erik better have a damn good reason for pulling me out here. He's not the only one with priorities to balance.

Trees crowd the narrow path as we approach the secure facility which is a renovated warehouse complex surrounded by state-of-the-art security. Three checkpoints later, we pull up to the main building.

Erik meets me at the door, looking like he hasn't slept in days. His usual military precision is frayed at the edges. "Brother. We need to talk."

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