Page 37 of The Payment

“I can’t help it, Lev.I’m not there to keep my finger on the pulse.I know how Gregor Polov operates.How clever and underhanded he is.Andre wouldn’t realize he was transporting drugs unless he’s being paid under the table.”

Raw betrayal surged through her veins.The moment she had left Atlanta, her grandfather had slithered his way into her company, corrupting everything she had built.She had spent years creating a legitimate business, and without thought of how it would affect her, he immediately pounced and turned it into another channel for his criminal empire.The revelation struck like a blade to her heart.Jarek had warned her, and here was once again more proof.She had never been anything other than a pawn to Gregor Polov.A convenient façade for his illegal operations.

“We appointed Andre Becker as the Atlanta Director because he has more integrity in his pinky finger than half of Atlanta’s corporate sharks put together.If there is foul play afoot, I’m relatively certain he’s not involved.”

“I tend to agree, but my instinct tells me there’s a problem.I’m not going to wait until the shit hits the fan, Levin.Make the arrangements.I want you to go with me.”

“That’s if the mighty Mr.Farrel allows you to leave,” Levin scoffed.

Heat flashed in Tatiana’s eyes.“Jarek Farrel is my husband, forced to be exact, but in no shape or form does that mean he has control over what I do or where I go.”

“Very well, I’ll make the bookings.Any specific day you want to go?”

“Let’s leave on Sunday and stay for the week.I want to study the operations without alerting anyone of my suspicions.”

After Levin left, Tatiana stood at her office window, watching planes take off into the crisp autumn sky.A desire to let all of this go and chase her childhood dream of being a pilot surged through her.What bliss it would be to sit in the cockpit and be surrounded by the calming silence of nothingness.

The dream evaporated on a heavy sigh drifting from her lips.The fierce defense of her autonomy from Jarek puzzled her.The burning rage that had consumed her since their marriage had shifted into a confusing mix of opposing forces.Her hatred of his manipulation still simmered beneath the surface.Yet, she could no longer deny the pull she felt toward him or the way her body responded to his touch and how his rare, genuine smiles made her breath catch.Her heart skipped a beat.A baby...he wanted a baby.

“Sexy smiles be damned!I’ll fucking drink venom before I give that lying sack of shit a child.Five years...I can hold out another four and a half.”Still, the dichotomy troubled her more than any of the suspicious numbers in Atlanta’s reports.

Pressing her forehead against the cool glass, she sighed again.Her voice sounded hoarse in the silence.

“Why the fuck does my life have to be so complicated?”

The phone buzzed on her desk.“Your husband is here, Tatiana.”Her PA’s voice sounded winded.

Tatiana grimaced, annoyed that Jarek had such an adverse effect on women wherever he went without even trying.

“I’m busy.Tell him I’ll see him at home tonight.”The door opened before her words faded.

“I’m afraid this can’t wait until tonight.”Jarek’s grim tone sent a chill down her spine as he entered, followed by a middle-aged couple.

Tatiana’s world tilted on its axis.Sky-blue eyes, so like her own, stared back at her from beneath dark, heavy brows—so much like her grandfather’s that her hands began to shake.The silver-haired man’s face carried echoes of memories she had buried decades ago.Her lungs refused to work as her heart thundered against her ribs.

“Oh God,” she whimpered as her gaze shifted to the woman.The elegant blonde’s heart-shaped face bore a smile on lips similar to the ones that Tatiana saw in the mirror every morning.Nausea rolled through her stomach.“No, it can’t be.”Her voice cracked as she looked at Jarek, desperately searching for denial.His steady presence anchored her as the room spun.

“They were in hiding, love.These are your parents.”

“B-But...I don’t understand.How...where?”Violent tremors wracked her body.Jarek’s arm slipped around her waist, and she clutched his hand like a lifeline, needing his strength to keep from drowning in the tsunami of anguish threatening to consume her.“This is a lie.Another devious trick to make me do your bidding.”

“It’s no lie, my darling daughter.”The musical voice triggered a buried memory of soft lullabies in the dark and gentle hands smoothing her hair.

“Thirty years.”Raw pain laced every word.“You’ve been gone thirty years, and now you waltz in here, expecting me to jump with joy?”

“We tried numerous times to get to you, Tatiana.”Maxim’s deep voice scraped against her childhood memories.“We never could get close.My father has had a covert team watching you since the day we were forced to leave.”His face contorted with decades-old terror.“We didn’t intend to leave you behind, but he held a gun to your head while you were sleeping that night.We barely managed to get away alive.”

The horror of that revelation sucked the air from the room.Tatiana swayed, Jarek’s grip tightening protectively.

“Why now?What suddenly changed?”Desperation clawed at her throat.

“Your husband is what changed,” Mila whispered, inching closer with maternal longing etched in every line of her face.“For the first time, there is someone who doesn’t live in fear of Gregor Polov, and now that you’re under his protection, we knew we could finally reunite our family.”

“His protection?”Tatiana’s laugh sounded hollow.“You don’t know anything.”She darted a look at Jarek.“He’s just like Grandfather, or did he forget to tell you that I’m his revenge, his pawn to bring the mighty Gregor Polov to his knees for killing his wife and daughter twenty years ago?But I guess on the upside, I’m better off, right?I mean...since I finally get to meet my parents.”

“You’re bitter,” Mila said sadly.“You need to understand, Tatiana.We had no choice.If we didn’t run that night, Gregor’s assassins had an order to eliminate us.We were so scared that the order extended to you.”

“His own son?His heir and successor to the mighty Polovskaya Bratva empire?I find that hard to believe.”Tatiana couldn’t help herself.All the years of longing and loneliness converged into this moment.

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