Page 11 of Obsession

She spun around to leave, but he caught her by the shoulder. Her foot slipped on the gravel, and she tripped. Strong hands caught her arms, and she was pulled against his hard chest.

His scent was the first thing she remembered—a vivid memory from the past. Leather, wood, and musk—strong, potent, masculine, and pure Mihir. It was a scent she had loved at one time. She shifted, and now her breasts were crushed against his chest. Her heart trembled. Goosebumps washed over her skin.

The feel of him draped over her, that strong chest she was plastered against, all of it invoked memories of the time when he’d meant everything to her. Her mind spun, oscillating between the past and the present—long lunches, cozy walks in Hyde Park, sipping coffee in cutecafés, rainy nights spent studying together, stolen glances, shared laughter, passionate lovemaking. The overload of memories made her dizzy and disoriented. She stumbled. He steadied her. Their eyes met. His palms moved up, until they brushed her upper arms. Her hands curled around the soft fabric of his black shirt. Her breath stuttered as she was sucked into his gaze. She realized how close they were and how, without either of them moving, the distance between them had further dissolved. Her whole body was plastered to his, his mouth a mere inch away from hers.

Now, she was dizzy for a different reason. It washim. All him. Her emotions clashed inside her. He was the only man who made her feel like this—angry and intoxicated at the same time. He was the only man who made her nerves sizzle.

The sound of cars arriving broke the silence around them. They parted immediately. From between the crates, she could see a convoy of three cars entering the compound. Mihir’s phone rang. He spoke in rapid Russian to whoever was on call with him for a few seconds before disconnecting. Then, taking her elbow, he began dragging her to the right, zigzagging between the stacks. He pulled open the door, and they entered the warehouse.

“What are you doing?” she yelped. He hauled her toward a dark corner, hiding her behind a group of taller stacks of crates.

“Stay here,” he ordered.

“What is going on?”

Lifting her chin, he looked into her eyes. “I need you to stay here. Don’t make a sound, don’t move, and for the love of God, don’t do anything reckless.”

“Mihir—”

“Not now, Anna,” he said sharply. “These men outside are dangerous. When I learned you were following me, I canceled my meeting with them, but they’re here nonetheless. I have to find out why.”

“YouknewI was following you?”

He gave her a dirty look, as if the question was irrelevant. It wasn’t. She’d assumed he’d only caught her sneaking around here. How the hell had he known she’d been following him? She’d kept a fair distance even from that massive Escalade that followed him wherever he went. And who were these dangerous people he was so concerned about? And if he was concerned, then why the hell was he meeting them?

Sudden fear assaulted her.

His phone beeped. With one last warning glance, Mihir moved away from her and stepped out of the warehouse.

4

His bodyguards appeared from the side, flanking him the second he made his way outside to the stationary cars. The doors of all the cars swung open, and eight people stepped outside, their arms raised with guns. His own bodyguards lifted their weapons in defense.

The leader of the group, Andres Samson, a bald, tattooed man, approached him, his men standing in a semi-circle around him.

“I see you’ve brought your full cavalry, Andres,” Mihir addressed the man. “I didn’t know you feared me that much.”

“It’s a little hard to fear someone who has only three guards accompanying him,” Andres replied smugly. “Maybe I can kill you right here and get a reward from your cousin.”

Mihir casually flicked a piece of lint from his jacket. “Sure, that is if any of you stay alive long enough.” He tilted his head back slightly. “What makes you think I don’t have this place surrounded by my men? What makes you think any of you will walk out of here alive? Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t take risks. Go ahead, shoot me, then see what happens next. Oh, and be warned, if anything happens to me, my brothers will come after every family member of every man standing with you here. You all may die tonight as a result of trying to harm me, but in doing so, you will also be putting a death sentence on every person you have ever loved.” He paused a beat. “So, shall we begin again?”

Silence reigned between them for a few minutes, until Andres raised a hand and his men lowered their guns. Mihir gave no such order to his own men.

He exhaled slowly. He and his brothers had been trained in all sorts of self-defense; their father had insisted on it. Till date, the three of them trained regularly and were very much capable for a face off in hand-to-hand combat. However, weapons always changed the status quo. And in moments like these, he remembered a very valuable lesson taught by his adopted father—to never show any weakness in front of anyone, and to bluff if faced with a difficult situation. Looked like his bluff had worked with Andres.

“Now that we have this sorted,” Mihir began, “why are you here, when I specifically canceled the meeting?”

“We were close by when we got Chekov’s message,” Andres said. “We had to take a U-turn to go back. Imagine our surprise when we saw your car parked here. So we decided to drop by and say hello.”

“And see if you can attack me, is it?” Mihir spat out. “Do you really want to be my enemy?”

Andres raised his hands up in surrender. “You called this meeting, Oshnov. I flew in from Tallinn only to meet you. I saw your car parked here and decided to check if we could meet before I return. I apologize for threatening you, but it was a chance I had to take. Do you know that your cousin has a bounty on your head? Five million dollars for anyone who manages to kill you.”

Mihir let out a quiet breath, masking his shock. So, this was what Ivan had been up to. Fucking bastard.

“Doyouknow that Ivan has no money?” Mihir spoke calmly. “All his bank accounts have been frozen by us. Killing me will be an absolute waste. No one will see a penny ever, and like I said, my brothers won’t sit quietly. They’d burn the world if I died. Be sure to tell that to anyone willing to listen.”

Andres, it turned out, didn’t have as strong a hold on his reactions as Mihir. The man was visibly aghast at the revelation. He stepped forward. “I don’t want any trouble. Like I already told you on the phone, I don’t know where Paul is. So, what is it that you want from me?”

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