Page 53 of Control

As uncomfortable as this would be, I was ready to rip off the bandage.Sounds good. I love you.

I love you too, baby girl. Always.

I beamed at his message, my belly feeling warm from his love.

I checked the time again.Shit!I had one minute, and we had only moved an inch in Manhattan traffic.

Before I could let the driver know that I’d jump out and run instead, my phone buzzed again. The number was marked as private, so I didn’t know who it was from.

I tapped on the message to open it. As I read through it, the warm glow that had filled my body was replaced by a cold dread that I hadn’t felt in years. I suddenly felt like retching right there in the car.

How had he found my number? How had he found me? I had been so careful.

Hello, sister. Long time, no hear. News around town is you have a new boyfriend. I’d love to meet him and catch up. Tomorrow at 1 p.m.? –Your Loving Brother

Chapter XXI

Jai

“Are you sure you have the right location?” Zayn asked from beside me in the back of the blacked-out SUV.

I sat facing outside my window, watching city streets whirl by as we high-tailed it to our destination. The tint on the window provided enough relief from the blazing summer sun, yet I left the sunglasses on my face to hide the anxiety simmering inside of me.

“Positive,” I replied to my brother. I had verified it multiple times.

I received the message early this morning.New York. –M

Mikhail followed up his vague text message with a hyper-encrypted email, which I decoded. Leonid was in town and had assigned a few of his brothers to accompany him on his impromptu trip. Mikhail was one of the lucky ones and had been able to share the coordinates of where his boss would be having a meeting.

Zayn looked over to me, but I remained turned away from him, staring at the buildings passing by. “Why do you think he’s here?”

“No clue.” Maybe to close another filthy deal? Maybe to fuck with me? Nothing good could ever come of a visit from Leonid.

I had expected him to retaliate after my last attempt at killing him. He knew I was behind the assassination attempt, so maybe he was here for revenge, though I’d have expected him to be more secretive about his whereabouts. It wasn’t like him to suddenly hop on a plane and hunt his enemy. No, he liked the drama of the kill—to draw it out and strike when someone least expected it. He wasn’t here to kill me. He had other plans.

I didn’t share the same strategy. I chose to act as soon as opportunity presented itself. He was here, so today was the day he would die. And this time, I wouldn’t miss.

As soon as I got the message, I rounded up my men and all the artillery and explosives we had on hand. Zayn and I were strapped with guns and explosives under our clothes. A caravan of SUVs followed behind mine, holding my lethal army of men.

I hadn’t wanted to take Shyam up on his offer to fight this battle alongside me, but I had informed him of the plan. Amelia was right. He had a family to think about now, and it was better that he stayed out of this fight. At least now he was in the loop and knew to expect that something would go down today. It would give him a chance to get his family out of town, if necessary. But I wouldn’t let it come to that. Leonid was on my turf, and he wasn’t ever returning to Russia. Not unless he was inside of a body bag.

I hadn’t even had a chance to talk to Claire. All of this happened so quickly that I went into battle-mode without ever calling her. We had made plans to have our talk tonight. I was ready to share everything with her and hear whatever it was she wanted to confide in me. This must have been what a real relationship was like—the need to share everything with the person you loved. And God, did I love her.

She had spent the night catching up with her best friend, Lana. I received her text after she returned home last night, even though it was late. She knew I wouldn’t sleep until she checked in with me so I would know she was safe. It was Saturday, so she was free from teaching today and would be able to stay at my place tonight. Meena was still taking private lessons from her, so we could go over to Shyam’s together tomorrow and maybe have a family dinner, too.

The way she blended in with my family seemed so easy and right, like she had been a part of the family for years. Amelia seemed like she loved Claire more than she loved me. The kids couldn’t get enough of her. And Shyam still thought she looked “agreeable,” which was as good as him saying, “I don’t hate her.” It was the best I could expect out of someone as stand-offish as him.

Hopefully, after our talk later, she wouldn’t be too scared to stick around, because she belonged with us. I was confident that she could handle everything I had to tell her about my line of work, since she was the toughest woman I knew.

“Take the next left,” Zayn called out to the driver. He had the location pulled up on his phone using special global satellite software. We used it because it was far more advanced than what Google could offer us. The specialized software provided us with real-time images of most locations. It was perfect for scoping out locations in New York City, but not so great for investigating locations in other countries with spotty satellite coverage—namely, Russia.

“They are already there,” he said to notify me as he examined the GSS images.

“How many cars?” I asked, clenching and releasing my hand repeatedly to reign in my adrenaline; I was nearly ready to bolt out of the car and crash into the establishment with my guns in the air, but now was the time to exercise control. Impulsiveness would get us killed. Impulsiveness would help Leonid get away, again.

“Three.”

That was a sizeable amount. He must have brought at least fifteen men with him. Even with a number so large, he would still be outnumbered by our men.

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