Page 20 of Control

“Sweeter than I imagined,” he breathed against my lips, his heady tone begging for more. “Come home with me tonight.”

Reality came rushing back to me. I shouldn’t be alone with him. I had already proved that I didn’t have clear judgment whenever I was near Jai. What was I doing getting close to anyone? It wasn’t safe for me.

“I…I need to go.” I pushed his arm away from me and bolted out of the booth. Lana could find her way home. I needed to get out of here immediately. The streets of the city were certainly safer than that booth was right now.

Chapter VIII

Jai

Everything was a goddamn mess at the factory. Supply was lagging. Shipments were late. And not one of my men could give me a legitimate reason for the shit show. It was like they were just begging for me to kick their asses to straighten them up.

Zayn spent the morning with me translating my rage-filled commands into more discernible instructions for the crew. Around noon, the two of us relocated to the office in the back room to discuss logistics and settle accounts.

“We still haven’t received payment from Leonid,” he said as I encrypted data, the keys on my laptop clicking away under my fingertips. The security of our shipments was important to me and I made sure to encase all data using the proper firewalls and encryption techniques to shield it from prying eyes—namely enemies.

Specifically, Leonid. The source of all my contention. My fingers worked my keyboard faster, hitting each key so forcefully that they retracted upward nearly snapping off the board. Not bothering to look away from my screen, I gritted out, “Then I guess he will not be receiving his next shipment.”No money. No drugs. My decision was final.

I could feel Zayn’s glare on me, judging my verdict. “Mikhail says something is brewing, but he doesn’t know details. Says Leonid’s been more secretive than usual.” This was particularly troublesome, since Mikhail was my only window into Bratva activity, and I relied on his knowledge.

I slammed my laptop shut and shot up from my seat. “Let him come at me,” I barked, pounding my chest. “If he dares to fuck with the most powerful drug emperor in the world, then let him try. I guarantee you, he’ll be dead.” The vein in the side of my neck throbbed with the rage that coursed through my body.

Zayn didn’t flinch at my outburst before putting me in my place. “So, now we’re referring to ourselves as ‘drug emperor’?” he jested, apathetic to my fury. The problem with brothers was that they didn’t hesitate to bust your balls, even at the most inopportune times.

Frustrated at myself, I snatched the files off my desk and launched them across the room, sending white sheets raining to the ground. Dropping back down into my seat with a thud, I found the bridge of my nose with my fingers and pinched hard to ease the building pressure behind my forehead.

“What crawled up your ass?” Zayn asked, unamused by my attitude. “Couldn’t get laid last night?”

I glared at him.

“Oh, come on. You know I’m just kidding.”

His snarky ass comment didn’t warrant a response. I didn’t need him getting involved in my love life too. Amelia and Shyam had already interjected themselves where they didn’t belong, putting them on my bad side.

“Really?” His eyes widened in disbelief. “When was the last time you had trouble sealing the deal?”

I sighed loudly. The last thing I wanted to do was drone on about pussy problems, or rather my lack of one in particular. But I was agitated as fuck, so maybe venting about it would lessen my restlessness. “Not since I was a teenager.”

“Shit…” Zayn whistled in astonishment like an old man who had just realized “penny candy” now cost a dollar fifty. “You finally met a girl who shot you down? I like her already.” He smirked.

My throat vibrated with a growl, warning him to tread cautiously. He was my brother, but with the way I felt today, I’d hand him his ass if he weren’t careful.

“You must really give a shit about her if you’re crying over your blue balls,” he said, continuing to poke at my buttons.

I bolted out of my seat, ready to attack, but he stopped me by holding his hands up in surrender. “Okay. I’ll stop,” he said, chuckling.

Narrowing my eyes, I backed away and took my seat again. Zayn was faster and stronger than me, but I wasn’t above flipping the desk that separated us and silencing him with my fists. As brothers, all strong-willed and stubborn in our own ways, we had grown up beating the shit out of each other over the smallest disagreements. Mom would try to separate us and diffuse the situation. To her, talking through things had been more important than violence. My father, however, had shared the opposite belief. According to him, men could only resolve disputes with fists, bullets, or explosives.

“Who is she?” Judging from his gentler tone, I knew his interest was genuine.

I let out a rush of air through my nostrils, mentally preparing myself to spill details. I was constantly ragging on my brothers about their life choices, as the most outspoken of the three of us. But lately, Shyam and Zayn had found their voices and used them to pry into mine. I guess they were getting soft with their old age.

“Meena’s ballet teacher. We went out last night with Shyam and Amelia. Things seemed promising, but she ran away when I asked her to come home with me.”

“Ouch,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

That was my exact sentiment. “Tell me about it.”

I couldn’t figure out why she had pushed me away. She had walls up like no other person I’d ever known before. I’d thought I had finally broken through them from the way she’d arched into my touch. Our chemistry was undeniable, and I knew she felt it too.

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