Page 68 of Mafia King's Ruthless Obsession

“Of course not. Rong seemed...deflated.”

Something sharp twists in my gut. “Deflated how?”

“I can’t explain it exactly. Like she expected to find something specific. She was watching everything—everyone—closely. Especially me.”

Fuck.

Galina’s still sleeping, serene and oblivious. Maybe it’s exhaustion. Maybe it’s the baby. Maybe it’s the way we tore each other apart last night and put ourselves back together in the dark.

“There’s more,” Jaromir says, voice edging into unease. “She asked about Galina.”

Ice replaces blood in my veins. “What about her?”

“Whether she was safe. Whether you were...forcing her to stay.” His pause is loaded. “Boss, this isn’t just a search. She’s sniffing around for something deeper.”

Of course she is. Rong’s been circling Galina since the beginning. But why? There’s something here I’m not seeing.

“If she wants Galina,” I say, voice low and lethal, “she’ll have to come through me first.”

“I’ll keep eyes on her.”

“No. I want more than that. Find out who she is. Who she answers to. Who’s backing her. I want names, schedules, blood type if you can get it.”

“Understood.”

“And Jaromir?”

“Da?”

“Keep Vladimir’s men off the property. Whatever it takes. I’ll call Nik and Igor; we need more boots on the ground. The last ambush made us look sloppy. That won’t happen again.”

“Copy that.” He hangs up.

The sun finally breaks over the edge of the skyline, flooding the room in blood-orange light. I stare at it, jaw tight. The view is perfect, but all I see is a battlefield, an endless maze where everyone I love becomes a target. And I’m always the fucking reason.

The club is secure, for now. The product’s stashed, the front’s clean. But Vladimir’s not done. And Matvei? He’s like rot. Just when you think you’ve scraped it all out, it spreads.

But it’s not him I’m most worried about.

It’s Rong.

Her interest in Galina isn’t procedural. It’s personal. And if she’s hiding something...I’ll tear the truth out of her myself.

The city stretches beneath me like something I’m supposed to rule, but this morning, I feel like I’m losing every war.

My phone buzzes. I grab it and fire off messages to Nik and Igor. I need their men. Need the streets to know that anyone fucking with my territory will answer to me. There are monsters to hunt, and no room for distraction.

Not even the one asleep in my bed.

“You’re thinking too loud.”

Her voice slips into the room like smoke. I turn.

Galina stands in the doorway, wearing one of my shirts—bare legs, mussed hair, flushed from sleep. My shirt hangs off her like temptation itself, barely brushing the tops of her thighs. Her skin is still marked by last night’s surrender. My chest tightens at the sight of her.

Mine.

I bury the instinct. I can’t afford it right now.

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