Page 51 of His to Keep
The Russian smiles tightly. “That’s Tatiana, one of his many mistresses.”
I arch an eyebrow. “I’m surprised he wants me. He seemed to have his hands full with her.”
“My father is always searching for something new.” Adan’s tone drips with disdain. “He likes innocents. He takes great pleasure in introducing them to his depravity.”
As I shudder, Gio grabs my hand. “Eilidh is now my wife. That places her under the protection of the entire Volante family.”
Adan inclines his head in agreement. “She is yours and I am no threat to her.” He spreads his hands out in a gesture of openness. “As I said, I intend to take care of my father, so he is no longer a threat to you.”
“Do you have the support for a coup?” Lorenzo asks.
“He’s been pissing off his brigadiers for a decade. Many will back me if I make a move.”
The conversation pauses as the woman Adan referred to as Lorenzo’s friend returns to the room. She’s carrying a tray with acoffeepot, a milk jug, and four cups on it. There’s also a plate of biscotti, which is very hospitable of her under the circumstances. If the Bratva turned up at my home like this, I wouldn’t be offering them sweet treats.
“I must get to the restaurant,” she says, her English heavily accented. “I am already behind schedule for tonight’s service.”
“Please, don’t let us detain you.” Adan’s grayish blue eyes sparkle as he smiles. “Thank you for the refreshments.”
The woman glances at Lorenzo as if needing confirmation that it’s okay for her to leave.
“Va bene, Lucia.” Lorenzo’s tone is curt. “We will speak later.”
The scowl she gives him suggests she’d rather they didn’t. I can’t blame her. The least he could do is offer her some apology for the inconvenience we’ve caused her, but he doesn’t. Lucia spins on her heel, her honey blonde hair swishing behind her. She storms from the room and a few seconds later the front door slams shut. She is not a happy woman.
“I hope I have not caused problems between you.” Adan sounds sincere.
Lorenzo shrugs. “You know how women are. She’ll get over it.”
His dismissive tone makes me want to punch him in the face, but I refrain. I turn my attention to Adan once more. “Why haven’t you acted against your father before?”
“The time was not right.”
“But it is now?” I wonder what’s changed. My money’s on Adan having a woman he cares about.
The dark-haired Russian shrugs. “The timing is not perfect, but I realized it never will be. If I wait for the stars to align, I’ll never take my father’s place.”
“You didn’t come here just to tell us this,” Gio says.
“No, indeed. We need to speak about the debt you owe.”
“What debt?”
Adan doesn’t answer straight away. He leans forward, pours himself a cup of coffee, and then holds the pot up, offering it to us. We all shake our heads. This is not some friendly gathering.
“My father paid Jason Henry a considerable sum for Miss Cameron. You, Mr. Volante, stole his merchandise.”
Hearing him speak about me that way makes me clench my fists. Gio lays a comforting hand on my arm and glowers at Adan. “You want the money back?”
“No, I am willing to write it off, but…”
“You want a favor,” Lorenzo guesses.
Glancing over my shoulder, I see him tapping out another message on his phone. I’m surprised Adan hasn’t objected to him communicating with the outside world. Of course, he let Lucia leave so he’s obviously not concerned about someone summoning help.
“I do,” Adan confirms. He fixes his sights on Gio. “I want an introduction to Piotr Reznov.”
The name isn’t familiar to me. “Who?”
