Page 13 of Sweetest Sin
She disappears to make my drink, and a few minutes later, she returns with it in hand. “One old-fashioned,” she says, setting it on the tray next to me. “Please let me know if I can get you anything else.”
“Actually,” I say, placing my hand over hers to stop her from leaving, “I’ve been meaning to ask, did that pilot leave you alone after our conversation?”
Peyton’s eyes bounce all over the plane before she nods. “Yeah. Everything is great,” she lies straight through her teeth.
“Good. I’m glad I could help.”
She forces a smile and then moves on to the next person while I text my brother, asking him to bump Dale to the top of his to-do list.
Matteo: Already done, bro.
I spend the flight going over contracts and working on the plan Matteo and I have in motion to separate Antonov business dealings from the Russos and Rothschilds. Then, when our dad dies and we refuse to follow through with the arranged marriages, Giuseppe and Joseph won’t have anything to threaten us with.
Lorenzo is on board, but because his father is still competent, even though he’s next in line, he doesn’t have the capability of making the executive decisions.
If our fathers didn’t have so much of their businesses intertwined, separating everything would be easier. But because they do, it’s like playing a deadly game of chess. One wrong move, and we could send up a red flag, alerting them to what we’re trying to do, and then it would be checkmate—and not in our favor.
When the plane lands,I don’t wait around for Peyton, not wanting to draw any attention to myself. With whatever Matteo has planned, the last thing I want is to lay any breadcrumbs on the ground that would lead to Peyton or me.
I’m out of the terminal and halfway to the exit when I hear my name being called. I turn around and find Peyton speed-walking toward me.
“Everything okay?” I ask once she reaches me.
She glances around and then grabs my wrist in her delicate hand, pulling me into a corner. “I lied,” she says softly so nobody can hear. “It’s gotten worse. Apparently, your warning messed with his ego, and now, if I don’t sleep with him, he’s threatening to lie and say I harassed him. I was wondering …” She swallows thickly, and her tear-filled eyes meet mine. “Could you tell him you were just kidding? Maybe if you take it back? I don’t even know if that will work, but?—”
“Hey”—I turn her until her back is against the wall, so if anyone walks by, they’ll only make out the back of me—“I’m taking care of it, I promise. He’s never going to bother you again.”
“Okay,” she breathes. “Thank you. It’s just that my mom isn’t doing so well, and I really need this job.”
“It’s okay,” I assure her. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.”And I can’t afford to get to know you more than I already do because it’s only going to make me want you that much more, I think, but don’t voice. “You don’t know me, but I promise, I am a man of my word.”
“Thank you,” she murmurs.
“No problem.”
Her lips curve into a smile—a real one this time—and her entire face lights up. I’m about to do something stupid, like ask for her number, when my phone rings, breaking the moment.
“I need to take this,” I tell her, taking a step back. “But don’t worry. It will all work out.”
Without waiting for her to respond, I take off toward the exit to answer the call.
It’s from Matteo.
“Any news?”
“I think he killed her boyfriend.”
“Who?” I ask in confusion since our last conversation was about Peyton and she never mentioned having anything other than an ex-boyfriend.
“Brielle. I think Andrey killed her boyfriend. We searched her apartment and found pictures of her with a guy. I ran his picture through the system, and his name is … well,wasOwen Levine. Senior at the same college Brielle attends. Business major. He went missing a few days ago, and this morning, my guys found a dead body that matches his description. It’s clear he was murdered. I made sure nothing could be linked back to us or Bri. Since he wasn’t killed in Harbor Point, I had to pay off a cop in the jurisdiction where we found him to call it in. We’ll know soon if it was him.”
“And Brielle? Have you found her?” I hold my breath, praying he has and she’s okay.
“No,” Matteo says. “And his phone is missing, so I can’t check it for texts or calls.”
“Dad probably has it.”
“Yeah, which could mean he’s closer to finding her.”
