Page 29 of Dragon Bodyguard
“All right,” Ilya said, mirroring Misha and leaning back on his own chair. “Dmitri and I were discussing it and there are a few possibilities.”
“A few?” Kristina asked, but Ilya’s look at her effectively silenced her.
“We still don’t know who the most likely culprit is,” Ilya said, gaze resting in Misha’s calmly.
“But you have the most likely suspects?” he asked.
“We do,” Dmitri cut in. “The Volkovs being the primary ones.”
“Really?” Aleksander asked. “I thought we were on good footing with them.”
“There have been a few disturbances over the past month,” Ilya said. “They’ve been making a bit of noise over the factories we’re building on the coast. Saying we cut ourselves a bigger piece of the cake. They invested,” Ilya explained to Misha. “They want that guarantee of their money back and then some. We’ve given it, but it seems they’ve convinced themselves we’ve given ourselves a wider berth.”
He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal, but Misha knew it was a very big deal when such a big business agreement started fraying around the edges. It could start a family rivalry that would last generations, spanning millennia.
“Why would they take me?” Kristina asked.
Misha felt tension across his shoulders like a piece of steel was lodging itself underneath his shoulder blades.
He knew why.
So did Aleksander. They exchanged a look to underline it to each other, along with their frustration.
“To forge a link,” Aleksander said. “To bind the two families together. Through a bonding ceremony.”
Kristina frowned.
“But I’m…” She trailed off, looking at Ilya before turning her eyes on her ice cream.
Misha knew the protest she had almost voiced at her being a person of interest in the machinations of the families. It was a glimmer of her old self, and he hadn’t expected to see it. He’d thought she’d outgrown her insecurity, but then he figured perhaps it wasn’t as much insecurity as it was a pure observation of her position being unchanged. It didn’t matter how well she could put on make-up or how nicely she dressed. She would never fully be one of them.
“It doesn’t matter,” Ilya said. “It adds to the… humiliation of them taking you and then having you agree to binding yourself to the Volkov name. You understand? Whether I’ve acknowledged you or not.”
She nodded slowly, eyes still on her ice cream.
The steel across Misha’s shoulders began to feel heated and he had to force himself to calm down enough that his building anger wouldn’t begin to glow, visible in his veins. Hadn’t he acknowledged her by bringing her on family trips? What the hell was the man even talking about?
“I’ll get some men on it immediately,” Misha said, rising to his feet. “We’ll find out who did this.”
“Please.” Ilya held one hand up as if to calm him. It riled Misha even further, but he kept his cool. “My men are already taking care of it. There’s no need for you to trouble yourself. None at all.”
Misha gave a short nod. There was no point in arguing. There was also no way he was going to leave it there. If Dmitri wouldn’t allow him to conduct a thorough inquiry, he would do it himself.
He met Kristina’s gaze across the table again, and this time he held it.
She wasn’t going to feel afraid. Not as long as he was there to watch over her. And he meant for her to know it.
Chapter 10 - Kristina
Misha was still standing, looking as though he would rather leave the room than have to sit back down again. His gaze was on her, and all she wanted to do was rise to her feet and leave the room with him. The urge was so clear in her chest that she placed her hands on the table, ready to push herself into a standing position when Dmitri stopped her by saying, “Please, stay.”
It made Misha sit back down again, though reluctantly.
What did he feel for her? He’d reacted when she corrected his tie. And he’d saved her life. And he’d kissed her. But what if he didn’t want her? And then the thought came, crystal clear, that if he did, her father would disown her. He would never accept one of his children forming a bond with someone so below their station. Did she care?
She didn’t know.
The confusion rose like a pink mist in her mind. She sunk back in her chair, closing her eyes briefly, heart beginning to race.
