Page 53 of The Pakhan's Forced Bride
My cousin and Nestor are waiting in my office. It’s not far, and I get there within fifteen minutes of taking Nestor’s call.
The elevator carries me up to the top floor of my building. On the ride up, I study my reflection in the mirrored walls. My hair is tussled. My eyes have a shine to them that’s not usually there. My shoulders are relaxed, the sleeves of my shirt half rolled up over my forearms, and the shadow of stubble over myjaw gives me a rugged, but easy-going energy. I haven’t looked this stress-free in ages—I don’t even remember how long it’s been.
This is because of Belle. Nothing else in my life has changed except for her becoming a part of it. She has this effect on me.
I don’t want to let her go.
The elevator doors slide open into a quiet office space. My employees are off enjoying their weekend. It’ll only be us here in my office, discussing the issues.
I step onto the wooden floors, and my footsteps echo through the empty space as I walk.
Voices carry down the hall from my office.
Emmanuil is always loud. And I recognize Nestor’s laugh as I get closer.
But a third voice has me stopped dead in my tracks.
Fuck.
It can’t be. This is bad. Very bad.
Closing my eyes, I swear under my breath. I take a moment to compose myself, then step into my office with my head held high.
“Ard, great, you’re here. We can get started,” Emmanuil says happily.
“Hi Nestor, Emmanuil.” I turn to the third man standing in my office. “Benedikt. Welcome to LA.”
He nods, his mouth pulled tight. “Ardalion,” he says by way of greeting. No smile, no friendliness in his tone.
What the fuck is he doing here? Why isn’t he out looking for his sister in Phoenix? I even made sure that word on the street was still pointing at that other rival.
“Does anyone want coffee or anything before we start?” I ask, needing an excuse to step out even though I’ve just arrived. I did not expect to see him here. It’s a bit of a shock, and I don’t want the other guys to notice.
“No, we're keen to get going so we can get through it as quickly as possible,” Nestor says, sitting down on one of the sofas around the coffee table in the corner near the window.
“Alright,” I say, tense, nervous, but determined to hide it.
I sit next to Emmanuil, and Benedikt sits opposite me, alongside Nestor.
Nestor dumps a file of papers onto the coffee table. “This is a full report of the attack that took place in the early hours of yesterday morning. They hit several warehouses in one night. Two in San Francisco and three in Las Vegas. We assume they’ll be targeting San Diego and LA next, so we want to be prepared and hopefully catch them in the act.”
He opens the file and shifts papers around, looking for a specific document and a map.
The map he unfolds stretches out over most of the table. The other document he dumps on top.
“These are the attack points and key notes on their systemic attack methods. We want to use these when we plan our defense.”
Everyone leans forward to examine the information.
Nestor starts pointing out each detail and talking us through what happened.
Benedikt’s eyes constantly drift towards me as the meeting progresses. I have this anxious sense that he can read my thoughts, which is ridiculous. The guy has never liked me, and I’ve never liked him, so obviously, he’d be shooting me these annoyed glances. It’s not out of the ordinary for him to be hostile towards me.
But I’m hiding a massive secret, and I’m worried it's written all over my face in bold letters.
“We can put an extra team at the two biggest warehouses along the docks here,” Emmanuil says, leaning over a map and tapping his finger at a spot that indicates my biggest warehouse near a popular shipping port. I glance out of the window, looking towards the ocean and that exact warehouse. It’s a small dot in the distance, but visible from here.
“I have a team available,” I remark, trying to stay focused on the meeting and not Belle’s brother. I still can’t get over the fact that he’s here. It’s a massive risk. And I had Belle out in the open with me this morning. She’s been roaming the city freely. He could have spotted her at any time, and I would have lost her without warning.
