Page 55 of Deadly Protector
He sent off a quick text, then hurried to the waiting SUV.
Don, crouched in the very back, popped open the hatch.
Dimitri handed him the cylinder and the vase.
“Where’s Ava?” he asked, looking behind Dimitri even as he snapped his laptop shut.
“Gone.”
Don’s eyes widened, then he shrugged.
“Make sure this gets to Irene. Tell her I’ll be in contact.”
“Come on,” Eli called from the front. “We need to get out of here.” The sound of his hand tapping against the steering wheel was audible.
Don simply tucked the vase under his arm and nodded.
Dimitri shut the hatch, then raced back to Lyosha’s waiting SUV, jumped in the back seat. He was surprised Viktor was in the vehicle. “You didn’t have to come,” he said as he strapped in, pulled his mask off.
“You used to be one of my people.” Viktor shrugged. “And now you’re my friend.”
He wasn’t sure why but the words settled inside him. “Thank you.” He knew he was lucky to have people to count on, people to call when he was in trouble.
“What happened to the other one?” Lyosha asked as he pulled away from the curb smoothly. “The female.”
“Gone. Didn’t seem to trust Irene either.” And Dimitri thought that was probably smart on her part.
“Now that that’s done, we’re going to handle Irene.” Viktor’s voice was hard, like the man who’d once been feared among Miami’s criminal element. Hell, he still was.
“Good. How’s Zamira?” he asked.
“With Mila at my place. Worried, but safe.”
He knew she’d be worried, but her safety was the priority. He laid his head back, shoved out a sigh. This mess was almost over.
After tomorrow morning, his life should go back to normal—ish. Because he didn’t want exactly what he’d had before, he wanted a life with Zamira in it.
But he needed to make sure that she really wanted him, that once the intensity of the situation wore off, things between them were real.
