Page 100 of Scarred (Russian Sinners 2)

“Why not?” Damn it, now was not the time for her to challenge me. “Give me one reason why not?”

“Because it is too dangerous.”

“Oh, is that all?” Shit, who was this woman? Maybe I needed to take her upstairs, spank her, and then fuck some sense into her. Unfortunately, that image didn’t help at all. Now I was pissed off and hard as a rock.

“Olivia, let it go,” I told her through clenched teeth.

“Ok, I’ll let it go,” she replied, and before I could even take a breath of relief, she continued, “But first, tell me why your plan to charge head first into a trap is better than mine?”

“Shit, were you always this stubborn?” Andrey asked incredulously, and Olivia shot him a glare.

“Yes, she’s always been like this,” Oliver answered exasperated. “Try growing up with two stubborn girls like that. When Olivia caved in, Anastasia wouldn’t. They’d switch back and forth.”

Olivia scoffed at that, although a smile played around her lips. “You just wait till Anastasia and I see you next. You’ll regret those words.”

Everyone chuckled, but I was determined to see this through my way… the safest way for Olivia.

“Nikolai,” she started, her hands wrapping around my waist and her body fit perfectly against mine. “Try to keep an open mind. If you were going after your enemies and there was an informant available to you, you would get all the information you could before making a decision. Right?”

She was right; I would. I kept my head cool and my feelings detached. Problem was with Olivia, all my detachment and reasoning went out the window. It was hard to keep my cool when it came to this redheaded woman in front of me.

“Right,” I finally answered her although I would have preferred to disagree. But I wasn’t a liar and wouldn’t lie to her.

“Then we should consider all the options,” she advised, and I knew she was right. “Let us discuss all the options so we can all get out of this alive.”

She held her breath, our eyes locked on each other. There was worry etched on her face, and her eyes glittered with tears she held back. It made my heart bleed. I didn’t want to be the cause for her worry and tears.

“Oliver and Ilya, maintain the surveillance of the house,” I instructed them, never wavering from her face. “Hack into city surveillance, and if Malcome moves, track him through it. I want eyes on him at all times.”

A little breath of relief escaped her, and I wanted to press my lips against her. I wanted to tell her never to worry about me. Because I would always come back to her.

“I’m on it,” Oliver confirmed.

“I’ll instruct the men in Moscow to watch the area too,” Ilya commented.

“Good,” I responded, my eyes drinking this woman in. She had become my heartbeat, my everything. “Have everyone take turns watching. We all need to get rest. We’ll go through various options tomorrow and see what Olivia can tell us that we could use.”

“Sounds good,” all three muttered in agreement.

“Ready for bed, malysh?” Olivia’s hands tightened around me, her warmth and softness becoming something I needed like the air I breathed.

“Yes,” she replied low.

“Yeah, I just heard that my sister is ready for bed,” Oliver retorted in a dry tone teasing, “and I sure as hell hope it is in her own room… alone. Otherwise, these images are going to scar me for forever.”

Her lips tilted slightly as she rolled her eyes. “Oliver, you can imagine me kicking your butt when I get home.”

He scoffed but there was humor in his voice when he answered her. “Yeah, right. We’ll have to unglue you and Nik first.”

My lips tilted in a smile at that insinuation. He was right, I would be stuck to her for as long as she’d have me. In my book, it would be for the rest of our lives.

“Good night, brother,” she replied then turned her gaze to Andrey and Ilya. “You guys will go to sleep too? We all need some rest.”

They both nodded. I loved that she didn’t step away from me, her arms wrapped around me. And I fucking loved that she cared about the well-being of my men. We all said goodnight and agreed to meet up first thing in the morning. Each one of us went our own way.

This time when we entered our bedroom, she locked the door. I raised my eyebrow at her and she smiled back.

“The lock clicks,” she explains. “That’s what woke me up when you left the room. I want to make sure you don’t sneak out on me.”

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