Page 119 of Dark Promise (Suvorov Bratva 1)

It’s supposed to be a truce, I think.Can’t do that if he doesn’t fucking answer his phone.

My fingers drum the desk on either side of the phone. Liya said it would be best to let a few minutes pass between attempts. Too many calls at once will seem desperate. Too few won’t get the urgency across. It has to be just right.

The second attempt puts me in a sour mood. Kiril isn’t answering his phone. My connections aren’t wrong. This is the number he’s currently using.

So, why thefuckisn’t he answering the phone?

He probably knows I’m watching him. I frown at the screen.This means he’s probably watching me, too.

The screen times out and forces me to flip around in my chair. I stare at the city, absorbing the muted busy streets, the brightly illuminated buildings, and the sky rich with a riot of blue hues muddied by grayish white clouds.

Liya’s voice enters my mind:Be patient. Let him think it’s his idea. Be the devil in his ear. You’re good at doing that.

My sly little fox knows exactly how to highlight my strengths—and hers, too. She’s cleverer than any woman I’ve ever met.

Zoya could never have been this supportive or graceful.

I glance at my phone.

Zoya.

Who better to contact than a daddy’s girl who would do anything for her father?

I sweep my phone from the desk and click through my contacts, heart pounding when I come across her number. It’s been ages since I clicked on it. I forgot it was even saved in my phone. That’s how much of an impression she left on me.

My thumb hovers over the green call button. I’m just a few minutes away from enacting the rest of my plan. And after that, things will look very different.

Still, I hesitate.

A moment of irritation is worth the success to come after.

I click on her name.

When I hold the phone to my ear, I half turn to the window, trying to keep my focus on something. The line rings thrice before it clicks.

The person who answers lures every angry molecule in my body to the surface, “I thought I told her to delete your number.”

My teeth grind together as I grip the edge of my desk. And when I’m ready, I state calmly, “Jonas, what the fuck are you doing with Zoya’s phone?”

“What the fuck are you doingcallingher phone?”

“That’s my business and mine alone.”

He chuckles. The sound irritates me to my core, causing me to dig my nails into the wood of my desk. I can feel the resistance of the wood against my grip, but I keep doing it.

“We’re pals now. Didn’t you hear?” he jokes as though we’re old friends. “I got tired of waiting for you.”

“For what?”

He huffs. “For the goddamn promises you made. Or did you forget those, too, Pavel?”

“There’s a delicate order to these things, Jonas. Your impatience proves your inability to handle the responsibility that comes with running the Citta Nostra.”

“Yeah, I figured you’d say something like that. Which is why I found another way.”

I roll my eyes. “You won’t get much done with her.”

“I’m perfectly capable of balancing my schedule. She doesn’t mind fucking between meetings.”

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