Page 46 of Whispered Surrender

“Matt sent me a text. They’re having breakfast before they have to go into a meeting. I’m going to head down. Hurry,” Marenah says.

“I will,” I call out, rinsing my hair and wringing it through my hands before I get out and dry off.

Do I really want to see him, or is it best that I just stay in my bubble until he’s gone? I will be forever grateful for him rescuing me last night. I shudder at the thought of what they would have done to me if they had found me, out cold and lying helplessly at their mercy. If he wanted to pursue this relationship, he would have stayed until I woke up or given me some sort of sign.

He didn’t, and while it pains my heart, I know that I need to get over hoping that he will. Jay is the most honorable man that I have ever met, has protected me time and time again, been open and honest with me about our relationship, and I owe him the same. I finish dressing and swirl, assessing myself in the mirror.

It is time to let him go for good.

33

JAY

I have gonethrough the scenarios over and over all night long. It boils down to one thing. I can’t be with the granddaughter of the head of the Russian Mafia and daughter of the head of the Chicago Mafia if I am signing on to protect the Italian Family.

There are a few scenarios, and they play out in my head almost all night long, but one just keeps repeating and repeating.

We continue the course we were on, and Matt and I agree to become sole owners of the security company that spreads across the globe, with our top men respective leaders of their regions. The connection between Sasha and the Russian Bratva is learned, and war explodes between the families. My head lolls with the enormity of what that could entail. Chase and Brian and their families as well as my entire team could be decimated as a result of my desire.

Regardless of the articles about the twins’ father dying in a crash on his way home, I am holding the DNA that proves without a shadow of a doubt that they are not even a close match to the caretaker’s son, but are in fact a perfect match to Bernatelli, which is undoubtedly why someone found Koslov wrapped around a tree. The only good news is that she is not a spy, she just has questionable lineage. But that doesn’t change what I have to do. I glance down to read the text on my phone, and suddenly understand why she was so scared. The men Dereck took out weren’t the Chicago Mafia, but Dominic Mancini’s men, the same ones that split from the Chicago Family and tried to get into bed with the Italians.

She must have thought they would come after her, but those bastards are dead now and she’ll never have to worry about them again. Her piece of shit father, however, is another story.

I spend the next few hours reading and rereading every piece of this document, trying to find any possible way that it may work between the woman sleeping in my bed and me. I go and check on her and she is still resting peacefully. I don’t dare take her in my arms, but instead kiss her forehead before covering her with the blanket and head back downstairs. I finally drift, sleeping fitfully in the recliner, and wake to the sunrise over the vineyards in the distance. I walk to the bathroom to get ready for the day, looking in the mirror and gearing up for the conversations that are to come. It has to be done, and it will be, but it doesn’t make the pounding in my heart any slower or easier as I walk toward the main house and into Chase’s office.

He’s already behind the long mahogany desk in his office. It always makes me smile when people think billionaires have a life of luxury. The guy sitting in a three-piece suit has already worked out for over an hour, taken in the stocks, showered, and is sitting here ready to take care of whatever I’m about to bring him, and the sun has barely risen.

He looks up as I come closer and gestures to the chair.

“Jay, tell me what’s on your mind,” he says.

“I appreciate you meeting with me before Matt arrives. The situation that I find myself in is not good for any of the people that I work for, it could become a conflict of interest, especially as we look to expand,” I say.

Chase’s eyes narrow in on my own. “You look terrible and clearly haven’t slept much. I read the intel reports last night. Sasha took off, and you and your team found her,” he says.

“Yes, I thought our enemies had her. I was wrong, she was running from me,” I say, and until I say it out loud, I don’t know just how bad that hurts.

“But if you hadn’t gotten there, I understand they would have taken her,” Chase says.

I nod. “What I’ve learned about Sasha is a conflict of interest, Chase. As much as I love working for you and appreciate all the opportunities that you’ve provided me with of late, I have to decline your offer. I don’t know what it is about Sasha, but it’s something primal. I need to take care of her. I knew that her father was the head of the Chicago Mafia when Matt brought that intel back to us, but what I didn’t know and just recently learned is that her mother is the daughter of the head of the Russian Mafia, the Bratva. The team is fully supportive of your offer, but her family puts me in a direct conflict of interest. If you’re interested, I will stay with you and Katarina. You can put someone else in charge of the new company unless even working for you is too much of a conflict,” I say.

Chase looks from his laptop up to me. He is always a fucking businessman regardless of the situation. “What does she really mean to you?” he asks.

I don’t even have to think about a response. “Everything. I want Sasha for my own, but I won’t bring trouble to your doorstep. I’ll resign, do whatever you want,” I say.

Chase nods and looks at his computer for a few moments.

“I know exactly how that feels and I appreciate your honesty, Jay. When you meet the one, there is no going back. Katarina is that one for me and clearly Sasha is the one for you.”

“Chase, I’ll do whatever it takes to distance myself from you and our team if that’s what you want, but I won’t lose her,” I say.

He nods. “It’s unfortunate our work is now intersecting with the Chicago and Russian Mafia, but I appreciate your honesty and forthrightness about the entire situation. It’s the reason I feel comfortable with my family in your care, but nothing has changed for me, and I’m sure Brian will feel the same. I will take responsibility to clear it with the family, and you and Matt will remain at the helm. I understand the ladies are twins,” Chase says, smiling.

It takes a moment to process. “And you know things can come up that will put us in the position of taking care of them?” I say.

“I’m more than fully aware. If there comes a time that a conflict arises, you come to me, and we decide together how to proceed,” Chase says.

I nod, trying my best to hold back the emotion I feel. “Of course I will, but there’s one more thing. I don’t think Matt knows the full extent of the family history. I just got the intel last night,” I say.

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