Page 12 of Treasured By 3

I hum and smile. We put ourselves back together and Chase checks the time. “Why are you here again, baby doll?”

I open my mouth to tell him, but Lief walks in. He arches an eyebrow at me, then shuts the door. “Sir, your guests-”

“I told Sophia that you’re the mafia boss,” I say, so I can’t put it off.

Chase and Lief both stare at me with a mix of horror, anger, and shock. I suck my bottom lip as I curl in on myself.

FIVE

Lief

I don’t knowhow to react. Valerie was never supposed to tell anyone. Not a soul. Ever. I’m sure we had that conversation, but even if we hadn’t, it was understood. We’re to be businessmen and nothing more.

Worse still, we can’t have a conversation about it because the heads from the other branches are here to meet with Chase, welcome him in, and congratulate him on his upcoming marriage. They’ve been happy to forget that Hunter and I are a part of the deal.

“Let me see what the holdup is,” Hunter says in Russian from outside the door. He opens it, sees how Chase is puffing up in front of Valerie, and closes the door with a quick, “one minute.”

Valerie whimpers. “I didn’t mean to. I called Soph with a simple wedding question or two and it just ... it fell out while I was explaining something and-”

“You told her. You said you’d talk to us first,” Chase hisses.

“Talk to us about what?” Hunter asks.

Valerie cringes as she looks between us. She hugs Chase. “I know it was wrong. I’m sorry. I wish I could take it back, but I can’t. She’s on her way.”

Valerie tries to scurry away, but I catch her and level her with my gaze. “You were planning to do this?”

“I mean, Sophia’s noticed I’ve been keeping something from her. She brought it up at our engagement party. She was sure that I wasn’t telling her everything when the news broke about me and Yuri, but I told Chase-”

“What did you tell her?” Hunter demands.

Valerie turns around, keeping her back right against me. “I told Sophia what you guys do. It was in passing. A mention, but she’s going to be here soon.”

“How could you do that?” Hunter demands. “You know how important it is for us to-”

“I know! I’ve been kicking myself since it happened! I drove right over here to tell you guys what I did. I know it was wrong. I know it was thoughtless.” She glances at Chase. “I’m sorry.”

He takes a slow, controlled breath. “Hunter and I have to deal with this meeting. Lief, take our fiancée home and wait for our guests. I’m sure it won’t just be Sophia.”

I nod once. Hunter’s hurt. It’s all over his face. He swallows. “Right, I’ll bring the guys in.”

Valerie’s lips part. “We will not talk about-”

“I told you I had ten minutes. If we hadn’t spent those ten minutes fucking on this table, we could have talked about it,” Chase says. “Go home.”

Valerie’s face falls, but she doesn’t resist when I pull her from the room. She sniffs once and Vasily, the new head of the southern chapter, steps forward. He looks her over and raises an eyebrow at me before speaking in Russian. “Is the girl too good to join us?”

I scoff, but he leans closer as the others laugh. “Is she okay?” I nod once and he inclines his head, then does a double take. “Ah, future Mrs. Volkov.”

She nods to him once and answers in Russian as well. “I hope you have a good meeting ...”

“V,” he offers her his hand. “Just the letter. My name is uncommon here.”

She shakes it. “BecauseLiefis normal.”

He chuckles. “Outside of business, I go by my middle name: Lev. Short, easy to remember, fun.”

“Nice to meet you,” she replies.

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