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“Better safe than sorry in our line of work for the people on both sides of the slash.”
“I wondered about that, seeing as you’ve collared the lovely Ms. Ravenel. That was fast.”
Again, Viktor shrugged. “As I recall, it didn’t take you much longer to claim JJ.”
“Not true. I didn’t collar JJ until just before we got married. I’m a proper gentleman Dom.”
“And what am I?”
“You? You’re a nobleman Dom with, as I recall, the blood of the tzars flowing through your veins.”
Viktor started to turn toward Fitz when something on the video caught his eye. Agata. Agata was his housekeeper who had been with him for years. He wasn’t particularly fond of her, but she took care of his home, saw to all of his needs, except the sexual ones, and kept her mouth shut. Besides she was part of the old Russian enclave in England. Her family had been serving the Romanovs for centuries and had fled the country when the Bolsheviks came.
There was what appeared to be a tense exchange between Agata and Emerson. Emerson disappeared back into the bedroom as Agata pulled out the vacuum. Emerson returned dressed in her own clothes. She headed to where the elevator was, but he could see she realized she didn’t know how to use it. Agata joined her, opened the elevator door and then pressed the button she knew would take her to the parking lot.
“Bloody hell,” Viktor muttered under his breath.
“I don’t think your housekeeper cares much for your lady.”
“Agata will either get over it or be gone.”
“I’m surprised your housekeeper doesn’t keep herself scarce when you have a sub up there.”
“I don’t take women to my apartment. It is my sanctuary. When I want or need a sub, I make use of the club.”
“So you admit Emerson Ravenel is not just some random, ordinary sub?”
“She’s wearing my collar.”
“That she is. All joking aside, Emerson Ravenel would be a woman well worth collaring and keeping. Keep in mind if you hurt her, her sisters have friends within the ranks of Cerberus who could kill you.”
Viktor turned to look at Fitzwallace. “If I’d thought you’d only come to gossip like an old woman, I wouldn’t have bothered leaving my bed. I had rather decadent plans for the evening which did not include you or my housekeeper.”
“Fair enough. I need an answer from you about Cerberus. And don’t give me that bullshit line of yours about your business interests. You and I both know they’re just a front. You are a highly skilled operative who works alone. Le Revenant is a legend within the intelligence community.”
“And you think I’m associated with him?” It didn’t really surprise him that Fitz knew.
“Not associated with, ye bastard, you are Le Revenant.”
“If you say so,” Viktor said noncommittally.
“If you haven’t already done so, you need to start thinking about how Emerson would fit into that world. You need to pull back into something more legitimate where you have a team covering your back. Running Cerberus here for me would give you that.”
Fitz was right. Not only about Le Revenant but about joining forces with Cerberus. It would give him a chance to walk away from the black ops he ran for MI-6—things so sensitive that the UK’s foreign service wanted to have deniability.
“If you’re through, I’d like to go fetch my sub back before she gets home.”
Fitzwallace laughed and clapped Viktor on the shoulder. “Deny it all you want, but you’re as pussy whipped as the rest of us. Don’t fight it too hard, Romanov, you’ll find that in the end they’re worth whatever it takes to hold onto them.”
Viktor looked into Fitzwallace’s eyes and saw the truth there. Fitz was unafraid to let the world know JJ was his queen, and he would do anything to keep her safe and happy. He wondered if he didn’t already feel the same way about Emerson. Only time would tell.
CHAPTER 13
EMERSON
Emerson rode down in the elevator, brushing away the hot tears that seemed to be leaking out of her eyes. Her breath came in ragged bursts, more from the fact that Viktor hadn’t even bothered to throw her out himself. Instead, he’d sent his nasty Russian housekeeper to do his dirty work for him. She obviously was nothing more than the latest flavor of the month. How could she have been so stupid as to think otherwise?
The Russian woman’s condescending tone echoed in her mind, each word a tiny dagger twisting in her heart.
