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“So Roan, Ilya, Feodor — they almost died becauseherfucking life is worth more to your boss?”
He matched my glare with one of his own. “I’m not any happier about it than you are.”
I shook my head, putting distance between us again to be on the safe side. “You could have told me.”
“Would it have mattered?” Misha asked with a sigh.
The weariness in his voice made my teeth snap together before I spouted off with a vicious comeback. Even if he had a point, it still pissed me off that he’d lied to me — that Roan was in danger for no goddamn reason other than Sergei’s never-ending greed. But Misha was in the same position. He nearly lost Ilya, all because of Daria.
I may have passed up the opportunity to kill her once. I wouldn’t fucking do it again.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I tried to return to some sort of objectiveness. After all, I had a job to do. “So now what?”
Misha looked up, his blue eyes darkening. “We find Kazimir and rip his fucking head off.”
32
ROAN
In between themassive Russian manhunt for Kazimir and dodging questions from Chicago PD about how Ilya ended up with four bullet holes in his torso, the feds decided it was the perfect time to maketheirmove.
Out of the blue, Mom called me in the worst panic to date. “The FBI is here! Roan, you have to get over here. Now!”
Dad must have snatched the phone because the next thing I knew, he shouted into it so loud I could almost feel the spittle flying at me. “You son of a bitch! I will fucking crush you. Do you hear me? Youandyour fucking goon. As soon as my lawyers are done with this, they’re coming after you! I don’t care who you are!”
“For what?” I asked, making sure to keep my tone light in case this shit was being recorded. “I’m not the one who’s guilty of high-yield investment fraud or front running.”
“Sir, we need that phone,” another male said in the background.
“Guess that minor in business worked out for me after all, huh Dad?” From the volume and sheer amount of swearing, I was pretty sure he heard me.
“No! That’s a Baccarat!” my mother shrieked in the background right before the line went dead.
I stared at the phone for a minute, trying to envision what kind of chaos was going on in Highland Park.
When I finally looked up, Sasha was watching me with raised brows.
“Want to go to my parents?” I asked with a wry grin. “Mommy Dearest is on the verge of a breakdown.”
“No,” he replied gruffly, climbing out of bed with a resigned sigh. I watched him march off to the shower, naked, and bit my lip to stifle an appreciative noise. “Roan!”
“Yeah, I’m coming.” I kicked off the covers and scurried after him.
An hour later, we were standing in my parents’ foyer, surveying the damage. The house had clearly been gone through, drawers left half open and random papers scattered across the floor. A copy of the search warrant lay on the coffee table in the living room, detailing everything the feds were after, which wasa lot.
My mother sat on the couch, clutching a red, bumpy vase that cost more than Sasha’s rent. She didn’t even seem to be aware of our presence until I sat on the couch next to her and tried to pry the fucking vase away.
“Mom. You can put the vase down. They’re gone.”
“Roan!” She let go so quick I almost fell backward. If Sasha hadn’t been standing right next to me, I probably would have. “Thank God you’re here! Look what they’ve done!”
She flung her arms around me and started sobbing, dripping fat crocodile tears onto my shoulder. Well, maybe they were real. After all, she was watching her life crumble before her very eyes. Her public image was already shattered and now her personal space was equally destroyed.
“Mom, what happened?” I asked, shooting a glance at Sasha.
Sasha rolled his eyes and walked away with the vase, setting it on the mantel with none of the gentleness my mother would have appreciated if she was paying attention.
“Your father’s been arrested!” She pushed away from me and dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “First he was kidnapped by those terrible people. I gave them everything we had to get him back and now this!”
