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“Why not? Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I can’t do anything. I’m barely even–”
“Enough!” My voice comes out much louder than I want it to. I’m beginning to lose control of my emotions, and that will only dig me deeper into this mess. I need to set firm boundaries to keep our future secure.
Sage’s arms are crossed tight over her chest, her eyes defying me along with her posture.
I sigh, shaking my head. “I’m not going to risk losing you and the baby, Sage. You must understand that I’m doing this for us.”
She grits her teeth, refusing to give me a response.
Two can play at that game. I’m not backing down. I swore to protect her, and I’m not going to break that oath. I’d rather die than see something bad happen to her, even if it was just a splinter.
I smoke my cigar, letting the silence settle between us like an iron wall. She won’t be able to defy me. She never has unlessI allowed her to, and this won’t be one of those times. This situation is simply too serious to give her even the slightest amount of rope she could use to hang herself with.
We’re too high up, and the ground is so far away it we can’t even see it. It’s lost in the mist.
There’s a knock on the door as we stand, and I figure it’s Ivan. He’d be here by now. “Time for the meeting,” I mumble, stepping away. I expect her to leave the room, but she stays. She doesn’t want to be excluded, and I’ll respect those wishes.
23
Sage
I’m not angry at Viktor, even if he thinks I am. I just want to make sure I’m around if he has some kind of adverse reaction to facing a part of his past he tried to keep hidden. Surely, he can’t be feeling good right now, but I don’t have quite the same emotionally connection to his past, which means I can see things a little clearer than he can.
And one man can’t be that big of a threat, especially when he couldn’t even stop our wedding.
Ivan has more information on that, however, so I’m not going to make any suggestions to Viktor until I know what we’re dealing with. Now is the time to shut up and listen.
Ivan, being his usual blunt self, comes into the lounge with his hands clasped together and a blank expression on, like this means almost nothing at all to him. I’ve never met a man so emotionless. I thought Viktor was like that at the beginning, buthe turned out to be softer on the inside than I ever could’ve known.
Ivan, on the other hand, doesn’t give me that vibe. I’m not sure if someone would ever be able to get through to him, but it does make me wonder if his past is equally as traumatic as Viktor’s.
Well, I’m not about to play the role of the Bratva therapist, so I take a seat on the brown leather couch with Viktor, awaiting Ivan’s debriefing.
Ivan remains standing, his expression unreadable. He grunts before he talks, like he’s trying to clear his throat but he doesn’t know how. “Alex Levin. Thirty-five years old. Russian.”
Viktor rubs his chin, nodding slowly. “By the age alone, I suspect he’s the son of someone from the Levin family. You wouldn’t know them, but I did in Russia. They were formidable when I was a child, but withered away quickly after the police caught wind of their dealings.”
Ivan doesn’t react to Viktor’s explanation. He just continues with his own. “Alex owns a manufacturing business in Russia. He’s here currently on a tourist visa, with plans to return home in two weeks. His reasoning for targeting you is unclear, but since you said he’s part of a crime family, this makes more sense.”
“I know why he’s targeting me, but it sounds like he doesn’t know the first thing about this lifestyle,” Viktor grumbles. “I killed his father. That’s the reason.”
Ivan’s face doesn’t change. “Then we will have to put a hit on him. We can’t allow him the opportunity to get revenge.”
Viktor holds up his finger, waving it at Ivan. “You’re right, but I want you to be careful about this. Picking off tourists is a great way to draw eyes onto our casino. Maybe that’s what he wants.”
I interject before Viktor can go off the rails. “He’s not a threat. I say we just kill him and move on. Nobody is going to get themselves killed just to put you under police investigation.”
Ivan nods, but I feel Viktor tense beside me. He’s still not seeing this for what it really is. Alex is poking the wolf without realizing it. He’s not some kind of mad genius who is willing to get himself killed just to teach Viktor a lesson.
I find Viktor’s hand beside me, giving it a light squeeze.
He pulls it away, rubbing his chin so hard that I can hear his stubble scraping against his palm. “I want to talk to Alex before we do anything. One on one. Man to man,” he says. “Bring him here.”
Finally, Ivan’s face shows something other than stone-cold stoicism. His eyebrows go up in surprise. “To your house?”
“Yes,” Viktor says, standing up suddenly. “We bring him here and speak with him like civilized people. There’s no need for guns… yet.”
Ivan nods, but I can see the doubt in his face. I’m sure Viktor usually puts a quick stop to people who cross him with a bullet and an improper burial, but this is more personal for him. He’s chosen to face his past instead of sweeping it under the rug, and I’m proud of him for it.
