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I shake my head. “No, it was personal.”
He stares at me for long moments, disbelief creeping into his features. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“No.” I’m hoping if I give him as little as possible, he’ll stop asking. I want to tell my family about Emerson, to tell them I’ve laid claim on her, but until she accepts it, I don’t want them to know.
A knowing smirk tugs at his lips as he refills both our glasses. “So it’s a woman? I never thought I’d see the day my big brother would find himself infatuated with a member of the fairer sex, but miracles do happen.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I snap.
Storm barely muffles the laugh with his glass, and I hate that the smug son of a bitch is right. I’m one of four, and I’ve always been the least likely to settle down. None of us have ever been particularly interested in marriage and kids, but at least they dated to some extent. Not me. I’ve always only been interested in getting my dick wet and getting out of there as quickly as humanly possible. I’m not going to live it down anytime soon.
“Any progress on our Russo problem?” Storm switches to work talk so easily because his entire life is work. He doesn’t take a day off, I can’t remember the last time he had a holiday, and he looks more stressed every time I see him.
I shake my head. “Nope. The shipment that went missing last week hasn’t turned up either. I thought they’d be dumb enough to start selling right away, but they haven’t. In fact, there are fewer of his men on the street than usual. Everett’s been looking into it, said the chatter on the dark web has been dead as well.”
“He have any idea what they might be up to?”
I shake my head. “He’s as clueless as the rest of us.”
“That’s rare.”
I nod. “Everett can usually track the chatter and figure out what those dumb fucks are up to, but not this time.”
“Which means it’s big.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. They’re getting bold since they set me up. Stealing an entire shipment of our weapons is ballsy, especially because they were military grade. They’re getting more and more cocky, which means they have something up their sleeve.”
“Don’t remind me.” Storm rolls his eyes and drains another glass of whiskey. “The Russian military is pissed, and they’re not being placated by any of my usual lines. They want to know where their weapons are, and I don’t have any fucking answers for them.”
I sigh. “I don’t know what else to do, bro. Our guys are looking under every rock, but they’ve gone to ground like the fucking rats they are.”
“They have to come up for air eventually.”
Iwalk into the youth center the next morning with purpose. I need to see Emerson. I need to see my woman and remind her that while she hasn’t accepted it yet, she is mine and there’s nothing she can do about it.
Normally in the mornings I go straight to the kitchen to help John, but this morning I need to see my girl. She’s been getting in earlier this week, getting the final touches organized for the gala in a few nights, so I know she’ll be at her desk already.
When I walk into the office, she doesn’t notice me immediately, she’s too busy staring at her computer screen with a scowl on her face. “Do the caterers need another stern talking to?” I chuckle.
Emerson startles, her hand flying to her chest before she quickly tugs her sweatshirt down past her wrist. The gesture would have seemed innocent if she didn’t look so fucking guilty.
Before I’ve even decided to move, I’m across the room, my hands falling to the arms of the desk chair she’s sitting in, caging her in.
Her breath quickens and I can’t help the smirk that tugs at my lips. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, sweet girl.”
Emerson’s eyes meet mine, and I see the tiredness behind them. The guy I have tailing her said she didn’t get in until four this morning, and she’s been here since before seven, which means she either got very little sleep or none at all.
“I’m jumpy after yesterday,” she tells me honestly. The black smudges under her eyes are deeper than yesterday, and I can’t stop myself from brushing my thumb across the darkness.
“You’re tired. Did you sleep?”
She looks to consider me as if she’s trying to decide if she should lie to me or not, but when she sighs, I know she’s going to tell me the truth. Her shoulders are hunched, and she looks defeated in a way I haven’t seen before. I’ve spent a lot of time with Emerson over the last week and a half, and she has always been strong and determined. Instead, the woman sitting in front of me looks like she’s fighting to keep herself together.
She shakes her head. “No, I didn’t sleep. I got home from the club late, and I needed to be here early this morning to get a few things for the gala done.”
“You need sleep.”
Emerson nods. “I know.”
