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“Brat.”
She’s taking the naïve, sexy little princess up a notch, giving me space to show power.
I take her chin in my hand and force her to look up. “I’ll make you pay.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Her words floor me. Even three months ago, I don’t think she’d have said that, and this new dynamic is a fucking turn on.
I release her and push her gently into the bedroom, closing the door between us.
Adelaide is exactly what she said. Though she knows what I am, I play the game like the smartest players do. I’m a legit businessman who never plays into leading questions or talks about what he does.
Even FBI isn’t exactly equal to good and straight player. She has an agenda. She wants information on a few people, and if my fucking cousin did something that got him caught, she has more cards than I want her to hold. If I fuck this up, then Rush is a target as well as Rose.
“She’s very possessive. How’s that working out for you, Nikolai?”
I don’t smile, don’t react. We have history; not much, but enough that she contacts my office every time I’m in New York. Every time, except this one. I sit and consider her.
“Can we get down to business?”
She sighs as she takes her seat again, smoothing down the front of her skirt. She’s usually in trousers but knows my preferences, and I wonder if the outfit is for me, or something she happened to wear today.
The only reason I’m interested is the why.
My ego is good enough not to mistake it as sexual or romantic interest on her behalf. Some ships sail quickly, and that one is long over the horizon. Still, if she thinks it might work for whatever she wants.
I get down to business quickly. “Why has the FBI arrested my cousin?”
She smiles and cocks her head. “Criminals get arrested. Beyond that, I’m not at liberty.”
My guts clench. “Right now, a team of the best lawyers are working on getting him out, stamping out whatever made up charges put him under lock and key.”
“General population, we’re thinking. Holding cells get so overcrowded.”
I ignore the threat. With great fucking effort, I ignore it.
I could destroy her and her family with one text, one call. I could fucking blow her brains out here and now, and it would be like it never happened.
“He’s no criminal. His record is clean,” I say. It’s true. No record.
“He had a package of what we suspect were stolen goods, taking them to a well-known fencer.”
Fuck me. “A master craftsman. What was in that package was mine. All legal, all above board.” I’m trying–I’mreallyfucking–trying not to unleash hellfire in this moment. “If the man he dealt with has other operations, it’s got nothing to do with me or my family.”
“I’ll cut to the chase. In your line of work—”
“Mainly real estate.”
“—you meet a lot of people. Ivan Popov, Gianni Belucci.” She leans forward. “Terrance Field.”
I don’t react.
“Field? He wanted to meet with me today. Told him I’m not interested in buying what he’s selling.”
So, she knows. Her lack of surprise, along with Rush’s arrest, tells me that.
“Can we drop the bullshit, Nikolai? I know what you do, who you are.”
